It appears like Cognizant employees have inspired their counterparts in Wipro and Tech Mahindra as they have approached the Karnataka government over their "forced resignations". Eight employees of Cognizant got a favourable verdict from the labour commissioner in Telangana last month, prompting Tech Mahindra and Wipro employees to hope for a similar relief.
"A group petition by four Tech Mahindra employees and an individual petition against Wipro was handed over," the Bengaluru Chapter of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) said in a statement, reports NDTV.
The news comes in the backdrop of Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge assuring the All India IT Employees Association (AIITEA) that he will meet them and extend "all possible help."
He explained that the government will even help the employees with legal assistance if the need arises. The decision to meet the association comes after AIITEA President Syed Muqueemuddin requested Kharge for a meeting.
Of late, employees of IT companies are facing the prospect of large-scale layoffs with one recruitment firm estimating that as many as six lakh jobs could be axed in three years.
Though there are no confirmed number of employees being laid off due to the problems faced by India's $150-billion IT sector, reports continue to emerge that automation and visa problems have slowed down the hiring while simultaneously rendering many existing jobs redundant.
To addess the issue, India's IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is likely to meet heads of IT companies this month. "I have decided to call a meeting, of all the major industry players in the field to give a roadmap about the promising prospects of the emerging $1-trillion digital economy. I have asked for the second or the third week of June," he told the Economic Times.
