The Tightrope between Production, Industrial peace

Context: Recent violence at the Wistron facility in Karnataka is an example of how exploitative labour practices could accompany businesses moving to India.

Challenges to labour protection in India:

• Scant attention given to labour issues: for example- two incidents in subcontracting firms assembling smartphones for Chinese brands in the Delhi National Capital Region in 2017 and 2018.
• Evasion of corporate responsibility: by big brands, often by shifting the onus to the subcontracting firms or keeping things in silent mode.
  • Multiple subcontractors or third-party work supply firms further reduce the accountability of the primary firm due to ambiguity and lack of effective grievance redressal mechanisms.
• Weak legal-regulatory labour architecture and capacities:
  • Combined with exploitative labour practices and violations of safeguards by foreign companies can result in debilitating consequences for Indian labourer.
  • Combined with the fear of ‘flight of capital’, could make state administrations reluctant to step in unless things escalate.
• Increased trauma for the workers: the burden of making devices at increasing speeds, force workers under harsh conditions, doing overtime, and under constant disciplinary monitoring by supervisors.
  • The regimented work practices on the assembly line are matched by low pay and little or no social security, leading to strain and traumatic experiences, both physical and mental.
  • E.g. In 2010, Foxconn was faced with a spate of suicides by workers across its facilities in China, thus pressurizing Apple to diversify its range of suppliers — wire netting to prevent workers from jumping off terraces.
• Lack of social security:g. in China, unpaid and forced student internships were encouraged to fill shortages in labour supply and offset costs and with no obligations to offer social protections.

Way forward:

• Defining a code of conduct: to monitor and audit compliance of labour standards and safeguards. E.g., Apple has provided a code of conduct for all of its supplier.
• Providing an effective grievance redressal mechanism.
• Adequate collective bargaining mechanisms: as well as social dialogue should be ensured for labourers in order to avoid violent confrontations in high-end manufacturing facilities.