Taking the first concrete step towards curtailing the rising incidents of crime against business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT staffers, the Regional Transport Office has made uniform compulsory for cab drivers who are offering services to the employees of IT-BPO companies in the city.
RTO stated that Government of Maharashtra has defined the pattern for uniform and I-cards. Now, it is mandatory for the drivers to wear uniforms and carry i-cards. The drivers can be identified by a pink shirt and black trouser. On the back drop of increasing crimes against the female employees in the city, the RTO has made it compulsory. In last two years, few criminal cases have been registered in the city where the police detected involvement of cab drivers. IT professional Jyoti Kumari Chaudhari was raped and killed at Pune in November 2007.
Pune city has a IT-BPO community of more than one lakh and some 11,000 cars and jeeps are used as pick-up and drop vehicles for them by the 32 units. Recenlty, state minister for transport Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil had assured that the uniform will be made compulsory for all the cab drivers. A meeting of RTO officials was held in the month of July and the decision for compulsion of uniform and I-cards was taken in this meeting.
Talking to Business Standard on this issue, Chandrakant Kharatmal, RTO officer, Pune said, " RTO has made the uniform and I-card mandatory for all the IT-BPO cab drivers. The drivers will have to wear black trousers and pink shirts. The driver must have to carry the I-card issued by the RTO. We have asked transport service companies in the city to make it sure that the cab drivers wear the uniforms while on duty. Also, the cab associations and few IT companies were demanding for dress code and I-cards for the drivers for the employee security purpose."
Kharatmal added that some of the travel companies in the city have installed vehicle tracking system in their cabs to track the cab and locate its position.RTO is also planning to give separate permits for the cabs drivers who are offering transportation service for the IT-BPO sector. The final decision in this regard will be taken as soon as possible. As per the records of RTO, currently, the cab drivers are permitted license from tourists vehicles quota. Around 14, 000 taxi cab permits were issued in the last five years.
Nana Kshirsagar, president, Call Centre Taxi Owners Association, Pune said, " We are very happy with the decision. It is necessary for the drivers for the identification and safety of the employees. These drivers are appointed from vendors and some times it is difficult for the employees to identify the drivers Even IT employees seems to be happy with the new mandate. Speaking on this, Deepali Deshpande who is an IT employee and avails the cab service daily, said, " The RTO has taken the right decision. It will help us to identify the cab driver and beneficial for security of female employees up to some extent."
In 2008, a group of 32 Pune-based BPOs and National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) had framed a ‘code of conduct’ to ensure their physical security. It deals with aspects such as security during travel, selection of transport vendors, internal communication and security within company premises. Prominent players like Wipro, Zensar, WNS, KPIT Cummins, Mphasis and Ocean Connect have all agreed to implement the code of conduct framed by the best practises committee.
The code states that the authorities should conduct regular audits of existing transport system to examine punctuality, speed, and unacceptable behaviour, must maintain a single dedicated employee helpline number, should conduct regular briefings for drivers on code of conduct while on duty, should ensure that female employees board the cab after a male employee, ensure that a security guard accompanies a female employee commuting alone and female employees must not sit in the front seat of the vehicle and valid registration documents of vendor companies. The code also states that employees should always fully charge their cellphone before boarding the cab. Employees should save the helpline numbers on cellphone and keep it on speed-dial mode.
