Hundreds of Foxconn workers from a factory in Shanxi Province in northern China have gone on strike in a pay dispute which is still under negotiation. The strike is taking place at a plant in the Xiaodian district of the provincial capital Taiyuan. A manager from Foxconn confirmed that some workers had downed tools. He declined to specify how many workers are involved but stressed that the factory was talking with the protesters …

The protesters said that Foxconn had promised to raise pay for all staff. However, the company raised wages for managers and technicians but not for entry-level workers, prompting a number to go on strike. Many workers reportedly gathered outside the factory, leaving many workshops empty. An entry-level worker at Foxconn is typically paid 1,550 yuan (US$245) per month, rising to to 1,800 yuan (US$285) per month after three months. When bonuses and overtime pay are included, a worker may typically earn between 2,200 and 3,500 yuan (US$345-$550) a month.

Meanwhile, the Foxconn plant at Taiyuan is holding heavy recruitment to meet the production of the Apple new iPhones. Yes, you read that right, not iPhone 4/4s, is the next generation iPhone ! According to local news report, the factory urgently needs 20,000 more workers because Foxconn has already received orders for the production of iPhone 5, Foxconn will responsible for 85 percent of the manufacture and about 57 million set have to be produce for each year. Advertisements for the recruitment will be posted across Taiyuan, and Foxconn will hold 20 recruitment sessions throughout the city. Taiyuan Foxconn will target to become the main manufacturing base for the iPhone 5.

fter some digging from the Chinese internet, we couldn’t find too much information on Taiyuan Foxconn. All we know the factory is mainly produced electronic components for mobile equipment. The location is in northern part of China, which is one of the great industrial cities where labor wages are much lower (but still facing workers’ strike …). The news report did not specific any source, so in the meantime just treat it as rumor. If we’re going to guess, the next generation iPhone should be produce mainly in Zhengzhou factory, where some expansion plan had been made last year, in order to build the world’s largest smart phones manufacturing base.

SOURCE: WantChinaTimes, chinanews.com (Chinese translated), youku