40 injured in Foxconn plant brawl
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 25, 2012
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| A destroyed electronic parking display at the north gate of the Foxconn plant in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Monday, after rioting by its workers erupted on Sunday night. [China Daily] |
![A destroyed electronic parking display at the north gate of the Foxconn plant in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Monday, after rioting by its workers erupted on Sunday night. [China Daily]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20120925/000cf1bdc9db11cb327404.jpg "A destroyed electronic parking display at the north gate of the Foxconn plant in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Monday, after rioting by its workers erupted on Sunday night. [China Daily]")
According to the police’s initial investigation, the fight broke out between workers from Shandong and Henan provinces.
Debris such as broken windows and destroyed cars could be seen around the plant after the clashes.
The workers said that previous incidents between fellow workers and security staff may also have led to the incident, due to simmering anger.
The company, which recently relocated its plants on coastal areas to inner provinces such as Henan province, has drawn criticism due to its harsh working conditions after a series of workers committed suicide about two years ago and several others were injured in work-related accidents.
Ji Feng, secretary-general of the Citygate Industrial Relations Forum, a nonprofit organization based in Shenzhen, said the frequent reports of unrest or suicides at Foxconn also show the "uneasiness of the new generation of migrant workers".
He said that the members of the new generation, mostly born in the 1980s, feel isolated and discriminated against.
"They work hard but cannot realize their dreams, they cannot integrate," he said.
Ji believed that Foxconn has caught the public's attention mainly because it is an Apple supplier.
"In fact, working conditions in many medium and small factories are much worse," Ji said.
He said that Apple should pay more attention to the workers assembling its products in China, as the United States-based company has "an inescapable responsibility".
Foxconn, which assembles Apple's iPhones and makes components for top global electronics companies, has about 1 million employees on the Chinese mainland.
China Daily contributed to this story
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