Wistron's labour pains

Lessons from the controversy over unpaid workers

The vandalism inflicted by workers on the factory of Wistron, Apple Inc’s Taiwanese supplier, located 65 km from Bengaluru, earlier this month is a cautionary tale both for companies looking to relocate their manufacturing bases in India and for the state labour departments that oversee them. The incident represents an all-round failure — of the adequacy of the company’s HR establishment, the efficiency of the state labour inspection apparatus, and the redress mechanisms for worker complaints. It could also be regarded as a test case for the manufacturing expansion expected via the government’s signature production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes.

The problems for