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- Workers at an iPhone factory in India rioted on Saturday after accusing management of witholding wages, according to videos posted online and local news reports.
- Videos showed crowds of people smashing factory windows, burning flipped-over cars, and spraying fire extinguishers.
- Employees demanded the payment pending for a few months and met the HR team on Saturday, Karthik Reddy, a district official, told Indian Express late Saturday.
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Workers at an iPhone factory in India rioted on Saturday after accusing management of witholding wages, according to videos posted online and local news reports.
The violence reportedly was at a plant run by Wistron Corporation, a Taiwan-based manufacturing company used by Apple in the India. Videos showed crowds of people smashing factory windows, burning flipped-over cars, and spraying fire extinguishers.
Apple and Wistron did not respond to a requests for comment on Sunday.
The dispute in Narasapura, a suburb of Bengaluru, started as overnight workers left the factory early Saturday morning, according to The Times of India. Workers who had recently had their wages reduced – some by about a quarter – started discussing it on the factory floor overnight, the newspaper said.
Some reportedly only received tiny fractions of the pay that had been promised. By morning, the discussion had turned violent.
—TOI Bengaluru (@TOIBengaluru) December 12, 2020
"The employees demanded the payment pending for a few months and met the human resources department officials on Saturday. After this, a few employees attacked the office and damaged the office premises and furniture," Karthik Reddy, a district official, told Indian Express late Saturday.
About 2,000 employees were involved the in riots, according to India TV. Reddy reportedly said the district planned to arrest workers caught on CCTV.
—The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 12, 2020
The weekend violence caught the attention of C T Ravi, BJP National General Secretary I/C of the region, who called for an investigation by state officials.
—C T Ravi 🇮🇳 ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) December 13, 2020
"It is unfortunate that Wistron manufacturing plant was violently attacked by agitating workers near Kolara. At a time when many companies are shifting base from China to India, such attacks give a bad name for the State," he said on Twitter.
Wistron opened the plant earlier this year, hiring about 5,000 new employees, according to a June report in The Deccon Herald. India TV reported that the 43-acre factory will have 10,000 employees when it's fully staffed.