Sick Foxconn workers spotted at iPhone factory

China’s Foxconn is forcing employees who assemble iPhones to stay at their jobs. This is reported by the publication Rest of World.

As it became known to media journalists, Foxconn’s largest smartphone factory in Zhengzhou is trying to deal with the outbreak of COVID-19. Workers are provided with N95 masks, but the risk of infection still remains at the enterprise. So, the interlocutors of the publication said that employees become infected in dormitories, as eight people live in one room.

One of the workers anonymously reported that his superiors asked not to be tested for coronavirus – if he tested positive, he would have to stop working. According to him, he noticed many pickers at the enterprise who feel symptoms of the disease. Employees are afraid of sanctions from their superiors and are afraid of losing their jobs due to sick leave.

According to Jenny Chan, a sociologist at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Foxconn management is turning a blind eye to problems in an attempt to restore production of Apple smartphones. “iPhone City,” as the Zhengzhou factory is called, has already experienced two waves of workers’ strikes. The journalists requested a comment from Apple and Foxconn, but did not receive a prompt response.

In late November, it became known that China’s largest iPhone maker would pay $1,400 to resigned protesting workers. The decision is intended to calm disgruntled Foxconn employees who staged mass clashes with police and plant security on November 23.