18th March 2024 – On Saturday, March 16, hundreds of IT workers marched around Karmika Bhavana, the Karnataka Labour Commissioner’s office in Bengaluru, shouting ‘Inquilab zindabad’ and ‘workers unity long live’ against ‘anti-worker practices‘ in the IT and ITeS sector. The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) protest demanded that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) [IE(SO)] Act, 1946 be applied to the IT/ITeS industry.
The Act clearly states the rules for recruiting employees, their working hours, attendance, leave procedures, and the rights and liabilities of employees regarding closing and temporary stoppages of work, termination, suspension, and dismissal. The KITU excluded IT workers from this Act because computer firms were regarded as ‘sunrise industries’, and the absence of such a statute would assist them in flourishing by removing workers’ rights.
The government required IT companies to establish an Internal Committee (IC) under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013, a grievance redressal committee in every establishment, and to notify the labour department of employee discipline, discharge, termination, demotion, or dismissal.
Conclusion
Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad told the Economic Times, “Tech sector exemptions have been around for many years. I also considered not extending them in 2016 as labour minister. I have seen wrongful termination, and such individuals have trouble finding work.” He added that it was time to reconsider the exemption.
