IT layoffs: Tech Mahindra, Wipro employees take cue from Cognizant counterparts, petition Karnataka govt via trade union FITE

Four Tech Mahindra employees and one from Wipro approached trade union FITE, which in turn had submitted their grievances to Karnataka government.

it layoffs, tech mahindra employees sacked, wipro employees sacked, fite, it employees trade union, cognizant layoffs, wipro layoffs, infosys layoffs — An employee sits at the front desk inside Tech Mahindra office building in Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi March 18, 2013.Reuters file

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.

Read: Six lakh jobs at Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, HCL Tech, Accenture, Capgemini under threat: Head Hunters Chairman K Lakshmikanth

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.