Violence at Apple iPhone plant in Karnataka: All you need to know

Policemen stand guard outside a facility run by Wistron Corp, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple, in Narsapura near Bengaluru, India, December 14, 2020. (Image: Reuters)

Violence broke out at Taiwanese manufacturer Wistron's plant near Bengaluru on December 12, with workers saying they were unhappy over the alleged non-payment of wages.

Production was disrupted at the facility, which is situated in Kolar district and manufactures iPhones. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in connection with the incident, booking 7,000 people, including 5,000 contract workers.

Apple's contract manufacturer had initially pegged losses due to the violence at Rs 437 crore, but later revised that estimate to Rs 50 crore, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Wistron has written to the Karnataka government and said it was "deeply distressed" by the recent incident at its plant near Bengaluru but remains 'committed' to India.

Sudipto Gupta, Managing Director - Innovation Business Group, Wistron Smart Devices, sent a letter to the state government on December 15 and said it hoped to restart production soon, CNBC-TV18 reported.

"We are deeply distressed by the recent incidents that took place at our Narasapura Industrial Area, Kolar. In this difficult hour, we appreciate the support we have got from the government of Karnataka. We are working closely with state government to ensure such incidents do not recur and support the police investigations," Gupta wrote in the letter seen by the news channel.

"We bring the best of practices worldwide to our plant and operations and want to protect workers' interests. We will work together with the state government to ensure plant operations are resumed at the earliest," he added.

The Karnataka government has commented on the incident, stating that it was trying to resolve the situation and help resume normal operations at Wistron's plant near Bengaluru.

"Karnataka has always been a peaceful state and in the forefront in welcoming foreign investments. The state is committed to growth of industry, trade and business. We are working closely with Wistron management to ensure that the plant is re-started, and the genuine grievances of the workers are addressed," the state government said in a statement, as quoted by CNBC-TV18.

A separate report by The Economic Times said a preliminary enquiry by Karnataka's labour department has found that Wistron had not paid overtime wages. Wistron had deducted two day's salary for a couple of months, the report said.

"The company had deducted two-four days' salary for two months, which the management attributed to a software issue. We have found the company was in the process of rectifying the technical snag. Arrears of one month were paid along with this month’s salary, while arrears for another month is pending," labour commissioner Akram Pasha added.