Wistron’s Kolar factory will resume operations in 20 days

Wistron’s Kolar factory, that had been shut down after violence broke out earlier this month, is expected to resume production within 20 days, according to Shivaram Hebbar, Karnataka’s labour minister. Only the workers who had not taken part in the December 12 violence will be retained, while the rest will be let go. Whether salary will be paid to the ones who had been a part of the violence, was not revealed by Hebbar.

This has been ascertained by the Taiwanese manufacturing giant after a meeting with the labour minister. The workers had gone on a rampage on December 12 at this new plant over the delay in payment of their overtime wages and salaries. Initially, the damage had been estimated to be Rs 437.7 crores but later revised to about Rs 50 crores.

Hebbar mentioned that the industrial policy of the state had been simplified to attract investment and create more jobs for the youth of Karnataka. He pointed out that the policies were employee and industry friendly and the workers would receive their due wages on time. He also mentioned that the incident could have been averted had the district administration reported the problems to the Labour Department.

As for the Toyota Kirloskar manufacturing facility at Bidadi, the first phase of operations has already begun and the second phase will begin soon. The factory was shut for 26 days as the workers had gone on a strike over non-clearance of dues.