Protests by workers at an Apple supplier’s plant in India that turned violent this month are a reminder that companies need to treat their workers correctly, analysts said on Tuesday, but added that the incident is unlikely to deter foreign firms from investing in the country.
In early December, thousands of contract workers, allegedly enraged over unpaid salaries and overtime payments of several weeks, ransacked Taiwanese manufacturing firm Wistron’s factory in the southern Indian state of Karnataka where it assembles iPhones for Apple, causing damage estimated at up to $7m.
Wistron, which did not respond to an email from Al Jazeera seeking comment, said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on December 13 that it was “deeply shocked” by the events. It added that it “follow[s] the law and [is] supporting the authorities with their investigation” and will “collaborate with related parties to provide any help needed for the employees”.
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CHENNAI, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The ransacking of an iPhone manufacturer in southern India could be the first of many “flashpoints” involving local workers in the supply chains of major brands, researchers said on Tuesday, pointing to a lack of rights and recourse under new labour laws.
Thousands of contract workers in India’s tech hub of Bengaluru gathered on Saturday outside a factory owned by Taiwanese firm Wistron Corp - a supplier for Apple Inc - to demand unpaid wages and better working hours.
As police arrived, the crowd turned violent and video from the scene showed people armed with rods and sticks smashing equipment and vandalising cars, causing up to $7.1 million in damage according to an estimate by the company.
Dark underbelly of India Inc’s shop floors
Wistron’s Narasapura factory has 1,343 permanent workers and 8,490 contract workers on the rolls of six staffing firms
(Photo: AFP)
The Wistron incident shows the need to bring industrial relations on the front burner. What are the first steps?
Companies serious about more harmonious relationships with the contractual workforce should offer them a pathway to up-skill and be employed as a permanent worker over time
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Days after riots at Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India) Pvt Ltd’s Narasapura factory, near Bengaluru, a few of the company’s white-collar employees started posting messages on social media.
updated: Dec 19 2020, 07:08 ist
By Anto Antony and Shruti Srivastava
Apple Inc.’s supplier in India quadrupled workers in about eight months, ramping up production just as the world’s most valuable company began direct online sales in the South Asia nation. The only hitch: Wistron Corp.’s systems weren’t robust enough to handle the deluge.
The number of workers at the Taiwanese company, the first Apple supplier to produce iPhones in India, surged to about 9,000 in November from some 2,000 just before the pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Wistron hired the contractual workers from six manpower companies, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter was private. A representative for Wistron declined to comment.
Riot-hit Wistron hired more than it could handle
The number of workers at Wistron surged to about 9,000 in November from some 2,000 just before the pandemic
(AFP )
. Updated: 18 Dec 2020, 11:40 PM IST Bloomberg
The rapid expansion stretched the company’s systems and sapped the bandwidth of its management team
On 12 December, many workers promised roughly ₹15,000 a month rioted over unpaid salaries
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Apple Inc.’s supplier in India quadrupled workers in about eight months, ramping up production just as the world’s most valuable company began direct online sales in the country. The only hitch: Wistron Corp.’s systems weren’t robust enough to handle the deluge.