At a Foxconn factory in the city of Zhengzhou in China, workers protested wages and were then beaten by polic

Critics cite ‘double exploitation’ amid government policies, mismanagement from Apple supplier Foxconn

This week, videos showing police in white protective suits kicking and clubbing protesting factory workers have gone viral, drawing attention to longstanding labour complaints among the Chinese workers who make the world’s iPhones.

At the Foxconn factory in the city of Zhengzhou in China’s central Henan province, recent COVID-19 outbreaks have slowed production and led to unrest among employees over pay and virus containment protocols.

Exporters in China such as Foxconn are trying to fill orders for the holiday rush while coping with a “Zero COVID” strategy that abruptly shuts down cities for a week or longer to contain outbreaks. Employees were enraged when Foxconn Technology Group allegedly changed the terms of wages offered to fill Apple’s orders for iPhone 14 production.

Foxconn issued a public apology Wednesday, saying “an input error in the computer system” led to the confusion, and pledged to “actively solve the concerns.”

Bloomberg reported that the company has begun offering 10,000 yuan ($1,800) to any workers who choose to leave.

This month, workers were filmed climbing over fences to get out of the plant and walking out of the city.

At the time, they were reportedly leaving in protest of harsh COVID restrictions on the plant, which can accommodate as many as 350,000 workers, as well as workplace safety issues, including COVID outbreaks.

But the latest round of protests, according to Foxconn, was due to workers having “doubts about” their “work allowance” and concerns over COVID infections in the plant. Li Qiang, the executive director of China Labor Watch, a U.S.based advocacy and research organization, argues that Chinese workers are suffering from “double exploitation” from their government and international corporations.

“While the Chinese government’s ‘zero-tolerance’ COVID policy has deprived workers of income, mismanagement by Apple’s supplier, Foxconn, means that remaining employment opportunities are full of exploitation and unfair treatment,” Li told the Star.

What role does Foxconn play in the manufacturing of Apple products?

The Taiwanese multinational is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of smartphones and other electronic devices. After landing an order to produce Apple iMacs in 2000, the company would go on to become the largest assembler of iPhones. The two companies have worked together closely, while media and analysts have described the relationship as a “partnership.”

While Foxconn also manufactures iPhones in India and Vietnam, most Apple products are assembled in China in sprawling factory complexes employing hundreds of thousands of workers, many of whom live in crowded dormitories. “Foxconn is integral to Apple’s supply chain and has been for a really long time,” said Manfred Elfstrom, an assistant professor of political science at the University of British Columbia and an expert on China’s labour conditions. “Apple has other suppliers in China, but Foxconn is its most important and Apple has felt forced at points in the past to step in and meet its corporate social responsibility standards at various points.

“The most notable example was more than a decade ago, when there was a string of suicides at Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory and Apple investigated, and Foxconn took some remedial measures,” Elfstrom said.

Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, spoke about the business arrangement with the New York Times: “They could hire 3,000 people overnight. … What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

Are labour protests rare in China?

While street protests over political issues are rare in China, everyday issues such as land, labour and court disputes frequently lead to protests across the country, despite government crackdowns on civil society NGOs and the arrests of prominent activists.

According to the Hong Kongbased watchdog China Labour Bulletin, there have been 683 reported incidents, including strikes and protests over workplace issues in China, in 2022, compared with 981 incidents from January to November of last year. These were mostly small-scale and confined to individual workplaces.

China does not provide official statistics on workers’ protests, and China Labour Bulletin draws its sources from media reports and corroborating social media posts.

Why are workers angry about the handling of COVID in factories?

In late October, employees started walking out of the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou after some fell ill in mid-October and received no treatment, according to employees who asked not to be identified by name.

“There are still people getting infected at the assembly lines, and they are still worried about going to work,” an employee told The Associated Press on Oct. 31.

In a statement in October, Foxconn said it is using “closed-loop management” in Zhengzhou, an official term for having employees live in their workplace with no outside contact. The company said it was providing three meals a day. It did not say when those measures began.

“The latest protests are being framed as against China’s zero-CO

VID policies,” Elfstrom said. “But I think it’s more complicated. The workers then, and to some extent now, are concerned about there not being enough COVID protections in the factories.”

The pandemic has only exacerbated longstanding complaints among Chinese factory workers about crowded dormitories and unsanitary living conditions, according to Elfstrom.

In a statement, Foxconn said “online speculation” of people with COVID living in the staff dormitories is “patently untrue.”

Will Apple stay in China?

Last summer Foxconn announced it would be spending $300 million (U.S.) to expand a manufacturing plant in northern Vietnam that would produce Apple products, according to a number of media reports.

But, despite the investment, Elfstrom said there’s nothing to indicate the company wants to leave mainland China.

“If anything, it seems like Apple is much more integrated into the Chinese system now than it was back then in terms of storing data and censoring apps and others,” said Elstrom, author of “Workers and Change in China.”

What is Apple’s responsibility to workers?

In a statement to the Star, Apple said it is looking into the events at the factory.

“We have Apple team members on the ground at our supplier Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility,” it read. “We are reviewing the situation and working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees’ concerns are addressed.”

Li of China Labor Watch said Apple should take responsibility over longstanding labour rights issues. “Apple is undeniably liable. “Apple cannot simply outsource all its responsibilities … to Foxconn or other suppliers. The problem is that reports accusing Apple’s suppliers” of labour abuses continue to emerge.

While the Chinese government’s ‘zerotolerance’ COVID policy has deprived workers of income, mismanagement by Apple’s supplier, Foxconn, means that remaining employment opportunities are full of exploitation and unfair treatment.

Does Canada have any obligations?

Sarah Teich, a legal adviser to the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, said Canada does have obligations under guidelines established by the international Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, of which the country is a member.

The guidelines meant for multinational enterprises include respect for core labour standards, adequate employment and industrial relations and conditions for effective negotiations between labour and management among others.

But, Teich said, overall, Canada doesn’t have the kind of strong legal and legislative oversight to ensure those making products sold in Canada are treated justly.

“We definitely don’t have enough in terms of legislation to really give this teeth,” she said.

L I QIANG E XECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CHINA L ABOR WATCH