Apple Is Ultimately Responsible For Underpayments At iPhone Factory, According To Indian Law

According to a local report, as stated in Indian law, Apple has to ultimately take responsibility for the violent protest at the Wistron facility near Bangalore.

Following underpayments, the factory workers ransacked the facility and set some vehicles on fire. The authorities have conducted an investigation into the issue. Apple itself has sent its own inspectors to look into the cause of the riot.

The Riot

The violence took place last week with the participation of hundreds of Wistron workers. As a result of the protest, the factory’s work has been suspended. According to the Taiwanese company, the estimated damage is around $60M or 4.38B rupees. The company later lowered the number to $7M.

According to BBC News, underpayment has been going on for four months and the riot is the consequence of the fail meeting with the company’s HR. The Indian government later confirmed workers’ accusations.

Apple’s Responsibility For Underpaid Wages

According to the Economic Times, Indian law holds Apple ultimately responsible for the riot.  Legal experts remarked that local authorities had every right to make Apple join the investigation.

One of them said that as stated by the Contract Labour Act, 1970, wage payment is the contractor’s responsibility and the principal employer is held ultimately responsible for it.

After conducting its own investigation into the riot, Apple said Wistron had violated the company’s code of conduct and thus the Taiwanese had been put on probation. Wistron won’t be assigned new business until it has done corrective measures.

However, the contracts between Apple and Wistron are still intact. This is the same action the iPhone maker took after Pegatron, another contract manufacturer, was found violating Apple’s code of conduct last month.

Getting no new contracts means really bad news for Wistron as it will highly likely miss the target production to qualify for the manufacturing incentives introduced back in October.

>>> Wistron Admitted Mishandling Workers' Wages, Being Put On Probation With No New Business From Apple