Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, yesterday said it had resolved a strike by about 1,000 workers at one of its factories in China and that production at the plant was unaffected.
Hon Hai, also known as the Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), said the workers at its Chongqing factory had gone on strike on Wednesday, but agreed to return to work four hours later after discussions with the company.
The company did not give any details about the discussions or why the workers had gone on strike. It also did not give details about the product lines at the plant.
China has seen a surge in the number of strikes at its factories in recent years, as the economy slowed and a worsening labor shortage has shifted the balance of power in labor relations.
Smartphones and social media outlets have also helped workers become more aware than ever of the changing environment.
The labor dispute was first reported by US-based watchdog China Labor Watch (CLW), which said the workers went on strike to demand higher pay after Hon Hai cut overtime due to reduced orders from client Hewlett-Packard Co (HP).
The workers rely on overtime pay to increase their meager salaries and this is the second strike this year due to the HP cuts, CLW said.
HP declined to provide immediate comment.
Labor disputes have erupted at Hon Hai factories in the past, and not only in China. Last month, Hon Hai said it was in talks with union representatives in Brazil to end a strike at one of its plants there.
Hon Hai assembles Apple Inc’s iPhones, iPads and laptops, as well as computers and servers for HP and Cisco Systems Inc.
Hon Hai yesterday also reported that revenue increased 22.95 percent year-on-year to NT$415.41 billion (US$13.65 billion) last month after Apple began shipping its new iPhone products.
On a monthly basis, revenue jumped 51 percent from NT$275.08 billion.
Third-quarter revenue reached NT$950.72 billion, up 3.5 percent from NT$918.54 billion a year ago and 8.1 percent from NT$879.4 billion in the second quarter.
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