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No 'union' for us please, say IT staff

By Mrs Gupta, Section News
Posted on Thu Oct 26, 2006 at 06:05:10 AM EST

CITU to launch its West Bengal Information Technology Services Association on Nov 14, but young techies see no need for it

The CITU is all set to enter the infotech sector with its West Bengal Information Technology Services Association (WBITSA), which is scheduled to be launched on November 14. But young techies in the city are not exactly rolling out the red carpet for their very own “union”.

Newsline visited Salt Lake’s IT sector and spoke to a cross section of the workforce there. Their responses ranged from neutral to fiercely antiunion opinions, reconfirming the view that the move to set up a union is unwelcome in Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s pet domain. Despite their gruelling work schedules, the young techies appear to be content with their working conditions.

Like Subhamay Mukherjee, an employee with Fi-Tek, who felt that the “question of unions does not arise since we have no grudges against our organisation.”

Pointing out that the “management and employees share a good personal rapport”, Ankur Purohit, one of the staff at IBM, added: “If at all there are any grievances, we can take it up directly with the management. A union will only mean monopoly of another leader.”

Komal Garg, his colleague, felt that “unionism has ceased to affect the common man any more.” She added: “Whatever may be the case, the fact is that the laws remain the same and a union can never make any difference.”

Pointing out that the IT industry in the State is “doing quite well without any union”, another youth working in Cognizant Technologies Solutions, Ratul Mukherjee, said: “It is the transparency of the administration that counts. If there is any so-called unrest among the employees, we can scout for better options in the other IT firms.”

However, the CITU refused to believe that all is well on the IT front. “Many people have approached us complaining about victimisation in the organisation. So we floated the idea of a common forum which will help us to address the issues,” said Somnath Bhattacharya, secretary of the association.

The WBITSA, set up by the CITU the labour arm of the CPI(M), will operate from their office at the Webel Bhavan in Salt Lake Electronics complex. Contrary to the popular notion, the body has been registerd as an association and not a union.

“A union is limited in its scope when it comes to membership. Instead, an association can include members from all rungs of the organisational heirarchy from both the IT and the ITES,” explained Bhattacharya,

Meanwhile, some IT companies have asked their employees to refrain from any discussion about the topic. “Unions have both their pros and cons. One cannot deny that it gives a platform to air one’s grievances against the management. But I cannot talk on the issue as our management has specifically asked us not to make any comments,” said a Wipro employee.

As for the bandh called by the Left trade unions on December 14, the WBITSA is not willing to divulge whether it will participate in it.

Source- The Indian Express, October-26,2006

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