Contract worker unrest at Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India) Pvt Ltd / Biju Varkkey and Virangi Shah.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Varkkey, Biju, author.

Shah, Virangi, author.

Series:

SAGE Business cases.

SAGE Business cases

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International business enterprises--Case studies.

International business enterprises.

Contract labor--Case studies.

Contract labor.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

London : Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, 2024.

Summary:

The case study concerns a multinational company, Wistron Corporation (WC). WC was incorporated on May 30, 2001 and is headquartered in Taipei city of Taiwan. It is a technology service provider to companies like Apple, Microsoft, HTC, Lenovo, Sony Xiaomi, Dell, HP and more. As per a media report in 2017, Apple Inc contracted WC to manufacture iPhones in India under the 'Make in India' initiative by the Government of India (GoI). WC created a wholly-owned subsidiary WIMPL to undertake operations in India. The case highlights how WIMPL's functioning was hampered due to non-adherence to the local laws of the land, and the unethical treatment of contract workers. WIMPL's Narasapura facility commenced its operations with an initial workforce of 2000 workers during May 2020. The facility had quadrupled its workforce to around 9,833 as of December 2020, of which, around 8,490 were contract workers and around 1,343 were permanent employees. These contract workers were employed through various staffing agencies. WIMPL employed more contract workers than was legally permitted. The case study discusses various events where WIMPL and the staffing agencies were non-responsive to the grievances of the contract workers. As a result, a feeling of discontent had been brewing among the contract workers. Later, on December 12, 2020, when once again the grievances of the contract workers were left unaddressed, they retaliated with a violent outburst, damaging company property. Many industrial associations and the state government came in support of WIMPL. A few trade unions and sections of media supported the workers. WIMPL initially claimed that it had abided by all local laws. However official investigations by the state labour department i.e. Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety & Health (DFBISH) confirmed that WIMPL had violated many local laws relating to wage payment, wage delays and payment of overtime. The report also confirmed that the rapid increase in the contract workforce at WIMPL had been without obtaining requisite permissions from the labour department of the Karnataka state government. Also, a change in the timing of shifts was carried without informing the state labour department. Later Apple Inc. too confirmed that the local laws and Apple's supplier code had been violated at the WIMPL facility. Further, Apple put WIMPL on probation until corrective actions were implemented. WC too released a statement admitting to its faults. The case concludes at the point in time when WC has initiated multiple steps to put in place corrective actions.

Notes:

Description based on XML content.

ISBN:

1-0719-4217-4

9781071942178

OCLC:

1417358764