Unions In The IT/ ITES Sector

In the specific context of unions in the IT/ITES sector, collective bargaining for remuneration and benefits or political activism do not seem to be the primary function of the union. In fact, protection against unfair terminations under the guise of resignations, rampant unethical HR practices form the key purpose of the union.

- Prof. Jatin Pandey

Besides management and government, unions are important actors on the industrial relations stage. They form 'powerful collectives' that function to empower, and at times, even hedge employees from the other two actors. Despite the contention that unions have lost teeth that they once had, they are rampant in many sectors of the Indian economy (especially manufacturing), but are yet to indicate their activeness and prevalence in the IT/ITES sector. However, there have been intrusion of unions in this sector due to actual or speculation of layoffs by the big giants under the guise of voluntary resignations. Recently, the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) termed these incidents as illegal termination, and approached the state government of Tamil Nadu. There have been intermittent demands for unions in the IT/ITES sector, but these have come only in waves in response to changes in industry (mostly layoffs), and subsided thereafter. In a significant move, the National Confederation of Unites was registered as National Trade Union Confederation by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

The delinquency of Archaic laws

For the management practitioners and scholars, these are important indications which warrant an elaborate examination. Despite the IT/ITES sector being an important employer of the educated workforce, it is interesting to note that there are very few and active unions in this sector. Unions derive their existence and legitimacy of functioning through legislative mechanisms and laws. These laws have their origins of an era when the IT/ITES industry was non-existent in India, for example, the Trade Union Act of 1926 was formed long before independence, and, the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 came into vogue during independence. Though there have been amendments from time to time, these laws do not explicitly encourage or prohibit formation of trade unions in the IT/ITES sector.