Abstract

The case ‘Labor Unrest at Wistron’s iPhone Facility in India’, describes the various factors that led to the outbreak of violence at the iPhone manufacturing facility of Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India) Pvt. Ltd (Wistron) at Narasapura in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The case first touches upon Wistron’s operations in India beginning 2018 with a facility in the Peenya industrial estate in Bengaluru that assembled iPhone SE and 6s models, followed by the Narasapura plant that began operations in 2020 to manufacture Apple’s smartphones including the new iPhone SE (2020). The case then focuses on the details of violent unrest on December 12, 2020, when thousands of contract workers and some outsiders vandalized Wistron’s Narasapura facility alleging their salaries had been reduced and that payments had been delayed for over six months. The case details the preliminary enquiries initiated by the Karnataka State Labor Department, The Department of Factories, Boilers and Industrial Safety, and Apple which found several violations by Wistron and its contractors. The violations related to, among other things, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; Factories Act, 1948; Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970; and Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct. The case ends with the corrective measures taken by Wistron and the possible direct impact of this event on the company’s future and its supplier relationship with Apple.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the challenges faced when HR systems are not in place to handle large scale employee hiring
• Become aware of the need to safeguard the interests of contract employees
• Get to know the implications and benefits of employing contract workers
• Learn about the various labor legislations
• Understand the intricacies of manufacturer-supplier relationships

Keywords

Contract employees; Wages; Employee grievance; Violation of law; Supplier code of conduct; Minimum Wages Act, 1948; Factories Act, 1948; Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970; Manpower Planning; Industrial Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Collective Bargaining; Contract Employment; Labor Relations