The Maharashtra unit of Forum for IT Employees said 13 disputes over forced resignations and layoffs at IT organizations have been moved to the labor courts after failed mediation attempts by state labor authorities.
11 of the 13 cases were filed by employees of Tech Mahindra, and one each by those of Wipro and Vodafone, it added.
“The Commissioner or Labour Department had arranged for conciliation meetings between the representatives from the organizations and the affected employees. But all those attempts are declared as failure, since the companies didn’t participate or cooperate with the Labour Commissioner. Hence the 2A petitions filed by the affected employees are moved to Labour Court,” said Elavarasan Raja,
FITE coordinator for the state of Maharashtra.
A statement by the labor union said the petitions were filed by employees against being forced to submit resignation or being terminated without proper reason.
“It is very disappointing that IT organizations..are not acting responsibly or following law in the way their employees are treated,” FITE said.
“Their key motive seems to be more profit, which FITE strongly condemns. FITE is determined to fight for justice till the end, and is certain justice will prevail for IT employees.”
The petitions also claim that IT companies quoted poor performance of employees or restrictions on US visa as reasons for the layoffs, and that these reasons were untrue.
“The IT organizations had violated the Labour laws, or ethical behavior while terminating their employees that affected not only the employee but also his/her dependent family,” FITE said.
FITE is helping employees get justice from their employers, it added.
While labor organizations allege that employees are being forced to resign to allow IT companies to side-step regulations related to layoffs, companies themselves have denied that they are forcing their workers to put in their papers.
Last month, an audio clip uploaded by a Tech Mahindra employee who got fired on a day’s notice created headlines.
Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra subsequently apologized for the way the employee was fired with hardly any notice.