Foxconn is one of Apple’s major manufacturers, employing thousands of workers to work long hours in order to assemble and ship Apple’s products on time. It has been criticized in the past for the lack of fair working conditions for its workers. Now, it has been reported that workers at a Foxconn facility have gone on strike over strict quality control measures in assembling iPhone 5.
The main point of contention is that Apple wants the workers to be very delicate in assembling iPhone 5, so much so that the device must not have indentations of more than 0.02mm. The workers, on the other hand, say that they haven’t been trained for this and that this is unfair to them.
According to China Labor Watch, “It was reported that factory management and Apple, despite design defects, raised strict quality demands on workers, including indentations standards of 0.02mm and demands related to scratches on frames and back covers. With such demands, employees could not even turn out iPhones that met the standard.”
As a result of this standoff between the workers and the Foxconn management, it is being reported that about 4,000 Foxconn workers have gone on strike. And this has virtually halted the iPhone 5 assembly lines which may, in turn, strangle Apple’s iPhone 5 supply line. Apple is already delaying the shipping of iPhone 5 units due to rather unprecedented sales of the device and one more hassle in the supply line will only add to the company’s troubles.
Courtesy: BGR
[ttjad keyword=”iphone”]
