IT unions move in to call the shots

The third CITU strike in West Bengal and the move of unions to call the shots in Kerala's IT sector are developments that the IT industry, at large, has denounced.

The reaction is understandable given that the Indian IT sector, according to Nasscom estimates, employs 12.87 lakh knowledge professionals "� IT, Engineering and R&D professionals comprise 5.13 lakh, the IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports' sector employs 4.09 lakh professionals, and the domestic sector accounts for 3.65 lakh.

IT services' employees accounted for 8.78 lakh in 2006 and ITeS-BPO employees numbered 4.15 lakh. This discounts the indirect employment attributed to IT-ITES which stands at around 3 million which includes expenditure on vendors including telecom, power, construction, facility management, IT, transportation and catering.

The Nasscom-McKinsey Report 2005 further indicates that the Indian industry is targeting $60 billion in exports by 2009-10. This translates into an estimated demand for 8.5 lakh IT professionals and 1.4 million ITeS-BPO professionals by 2010.

And Nasscom has repeatedly cautioned that while technology jobs will double to 1.7 million over the next four years, the Indian IT industry could face a shortfall of around half-a-million workers over the same period.

However, this success story has holes, according to unions. A UNITES-sponsored survey conducted in 2005 claimed 56 per cent of call centre employees worked overtime and 41 per cent claimed they were not paid for working extra.

The Information Technology Professionals Forum (ITPF) opines that "...with such mass employment possibilities becoming a reality even in this white-collar industry, extended work hours, night shifts, innovative employee welfare schemes... have all become part of the growth process...There is no reason why outsourced labor should cost so much less...It is important that Indian professionals are cautioned and shielded against un-sustained / race to the bottom competition without jeopardising the growth prospects of nation building opportunity."

One may also argue that these employees are young. A recent "Jobs with Justice" (October 2006) report "� which detailed the working condition of Indian call centre employees "� notes that around 81.5 per cent employees were between 20-25 years of age.

On an average, an employee has a minimum of five years of college education. Around 92 per cent of the workers comprise graduates and 18.1 per cent of these are post-graduates. Among the respondents, more than 80 per cent studied in private English medium schools.

Moreover, over 85 per cent of the respondents receive monthly salaries above Rs 10,000. About half of the respondents receive salaries between Rs 10,000-15,000.

The reported minimum starting salary was Rs 4,500 and the maximum Rs 30,000 giving a mean of Rs 10,966.94 and a median of Rs 10,000. These salaries are by no measure small.

Also, consider the high attrition rates (anywhere between 11-20 per cent) in IT-ITeS companies. Consider this. Over 88 per cent of the workers in the "Jobs with Justice" survey said they were in service with the present firm for less than two years, out of which 70 per cent were with the firm for less than one year.

Significantly, about one third (34.54 per cent) of the employees said they were pursuing studies including journalism and MBA while working as BPO employees. And this trend is more visible in Indian companies than in multinational companies, the report stated. Unions may find it difficult to thrive on a "floating population".