Agencies – Yesterday(23 Nov) Apple’s iPhone production base Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou Foxconn announced it would pay 10,000 yuan ($1,400) to new workers to immediately resign and leave the factory to go home in an effort to bring violent protests to after breaking Foxconn’s bonus promises prevented workers from doing so.
Fortune reported today (Nov. 24) a message sent by the human resources department to Foxconn employees on Wednesday, which the US media CNN had the opportunity to see.
Workers were encouraged to return to their dormitories on campus, Foxconn also agreed to pay workers 8,000 yuan ($1,100) if they quit their jobs immediately and another 2,000 yuan ($300) if they agreed to take the bus to leave together. The total is 10,000 yuan ($1,400) or about 50,000 baht.
Bloomberg pointed out that this bonus amount is more than the employee’s full month’s salary.
“Some workers are still concerned about COVID-19 and expect to quit and go home,” Foxconn said in the announcement, adding that it understands their concerns.
The announcement of the big payout to new workers at Foxconn factories came hours after reports of violent protests by workers at a factory campus in Zhengzhou, Henan province, which employs 300,000.
Fortune reports that workers left their dorms Wednesday morning, angry about the lack of paychecks and at the same time worried about the spread of COVID-19. Workers were found to have clashed with factory security and Chinese riot police came in to restore order.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, Foxconn confirmed that the protests had indeed taken place but denied reports that it had. Several sick workers tested positive for COVID-19 inside the factory dormitory.
City officials said on Wednesday (23) that the Zhengzhou urban area will be locked down from Friday to the 29th, nicknamed “iPhone City” for its supply chain hub. With Apple on Wednesday, it was reported that almost 1,000 cases of COVID-19.
CNN reported that protests began Tuesday night over new workers’ pay and concerns about COVID-19. to the health of those people And the protests turned violent on Wednesday, with clashes between workers and a large panel of security personnel including Chinese SWAT personnel.
One of the witnesses told CNN that the protest ended around 10:00 pm with workers returning to their dorms and being paid for the company’s offer, and at the same time fearing that a confrontation would have made worse by the skill of the officers
The Zhengzhou iPhone factory has been hit by the outbreak of COVID-19 since October, forcing it to shut down. and causing the workers to flock out in large numbers But Foxconn later announced a series of new hires which saw at least 100,000 people register for the jobs of interest. According to reports from Chinese media.
According to the new employee salary notification document It was found that the new employees were promised a bonus of 3,000 yuan after 30 days of work and another 3,000 yuan after 60 days of service.
But when a new set of workers arrive at the factory to find that The company tells workers they will get their first bonus on March 15 and the second in May, meaning that they must work during the Chinese New Year period starting in January 2023 to get their first bonus.
One of the workers pointed that out What was said was not as promised and the staff felt cheated. And in a statement from Foxconn on Thursday, it apologized, citing a computer input error. The bonus is paid in accordance with the original promise.
CNN reported Thursday morning that some employees have agreed to leave and receive their first paycheck while streaming shows.
Workers were seen testing for COVID-19 outside while some were waiting to board the bus. And later, a large number of workers waited for the bus to leave.
