Labour ministry denies it wrote letter to Huawei

The Ministry of Labour and Employment in an official statement today denied that it ever sent a letter to Huawei on alleged violations of labour and employment regulations of the country.

The Indian subsidiary of the Chinese telecom company yesterday received a letter purported to have been written by the ministry, which threatened action against it for allegedly violating labour and visa rules.

The company, while acknowledging the letter, also added that it was investigating the authenticity of the document.

In its statement today, the labour ministry said: “Attention of the government has been invited to a report published in a section of the press regarding a purported notice given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to a firm, namely Huawei, on the alleged ‘violations of various labour and employment regulations of the country’. In this regard, it is stated that no such notice has been issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.”

A Huawei Telecommunications spokesperson in a statement issued today said: “Huawei strictly complies with Indian laws and regulation. We have been contributing to the development of the Indian telecommunications industry and will continue to do so. We reassure that we will continue normal operations as usual.”

The Chinese company has been aggressive in the Indian market and is expected to get many large contracts from the new telecom licencees who are planning to roll out their services soon.