Foxconn: iPhone maker apologises after huge protests at China plant

The supplier of Apple products apologized for a "technical error" in its payment systems.

Videos show hundreds of workers marching at the world's biggest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou with complaints over Covid restrictions and claims of late pay.

Workers were beaten by police, according to those who streamed the protest.

The situation had been solved, according to one worker.

Some workers went home after the factory was locked down last month. New workers were promised generous bonuses.

One worker said that the contracts were changed so they wouldn't get the subsidy promised.

The pay of new recruits was the same as agreed in the recruitment posters, according to a statement released by the company.

The firm said they were in constant communication with the affected employees and that they were doing their best to solve the concerns and reasonable demands of employees.

The worker told the British Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday that he had received 8,000 yuan and was about to get another 2,000. He said that he and his colleague would go back to work.

More than 200,000 people work at the Zhengzhou plant to make Apple products.

More than six million people in the city were told on Thursday that they would not be allowed to leave the area unless they had a negative Covid test.

China has recorded a new peak in the number of Covid cases since the beginning of the Pandemic.

As China's economic growth shrinks, the International Monetary Fund wants the country to change its zero- Covid strategy.

The GDP of the world's second largest economy fell by 2.5% in the three months to the end of June.

The combination of more contagious COVID variant and persistent gaps in vaccinations have led to the need for more frequent lockdowns, weighing on consumption and private investment.

Beijing should offer relief for the country's property sector crisis, as well as increase its vaccinations, according to the financial organisation.

Some analysts think that the guidance from the International Monetary Fund won't convince China to change its policies.

According to the Global Chief Economist of The Economist Intelligence Unit Simon Baptist, it doesn't matter if China pays attention to the statement or not, given that China is unlikely to go to the International Monetary Fund for help. "For countries that might want to go to the International Monetary Fund for support, they will have more pressure to act as a result."