Wistron violence: Staffing firms may face penalty, blacklisting

Six staffing firms that supplied manpower to the Wistron plant in Kolar that sustained significant damages during the attack on Saturday may now face tough action. The firms could face penalty and might even be blacklisted for allegedly failing to pay the workers.

Government officials said that the Wistron factory violence was not pre-planned but a sudden outburst, as mentioned to Livemint. The officials said that there are around 8,500 temporary workers at the Karnataka factory supplied by five-six staffing firms who were at fault for not paying the workers on time. The official said that the government's course of action aims to control the damage caused to the country's reputation as an investment destination. While workers should not have indulged in vandalism, the official stated, the suppliers too will face action for violating rules.

Notices have already been sent to third-party staffing firms. A report to the state government is expected shortly.

Wistron too has said that it is working closely with the state government to ensure such incidents do not occur again. "We bring the best of practices worldwide to our plant and operations and want to protect workers' interests. We will work together with the state government to ensure plant operations are resumed at the earliest," said Sudipto Gupta, Managing Director, Wistron India.

The damages from the violence was initially pegged at Rs 437 crore. The complaint filed with the police stated that Wistron sustained damages to the tune of Rs 437 crore. However, in the latest filing to the exchanges Wistron said, "Unlike earlier reports stated, the violence did not cause any material damage to major manufacturing equipment and warehouses, with preliminary estimates of damages in the range of NTD 100 to 200 million (Rs 27-52 crore)."

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