13 Workers Injured In A Riot At A Multi-Billion Dollar Samsung Factory Site
Samsung's new cellphone factory in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam, is off to an inauspicious start, having experienced its first work-related riots before it has even opened for business.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Jan 2014, 07:14 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
13 workers were left injured after a riot broke out at the site of Samsung’s latest factory on Thursday
The conflict sparked after a disagreement between construction workers and security guards over safety protocols at the site, Samsung said in a statement.
Reports indicate that one worker attempted to enter the construction site through an unsanctioned door after coming to work late, and was then beaten by guards.
Thousands of construction workers building a Samsung's factory in Vietnam's northern Thai Nguyen province clashed with security guards on Thursday, leaving 13 people injured, four critically.
Image via libcom.orgSubsequently, the riot ensued, during which motorbikes and security guard housing went up in flames at the $2 billion factory complex, the Associated Press reports.
This video, said to be of the riot, was shared on YouTube, from which fire and smoke can been seen while construction workers watched
Workers also reportedly burned as many as 22 of the guards' motorcycles
Videos posted by Thanh Nien showed plumes of black smoke rising from piles of burning debris.
According to the director of the provincial police, the melee took about four hours to be contained. Among the 13 workers injured, 4 of them were critically hurt.
Three containers which were being used as guardrooms were burned down and police were called in to help control the crowd. Among the injured are guards, workers, and police officers. It took about the three hours for the situation to get under control.
iclarified.comIn a statement sent to Wired, Samsung blamed the incident on a disagreement between construction workers and security guards over safety protocols at the site. The injured were sent to nearby hospitals for treatment, the company says.
voanews.com
Workers load burnt motorcycles into a police truck to be transported away from the scene of violence between construction workers and security guards in Thai Nguyen province, north of Hanoi, on Jan 9, 2014
Image via straitstimes.com"We will do our utmost to prevent any such incidents from recurring in the future," Samsung said in a statement. According to the Korean manufacturer, the construction site was not affected by the riot.
Samsung is apparently moving some of its manufacturing to the site in an effort to further reduce costs.
An investigation has been launched into the riot by Vietnamese police on Friday
"We have opened an investigation into the regrettable disorder in which 11 factory guards and two policemen were injured," Nguyen Nhu Tuan, director of the provincial police, told AFP.
ndtv.com
Burnt furniture and motorcycles being loaded onto a police truck after a riot by workers at the site of construction of a Samsung factory in northern province of Thai Nguyen.
Image via imgur.com"This is a serious matter because some workers even attacked and injured local policemen who were brought in," he said, adding that it took about four hours to restore order.
voanews.com
Vietnam is now a popular location for manufacturers to set up production due to its labor costs, which are notably lower than those in China
Courted by the nominally Communist Vietnamese government, the AP says, tech companies are moving production from China to Vietnam in search of cheaper labor. Smartphone parts are made in China, and the phones assembled for less in Vietnam.
This has attracted the likes of Intel and Nokia in addition to Samsung; many companies are offered tax breaks in order to move their electronics facilities to the country, the AP reports.
The factory being built is Samsung’s second in Vietnam; the first is a $2.5 billion facility located in the northern Bac Ninh Province’s Yen Phong Industrial Zone, and produces mobile phones and tablets.