IT/ITES workers’ union wants labour department to end exemption

Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) has demanded that the government end the exemption given to the IT/ITeS sector from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act.

The IT/ITeS Sector, which employs more than 20 lakh workers in Karnataka, has obtained on more than four occasions exemption from the applicability of the IE (SO) Act. The last time the exemption was given on 25-05-2019 and this exemption is about to lapse by 25-05-2024, said the union

According to Sooraj Nidiyanga, KITU, General Secretary, thousands of IT and ITES workers do not want the government to renew the exemption anymore as the employers did not comply with the four conditions imposed on them while giving the exemption.

As per the conditions for granting the exemption, all establishments need to constitute an ‘Internal Committee’ as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, and the rules made thereunder. Conditions also mandate the constitution of the Grievance Redressal Committee by every establishment. The condition compels that every establishment shall inform the labour department information regarding cases of disciplinary action, discharge, termination, demotion, dismissal etc. 

“All these conditions are blatantly violated by the establishments and thousands of employees are discharged, without notice or inquiry, laid off and retrenched in large numbers without complying with the legal requirement to seek the permission of the appropriate authority under the Industrial Disputes Act,’‘ they alleged. The union has also filed a writ petition in Karnataka High Court challenging the exemption.