Most of the nearly 2,000 employees, who were leaving the facility after completing their night shift, went on a rampage, destroying company furniture, assembly units and even attempted to set vehicles on fire. High-ranking police officers along with additional personnel from the Kolar district rushed to the scene.
Karnataka: #Violence at the Taiwan-based #Wistron Corp-run iPhone production plant in Narasapura (in Kolar district)… https://t.co/kPLVFpqvAs
– TOI Bengaluru (@TOIBengaluru) 1607747313000
In videos that were filmed by some coworkers during the arson, mob leaders were seen smashing glass panels and doors, turning cars upside down and attacking the offices of senior executives.
Although Wistron has not yet commented on the violence, sources told The Times of India that the employee discomfort was caused by salary remittances. Sources said the employees were angry that the company was not paying the amount they were promised upon joining. “While an engineering graduate was promised Rs 21,000 per month, his salary was reduced to Rs 16,000 and subsequently to Rs 12,000 in recent months. The monthly salary for undergraduate engineering graduates had been reduced to Rs 8,000. The amount of salary that is credited to our accounts has been decreasing and it was frustrating to see this ”, alleged an employee. On Friday night, employees began arguing about their salaries in their flats, with some claiming that they had received only Rs 500 in their bank accounts. Anger turned to violence when the shift ended, the employee added.
Wistron had received 43 acres in the Narasapura industrial area from the state government after it proposed to invest around Rs 2,900 crore and employ more than 10,000 people. The Narasapura facility is being used to make biotech devices, Internet of Things (IOT) products, and iPhoneSEs for Apple smartphones.
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