Infosys makes Hyd employees pay for parking, activists say it is against law

After it came to light that employees of IT firm Infosys in Hyderabad have to shell out money to use their company’s parking lot, activists have claimed that the practice is against the law. The company charges Rs 500 for four-wheelers and Rs 250 for two-wheelers per month to park on the campus. These charges are deducted from the employees’ salary.

The Infosys office in Hyderabad is located in the city outskirts, in the Pocharam Special Economic Zone (SEZ) campus. An estimated 20,000 people work at the facility and the workforce is expected to increase by another 20,000 in the next few years.

Most of these employees depend on their own transport to commute to the office but the company has been charging them for parking at the campus. The parking charges are levied on all Infosys employees across India.

“To reach office from LB Nagar, one has to board four buses so it is not feasible. The bus transport provided by the company is also charged heavily and not affordable,” one Infosys employee told TNM.

The employees had approached their Human Resources department with complaints about the parking fee being collected and asking for the practice to be stopped. But the management reportedly responded by saying that the fee was being collected to maintain the parking lot.

Several employees from the firm approached the labour department with regard to the parking and other charges being deducted from salaries. But the department refused to hear the matter as the Infosys Pocharam facility is an SEZ and thus under the purview of an SEZ development commissioner.

Activists say the practice by Infosys is illegal even if their facility falls under the SEZ, as the Shops and Establishments Act is applicable to Infosys. The activists allege the IT firm also flouts a 2003 Hyderabad High Court order that disallows commercial establishments from levying parking charges.

“No other IT company does this. The said company is within the purview of commercial establishments but is making profits from the land on top of the perks already given to them,” said Vijay Gopal, president of Forum Against Corruption, who had written to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry asking for action to be taken against the IT firm. “Levying parking charges is illegal, Infosys must be booked under section 420 of IPC for cheating their employees and under the relevant SEZ Penal Sections of the SEZ Act and Rules,” he added.

Infosys responded to the ministry’s query into the allegation of parking charges saying, “The charges collected from the employees as a deduction from salary is accounted as a fund with the Infosys employees welfare trust which utilises the same for the maintenance and upkeep of the parking facility.” The company claims they even collect GST on the parking fee from the employees.

However, employees from Infosys that TNM spoke to said the company deducts another Rs 250 under the Infosys employees welfare trust apart from the parking charges. “I have never till date benefitted from the welfare fund, nor do I know what it is. They collect Rs 250 as welfare fund apart from the parking fee,” said one Infosys employee.

When contacted, a spokesperson from Infosys told TNM that the IT firm stands by its statement to the Commerce ministry.