Wistron ghost for Tata in Karnataka; Workers protest again in iPhone factory

The protest of the workers at the Wistron unit (Tata Wistron Unit) in the Narasapura industrial area here has broken out again. Soon after the purchase of the Wistron unit, the Tata company faced the heat of workers’ protest. Thousands of workers are protesting in front of the factory demanding an increase in wages. The police have made tight security around the Tata Wistron unit.

In Kolar, a huge Wistron unit where the iPhone was being assembled, workers’ protests were brewing from the beginning. The workers were outraged against the management of the company over the same wage issue. The dissatisfaction of the workers was that they were being exploited through low wages, long hours of work etc. In the month of December 2020, the workers’ protest turned into a disaster. On December 12, a large group of workers looted the factory.

The assembly line of the unit was also damaged. Thousands of iPhones were stolen. Wistron Company said that there may be a loss of 437 crores due to this.

The accident took place when the workers were protesting that the company had not paid their salaries for four to five months. At that time seven to eight thousand workers were working in the unit. A few hundred of them protested violently. After that the Wistron unit was closed.

The incident of workers’ violence went to Apple. Apple company has big rules regarding workers. Apple warns companies that manufacture and supply its products to follow the same policy. Accordingly, giving low wages to the workers etc. will be restricted. After the wrongdoing of Wistron’s management came to light, many top officials became the leaders.

The Wistron unit which was closed for a few months started again. After that a Tata Group firm bought the Wistron unit and its manufacturing businesses. Wistron is now a major unit for Tata, which has an iPhone assembly plant in Hosur. Recently, Tata Wistron took over the administration. Now from the beginning, labor protest has been hatched for the Tata company. TV9Kannada