Technoglitch
Core Member
A spectre now haunts the information technology (IT) sector in Tamil Nadu, that of trade unions. The state, in a significant departure, has said the IT sector will now be covered by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which allows workers to form labour unions.
Kumar Jayant, principal secretary for Labour and Employment of the Tamil Nadu, which is among India's top three software exporting states, clarified this to the Puthiya Jananayaga Thozilalar Munnani (New Democratic Labour Front), a grouping that had raised its voice against the dismissal of employees at TCS last year.
The issue arose after TCS dismissed hundreds of employees in January 2015, leading to the formation of the IT Employees Wing supported by the NDLF. The front, after failing to extract a response from the state government, approached the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the administration to clarify whether the IT sector was covered by the Industrial Disputes Act, following which the note was issued.
"IT company employees are free to form trade unions and can redress their grievances through evoking the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act," Jayant said in the note.
Most large Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Cognizant have campuses employing thousands of software engineers in Tamil Nadu. Infosys has over 17,000 employees in Chennai, Wipro has 25,000, and TCS, India's largest software exporter, has 60,000 employees in 13 centres in the state.
The clarification comes at a time when the IT industry is undergoing a business shift towards automation. All technology services firms have forecast lower hiring this year as a result of this shift. This could also affect other states if the business climate changes.
Tamil Nadu allows unions in information technology sector | Business Standard News
Kumar Jayant, principal secretary for Labour and Employment of the Tamil Nadu, which is among India's top three software exporting states, clarified this to the Puthiya Jananayaga Thozilalar Munnani (New Democratic Labour Front), a grouping that had raised its voice against the dismissal of employees at TCS last year.
The issue arose after TCS dismissed hundreds of employees in January 2015, leading to the formation of the IT Employees Wing supported by the NDLF. The front, after failing to extract a response from the state government, approached the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the administration to clarify whether the IT sector was covered by the Industrial Disputes Act, following which the note was issued.
"IT company employees are free to form trade unions and can redress their grievances through evoking the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act," Jayant said in the note.
Most large Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Cognizant have campuses employing thousands of software engineers in Tamil Nadu. Infosys has over 17,000 employees in Chennai, Wipro has 25,000, and TCS, India's largest software exporter, has 60,000 employees in 13 centres in the state.
The clarification comes at a time when the IT industry is undergoing a business shift towards automation. All technology services firms have forecast lower hiring this year as a result of this shift. This could also affect other states if the business climate changes.
Tamil Nadu allows unions in information technology sector | Business Standard News