In the aftermath of angry protests at iPhone factories in China, Foxconn has issued an apology to employees. ” A technical error would have occurred during recruitment, according to the management of the Taiwanese group.
From our correspondent in Beijing, and of Louise May
This has nothing to do with the big departures on vacation, but there is the same desire to set sail among these tens of thousands of resigning employees.
Plastic bags full to the brim with things gathered in fourth gear, suitcases carried on their shoulders, these young people arrived for the most part less than ten days ago at Foxconn.
And this Thursday, they were not asked to board the trains departing from Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, in central China, where the largest factories of the Apple subcontractor are located.
Deferred premiums
Several special TGVs have been chartered so that these former employees of the electronics giant can return home. These workers from outside Henan province were very present in the demonstrations in recent days, say the witnesses.
Inevitably, when you come from afar, the disappointment is even stronger. Attracted by bonuses and an hourly wage of thirty yuan (four euros) dangled to them by temp agencies, the nearly 100,000 recruits in recent weeks fell off their stool when they learned that the deal of departure no longer held.
There are three types of contracts at Foxconn: permanent workers, seasonal workers and subcontractors. The latter were called in as reinforcements following last month’s mass exodus. Tens of thousands of workers, tired of degraded living conditions, and frightened by the epidemic outbreak inside the industrial campus, forced the barriers of the largest iPhone production site in the world, which like most of the large companies in “zero-Covid” China, work in a “closed circuit”.
Hired during a campaign of flash recruitment in the surrounding villages and even outside the province, new recruits thought they could be paid by the hour after the seventh day worked. Except that after the online training on Tuesday, another contract appeared, suggesting that salaries would be paid on the 25th of the month and, above all, that bonuses could not be collected until March of next year. Cries and howls in the dormitories.
March is after the Lunar New Year holiday which this year falls at the end of January. But the vacation of “Chunjie” is sacred! This is an opportunity for migrant workers to return to their families and bring home gifts with hard-earned money.
“ They changed contracts without their consent, explains a seasonal worker. They were told to come here to earn money for one or two months and that they would be back home for the Spring Festival. And finally, they are informed that they will have to come back during the holidays or risk losing their bonus. Some were so pissed off that they went to the chiefs’ offices to smash the computers. »
New exodus at Foxconn. Local authorities have set up special trains to bring the resigning workers back to their provinces. If there is quarantine on arrival, it may be at their expense. pic.twitter.com/5qqlJSZbmH
— Stephane Lagarde (@StephaneLagarde) November 24, 2022
Severance pay
But it’s not just the computers that have felt the fury of angry young people. Last weekend, the palisades of the complex again fell under the blows of the rebels. And this Wednesday, protesters grabbed whatever they had to hand to defend themselves from the People’s Armed Police. Violent clashes that injured people.
” Some picked up steel bars to fend off police and security guards, again reports the seasonal worker we contacted. I heard there was blood everywhere. The police were surrounded, some were filming the battle live via their phones. »
Faced with the extent of the dissatisfaction, the factory management finally had to resolve to negotiate on Thursday: “ They promised to give 10,000 yuan – 1,343 euros – to the starters as compensation, 15,000 yuan for the injured. “It is in any case a new failure for Foxconn in its recruitment campaign. To clear the way, the group’s management put forward the thesis of ” technical breakdown which would have led to this modification of the contracts, while apologizing with employees.
But the damage is done and most of the new recruits left as quickly as they had arrived. This has reinforced the frustration and the feeling of injustice among those who have been sent to quarantine. They have not yet recovered their work card, but they too went out to demonstrate on Thursday evening, demanding the same compensation as their resigning comrades. Opposition from management and new clashes.
Violence that entails a reputational risk for the apple brand. Strongly criticized by labor rights NGOs, Apple had to react, promising compensation ranging up to $1,400 in response to worker complaints. This “Foxconn 2.0 social movement” as the social networks have called it, could give ideas to others and in particular to employees of large groups forced to work in confined factories.