Bangalore:
Violence erupted at the plant of a Taiwanese tech giant near Bangalore after some employees, reportedly angered by wages, vandalized the facility’s facilities this morning. Although the Wistron Corporation has not yet responded to the incident, the Karnataka government strongly condemned it.
Employees at the Narsapura plant suddenly turned violent today over their wages, an affair that has dragged on for months, according to reports. The protesters raised slogans against the management, threw stones at the office and set fire to a board with the name of a company and a vehicle.
A union leader, who claimed information from the plant, alleged that most of the employees, under contract, were not being paid “on time” and were concerned about “many deductions,” according to a PTI report.
The police arrived in Narsapura, in the Kolar district, about 50 kilometers east of Bengaluru, shortly after, and lightly charged the protesters to disperse them.
Karnataka’s Chief Deputy Minister, Dr. C Ashwathnarayan, condemned the violence in a series of tweets.
“It is imperative that no one take the law into their own hands. There are appropriate forums to solve these problems without falling into this rampant violence,” said Ashwathnarayan, who is also the state minister for IT and Biotechnology.
Strongly condemn the incident of violence at the Wistron factory in Narasapura, Kolar.
It is imperative that no one take the law into their own hands. There are appropriate forums to solve these problems without falling into this wonton violence.
1/4– Dr. Ashwathnarayan CN (@drashwathcn) December 12, 2020
He said that strict measures will be taken against “errant elements”, but also promised that all workers’ rights will be “duly protected” and their quotas will be paid.
Wistron Corporation, which is part of Taiwan-based Wistron, employs about 2,000 people at the Narsapura facility, the vast majority of them local, according to reports. The company reportedly had plans to increase its workforce here to 8,000. The company’s website refers to its plant near Bengaluru as a “service center” and a “manufacturing center”.
It makes iPhone 7s for Apple, IT products for Lenovo and Microsoft, among others, according to PTI.
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