Violent protests break out at iPhone factory in China amid spike in COVID cases

The discontent among China’s Apple factory employees persists after a workers' protest broke out in the world’s biggest iPhone factory located in Zhengzhou, China. Following the protest, the employees at the factory were beaten and detained by the Chinese police. According to AP, the protest broke out over a contract dispute amid China’s stringent anti-virus protocols. 

The videos of the whole ordeal which happened on Wednesday are doing rounds on social media. The operator of the Covid-hit iPhone factory, located in the central city of Zhengzhou is Foxconn Technology group. According to AP, one person was hit in the head with a club while others were taken away by the police. Earlier, this month Foxconn claimed that the factory is operating using “closed-loop management”, in which the employees were living inside the factories with no outside contacts. 

This was not the first time the workers of the covid-hit factory expressed their discontent with the working conditions. Last month, many workers left the Zhengzhou factory to avoid the COVID-19 curbs. Thousands of employees complain about inadequate anti-virus protection and a lack of help for workers who fell ill.

Apple warns customers about ‘longer wait time for iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max 

Earlier this month, Apple released a statement that the “shipments of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be impacted due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the Zhengzhou factory, the largest Apple factory in the world. In the statement, Apple claims that the COVID restrictions have “temporarily impacted” their “primary facility”. The statement stated that the Foxconn plant is currently operating at a significantly “reduced capacity”.

China is currently struggling with a massive spike in COVID cases. It was reported earlier that three people with mild COVID symptoms passed away in the country’s capital. The Chinese administration still operating under the “Zero COVID” policy, however, the stringent measures and the uneven implementation of those measures are now causing public discontent. Many criticised the Chinese administration after a 3-year-old lost their life due to the delay in treatment of the toddler. The father of the child accused the incumbent government and local authorities of the death of his child.