More Plant Disputes Arise at Apple Supplier Hon Hai
Updated October 7, 2012, 1:26 p.m. ET
By LORRAINE LUK
TAIPEI—Disputes last week among workers at a Chinese
factory that makes Apple Inc.'s AAPL -2.13% iPhone put new scrutiny over the
weekend on owner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., 2317.TW -0.77% which has taken
steps in recent months to address criticism of its labor practices.
The Taiwan company, which also uses the name Foxconn
Technology Group, said Saturday that two disputes between employees occurred at
its manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou in China's central Henan province, with
neither incident leading to work stoppages. Hon Hai said it has addressed the
disputes, which took place last Monday and Tuesday amid a weeklong holiday
commemorating China's National Day. The company said the incidents involved a
small group of production-line workers and quality-assurance personnel.
"There has been no workplace stoppage in that
facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on
schedule," Hon Hai said. The company has 1.2 million employees in China.
Hon Hai said reports of an employee strike at the
Zhengzhou plant are "inaccurate," and that all of its China employees
who worked during the country's national holidays had done so voluntarily and
have been paid in accordance with Chinese labor laws.
The company has provided additional employees for the
production lines in question, among other steps, it said.
The statement came after a Chinese labor-rights
organization said Friday that 3,000 to 4,000 workers, who were building Apple's
iPhone 5, went on strike over increasing work hours and quality requirements.
According to China Labor Watch, the strike participants came from a
quality-control arm of Foxconn. It said Sunday that the workers had gone back
to work the day before.
Apple didn't respond to requests for comment. Local
police officials referred questions to Hon Hai.
Labor groups criticized Hon Hai employment practices
after several workers at the company's massive manufacturing base in China
jumped to their deaths in 2010. Hon Hai has since increased salaries and
outfitted worker dormitories with safety nets in an effort to prevent such
incidents.
Earlier this year Hon Hai and U.S.-based Apple agreed to
reduce work hours and change other employment policies at Hon Hai's China
factories after an audit by the Fair Labor Association, a Washington-based
labor-rights group, found breaches of work, health and safety rules at some of
the plants. Hon Hai has faced questions about labor issues as labor costs in
China have been rising and many workers have sought better pay and improved
opportunities. Last month, a fight at a northern China factory campus owned by
Hon Hai escalated into a riot.
—Ian Sherr contributed to the article.
Write to Lorraine Luk at lorraine.luk@dowjones.com
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