In India, Apple contracts with Wistron, a Taiwanese manufacturer with a plant located in Kolar, India, to assemble iPhones for sale in the region and surrounding areas. Protests broke out over the weekend as factory workers withheld wages. The protests are alleged to have escalated into riots and resulted in the looting of thousands of iPhones from the factory.
As reported by The times of IndiaWistron estimates the total damage to be approximately Rs 437 million (over $ 59 million). This includes damage to the factory assembly line, factory property, and thousands of stolen iPhones. The violence is reported to have lasted two hours, during which time the damage occurred this Saturday.
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The state’s Labor Minister Shrvram Hebbar says Wistron hired six companies to hire about 8,900 employees at the Kolar plant. The company paid these contractors for their workers, but Wistron has had conflicts with contract workers for up to three months, according to the government. The Labor Minister condemned the violence and called the company’s losses “unacceptable.”
Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar attributed the violence to poor communication between the three parties: Wistron, labor contractors and employees. “What we heard is that the company had made payments to labor contractors, who delayed payments to employees. This is being verified. “
The labor department has sent notices to Wistron, stating that the company had three days to pay employees, either from Wistron or from labor contractors. Kolar Police are investigating whether the violence was planned as intentional acts to destroy property.
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