In Pune, as decided in the first meeting with the affected employees of TCS, the follow up meeting was held on January 10, 2015. The TCSers as well as FITE members were present in the meeting.
The progress of the Forum for IT Employees ( F.I.T.E.), and it’s reach among the IT employees were discussed; and the message, “We would succeed if we continue working together,” was acknowledged by the gathered employees.
Vinod, the coordinator of FITE for Pune, shared the following.
1. On behalf of FITE, the members and TCS employees met the Labour Commissioner at various cities, across India.
2. FITE representatives met legal advisers in almost all cities where they are working, and discussed the legal support the employees can avail and also about the Labour laws. The excerpt of the same had been conveyed to the TCSers and FITE members.
a. IT companies have got exemptions from many of the Labour laws that applies to other sectors, especially the one with respect to termination or retrenchment of employees. But the employees could challenge the injustice done by the employer under the Industrial Disputes Act.
b. The team at Chennai would be coordinating to form ‘Fact Finding Team’, would get the statements (testimonials) from the TCS employees directly, to find the actual situation. They will generate a report based on the same to submit to the government. The Fact Finding team would include leading lawyers, professors and journalists.
3. A panel of legal advisors and/or retired judge, journalists, and retired IAS official from all over India would be formed to challenge the exemption from Labour laws enjoyed by the IT companies and recommend the solution to avoid the current situation employees by TCS layoff.
In the meeting, the members and TCSers have decided to meet the Labour Commissioner of Pune division in the following week and file a formal petition to intervene in the TCS’s unethical retrenchment process. The TCS employees gathered in the meeting also agreed to join FITE for further legal proceedings.
The Pune TCSers also would share their experience when receiving the termination letter from the company and family situation after this to the Fact Finding team, through Skype call, when the meeting will be held at Chennai.
They decided to spread this among the IT employees and public, by distributing pamphlets and pasting notices, as far as possible, in Pune. Also, a peaceful demonstration would be held by next week, by organizing 30 to 50 people, against TCS’ termination process.
Thank you for the great support, Pune TCSers.
(ITians, Did u register urself in FITE website?, if not pls visit FITE.org.in soon)
