Violence broke out at the plant of the Taiwanese company Wistron Corporation in Karnataka’s Kolar, where a swarm of workers was enraged by non-payment of wages and pay cuts around 6:30 a.m. during a shift change on Saturday. Workers threw rocks, smashed glass windows, damaged vehicles, furniture, and other office equipment in the process.
Karnataka’s Chief Deputy Minister CN Ashwath Narayan condemned the incident and State Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar said on Saturday that the state government would provide the necessary protection to the company.
Wistron is one of Apple’s global contractors and the company manufactures iPhone 7 phones and second-generation iPhone SE devices in India.
Here’s what we know so far about the violence at Wistron:
1. The company has claimed that it suffered a loss of Rs 437.40 million. This included office equipment, mobile phones, production machinery and related equipment worth Rs 412.5 crore, infrastructure worth Rs 10 crore, cars and golf carts worth Rs 60 lakh, smartphones and other devices worth Rs 60 lakh. Rs 1.5 crore, according to company executive TD Prashanth.
2. Wistron has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against 7,000 people, including 5,000 of its contract workers and 2,000 who did not work there, police said.
3. The company had plans to hire up to 25,000 employees by the end of 2021 in an attempt to expand its operations in India, but that does not seem likely. They currently employ 12,000 people of which 1,200 are permanent and the rest are contractual employees.
4. Apple Inc is currently investigating violence and claims of non-payment and reduction of employee wages. The company requires its suppliers to provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically, and use environmentally responsible practices wherever they manufacture products or provide services for the company.
5. “Our teams are in close contact with local authorities and we are offering our full support to their investigation,” the company said in a statement. Wistron issued a statement about the incident on the Taiwan Stock Exchange that said: “The company always complies with the law and fully supports and cooperates with relevant authorities and police investigations.
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