Contract maker Wistron has confirmed reports that the iPhone assembly has been shut down following a riot at its plant in Bangalore, India. Video footage (below) shows people attacking assembly units, smashing windows, overturning cars and starting fires. Wistron puts the total cost of the damage at Rs 4.38b (M 60M).
The protest, which took place on Saturday, was reportedly the lowest paid by Wistron. According to various reports, about 2,000 workers were involved in the riots, more than 100 of whom were arrested by the police.
The Times of India Reports.
The majority of the nearly 2,000 employees, as they left after completing the night shift, attempted to destroy the company’s furniture, assembly units, and set fire to vehicles. Senior police officers and additional personnel from Kolar district rushed to the spot.
Although Wistron has not yet commented on the violence, sources told the Times of India that the employees’ unrest was triggered by the pay they were paid. Sources said the employees were angry that the company had not paid the amount promised to them at the time of joining.
“Although an engineering graduate was promised Rs 21,000 a month, his salary was reduced to Rs 16,000 and then to Rs 12,000 in recent months. The monthly salary of non-engineering graduates was reduced to Rs 8,000. It was frustrating to see this. , ”An employee accused.
On Friday night, employees began discussing salaries on their floors, and some accused them of receiving less than RS500 in their bank accounts. The anger turned violent by the time the shift ended, the employee added.
Many Twitter accounts have video of the event.
BBC News According to reports, the workers have been underpaid for four months and the riots began after the meeting with human resources failed to resolve the dispute.
Wistron made an unbelievable claim that the rioters were not employees, but admitted that the iPhone assembly had been suspended due to damage.
In a statement to the AFP news agency, the company did not directly address workers’ complaints, but said “the incident was caused by persons with unknown identities from the outside and infiltrated and damaged its facility with unclear motives”.
It said work would resume soon.
The plant has about 15,000 Wistron employees. The regional government condemned the violence but said it would ensure proper pay was provided.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Aswat Narayan condemned the “unwanted” violence and said his government would ensure that the situation was resolved “quickly”.
“We will ensure that the rights of all workers are properly protected and all their arrears are cleared,” he tweeted.
Apple said Reuters It has launched an investigation.
“We have teams on the ground and immediately launched a comprehensive investigation into Wistron’s Narasapura facility,” Apple said in an email, dedicating itself to ensuring that everyone on its distribution chain is treated with dignity and respect.
Apple said it would send staff and auditors to the site and cooperate with police in their investigation.
The company was last week accused of being complicit in labor law violations in China.
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