Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from Macworld UK. Visit Macworld UK’s blog page for the latest Mac news from across the Atlantic.
Two thousand workers at the factory where Apple’s iPhone is built went on strike on Friday.
According to a report on Engadget, 20 percent of the company’s workers walked out in a dispute over bonus payments and the use of hazardous substances.
The workers claim that N-hexane, a hazardous substance banned in most countries, which is being used to clean the LCD panels created by the company, lead to paralysation and death of several employees in 2009.
Wintek, which produces LCD screens for OEMs including Apple, Nokia, and Huawei, denies that N-hexane was responsible for the deaths and stated that it ceased its use of the dangerous substance in August 2009.
Following the strike, Wintek promised that the workers would get their bonuses.