NEW DELHI – Angry Indian workers smashed windows in the office of a factory that makes iPhones, and is often cited by the government as an example of India’s efforts to uplift manufacturing and lure companies seeking to diversify from China.
Indian television shows workers throwing stones, throwing office furniture and setting fire to a sign at Wistron Corps
Activities near Bangalore. Labor leaders said the Taiwan-owned company, which is a contract manufacturer for Apple, has workers Inc.
Regretted about wages and working hours.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Sunday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck, saying they had detained 100 people and were investigating the incident.
Wistron spokeswoman Joyce Sa said: “We follow the law and support the authorities’ investigation.” He said the company was “deeply shocked” by the unrest. An Apple spokesman in India declined to comment.
General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress M.D.
Aiming to encourage businesses that want to diversify from China and offset the impact of Govt-19 on growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accelerated efforts to transform the country’s image into a harder place to trade, and pledged a predictable and open regulatory regime, concessions for a simple corporate tax system and target businesses.
This year, India facilitated the layoffs of certain types of companies as part of its efforts to regulate the economy and boost growth. It has also made it harder for workers to unite and strike. At the same time, it expanded social security programs to include more contract workers.
India has also relaxed the rules surrounding trade in agricultural products, which has led to protests by farmers. Thousands have camped around the capital, New Delhi, blocking traffic and weakening the safety net on which farmers in some regions seek to change the new laws they are concerned about.
India is one of the largest telephone markets in the world, so manufacturers have an incentive to stay close to their customers to avoid the cost and charges of importing handsets and accessories.
Samsung Electronics Inc.
Builds one of the largest plants in the world near New Delhi. Foxconn Technology Group has grown from a few hundred employees in South India to over 30,000 in recent years. More than 300 companies supplying parts to Foxconn have also set up production.
The Wistron plant, which has been manufacturing iPhones for a number of years, was cited as one of the first high-profile successes of the Modi government’s efforts, as evidence that India can even make some sophisticated phones.
Jagadish Shettar, Minister for Large and Medium Enterprises for the state of Karnataka, where the Wistron factory is located, said the unrest was unacceptable. He said the state government would protect the rights of workers and companies.
“Karnataka has always welcomed foreign investors and investment and provided a peaceful and friendly environment to conduct business,” he said. “We will take strict measures to prevent such undesirable recurrence.”
Praveen Roy, a political analyst at the Center for the Study of Development Associations, a New Delhi-based think tank, says labor violence and protests in India have declined over the past 20 years. He said he did not expect what happened at Wistron to change the minds of investors in the country.
But if labor unrest spreads, “it will affect the country’s reputation,” he said.
Write Vibhuti Agarwal on [email protected] and Eric Bellman on [email protected]
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