Minister for IT, Biotechnology and Tourism Priyank Kharge has assured of providing legal assistance to IT employees’ association in the State, according to the IT/ITeS Employee Centre (ITEC).
In a release, they said Mr. Kharge has proposed a multi-pronged approach to look into the issues affecting IT employees. In a recent meeting, he had said that the government will entrust a senior advocate to provide legal view and explore possible options that can be beneficial to employees.
After the reports of large scale layoffs by companies like Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, and Tech Mahindra, several employee groups had met the Minister to convey their worries. As per the association, Mr. Kharge said the government will conduct a joint meeting of IT employees’ representatives, and officials of Labour Department, IT Department and IT sector leaders.
The ITEC also said that the Minister’s office assured that the Labour Department will provide speedy response and due attention to the complaints raised by employees regarding the layoffs.
On Monday, the members of Forum for I.T. Employees, Bengaluru chapter, met Mr. Kharge and submitted a petition to reconsider the government’s decision to exempt IT firms from the labour law.
In 2014, the State government under Section 14 of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, had exempted IT/ITeS, startups, animation, gaming, and other knowledge-based industries from the applicability of the Act for five years.
