Apple phone supplier plant Foxconn located near Chennai has been shut down for a week following protests by the workers after a food poisoning incident, according to reports. The Taiwanese contract manufacturing unit has witnessed a massive disruption after the hospitalization of 159 of its workers because of food poisoning at its hostel in Sriperumbudur.
A senior official at the directorate of industrial safety and health in Tamil Nadu has informed that the factory has been shut down from Saturday and will remain closed till coming Sunday. The factory appeared vacant on Tuesday with only a few cars parked outside and no workers present at the site.
A police officer from the office of the Superintendent of Police in Kancheepuram said, “The decision to suspend operations at the factory for a week has been taken by the management. Employees that complained of food poisoning and other problems in recent times have been asked to register their problems with the state labour department, “
Earlier, On Saturday, women employees of the factory staged a protest on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway and blocked the route for almost 16 hours following rumours that a few employees lost their lives in the food poisoning incident. As per reports, 92 people were detained for blocking the highway on Saturday. YouTuber Sattai Durai Murugan was arrested for spreading misinformation about Foxconn factory workers in Tamil Nadu.
Notably, over 150 employees at the Foxconn India plant were admitted to the hospital after a food poisoning incident that occurred the previous week. The district government informed on Saturday that almost all hospitalized workers had been discharged safely. The statement given by the Thiruvallur district administration said. “There was an outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease reported among the Foxconn employees,”
Also, this is a second such incident where a supplier of Apple phone company faced protests and disruption in India. Last year, trade unions and protesters had vandalised Apple’s contract manufacturer Wistron India’s plant in Kolar, Karnataka. It is important to note that Apple had initiated its trial production of the flagship iPhone 13 at the Foxconn plant near Chennai. Back in 2018, following similar protests Vedanta owned Sterlite Copper plant was shut down in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.