There has been an insanely high demand for Apple’s latest smartphone, the iPhone 5, around the world. That means that workers at Foxconn, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer that makes the devices for Apple has been working feverishly to make sure that supply meets demand. Unfortunately for the company, they’ve hit a major roadblock as 2,000 to 3,000 Foxconn personnel (mostly people at the QC part of the assembly line) has gone on strike. It seems that Apple’s newest and greatest device was putting strain on the manufacturing and QC branches of the company, as the workers workers were not sufficiently trained to learn the new skills necessary to up quality control, which, according to China Labor watch, “led to workers turning out products that did not meet standards and ultimately put a tremendous amount of pressure on workers.” The new device had “indentations standards of 0.02mm and demands related to scratches on frames and back covers,” which led to physical altercations between line workers and QC inspectors. The QC inspectors tried to appeal to upper management, but it seems that didn’t really do much. That, coupled with the withdrawal of vacation privileges for this coming holiday season ultimately led to the strike that paralyzed the assembly line for the iPhone 5.
Source: China Labor Watch