Karnataka operations to resume soon: Wistron GAIL buys 5 pc stake in Indian Gas Exchange

BENGALURU: Shut since December following violence owing to labour unrest at its Karnataka facility, Wistron, Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple Inc, said on Tuesday its operations here will start soon, as the state government asserted it was ready to extend all cooperation.

“We are looking forward to restarting our operations and welcoming back team members,” David Shen, CEO Wistron Smart Devices, said in a statement. He said since the violent incident at their Narasapura facility in Kolar district in December last year, the company has been working hard on improving across the board to raise standards and fix the issues.

“All employees have been promptly and fully paid, and we implemented new hiring and payroll systems to ensure everyone is paid correctly and provided the correct documentation going forward,” Shen added. The company official said Wistron will be delivering enhanced training programmes for all workers. According to him, the management has put in a place a new system for workers to get information and raise any concerns they may have, anonymously.

While thanking the employees for their patience and support, Shen said the firm has worked through corrective actions.

Karnataka Labour Minister A Shivaram Hebbar said company officials were willing to start their operations from February 15. “There may be delay of a day or two in resuming their operations but they are serious about it,” Hebbar said.

He assured the company that the Karnataka government was ready to extend all cooperation to ensure that the manufacturing facility starts. “It is not just about Wistron but our support is to everyone who is willing to set up an industry in Karnataka,” Hebbar added.

Over 4,000 employees on contract went on a rampage over non-payment of their wages.

The company had sacked its vice president overseeing its business in India, as it admitted that some workers were not paid correctly or on time, and offered an apology.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) on Tuesday said state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd has acquired five per cent stake of the IEX in its arm Indian Gas Exchange (IGX).

However, the company did not divulge the details about the value of the transaction. Last month, Adani Total Gas and Torrent Gas had acquired five per cent stake each in the IGX. GAIL is the third strategic investor in IGX.

“IEX, India’s premiere electricity exchange has further divested 5 per cent equity stake in the IGX to GAIL (India) Ltd, India’s leading natural gas company,” the IEX said in a statement.

It added the partnership between the IGX and GAIL is a significant development, which will go a long way and add robust value addition in development of the gas markets in the country.

SN Goel, Chairman of IEX, director of IGX, said, “With strong impetus from the government to create a conducive policy and regulatory framework, gas markets are on the cusp of breakthrough growth. Competitive domestic gas markets are crucial to build a gasbased economy.”