‘There is no one to hear our woes’
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Phone manufacturing facility staff allege harassment; Industries Minister assures safety to agency
The police investigating the violence on the iPhone manufacturing plant at Narasapura industrial space, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, say it was a “well-coordinated and executed attack” led by a bunch of contract staff.
Early Saturday morning, hundreds of staff from Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India), which is a part of the Taipei-based Wistron Corporation manufacturing iPhones, ransacked the plant.
Employees alleged that they’d not been paid their salaries or additional time wages for 3 to 4 months. “There is no one to hear our woes. In addition to non-payment of salaries, we are also facing wage cut issues. There is so much harassment at work. Even after working all the days in the month, most of us are seeing loss of pay because the attendance system is corrupt. They call us for overtime, but at the end of work they say it is a compensation off. When we apply for it, HR never sanctions it,” claimed an worker who didn’t need to be named.
More than 36 workers that The Puucho spoke to had related tales to inform alleging lack of pay, lengthy shifts, and an unhealthy and poisonous work atmosphere. Wistron refused to touch upon these allegations.
Sathyanand, secretary of All-India Trade Union Congress, Bengaluru, stated the commercial violence at Wistron was the direct results of the “brutal exploitation” of staff and the sweatshop-like circumstances created by the corporate whereas manufacturing the costliest cellphones.
“The State government has allowed the company to flout the basic rights of the workers such as payment of wages and working hours. In the absence of any regulation, anarchy has prevailed, and both the management and the State government should be held accountable. Harassment of workers by police should be stopped immediately and corrective measures to ensure regulation of working conditions should be undertaken,” he stated.
Regarding staff’ complaints of not getting their salaries, senior police officers stated they’ve introduced it to the eye of the Labour Department.
However, in an announcement to the media, Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar stated that the federal government will give mandatory safety to the Taiwanese firm in Kolar. “The State government has taken steps to develop industries in the State and is committed to the protection of the workers’ right. The problem could have been resolved if it had been adequately addressed as per law,” he stated.
Ten groups fashioned
“Ten special teams have been formed to investigate the incident. We are screening CCTV footage and video clips to identify the instigators,” stated a senior police officer.
“Though the factory premises have been considerably damaged, there has been no case of people sustaining major injuries. Adequate security has been deployed and the situation is under control,” the police official stated.
