There were violent clashes between workers and security forces at Foxconn Zhengzhou, the world’s largest iPhone factory, over employee benefits on Tuesday night and Wednesday, according to images and video clips posted on Chinese social media platforms and confirmed to the Post by two workers.
In one video clip, hundreds of workers were seen marching down a road, throwing sticks and bricks at anti-riot police standing in front of them. Another video showed a large group of workers on the side of a road being hemmed in by a wall of hazmat-suited personnel. In another video, workers were seen smashing up Covid-19 testing kiosks with steel bars, chairs and fire extinguishers to shouts of “smash it up”.
Foxconn, officially known as Hon Hai Precision, said in a statement that there had been public protests and “violence” at the factory.
The Taiwanese company said that “some new hires” at the Zhengzhou campus had complained to the company about work allowances. “With respect to violence, the company will continue to communicate with employees and the government to prevent similar incidents from happening again”, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to two former workers at the Foxconn Zhengzhou plant who asked for anonymity and who have maintained close contact with former colleagues, hundreds of workers stormed out of their dormitories and ripped down steel fences outside the buildings on Tuesday evening because they believed that the company had failed to honour certain recruitment promises.
Violent clashes between workers at the Foxconn Zhengzhou plant and security staff break out. Photo: Weibo
One former worker said that the terms of a “retention allowance”, which had been promised to new employees who stay at the plant until February 15, 2023 had been changed, according to reports. Workers now need to stay until March 15 to receive the bonus – an extra month.