Employees have alleged that they were forced to work longer hours and wages were not paid on time.
Taiwanese company Wistron Crop, hired by Apple to make iPhones in Karnataka’s Kolar district, was attacked by disgruntled employees in the early hours of Saturday.
More than 1,000 employees gathered outside the Narsapura plant in Kolar, demanding legitimate payment and protesting against management for alleged non-payment of wages. The employees accused the management of overworking the factory workers and violating the rules of the Factory Law.
Employees, who tried to reason with management, threw stones at the building and set two company vehicles on fire after conversations with superiors failed. The Narsapura police were called in and they used lathi charges to disperse the workers.
Speaking to TNM, Kolar SP Karthik Reddy said the incident occurred when employees were changing shifts. “Employees who worked the morning shift met with management and demanded that wages be paid on time. Some of them (employees) have said that the salary payments are behind for two months. We have compiled the CCTV images of the plant and are investigating the matter, ”he said.
Police have arrested 80 Wistron employees so far. An FIR has been registered at the Narsapura police station in the sections related to rioting, disturbance of the peace and vandalism, said SP Karthik Reddy.
Employees TNM spoke with said that many of them felt helpless and unhappy that the company allegedly had not paid their wages on time. “They have delayed payments every month. Some of us have not received payment for two months, ”claimed one of the factory workers.
He alleged that the employees had submitted several claims to management requesting payment of wages on time. Another employee said Wistron had outsourced the hiring of factory workers to six different companies and they were promised Rs 16,000 a month in wages.
See: Disgruntled Wistron Employees Vandalize iPhone Manufacturing Plant
“When we got to work, we were informed that we would receive 12,000 rupees a month. According to the Factory Law, working hours are limited to 8 hours per day. The company is forcing us to work 12 hours in a row ”, claimed the employee.
Sathyanarayana, secretary of the All India Council of Trade Unions, said that employees at Wistron Corp’s plant in Kolar do not have a union, making it difficult for them to fight for labor rights. “The information that we have after speaking with the employees is that many of them who complained about the discrepancies with the management or confronted them, were fired. Many workers were afraid to speak. The problem has been going on for more than six months. With late payments, many of them are struggling. When conversations with management failed, they got angry, ”he added.
At the time of writing, TNM was unable to learn of Wistron Corp’s reaction to the incident.
