Apple Places Supplier Wistron on Probation Following Worker Unrest in India [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Apple has placed supplier Wistron on probation following unrest at its plant in southern India (via Reuters).

An audit conducted by Apple found that Wistron's Bangalore plant, which manufactures the iPhone SE, showed violations of its "Supplier Code of Conduct." According to Apple, Wistron failed to implement proper working hour management processes which "led to payment delays for some workers in October and November."

Workers contracted by Wistron, angry over unpaid wages, destroyed property, equipment, and stock on December 12, resulting in millions of dollars in losses and the forced closure of the plant. Wistron has now admitted that some workers had not been paid correctly or on time, pledged to restructure its teams, and said it has removed a senior executive overseeing its business in India.

The plant in Bangalore was reportedly set to hire up to 20,000 more workers to manufacture an additional iPhone model, but these plans have now been abandoned. Apple commented that it will not award Wistron any new business until it addressed how workers are treated. The company will, however, continue to monitor Wistron's progress on corrective action.

The Apple probation is expected to delay the company's manufacturing push into India, where it has pledged to invest one billion dollars as it seeks to diversify its global supply chains. The only remaining Apple suppliers with operations in India are Foxconn and Pegatron.

Elsewhere, another labor dispute broke out at an iPhone-manufacturing Pegatron plant in Shanghai, according to United Daily News. Thousands of temporary workers were reportedly unhappy with the announcement that they needed to transfer to Pegatron's Kunshan plant, resulting in "chaotic" mass gatherings as workers demanded reimbursement.

It is now believed that the events in Bangalore and Shanghai have put significantly more demand on Zhengzhou, which contains the largest iPhone assembly plant.

Update: A report from the Economic Times is now citing legal expertise suggesting that Apple may also be held responsible for the labor violations in Bangalore.

"According to the Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, the contractor is responsible for payment of wages and the principal employer is ultimately responsible for it," said legal experts speaking to Economic Times.

This means that Indian authorities are able to seek explanations from both Apple and Wistron, legally implicating Apple in the causes of the unrest.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Places Supplier Wistron on Probation Following Worker Unrest in India [Updated]

 

[Ramchi]

Apparently they couldn’t meet the volume demand and hiring process goes for a toss. Eventually everyone gets bad press....To add insult to the injury, India is a democracy and the opposition parties happily cling to such issues to whip up passion while separately dealing with the corporates for their “DUES”....
In dictatorship you need to grease the palms only one, in democracy, you need to do it for each and every political entity.

 

[amartinez1660]

Quite the times we live in.
Such a big impact on millions of lives these gadgets entails... I guess it’s like industrial revolution, big manufacturing plants like cars, etc. Now these tiny technological pocket computers marvels.

Curious: this is jobs, economics, etc... why is it tagged political? Is it because it’s outside the US? If some hypothetical news like “Intel closes plant on Denver because local supplier/manufacturer violated some work codes” does it go on political too?

 

[mozumder]

Apple, and every other company, should really avoid India. Not worth it.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

It seems like someone is trying to hurt Apple. With the gaming scuffle, and Facebook and the swamp arrayed against Apple, it's looking like someone is targeting them. Who, why, Hmm... Is it China, thinking of losing more manufacturing? Is it the swamp seeking to take them out? Who did they piss off.

 

[now i see it]

Designed in California
Enslaved fron California

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

It seems like someone is trying to hurt Apple. With the gaming scuffle, and Facebook and the swamp arrayed against Apple, it's looking like someone is targeting them. Who, why, Hmm... Is it China, thinking of losing more manufacturing? Is it the swamp seeking to take them out? Who did they piss off.

His name is Tim Cook. All of these messes are of Apple’s own making. It’d be quite easy for Apple to fix any/all of them.

 

[macintologist]

India is a wonderful country with great people but is it really meant to be a manufacturing hub?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

His name is Tim Cook. All of these messes are of Apple’s own making. It’d be quite easy for Apple to fix any/all of them.

Too simplistic. I think that someone, something, is behind their 'bad luck' lately. They are only doing what they have been doing all along, and now it's a problem? But India is a hot mess, but Wistron really 'pooped the bed'. Cook had nothing to do with that. Many corporations are shifting manufacturing to other countries, and many of them are chosing India, but Vietnam seems to be a popular choice too. None of the push for non-China manufactuing is his 'fault' either.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

India is a wonderful country with great people but is it really meant to be a manufacturing hub?

Was China in the beginning? Bangladesh? On and on, manufacturers have sought new hell holes to exploit for cheap labor and lax environmental and other regulations. If the worldwide labor union idea could succeed, worldwide standards of living would rise, and people wouldn't be exploited so easily. *shrug* Worldwide human rights. Sounds like a great idea!

 

[IIGS User]

YOU'RE ON DOUBLE SECRET PROBATION!!!

 

[doboy]

Apple, and every other company, should really avoid India. Not worth it.

Then where should they go, Mr. Expert? Don't even say US, haha.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

India is a wonderful country with great people but is it really meant to be a manufacturing hub?

Maximum profit relies on a cheap labor force. Other than that, I'm not from India so I'll make zero assumptions regarding its people.

 

[Hazmat401]

Then where should they go, Mr. Expert? Don't even say US, haha.

that’s where they need to be

 

[doboy]

that’s where they need to be

And I need to be in Hawaii right now, but I'm not.
People cry over $550 headphones that's made in Vietnam, are they willing to pay 50-100% more?

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Was China in the beginning? Bangladesh? On and on, manufacturers have sought new hell holes to exploit for cheap labor and lax environmental and other regulations. If the worldwide labor union idea could succeed, worldwide standards of living would rise, and people wouldn't be exploited so easily. *shrug* Worldwide human rights. Sounds like a great idea!

As always, the obstacle to such things is greed and selfish ambition, which sadly are one of the many inherent negative traits in human beings. These also happen to be the core values of both unregulated capitalism and conservativism.

Even in well-developed "first world" countries this is painfully evident, as anyone who has been following events in the United States at any time in these past four years (at least) can clearly see.

 

[LeadingHeat]

Curious: this is jobs, economics, etc... why is it tagged political? Is it because it’s outside the US? If some hypothetical news like “Intel closes plant on Denver because local supplier/manufacturer violated some work codes” does it go on political too?

I think, sadly, it’s the people who comment on posts like this that bring politics into it. I don’t think the article itself is borderline. (Perhaps maybe it’s the underpaid wages in other countries?)

 

[mozumder]

Then where should they go, Mr. Expert? Don't even say US, haha.

I'd go with countries in Africa, but any neoliberal country would work.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

that’s where they need to be

Yuck. Gross. Go away.

If you don’t live in our great country... don’t open your mouth about wanting nasty garbage unskilled labor jobs to turn us into a 3rd world country.

If you actually DO live in the usa & still are calling for massive swaths of our population to start performing jobs that we thought we were too good for 50 years ago, and started farming out to 3rd world countries.... jobs that are probably the least secure & the most easily replicated by AI; well- shame on you, for one. Why not respect your fellow man & want for him what you want for yourself?

 

[reyesmac]

For a company that demands total control over its IP it can't just act like it is blissfully unaware of the labor conditions of its factories. If they can demand they create their phones in an exact way they can also demand how the payment structure for those employees is to be done. So yeah, they should be held responsible so that they eventually do something about it. They should have a set rate at which they determine profit form these factories and should not net windfalls due to those contractors short changing their employees.

 

[sirozha]

This reminds me of those who only eat meat from the animals slaughtered humanly.

Apple’s suppliers pay low wages and keep workers in prison-like conditions. Apple is upset at the fact that their wages were delayed but not at the work conditions and the level of pay.

So, as long as the slaves are treated humanly, that’s all they care about.

 

[SAIRUS]

Wonder what Apple treats their own software developers like?

 

[ericwn]

Apparently they couldn’t meet the volume demand and hiring process goes for a toss. Eventually everyone gets bad press....To add insult to the injury, India is a democracy and the opposition parties happily cling to such issues to whip up passion while separately dealing with the corporates for their “DUES”....
In dictatorship you need to grease the palms only one, in democracy, you need to do it for each and every political entity.

I don’t believe that corruption is picky when it comes to the political system. It’s everywhere.

 

[ericwn]

that’s where they need to be

Do you remember how Michael Moore tried to convince Nike to produce in the US? Quite entertaining TV work from back in the day - and I don’t think any of the reasonings for the big corporations have changed.

How much (%) would you be willing to pay extra to have it made in the US?

 

[applicious84]

And I need to be in Hawaii right now, but I'm not.
People cry about $550 headphones that's made in Vietnam, are they willing to pay 50-100% more?

People could certainly pay more (and not overconsume in the first place), but it's not like paying more for Apple products would lead to much higher profits for international workers so much as for Apple. Apple is the one problematically (though often indirectly) exploiting workers, generally with its willingness to work with companies doing the same (they have a long standing history of this). This article illustrates a bump in their PR game. I wonder how much Apple is willing to sacrifice to work with the labor force and companies that employ them beyond taking punitive measures. Are they willing to make sure that international workers receive proper wages and pay up accordingly?