Source: ET
BANGALORE: Employee rights activists in software services industry have come out against the Karnataka government's recent decision to exempt the information technology sector from an onerous labour law - the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 - for another five years.
Industry representatives in India's technology capital had welcomed the decision to extend the exemption from the Industrial Employment Act. According to them, the Act was archaic and not relevant to a modern, services industry such as theirs. Labour union leaders said the move will increase 'unfair practices' by IT sector employers and make them less accountable for their action.
"It is yet another decision that will protect companies, whose actions are not being monitored," said Karthik Shekhar, general secretary of UNITES Professionals, a union for software industry professionals. The technology services sector contributes nearly a quarter of the state's GDP.
According to the union, software companies in Bangalore often pay lower wages to female employees and women who are allowed to work-from-home are made to work for longer hours. "The legislation would have brought in some much needed monitoring in the IT sector," Shekhar said.
In the absence of exemption, IT firms would have had to define wages, number of contract employees, average work hours and other conditions of employment and display it prominently near the main entrance. For over a decade, software companies in Bangalore enjoyed exemption from the law, but last year the government decided to bring this sector under the legislation. Software industry heads have been campaigning against it calling it a retrograde step as the law was initially designed for the manufacturing sector.
For over a decade, software companies in Bangalore enjoyed exemption from the law, but last year the government decided to bring this sector under the legislation. Software industry heads have been campaigning against it calling it a retrograde step as the law was initially designed for the manufacturing sector.
Industry representatives also feared the legislation would lead to unionisation in the software industry which unlike the manufacturing sector, has so far been largely free of influential labour groupings.
SAP, IBM, Infosys and Wipro did not want to comment. Vasantkumar Hattangadi, a former joint labour commissioner of Karnataka, said the IT sectors exemption from labour law will give space for harassment by employers.
"If an employee isn't performing or he if he is not liked by superiors, he can be terminated on immediate basis. This power is restricted in the law," Hattangadi said. The IT and business process outsourcing sector employs close to a million professionals in Karnataka and is expected to earn export revenues of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in this fiscal year. Some experts said while clarity on terms of employment may help employees, it is not always possible to define exact work hours in software services organisations.
"In today's workplace, nobody works 9 to 5 as IT firms have become global organisations," said Nirmala Menon, founder and chief executive officer of Interweave Consulting, a firms that offers advisory and consultancy services on work-life issues. "In addition, more and more software companies are making an effort to educate employees about different forms of harassments and what constitutes this."
0 comments:
Post a Comment