Apple's Wistron Made Labour Violations: Staff Worked 12-Hour Shifts, No Overtime
An audit by the Labor Department in Kolar revealed that the company had severe labour law violations. The authorities didn¡¯t maintain proper employment details of their workers.
Last week, we saw a major clash between employees working at Wistron¡¯s manufacturing plant that produces iPhone SE (second generation) in India, where employees were seen destroying equipment and vehicles at the manufacturing facility due to alleged non-payment of wages.
Reuters
And now reports have shed light on labour law violations by the Taiwanese manufacturer as well as the extent of damages at the facility.
Labour law violations
An audit by the Labor Department in Kolar revealed that the company had severe labour law violations. The authorities didn¡¯t maintain proper employment details of their workers.
Moreover, it made staff work for 12-hour shifts at the plant without paying them for overtime. Also, the company didn¡¯t maintain proper attendance records as necessary by the law. Wistron also didn¡¯t submit these records on demand.
The report also highlighted three of Wistron's manpower providers, Creative Engineers, Quess, and Addeco India, for exceeding hiring quotas permitted under government rules.
Reuters
Trade unions in the nation have criticised the Karnataka government for "going soft" on the company and not empathising with staff who worked in "sweatshop-like conditions".
Apple too has commenced its investigation to look for unfair labour practices by the manufacturing plant.
Severe damages
A recent Reuters report highlights that the clash has resulted in an estimate of $60 million in damages.
Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the smartphone assembly stations which are equipped with delicate components such as PCBs (printed circuit boards) have been severely damaged.
Pause on growth
Two sources who remain unnamed reveal that the manufacturing facility had plans to hire 15,000 to 20,000 workers over the coming one year. Moreover it also had plans to diversify its manufacturing with newer iPhone models. As of now, only iPhone SE (second generation) were being manufactured here.
Reuters
This will also be a big blow to the 'Make-in-India' strategy by offering incentives on manufacturing devices and exports from India. Just this year, Wistron had announced that it plans to invest around 113 billion rupees for setting up a state-of-the-art smartphone manufacturing facility over the next five years in order to qualify for the government¡¯s lucrative PLI scheme.
As of now, in India Apple manufactures its devices at Foxconn¡¯s unit in southern Tamil Nadu state as well as Wistron¡¯s factory for the domestic market and for export. Pegatron, another one of Apple¡¯s manufacturers from Taiwan had plans to begin its operations in India soon.
