State, IT firms welcome changes to Factories Act

Both the state government and the top IT firms here have welcomed Tuesday's decision to amend the Factories Act by the Centre, allowing women to work night shifts.

While much of the IT industry was already exempt from the law, the move to allow women in general to work nights has been termed "positive" by the IT firms.

"We are yet to see the fine print, but overall, it sends out positive signals," says Pratik Kumar, head of human resources at Wipro, a large IT services firm here.

"The norms had been relaxed for us, including the IT-enabled services so there won't be an material impact on the industry," Kumar said.

Raman Roy, chief executive officer of Wipro's BPO business, Spectramind said some 40 per cent of call centre staff in India were already women, doing shifts including nights.

It is positive news and will have a good impact on the business process outsourcing industry, said Ravi Ramu, chief finance officer of MphasiS, a software and call centre firm headquartered in Mumbai.

"We welcome it," said Shankaralinge Gowda, Karnataka's secretary for Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology.

"We were giving individual permission, under the state labour law, to every IT or call centre company that sought to open a unit here. Now we don't have to do that," Gowda said.

Mukul Agarwal, MD, Unisys India, welcoming the decision said, "Women are good at their work and this will make them more confident in their work places. We should take advantage of this decision and improve the productivity of companies. However, we should take adequate precautions to make women comfortable while they work in night shifts. We in Unisys make sure that they are not alone during night shifts and while being dropped back home."

Rekha Menon, head geographic services, Accenture India, also welcomed the decision. "This amendment will benefit the ITeS and BPO industry, which has a large women population."

This is clearly a step in the right direction. At Accenture, we undertake special care for our women employees through policies and programs that ensure their safety and health."