Thread by @BiIndia

If investigators find #Wistron management guilty, here's what is at stake for the company

#WistronFactoryViolence

By- @pabsgill

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#Apple puts iPhone partner #Wistron on probation after rioting workers caused $7 million worth of damage at Indian plant

#WistronFactoryViolence

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#Wistron, one of #Apple’s manufacturers for the iPhone in #India, is facing trouble with the Indian government over the non-payment and delay in payment of wages.

#WistronFactoryViolence

Supplier of #Apple iPhones in India, #Wistron, claims a software ‘glitch’ is the reason why its contract employees’ salaries were being unfairly deducted and payments were four days late.

#WistronFactoryViolence

A dispute that led to a violent reaction from the workers at the Narasapur (Karnataka) factory who threw stones, damaged some vehicles and looted some of the #iPhones kept for export, according to the FIR filed by #Wistron against 7,000 people.

#WistronFactoryViolence

While that argument may help Wistron cushion the blow, lawyers believe that the allegations against the company are in violation of three Indian labour laws-the Payment of Wages Act of 1936,the Factories Act of 1948 and the Contract Labour, Regulation and Abolition Act of 1970.

The workers said that they were angry because they weren’t paid for the additional hours they worked for many months. Things boiled over after the November wages were delayed by four days.

#WistronFactoryViolence

“The law mandates salaries to be disbursed by the 7th of every month. #Wistron paid contractors on December 10 and those agencies paid workers the next day. The company has said that the delay was because they were...

...trying to fix the technical snag that had led to the deduction of salaries in the previous months,” the labour commissioner told the press.

#WistronFactoryViolence

If the investigators find #Wistron’s management guilty of non-payment of wages, they could end up in jail for up to three months, be fined up to ₹1,000, or both. Biswa adds that since this incident took place at a factory, the Factories Act (FA) of 1948 will also apply.

According to the law, the company is accountable to be prosecuted. “The reason for non-payment of actual dues is immaterial as making the payment is of paramount significance under the laws,” said Dubey.

#WistronFactoryViolence

“Similarly, under PWA, there may be no penalty if #Wistron can satisfy the law only broken due to a bona fide error — like a software glitch — as to the amount payable to the employed person,” explained Biswas.

#WistronFactoryViolence