Wintek strike settled in China with no impact on Apple products
Issues with more than 2,000 workers at a Wintek Corp. factory in Suzhou, China, have reportedly been resolved, ending a strike that began last week, ceasing production of parts for Apple products.
Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Thursday that the strike was resolved by Wintek with production unaffected. The company offered bonuses to its employees, which was allegedly enough to get the employees to go back to work.
Wintek made a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that said the plant's production and capacity were not harmed by the walkout. Workers of the plant destroyed and vandalized some of the equipment, resulting in 300 riot police being dispatched to the location. Demonstrators grabbed whatever they could nearby and hurled pieces of metal at police who stood in the distance.
Employees went on strike after they said four employees died after exposure to hexane, a toxic chemical used to clean touchscreen panels. Hexane can cause nervous system failure in humans.
Other reports alleged that employees were also upset because of a canceled 2009 bonus, though employees who spoke with the Chinese press said it wasn't just about money. The Wintek factory is a component supplier for Apple's iPhone, and this week was pegged as a potential supplier of touch panels for the company's forthcoming touchscreen tablet.
Like almost every electronics company, Apple works with overseas partners to create and assemble its devices. Last year, an audit of factories Apple contracts with in China showed that more than half were not paying valid overtime rates for those that qualified. In addition, 23 of the 83 surveyed factories weren't even paying their workers China's minimum wage.
Wintek, in particular, came under fire in 2009, as workers at the company took their case directly to Apple over what they saw as illegal and abusive working conditions. Members of the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Taiwan protested in front of Apple's Taipei offices last May, hoping the Mac maker would influence Wintek.
Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Thursday that the strike was resolved by Wintek with production unaffected. The company offered bonuses to its employees, which was allegedly enough to get the employees to go back to work.
Wintek made a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that said the plant's production and capacity were not harmed by the walkout. Workers of the plant destroyed and vandalized some of the equipment, resulting in 300 riot police being dispatched to the location. Demonstrators grabbed whatever they could nearby and hurled pieces of metal at police who stood in the distance.
Employees went on strike after they said four employees died after exposure to hexane, a toxic chemical used to clean touchscreen panels. Hexane can cause nervous system failure in humans.
Other reports alleged that employees were also upset because of a canceled 2009 bonus, though employees who spoke with the Chinese press said it wasn't just about money. The Wintek factory is a component supplier for Apple's iPhone, and this week was pegged as a potential supplier of touch panels for the company's forthcoming touchscreen tablet.
Like almost every electronics company, Apple works with overseas partners to create and assemble its devices. Last year, an audit of factories Apple contracts with in China showed that more than half were not paying valid overtime rates for those that qualified. In addition, 23 of the 83 surveyed factories weren't even paying their workers China's minimum wage.
Wintek, in particular, came under fire in 2009, as workers at the company took their case directly to Apple over what they saw as illegal and abusive working conditions. Members of the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Taiwan protested in front of Apple's Taipei offices last May, hoping the Mac maker would influence Wintek.
Comments
That's nothing but PR. It's more likely that the police showed up, dragged everyone to jail, shot the ones who wouldn't go, and gassed anyone else in the area.
They went back to work because......... I'm FIRST!!!
LOL. of course you were.
They didn't do a heck of a lot of damage, it was more like a work stoppage than a riot.
They wanted their money and didn't want to do too much damage or they were afraid of not getting it.
So they got it and now they are happy back at work.
Four people died? I don' think they care, life is cheap in China, that means more for the survivors.
OK, police, a get a bit closer, rioters, a bit to the left. Ok, great, now everyone scowl. Click. Great shot everyone, now back to work.
Yeah, bonuses was the method in which the strike was settled...
That's nothing but PR. It's more likely that the police showed up, dragged everyone to jail, shot the ones who wouldn't go, and gassed anyone else in the area.
And the leaders of the strike probably disappeared.
Seriously though, Chinese working conditions are terrible compared to the US. But that's why everything is made there, costs are lower and profits are higher. It's the American way.... doesn't matter unemployment is high here and people can't afford to buy the "cheap" products from china. The US shipped most of its manufacturing to other countries in the name of the "Global Economy" and now we are the cause of the "Global Depression". Greed is a wonderful thing.....
Steve - you really want to do something different? How about a "Made in USA" imprint on all Apple products? Hire some Americans...... When I buy an Ipod shuffle from the online store, ship it from Arizona or New Mexico, not Shanghai where the last one came from. We are making China rich by making the USA poor.
...Steve - you really want to do something different? How about a "Made in USA" imprint on all Apple products? Hire some Americans...... When I buy an Ipod shuffle from the online store, ship it from Arizona or New Mexico, not Shanghai where the last one came from. We are making China rich by making the USA poor.
You can thank organized labor like the UAW with their workers demanding $75 a hour (90% pay if not working, unlimited medical care for life etc.,) and their support of President Obama and their cronies in the Congress, extreme environmentalists and also President Clinton for making China favored nation trade status, for the reason corporations have flocked overseas and there are hardly any manufacturing jobs in the US anymore.
Most of Apple's devices are made by machine, parts can be imported and the labor used in the US. Labor is not that big of a cost and China really doesn't offer much in cost savings as things have to be shipped into the U.S., it's the threat of unions in the U.S. that upsets that balance and companies opt for other countries in the first place.
Apple could have duo China and US manufacturing operations to save on shipping costs...
are the units that will change the total way we get our information and the strike was settled in time to get the newest "tabslate" devise off the ground. I believe Apple will name their creation
IPAD and rumor has it that they expect sales close to 10 MILLION units in the First Year!
Four people died? I don' think they care, life is cheap in China, that means more for the survivors.
That really....I don't know the word for that comment.
Four people died? I don' think they care, life is cheap in China, that means more for the survivors.
What are you smoking? In China couples are allowed one child-- everyone is an only child over there and you don't get grandkids or anyone to take care of you if your one kid dies. If anything they value it more than our cowboy country.
What are you smoking? In China couples are allowed one child-- everyone is an only child over there and you don't get grand kids or anyone to take care of you if your one kid dies. If anything they value it more than our cowboy country.
You might be right, but outside the family unit I suspect they really don't care as much about others as getting the money to survive, thus why the protest damage was minimal.
You can thank organized labor like the UAW with their workers demanding $75 a hour (90% pay if not working, unlimited medical care for life etc.,) and their support of President Obama and their cronies in the Congress
At the risk of feeding the troll....
Just because the UAW had negotiated some very favorable terms for its members, you excuse the exposure of Chinese workers to hexane?!? Please feel free to expand on your position if you can. And please do so logically, and without any more slandering of Obama who had absolutely zilch to do with the UAW contracts.
You can thank organized labor like the UAW with their workers demanding $75 a hour (90% pay if not working, unlimited medical care for life etc.,) and their support of President Obama and their cronies in the Congress, extreme environmentalists and also President Clinton for making China favored nation trade status, for the reason corporations have flocked overseas and there are hardly any manufacturing jobs in the US anymore.
Most of Apple's devices are made by machine, parts can be imported and the labor used in the US. Labor is not that big of a cost and China really doesn't offer much in cost savings as things have to be shipped into the U.S., it's the threat of unions in the U.S. that upsets that balance and companies opt for other countries in the first place.
Apple could have duo China and US manufacturing operations to save on shipping costs...
You obviously know nothing of what you're talking about. Would you work in a plant in America for Chinese wages? Actually you couldn't find a job paying that little, because they pay their workers less than U.S. minimum wage.
And actually, it was the first George Bush who gave China most-favored-nation trade status (Clinton renewed it).
Once again you are blinded by a misplaced hatred, coming from "facts" that you make up.
We are making China rich by making the USA poor.
In truth, we're making only a relative few schmucks in China rich, while the overwhelming majority don't feel any hint of the "good life."
Our government rolled right out of the way when the corporate bosses came a-knockin', as usual.
Regardless of who's in charge politically, money and business rule the roost here.