Violence erupts in iPhone factory in India

Angry Indian workers broke windows and overturned cars at the office of a factory that makes iPhones and has often been touted by the government as an example of India’s efforts to boost manufacturing and lure companies looking to diversify away from China.

Indian television showed workers throwing stones, tossing office furniture, and setting fire to a sign at Wistron Corp. operations near Bangalore. Labor leaders said workers at the Taiwanese-owned company that is a contract manufacturer for Apple Inc. were upset about wages and working hours.

Police said Sunday they had detained 100 people and were investigating the incident and claims by protesting workers that they hadn’t been paid.

A Wistron spokeswoman, Joyce Chou, said: “We follow the law and are supporting the authorities with their investigation.” She said the company was “deeply shocked” by the unrest.

In the U.S., an Apple spokesman said it has launched an investigation at the Wistron facility and has personnel on the ground and en route to India to help. “Apple is dedicated to ensuring everyone in our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect,” he said.

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) leader M.D. Harigovind, general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress, blamed the unrest on what he called “the brutal exploitation of workers and sweatshop-like conditions” at the company.

Intent on wooing businesses looking to diversify away from China and to offset the impact of Covid-19 on growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accelerated efforts to transform the country’s image as a difficult place to do business, promising a more predictable and open regulatory regime, a simpler corporate tax structure and incentives for targeted industries.

This year, India made it easier for some types of companies to fire workers to deregulate the economy and boost growth. It has also made it harder for workers to unionize and strike. At the same time, it expanded social security programs to include many contract workers.