China Labor Watch: As Apple's orders decline, supplier Jabil's workers go on strike in Wuxi

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hundreds of workers went on strike on October 11, in protest of Jabil's layoff, position rearrangements and its refusal to provide previously promised rewards, according to workers' account.

Workers say the factories are laying off workers and rearranging workers' positions as iPhone 8 sales have slowed. Some workers at the Green Point factory have been reassigned to the Green Magnesium factory, where the salary and benefits are not as good. Both Green Point and Green Magnesium are factories in Wuxi province and affiliated with Jabil, a major supplier of components for Apple products.

Workers on strike are also demanding that they receive a reward promised upon employment. Beginning in June, Jabil has been hiring large numbers of workers to manufacture Apple products. But it has had difficulty recruiting enough workers due to poor labor conditions. Workers at Jabil earn around 1890 RMB ($286) per month. Workers normally work 11 hours a day and often have to stay late after work for an hour without pay. The living conditions are also worse than similar factories in the same industry.

In order to recruit more workers, Jabil worked with labor dispatch companies, which promised workers that if they work at the factory for more than 45 days, they would receive a reward from 4500 to 8000 RMB ($683 - $1214) in addition to wages.

However, as iPhone 8 sales have declined and Apple has decreased its orders to Jabil factories, workers have not been able to work as much. The labor dispatch companies involved are now unwilling to provide promised rewards to workers who have worked for more than 45 days. Currently, these companies are requesting workers, which includes those who have worked at the factory for around 45 days, to leave or be reassigned to another factory.

Neither Jabil nor the labor dispatch companies has responded to workers' demands yet.

The above is based on workers' accounts obtained by China Labor Watch, and we are contacting workers for more information.

SOURCE China Labor Watch