Six staffing firms that supplied workers to the Wistron iphone factory near Bengaluru may face fines and be blacklisted for failing to pay wages following violence at the facility, the Hindustan Times reported. One official said anonymously that there were 8,500 temporary workers at the factory supplied by six staffing companies and the official blamed the staffing firms for not paying the workers. However, the staffing firms say they are investigating the situation and have a zero-tolerance policy for noncompliance.

Violence broke out at Wistron’s Narasapura facility near Bengaluru over alleged nonpayment to contingent workers, according to India Today. IPhone work has temporarily been halted at the site and repairs have begun.

Staffing firms at the factory included Randstad, The Adecco Group and Quess Corp.

In a statement to SIA from Randstad in response to the incident, the company said, “Randstad India follows industry best practices and strictly abides by the law of the land, as a global policy. Randstad has a zero-tolerance approach to noncompliance. We live by our core values and believe in the value of work as a unifying force that shapes society for the better.”

Randstad added, "We are working with Wistron Corp to identify the root cause of the problem. As a responsible organisation committed to the welfare of our staff, we believe in upholding our values of fair employment practices and pay structure. At this juncture, we are committed to do everything that is necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees deputed to Wistron and will continue to work with the authorities.”

The Adecco Group also issued a statement: “The Adecco Group is working with all parties to investigate these allegations. We are committed to defending the rights of our associates to a fair compensation and employment benefits.”

Separately, the Manufacturer’s Association for Information Technology of India condemned the vandalism at the factory.

“MAIT expresses deep concern and strongly condemns the vandalism incident at the manufacturing unit of Taiwan-based Wistron in Karnataka,” said Nitin Kunkolienker, president of MAIT. “India is host to many global companies that have chosen India as a preferred destination for manufacturing across all major sectors like electronics, pharma, telecom, automobile and others. This is a one-off incident which has the potential to tarnish India’s image.”