Reports cite violations of labour laws at Wistron factory in Kolar

Inspection reports, separately prepared by the Labour Department and the Factories and Boilers Departments, after violence broke out at the Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing Ltd. facility at Narasapura in Kolar district recently, point to serious violations of the provisions of various labour laws in force.

While the Labour Department inspected the premises that manufactures iPhones on December 12, the day when the violence broke out, the Factories Department prepared a separate inspection report on December 13.

The Labour Department’s report submitted by officials at Kolar points to a host of violations of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and Rules 1958, the Equal Wages Act, 1976, and Rules 1976 and The Industrial Employment (Standing Order) Act, 1946.

The report from the Factories Department points at the manpower in the factory increasing from the licenced capacity of 5,000 to 10,500 in a short span. “The change in working hours from 8 to 12 hours shift on continuous basis has not been brought to the notice of the department, and necessary exemptions under the Factories Act have not been taken to carry out overtime work from the workers,” the report noted.

Restart in a fortnight

The plant could restart in a fortnight, government sources said. “The focus now is to get it restarted as 10,000 workers are on the streets, anxiously waiting if they will be able to save their jobs,” the sources said.