BANGALORE • The authorities have vowed to crack down on workers who went on a violent rampage at a Taiwanese-run iPhone factory in southern India over allegations of unpaid wages and exploitation, with 100 people arrested so far.
Workers at Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing's facility on the outskirts of Bangalore rioted on Saturday, with footage of the violence showing glass panels smashed and cars flipped on their sides. CCTV cameras, fans and lights were torn down, while a car was set on fire.
Local media reported workers saying they had not been paid for up to four months and were being forced to do extra shifts.
A local trade union leader alleged "brutal exploitation" of workers in sweatshop conditions at the iPhone manufacturing plant.
"The state government allowed the company to flout basic rights," Mr Satyanand, who uses one name, told The Hindu newspaper.
Police yesterday said special teams had been set up to investigate the incident and that no one had been injured in the violence.
"We will ensure that all workers' rights are duly protected and all their dues are cleared," Karnataka state's deputy chief minister C. N. Ashwathnarayan tweeted.
There was no immediate response from Wistron. The factory employs some 15,000 workers, although a majority of them are contracted via staffing firms.
Labour unrest is not uncommon in India, with workers paid poorly and given few or no social security benefits.
Parliament in September passed updated labour laws that the national government said would strengthen workers' rights, but activists say the new laws make it harder for workers to strike.
Elsewhere in India, tens of thousands of farmers yesterday intensified their protests against three new agricultural laws aimed at overhauling food grain procurement and pricing rules by allowing private firms direct access to the vast agrarian sector.
Angry farmers staged protests near New Delhi after rejecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurances that the laws would double farmers' income. Six rounds of talks between officials and farmer union leaders have failed to resolve the dispute.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
