Unions and affected employees in India’s tech industry are awaiting Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) second-quarter results on October 9 to gauge the extent of job reductions over the past three months. This comes after reports of TCS using pressure tactics to force employee resignations, which has been strongly opposed by tech workers’ unions across the country. The Union of IT and ITES Employees (UNITE) has accused TCS of employing “shock tactics” that pressure employees into taking adverse actions against themselves or the company’s human resources staff.
According to Alagunambi Welkin, General Secretary of UNITE, TCS’s claim of providing financial benefits for forced resignations is a tactic to hide the accusation of forcefully coercing employees in unprecedented numbers. The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) has also stated that conciliation proceedings between TCS management and KITU are still in progress, with evidence of forced resignations, including audio recordings of management pressuring employees to resign, being submitted.
Another union, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), has accused TCS of forcing over 2,500 employees to resign in Pune alone. NITES has complained to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the Labour Ministry, asking them to step in immediately. According to Adv. Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, employees are being forced to resign after being threatened with termination, non-payment of full and final settlement, and blacklisting in the industry.
TCS has denied the allegations, stating that only a limited number of employees have been affected by their recent initiative to realign skills in the organization and that those affected have been provided due care and severance. However, the unions and affected employees remain unconvinced and are planning further protest actions after the release of TCS’s second-quarter results. The Karnataka Labour Ministry is expected to hold another round of conciliation meeting on October 15 to address the issue. The situation has left many employees in a state of fear and uncertainty, with some having given 10-15 years of service to the company and now being left with nothing.