A case study:
Last week on the 12th of December, in Narasapura, near Bangalore, a production unit, a franchisee of Apple/iPhone devices, namely Wistron, experienced rioting by agitated contract laborers during the early hours. During the shift change, closing of the B shift, a group of around 200-300 workers ransacked the factory, destroying offices and facilities, and causing damage to installations. Initially, the damages were estimated at Rs. 437 crore but were later revised downwards to around Rs. 43 crore. It was reported that over 3000 employees employed through contractors had not been paid their salaries/wages for about 3 months and allegedly received lower wages than promised by the contractors, which triggered the violence at the workplace. The police intervened, controlled the rioting workers, and over 150 were taken into custody. The state and central governments are closely monitoring the situation. The contractor, who is said to be absconding since the incident, may be located now.
HR Manager's perspective:
As an HR Manager, the obvious action to be taken would involve initiating action against the contractors as per the existing agreement. However, what about the damages incurred and the loss of production? For the purpose of this analysis, let's set aside any insurance claims. What other options are available to the employers, and for the employees' side, could they avoid severe punishments? There are uncertainties from a criminal law perspective as guilt must be proven beyond doubt, and there are challenges in using CCTV footage to identify all those involved in causing damages, especially during the midnight incident.
Members are requested to provide examples of similar incidents that have occurred in the past.
From India, Bangalore
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1159Last week on the 12th of December, in Narasapura, near Bangalore, a production unit, a franchisee of Apple/iPhone devices, namely Wistron, experienced rioting by agitated contract laborers during the early hours. During the shift change, closing of the B shift, a group of around 200-300 workers ransacked the factory, destroying offices and facilities, and causing damage to installations. Initially, the damages were estimated at Rs. 437 crore but were later revised downwards to around Rs. 43 crore. It was reported that over 3000 employees employed through contractors had not been paid their salaries/wages for about 3 months and allegedly received lower wages than promised by the contractors, which triggered the violence at the workplace. The police intervened, controlled the rioting workers, and over 150 were taken into custody. The state and central governments are closely monitoring the situation. The contractor, who is said to be absconding since the incident, may be located now.
HR Manager's perspective:
As an HR Manager, the obvious action to be taken would involve initiating action against the contractors as per the existing agreement. However, what about the damages incurred and the loss of production? For the purpose of this analysis, let's set aside any insurance claims. What other options are available to the employers, and for the employees' side, could they avoid severe punishments? There are uncertainties from a criminal law perspective as guilt must be proven beyond doubt, and there are challenges in using CCTV footage to identify all those involved in causing damages, especially during the midnight incident.
Members are requested to provide examples of similar incidents that have occurred in the past.
From India, Bangalore
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The Consequences of Labor Disputes
In such situations, there are no eventual winners; all are losers to some extent or another. Could it have been prevented? Yes, definitely. All three parties, namely the employer (including the contractor), employees, and government, failed to see each other's perspectives and act conscientiously. Will normalcy be restored? Yes, provided there is a definite plan to improve the affairs.
I had the experience of enduring a 37-day tool-down strike in a major manufacturing facility involving about 20,000 employees. Although there was no violence, it was a repercussion of inter-union and intra-union rivalry. The management faces long-term losses by allowing such situations to continue, so they should work out a definite plan on how to come out of the difficult situation. The non-payment of salaries for such a long duration would surely ignite passions, and it only needs a spark to ignite the whole place. Therefore, dealing with such situations, especially the management of contract labor, needs to be carefully thought out.
From India, Mumbai
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In such situations, there are no eventual winners; all are losers to some extent or another. Could it have been prevented? Yes, definitely. All three parties, namely the employer (including the contractor), employees, and government, failed to see each other's perspectives and act conscientiously. Will normalcy be restored? Yes, provided there is a definite plan to improve the affairs.
I had the experience of enduring a 37-day tool-down strike in a major manufacturing facility involving about 20,000 employees. Although there was no violence, it was a repercussion of inter-union and intra-union rivalry. The management faces long-term losses by allowing such situations to continue, so they should work out a definite plan on how to come out of the difficult situation. The non-payment of salaries for such a long duration would surely ignite passions, and it only needs a spark to ignite the whole place. Therefore, dealing with such situations, especially the management of contract labor, needs to be carefully thought out.
From India, Mumbai
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