Denied moon cakes, Chinese iPhone workers strike

Workers at a Chinese plant making screens for the new iPhone 6 went on strike after their bosses denied them promised moon cakes and a $98 bonus.

Employees at the Dongguan Wintak plant in Guangdong Province bailed from the factory in droves after failing to receive moon cakes they had been promised. The Dongguan plant is one of the biggest makers of quality LCD screens, and its glass is slated to be used in both the iPhone 6 and the new Apple Watch, press reports said.

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Dongguan employee Cai Shen told reporters, “There are 10,000 of us in that factory, so when we stop work, nobody anywhere in the world gets their screens. They promised us more money and moon cakes and we got neither.”

The moon cakes were promised to the employees because many of them were asked to work on a public holiday.

A factory spokesman, Dong Teng, told reporters that the failure to deliver the cakes, plus a small bonus, was because of a colossal miscommunication. The factory also produces screens for the iPad.

“It was a misunderstanding which we are solving,” said Dong. “We don’t want our workers to be unhappy.”

After four hours of angry demonstrations, however, the workers agreed to return to work after management assured them the moon cakes, a delicacy in China eaten during holidays to celebrate the harvest moon, would be delivered.

Apple unveiled the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Tuesday at its biggest media event of the year in the United States. At the unveiling at DeAnza College in Cupertino, where Apple unveiled the first Macintosh 30 years ago, Apple also released its much touted smartwatch.

The iPhone 6 will be available to the public after September 19.

 

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