CPI(M) backs calls for IT employee unions

BANGALORE, INDIA: We have been hearing calls for trade unions to protect the rights of IT professionals and assure their welfare for quite a few years now. However, not much action has happened on the front.

Barring a few fora for addressing grievances of IT employees, any strong body to fight for their rights is yet to come up. What more, all this in times of most staff members facing one issue or the other — from work hours to salary and working conditions.

Needed: United power

Now, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has come out in the open, welcoming such moves to create a trade body that would act as a bridge among all stakeholders involved. N.N. Krishnadas, a CPI(M) Member of Parliament from Palghat in Kerala says that it is imperative that IT professionals have their own unions. "IT trade unions are necessary for employee welfare. In this regard, we have already taken up some initiatives."

His views are seconded by C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), billed the largest and oldest trade union of bank employees in India. Also a prominent member of the CPI(M), he says that every worker should have a union to protect his or her rights.

All the more, "for IT professionals, as they are the most exploited lot, without any job security. If the job is more secure, they will be more productive, and unions have nothing to do with hampering productivity. The collective bargaining power unions offer is imperative, especially in a scenario of a company firing its employees without any substantial reason," explains Venkatachalam.

He also iterates that it is necessary to pass on the benefits of reservation and social values to the employees in the sector.

'Ensure social development'

To which, S. Prasannakumar, Karnataka general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which is affiliated to the CPI(M), adds that trade unions are about a combination of people involved in a trade of profession, which need not exactly be a business. "They are highly skilled and qualified and IT professionals need unions more than anybody else. It is generally misconstrued as a union of workers and is linked to strikes, when in reality, even the employers unions could be attached to them."

Also read: Do you think IT employees need unions?

It could even be a platform for them to share their experiences, contends Prasannakumar. "It's about improving the working environment of professionals and also to do with social development and not just individual development."

As per the Trade Union Act of 1926, working hours, conditions and other related aspects have been stipulated, and it should apply for skilled employees as well, he says. Since the sector is unorganized, though, and bodies representing employees haven't consolidated, there is no concept of profit-sharing and any amount of work is measured only by the salary packages in the IT sector, argues Prasannakumar.

One yardstick for both

When employers have their own associations, the same logic should apply to employee associations as well, according to Y. Kiran Chandra, general secretary of the Free Software Movement of India. "There is no grievance redressal mechanism for them. It's high time the government has realized that and taken some initiatives towards it. It should be sensitive towards those who contribute significantly to our GDP."

After the infamous Satyam episode, many employees are getting organized and are active in resolving issues. "There is this Forum of IT Professionals, which deals with IT employee issues from companies situated across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu," says Chandra.

But, he feels, unless society and the government become major stakeholders, not much change could be brought about in the near future.