• Factories are the foundation for China's reputation as a major exporter.
• Foxconn increased salaries to entice additional employees.
• Foxconn published some enticing job offers.

Police assaulted workers who were demonstrating over a pay dispute at Apple's largest factory, whose new model is being held up by rules put in place as China tries to stem the tide of COVID-19 cases.

In response to complaints about unsafe working conditions, thousands of employees at Foxconn, the largest contract manufacturer of cellphones and other electronics, left the facility in the central city of Zhengzhou in October, making it difficult for the company to meet the demands for orders for the iPhone 14.
Factories like Foxconn's, which assemble toys, consumer electronics, and other things for the global market, are the foundation of China's status as an export powerhouse. Without shutting down manufacturing and the rest of the economy like it did in early 2020, the Communist Party in power is attempting to contain the most recent round of epidemics. 

One of its strategies is 'closed-loop management,' where employees are confined to their workplaces and have no touch with the outside world. Foxconn increased compensation in an effort to recruit more workers to the Zhengzhou factory where the iPhone 14 is made and sold, with prices starting at $799 (approximately Rs. 65,270).

According to an employee named Li Sanshan, a protest broke out on Tuesday when workers who had travelled great distances to accept jobs at the factory complained that the firm changed the terms of their compensation. 

Li claimed that after seeing an advertisement guaranteeing CNY 25,000 (approximately Rs. 2.8 lakh) for two months of work, he left his catering position. That would represent a big increase over the local norm for this kind of job.

Li claims that after workers came, the employer informed them that they would need to labour two more months for less money in order to collect the CNY 25,000 (approximately Rs. 2.8 lakh). 
Videos posted online showed hordes of police in white protective suits and plastic riot shields facing thousands of protestors wearing masks. 

The protests in Zhengzhou come as the Communist Party in power is becoming increasingly irate with restrictions in various parts of China that have shut down businesses and offices and kept millions of people inside their homes.

Protests have broken out as a result in certain cities. Residents are seen pulling down barricades that were erected to enforce neighbourhood restrictions in videos posted to social media. This month, the ruling party made a commitment to shorten quarantines and implement other adjustments in an effort to minimise disruptions.

According to Li, thousands of workers gathered outside dormitories and assaulted plant security personnel throughout the night into Wednesday morning during the demonstration in Zhengzhou.