According to a report by Reuters, demonstrating iPhone plant workers have damaged products worth more than Ksh1 Billion.
The Indian workers at an iPhone manufacturing plant owned by a Taiwanese-based company Wistron, say they haven’t been paid what they were promised.
Apart from their unpaid dues, the iPhone workers at Wistron Plant are also demanding better working conditions.
Karnataka: #Violence at iPhone production plant run by Taiwan-based #Wistron Corp at Narasapura (in Kolar district) near #Bengaluru.
Employees allege they have not been paid properly. pic.twitter.com/GKbeFeyRKc
— TOI Bengaluru (@TOIBengaluru) December 12, 2020
The Times of India were the first to report and air the dramatic video of the protests.
“A majority of the nearly 2,000 employees, who were exiting the facility after completing their night-shift, went on a rampage destroying the company’s furniture, assembly units and even attempted to set fire to vehicles.”
The Times of India also shared the details on the salary workers were supposed to be getting.
“While an engineering graduate was promised Rs 21,000 ($286) per month, his/her salary had reduced to Rs 16,000 ($218) and, subsequently, to Rs 12,000 ($163) in the recent months. Non-engineering graduates’ monthly salary had reduced to Rs 8,000 ($109). The salary amount being credited to our accounts have been reducing and it was frustrating to see this.”
Some workers alleged to have gotten monthly salaries of as little as Rs 500 ($6.80).
Wistron is one of Apple’s top suppliers, and Apple says it is investigating the company to see if Winstron violated Apple’s supplier guidelines.
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China, but India is an extremely competitive, price-conscious market that Apple has struggled in, only capturing around 3 percent of the market.
The courtesy image of the Wistron factory in Narsapura, India.
The Wistron plant, naturally, makes Apple’s cheapest phone, the iPhone SE, which allows the firm to swerve Indian import fees that are extremely high on China-made products.
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