Creating awareness on IT labour laws
Information technology and Business Process Outsourcing companies in Karnataka have been given time till the end of the year to frame the Industrial Employment Standing Orders, the labour legislation that governs workplaces employing more than 50 workers.
To create awareness on this piece of labour legislation and the importance of standing orders, the IT and ITeS Employees Centre (ITEC), a support organisation for workers in the tech industry, is conducting a session with the Labour Department officials.
The event is slated to be held on November 3 at 2.30 p.m. at the YWCA, Koramangala, 6th Block. J.T. Jinkalappa, Joint Labour Commissioner, would speak to employees on labour laws, the new proposed intervention and how this could help improve employee-employer relations.
Karnataka’s IT/ITeS sector had been exempt from this provision for 12 years. ITEC has been working with employees in this sector, and has earlier dealt with issues such as job frauds, cheating by fly-by-night operators, sexual harassment and non-payment of salary.
This programme would help create awareness among employees in the sector, a press release from ITEC stated. For details, contact, contact@itecentre.co.in or call 96209-07912
Firm promotes waste segregation
EMC India held a two-day waste management awareness programme this week on its Bangalore campus to spread awareness on recycling, and to encourage its employees to segregate and dispose waste responsibly.
Volunteers from the EMC Centre of Excellence’s ‘Green Club’ conducted a waste segregation demonstration for employees, a release from the company stated. The demonstration covered best practices to be followed at home for managing the different kinds of waste articles including dry waste, wet waste, e-waste, biomedical waste and hazardous waste. Methods to make compost at home were also shown to the employees, the release added.
Malcode in the guise of apps
As Android and its myriad free applications gain popularity, it’s also high on the malcode radar. Malware attacks and scams on the platform are getting more creative.
For instance, the Symantec Intelligence Report for September found out that an Android application has been discovered that charges the battery of the smartphone through solar energy. Obviously, as anybody could guess, what it really does is steal critical information from your device. In a release, Symantec mentions malicious applications that promise higher battery life. Most smartphone users struggle perennially with battery life issues, so malcode in the guise of apps that make life easy are becoming ubiquitous. For instance, Symantec discusses, ‘Battery Long’ (Android.Ackposts) an app that appears to help with the battery life, but simply steals information from the compromised device. Some of these apps, that promise recharging through solar or wind energy, are just practical jokes but malcode writers are now using this opportunity to install spyware on your phone.
The internet security firm advises that until real solar panels are actually installed on phones, it is best to just continue charging your phone the old-fashioned way: plugging it in to a wall socket or a USB port.
Microsoft programme for students
Software major Microsoft Corporation announced the launch of a new education resourcing programme — Microsoft Ed-vantage. The programme aims to consolidate and enhance the benefits to both academic institutions and students who are leveraging other well-established Microsoft programmes that provide software tools to faculty and students, a release from Microsoft stated. It is designed to help eligible academic campuses and their students connect with various organisations in the industry.
