Many employees working in Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) first demanded work from home as the coronavirus pandemic started to spread.
The union of IT and ITES employees (UNITE), following the mandatory lockdown by the state and central governments, has now put forth six demands based on the past week’s experiences.
UNITE demanded that all IT and ITES companies, whether they are MNCs or MSMEs, universally extend the option to work from home to all employees, and make it voluntary if they would like to come into work, along with monitoring bodies being established. “Ensuring organizations to adhere to 100% WFH is crucial to uphold the complete lockdown announced by the PM to prevent the spread of virus,” it said.
It further demanded that the Labour ministry’s advisory that there must be no leave adjustments, salary reductions or retrenchments during the lockdown period must be adhered to. “Even in case of business impact and non-operation, employees of such companies are deemed to be on duty and are eligible for full pay,” it added.
For IT/ITES employees involved in essential services, UNITE demanded that they be given protective gear, and protective measures be put in place. It also added that these employees must be given term insurance and a risk allowance for them and their family. This risk allowance, UNITE said, should be “not less than double the salary should be provided along with the salary”.
It has also demanded that work hours be reduced to 6 hours for the duration of the lockdown, without the expectations of meeting usual levels of productivity. "The practice of WFH is new and unexplored to the majority. Combined with working in an unprepared environment like home and the existing quarantine the employee's mental health, especially the women employees, can take a toll," they said.
UNITE also demanded that a law be enacted where employees have the right to disconnect after working hours, as working from home blurs the line. “This leads to expectations to check and reply to their work phone calls and emails out of work hours,” it said, adding that this can aggravate stress and cause burnout.
The additional expenses of internet and electricity that employees are having to bear due to the lockdown must be borne by the companies themselves, and the labour department must send an advisory to companies in this regard.
Tamil Nadu’s IT and ITES companies were allowed to work from home a week ago, with exceptions for those in “critical and essential services”. Many companies were unable to give work from home for their employees due to data security and contracts with clients.
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