On Saturday, over 100 IT professionals assembled at the Freedom Park in Bangalore. They gathered to protest against the mass layoffs which led to the intervention by the State Government. In recent months, some techies who lost their job also appeared in the demonstrations.
A popular news channel reported the event has turned out to be a low key affair with only 100 people turning up for the protest. The organizers of the Information Technology Employees Union (ITEU) were expecting around 2000 participants.
“Several companies have resorted to illegal layoffs. The government must initiate action against such companies and ensure compensation is paid to employees as per the Labour Act. Our reports say that about 40,000 to 50,000 employees have been sent home till date in the last one year,” C. Kumaraswamy, president of the ITEU said.
One of the protestors said, “I may get a call from the HR anytime now asking me to resign.”
The protesters submitted a memorandum to IT Minister Priyank Kharge and Labour Minister Santosh Lad which read, “Thousands of professionals working in the IT sector have lost their jobs and around 6,000 more will be soon terminated. Stop forced resignations, illegal and unilateral termination, strictly enforce labor laws in IT and ITES, stop unfair labor practices and appoint grievance redressal committees.”
This year during the month of June, the IT Minister had made a statement telling it would consider providing legal aid to the workers.
The IT industry has been facing continuous trouble with reports of numerous layoffs by major companies such as the Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant and Tech Mahindra.
