A section of employees of Wistron, the manufacturer of Apple iPhone, allegedly resorted to violence and damaged the company’s property on Saturday.

Employees allegedly resorted to violence over salary disparity and cut in wages, said State government officials.

The company has about 2,000 people on rolls, majority of them locals, and they indulged in violence after their shift ended this morning.

Dr CN Ashwathanarayan, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the IT/BT Ministry, condemned the workers’ protest and mob violence which took place in the Wistron factory.

He told reporters that the situation was under control and the issue would be resolved soon. The investigation has begun and would be looked into from all the angles to know the actual cause which prompted this situation.

“The incident should not have happened. No one can accept this sort of incident and this cannot be tolerated. Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for the attack on the factory and those who caused damage to the properties of the factory,” the Minister said.

Ashwathanarayan said the inquiry would also look into complaints about non-payment of salary for the workers and salary cuts in payment. If workers are facing any such issues, they should have taken it to the Labour Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of the district. Instead of this, indulging in unlawful activities or taking the law into hands can not be justified.

The Minister assured that the issue would be discussed with representatives of Wistran officials also.

The Taiwanese company had got State government approval to establish a unit for manufacture of smart phones, IoT products and biotech devices. It also got governments approval to expand its facilities and production capacity.

Earlier, Wistran in its application to the Karnataka government, sought 5.87 acres of land adjoining its existing facility at Achchathanahalli village, Narasapura Industrial Area, in Kolar district. To achieve the proposed enhancement, the company is increasing its investment from ₹682 crore to ₹1,947 crore, and employment from 6,000 to 10,000 people within the allotted land of 43 acres.

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