IT and ITES Democratic Employees Association (IIDEA), an AICCTU affiliated union, condemns the deliberate termination of hundreds of workmen by Infosys Limited. The company claims to have terminated around 300 workers, but other organisations claim the total number of workers to be around 700. While Infosys claims that the workers could not pass assessment tests, workers are reported to have been coerced into signing ‘mutual’ separation agreements, effectively allowing Infosys to evade liability for illegal retrenchment. Though these workers were short-listed in 2022 through campus interview, they were only onboarded after 2.5 years and are not terminated soon after.
Infosys reported a net profit of Rs. Rs 6,806 crore in the third quarter. At the same time, it is one of many tech corporations that engage in unfair labour practices. While it secures projects by showing large number of workers, these workers are then retrenched illegally to deprive them of secure employment. The actions of the Management of Infosys are in violation of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 which mandates that permission is required to be taken before retrenching workmen.
It must also be noted that the IT Sector is one of the fields in which workers are made to work without even basic labour protections. The Government of Karnataka has extended the exemption to the sector from coverage under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, and a proposal was also made to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act seeking to increase the number of working hours in the IT Sector to 14 hours a day. In fact, Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy has openly propounded a 70-hour work week and states he does not believe in work-life balance. Such anti-worker practices are common in not only Infosys but in other establishments in the IT/ITES sector as well.
We condemn the illegalities of Infosys and express our support to the struggle of the retrenched workers for justice. We demand that the Labour Department intervene and ensure that the rights of the workers are protected, and action be initiated in regard to the same.
