( 4UMF NEWS ) Apple Foxconn Employees Riot:
A dispute involving workers sparked a riot at an employee dormitory in China that makes products for companies including Apple, a Taiwanese news site reported Thursday.
As many as 1,000 workers at Foxconn’s Chengdu plant threw trash, chairs, bottles and destroyed public facilities in a fracas that lasted two hours, according to Want China Times.
The clash broke out at a male dormitory for Foxconn employees after workers hindered security guards who were trying to stop an alleged thief, the website said.
Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer, described Monday’s incident as a “disagreement.” Local police were called to restore order, it said in a statement received by CNN.
The company is one of Apple’s biggest manufacturing partners and employs hundreds of thousands of people in China to build popular electronic products like the iPhone and iPad. It has been repeatedly dogged by reports of alleged poor treatment of its employees including hazardous working conditions, harassment of workers and harsh living conditions.
Foxconn said events began after several of its workers from the plant had a disagreement with a restaurant owner in Chengdu. The disgruntled workers returned to their dormitory, “at which time a number of other residents also became involved in the disagreement and local police were called to the scene to restore order,” the company added. The statement did not clarify with whom the workers had a conflict.
“Foxconn is cooperating with local law enforcement authorities on their investigation into this incident,” the company stated.
The company also noted that the dormitory where the incident occurred was “owned and managed by third-party companies.”
The Taiwanese news site reported that the initial rioting workers had prior grievances with the security guards. Citing Molihua, a news advocacy website for human rights in China, it said dozens of employees were arrested.
