'Investments to stop flowing if unionism flourish'

Kolkata, Nov 01: IT industry fear that Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's "IT dreams" might wither away, with investment flying to other states, if the CITU tries to make a backdoor entry into the IT sector of West Bengal.

Expressing his apprehension about this, NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik told UNI today, in an e-mail interview, that '' Unions are required when individual employees are in danger of being victimised or exploited, or where overall work-conditions are unsatisfactory.

The IT-ITES industry is at the other end of the spectrum on these matters.'' He said, ''The IT-ITES industry employs one million people in the country and is among the best 'looked after' industries in India.

Employees in this sector do not need any external intervention by labour unions or any such bodies, and are fully confident and capable of handling any issues themselves.'' A top-level IT consultant in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) R.N.

Lahiri, today told UNI that he feels ''investments will stop flowing into the state if trade unionism flourish in this sector, especially in a sector where the Chief Minister's enterprise has brought IT giants like IBM, Wipro, TCS and Cognizant in the state.'' Young techies are not even rolling out red carpet for their very own "union", West Bengal Information Technology Services Association (WBITSA).

''Why should the state's fledging IT industry see the backdoor entry of CITU?'' questions a young software professional.

Salt Lake's IT whizkids are simply not buying the idea despite their gruelling work schedules. They appear to be content with their working conditions.

Mr Lahiri, who is also the Regional Vice-President of Computer Society of India, said, ''Industry simply refuses to accept this proposition of unionism in the IT industry.'' '' Private firms and Corporates will not allow any organisation like CITU to create unions in their organisation.'' A union will only mean monopoly of political leader, Anindya Mukherjee (name changed), an employee with BPO BNK-E Solutions, said, adding that ''I thoroughly enjoy my job. Question of unions does not arise at all since we are well taken care of.'' Industry organisation NASSCOM reiterates the same note voiced by the employees of the IT and ITES sector. Mr Karnik said the industry can boast of the best HR practices and policies, which provide employees with a world-class working environment, security and safety measures, travel arrangements to and from the workplace and meal provisions.

''In any IT -ITES organisation, unlike traditional labour-oriented companies, any employee can walk up to the CEO or any other senior official to discuss an issue that might be of concern. This obviates one of reasons why labour unions are needed.

Some of the other benefits extended to employees in this industry are medical and insurance plans; housing and special shift allowance; privilege, casual and sick leaves; rewards and recognition initiatives and regular increments, along with exceptional development and learning opportunities and a well charted out growth plan'' he added.

He mentioned that the IT-ITES industry in India is a knowledge-based industry whose key strength is the skilled manpower pool that exists in the country and is being further developed through various industry and government initiatives. Any concerns/grievances of employees are, therefore, given top priority by the senior management of the companies.

The debate within the Left over propriety to form trade unions in the IT industry gained momentum recently as political circle was abuzz with talks over possibility of a strike in the sector on December 14, the proposed date for the CITU-sponsored nationwide strike.

UNI