Foxconn workers in Beijing strike over pay and bonuses
Staff Reporter 2013-01-24 09:29
Workers at the Beijing division of Foxconn surround a manager in the staff cafeteria. (Internet photo)
Workers at the Beijing division of Taiwan-based Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, went on strike Tuesday after learning that they will not receive end-of-year bonuses or increased salaries.
The Beijing division, located in the Beijing Economic Technological Development Zone, has been operating since 2002 and employs over 15,000 workers.
On Tuesday, a senior manager at the division reportedly tried to calm a thousand workers who bombarded him with questions after surrounding him at the firm's cafeteria. The strike was said to have continued through to midnight as Foxconn was unable to provide a clear answer to the workers' requests.
The Beijing government has reportedly dispatched police to the factory to prevent the incident from spiraling out of control, according to the World Journal, a Chinese-language newspaper based in North America.
Several similar incidents also reportedly took place in factories in southern Guangdong and eastern Jiangsu provinces over pay disputes.
In Changping, a township under Dongguan in Guangdong province, 1,500 workers from Dongguan Aoli Electric Appliance staged a strike on Monday and Tuesday because the firm reneged on its promise to hand out end-of-year bonuses. Employees of Changrui Automobile Parts in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, also walked out on the same two days demanding a pay rise.
