Foxconn workers riot through the night

CHINESE SWEATSHOP OPERATOR Foxconn has closed one of its plants after workers started to riot.

The company has confirmed the incident, and explained that control was regained during the night. It is not known what caused the trouble, but in a statement sent to The INQUIRER Foxconn said that it was a "personal dispute" between employees, rather than, say, anything to do with working conditions.

"Foxconn can confirm that a personal dispute between several employees escalated into an incident involving some 2,000 workers at approximately 11pm last night in a privately-managed dormitory near our manufacturing facility in Taiyuan in Shanxi province," it said.

"The dispute was brought under control by local police at approximately 3am this morning. According to police, some 40 individuals were taken to the hospital for medical attention and a number of individuals were arrested. The cause of this dispute is under investigation by local authorities and we are working closely with them in this process, but it appears not to have been work-related."

The firm did not say whether the plant is one where Apple products, such as the Iphone 5 are made, but said that it employed around 80,000 people who make automobile electronic components, consumer electronic components and precision moldings.

Earlier in September an undercover reporter published an account of his experiences working for Foxconn. You can file it under "bleak". µ