Labour minister Shivaram Hebbar said the Wistron iPhone manufacturing facility at Narasapur in Kolar district will resume operations soon. It had stopped functioning after workers went on the rampage on December 12.
Speaking to mediapersons after holding discussions with the management and Kolar district administration on Sunday, the minister said he will convene a meeting of the compnay’s representatives, labour leaders and elected representatives to chalk out a permanent solution to labour problems in the facility.
He said Wistron has already promised to take back all workers who were on contract except those who indulged in vandalism and were arrested . Nearly 97% of the contract labourers are likely to return to work once the unit starts functioning, hopefully in a fortnight, the minister added.
Pointing out that there were certain lapses on the management’s part and that of labour contractors, he said none of the workers had brought to the district administration’s notice that their salaries weren’t being paid properly. Instead of resorting to violence, the labourers could have resorted to a dharna or some other form of protest, he felt. He said industry-friendly Karnataka will not allow labour unrest in any industrial unit.
Referring to the labour unrest at Toyota’s Bidadi plant, the minister said the company has already started operations with one shift and hoped both shifts would start in a week’s time. As of Saturday, over 1,100 labourers attended work in one shift at the plant, he said.