How a Software Bug and HR Missteps Led to Violence at Wistron: What Can We Learn?

https://www.deccanherald.com/city/be...ry-927472.html

Impact of Violence on FDI and Factory Relocation Plans

The violence in this factory can have ripple effects on FDI and plans to bring in factories leaving China. HR angles are very important in the whole issue.

Issues with Attendance Logging at Wistron

1) Flaw in how Wistron logged the workers’ attendance.
2) Initially, the company was using a biometric system to chart the attendance of contract workers who are paid based on the number of days they work. But from October 2020, they introduced a new access card attendance system, which had software bugs.
3) Bugs were not ironed out of the system even though the problem continued for two months.
4) Hundreds of workers were consequently subjected to lower payments because the system showed them absent on working days.
5) Overtime violations.
6) Wistron’s management had also expressed surprise about the scale of their workforce discontent.

All these are direct evidence of leadership failure.

Need for HR Monitoring and Analysis

When the new time check system is introduced, more direct monitoring by HR would be needed to sort out issues. When the wage bills suddenly reduced, HR and the Accounts department should have analyzed and looked for reasons. Production may have been stable, but how can wages reduce?

Communication Gaps and Consequences

What was the communication gap between management and workers, who were mostly youngsters? The case is an example of how simmering discontent and new systems left unmonitored can create a state where heavy loss occurs, and our image as a place to shift factories from China gets hit.

This reminds me of the case in Maruti where contract labor killed the AGM HR in violent incidents a few years ago.

I do not accept software bugs that lead to incorrect wage calculations, thereby resulting in workers being paid less. This issue went unnoticed by management, leading to workers resorting to damaging employer properties. This serves as a clear example of the communication gap between management and workers that was not addressed in a timely manner, resulting in significant financial and time losses.

Management Review and Worker Grievances

Management needs to review the payment system for workers and listen to their grievances, which could have resolved such issues promptly. This situation highlights the importance of addressing industrial relations challenges for our HR community to consider, especially for future HR leaders.

Attendance Manipulation Concerns

I hope you know, attendance manipulation is the most common tool used by contractors to pay less than minimum wages. Are you sure there was a software bug? It is also possible that the company paid the full amount, but contractors did not pay the workers.

You must remember this is a Chinese factory. They are far worse than our Marwari-owned lala company factories. If your post is based on some information (I assume public information), then please share the source so we can understand it better.

But the underlying statement is correct. It was unwise of the HR/IR team (especially those in the Contract Cell) not to have known the problems were brewing.