After reports that 2,000 Chinese employees at Foxconn factory clashed till the wee hours of Monday morning, the factory had to be shut down for some time. The event took place at North China's Shanxi province.
The factory has resumed production after a brief halt. China prohibits independent labor unions in the country, the Associated Press reports.
The cause of the riot between workers has been under investigation by both the Foxconn Technology Group and police. Nearly 5,000 policemen were sent to restore order.
Xinhua News Agency reported that the brawl was between the workers of the Shandong and Henan province. Other reports suggested that the fight arose between the factory guards and workers when guards beat up workers. Over 40 people were injured and were admitted to hospital.
The factory employs around 79,000 people and is owned by Foxconn Technology Group, which is the world's largest contract-maker of electronic goods.
Foxconn did not say if the one-day halt in production would impair the supply of the latest iPhone 5, which debuted Friday. There is already a demand-supply gap of three to four weeks.
"Foxconn, some supervisors, and security guards never respect us. We all have this anger toward them and they (the workers) wanted to destroy things to release this anger," an employee said to the AP.
Though there are unions, all of them have to be a part of the single government-sanctioned All-China Federation of Trade Unions. The workers have accused the local leaders of such unions of partnering with the management and supporting them instead.
Instances of trouble with workers over pay, working conditions and hours have led to strikes and riots.
"They have no other way of voicing their grievances," said Geoffrey Crothall, communications director for China Labour Bulletin. Workers have to obey their managers all the time and cannot question them over anything. "That atmosphere is not conducive to a happy or contented workforce. It's a very dehumanizing way of treating workers."
Foxconn not only makes iPhones and iPads for Apple but also assembles products for Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.
