Last week was the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, and workers in the manufacturing hub of Dongguan in Guangdong were focused on their traditional mooncakes for the holiday and on their regular cash bonus.

Instead hundreds of workers from Dongguan Masstop, a subsidiary of Apple supplier and LCD screen-maker Wintek, took to the streets to protest against reported cuts in their expected holiday bonus of 600 yuan (€76) and their allowance of traditional mooncakes.

The terms of their recruitment promised a 600 yuan bonus on the main Chinese holidays – Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival – and no reason was given for the non-payment of the bonus, although there were reports that the bonus was linked to profits.

Around 10,000 people work at the plant, and at least 11 workers were detained after the clash.

According to a report on Radio Free Asia, angry employees gathered on the street outside the factory and clashed with police who tried to move them on.

Wintek’s Dongguan plant is not believed to have been an Apple supplier. Apple made headlines last week with the launch of a new watch and the iPhone 6.

A report by the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin recorded 202 labour disputes in China in the first quarter of this year, a rise of 30 per cent on the previous year.

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the harvest, marked by the consumption of mooncakes, which are heavy round pies containing various delicacies.

During the heady days of double-digit economic growth, before President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on graft, elaborately packaged boxes of mooncakes containing cash or gold watches used to be given as gifts to buy favour with corrupt officials. Since the crackdown mooncake sales have taken a hit.