FORUM FOR IT EMPLOYEES (F.I.T.E.)
No. 42/21, Mettu Street, Velachery, Chennai – 600042. Contact : 09840713315, 9962941439
E-mail: fiteorganization@gmail.com. Website: fiteorg.in
Press Release
Date: 17th and 18th June, 10am to 6pm
Place: International Institute of Tamil Studies, CPT campus, Taramani, Chennai
IT Workers & FITE office bearers, Trade Union activists & Legal experts from across the country (Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkatta, Hyderabad, Bengaluru & Chennai) came together to discuss the crisis in IT industry and demands of IT Workers.
IT Industry which employs close to 40lakhs people have till recently been considered Professionals and did not identify themselves as Workers. The slowdown in the industry since 2008 and mass illegal terminations starting with 2014 TCS LAYOFF given birth to workers consciousness and the need to Unionise. Thus the India’s First IT Workers Union emerged in the name of FORUM FOR IT EMPLOYEES (FITE). FITE since then have been fighting against mass illegal terminations & propagating the demands of IT workers. FITE registration as union is in the final stage in Tamilnadu and being initiated in other states.
Around 45 IT employees from TCS, Infosys, HCL, CTS, Wipro, Zoho, Caterpillar and other companies participated in the conference along with delegates from Trade Union & Legal practices across the country.
Delegates Participated in the conference:
Supreme Court Advocate Usha Ramanathan, Justice Hariparanthaman (Retd), IIM (A) Professor Dr. Ernesto Noronha, Sanjai Singhvi of TUCI-Mumbai, CITU State secretary Kannan, Bank Employees Union of India – State Secretary CP Krishnan, All India Airport Workers union GS Deepti (Pune), All India Bank Officers Confederation GS Franco, Psychatrist Dr. Aravinthan (chennai), Madras High Court Adv Ramapriya, Adv Sujatha, DTUC office bearers J. Chidambaranathan, Vairavan, Satish & Sreela. Venkat from TN labour blog, Young Tamilnadu Movement Coordinator Senthil,Activisits Aishik (Jamshedpur), Payal (Delhi), Journalist Thomas from thewire, Showik (Mumbai), Suswagata and Rajarshi, activists,Kolkatta,Sivalingam, Vijayan, Alok,Rupesh (chennai)
Conference was conducted with three brainstorming sessions with topics concerning ‘Present Crisis in IT Industry’, ‘Challenges faced by IT workers’ and lastly on framing the demand charter & conference resolutions. The concluding session was held on 18th June 4pm presided by FITE President Parimala, Introductory speech by FITE General Secretary Sathiesh and Guest Speech by Justice Hariparanthaman(Retd),
TUCI Gen.Sec Sanjay Singhvi, BEFI State Gen.Sec CP Krishnan, DTUC Hon.President J. Chidambaranathan. Conference Resolutions were presented by FITE Vice President Balaji and vote of thanks by FITE working committee member Deepan.
The Conference urges the Central Govt to immediately intervene to STOP the Mass illegal Terminations undertaken by the IT companies due to Advancement in Technology and automation, Global Economic crisis. Resolutions also include scrapping the anti-worker Performance Appraisal System, Strict implementation of all relevant labour laws including ID act, Minimum Wages for workers in start-ups etc of 13 resolutions taken during the conference is attached. A Detailed Demand Charter is also drafted during the conference.
Parimala
President,Forum for IT Employees (F.I.T.E) – TamilNadu
9840713315 9962941439
FORUM FOR IT EMPLOYEES (F.I.T.E.)
No. 42/21, Mettu Street, Velachery, Chennai – 600042. Contact : 09840713315, 9962941439
E-mail: fiteorganization@gmail.com. Website: fiteorg.in
Resolutions of the IT workers conference on the “Present Crisis in IT Industry and way Forward”
1. The two-day IT workers conference unanimously concludes that Indian IT & ITES sector is moving towards technocratic business model which sacrifices human labour to automation (Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cloud Computing etc.,). It is as usual a profit-oriented move of the industry which when combined with the global economic crisis will lead to mass job cuts in the next few years. At a time when unemployment is growing in the country, mass job cuts in one of biggest service sectors will lead to an economic crisis and social unrest. So, the government should intervene immediately to come up with a strategy to safeguard the employment of IT workers by all means.
2.The global economic crisis which has adversely impacted the outsourcing model prevailing in the IT and ITES industry has its roots in the unsustainable neo liberal economic policies of the State. This conference urges the State to make its economic policy worker-centric and people-oriented.
3.The existing performance appraisal system is not transparent and gives room for injustice and arbitrariness leading to unfair termination from service. The existing performance appraisal should therefore be scrapped. The abuse of the performance improvement plan should be immediately stopped. Salary hikes and promotions should be based only on seniority.
4. While labour laws are applicable to IT and ITES establishments, they are often flouted with impunity. All relevant labout laws should be strictly enforced in all IT and ITES establishments without any exception or exemption and stringent penalties should be imposed for violation of the laws.
5. In various IT and ITES establishments, particularly, in small-sized establishments and start-ups, the workers are paid low wages which in some cases is as low as Rs. 5000/- per month. Moreover, in many establishments, workers are not paid variable DA. Therefore there is a need to ensure that workers in IT and ITES establishments are paid a minimum wage of not less than Rs. 22,000/- per month with variable D.A based on the consumer price index.
6. According to All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), 60% of engineers who graduate from engineering colleges are unemployed. These unemployed engineers have become the reserve workforce of the IT/ITES sector which aggravates the exploitative working conditions of IT workers. So, the conference urges the central government to create more jobs for the unemployed graduates as promised by the Prime Minister.
7. Social Inclusion of depressed castes (SC/ST) is to be ensured. At present it is less than 5% of the work force. This conference therefore urges the Government to implement the reservation policy in all private sector industries including IT & ITes.
8. Taking into consideration, the various concerns of women workers in the IT and ITES sectors including the discrimination that they are subjected to on the basis
of their pregnancy/marital status and their being forced to work in night shifts even when they do not wish to, there is an urgent need to ensure gender justice in IT and ITES establishments. The existing laws to protect the rights of women employees at the workplace including the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces Act, 2013 (POSH Act) and the Maternity Benefits Act as amended should be strictly implemented. Internal Complaints Committees must be constituted in all establishments in accordance with the provisions of the POSH Act. There should be flexible work arrangements for women workers during the time of pregnancy/menstruation/breast feeding. Crèche facilities should be established within the company premises. Women must be deployed in night shift only with their consent. Discrimination of women workers based on pregnancy/marital status in the matter of pay hike, promotion, project assignments etc. should be stopped.
9. We strongly condemn the State persecution of automotive workers in Maruti-Suzuki (Gurgaon) and Pricol (Coimbatore) who are viciously punished with life imprisonment for merely demanding their right to unionise.
10. We express our solidarity with sanitary workers who are struggling for permanency and TN Transport Workers who have not been paid their terminal benefits.
11. In the last 2 years, there have been various attempts to introduce Anti-worker amendments to the Labour Laws and in some states such as Rajasthan and
Maharashtra, these amendments have already come into effect. This conference demands that such anti-worker amendments be repealed.
12. We stand in solidarity with the demand of students for access to free and inclusive education for all and oppose the commercialization and communalization of higher education at the behest of WTO and World Bank.
13. We stand in solidarity with farmers and agricultural workers who are bearing the brunt of the agrarian crisis and are struggling to even meet their basic needs.
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