New Democratic Labour Front (NDLF), a trade union, has alleged that Syntel is forcefully terminating its employees in India, and has plans to axe around 3000 in the coming days.
As per the claims made by the IT Wing of NDLF, Syntel has already sacked several hundred employees from their offices located in Mumbai, Chennai and Pune without giving them the 30 day notice period which is mandatory as per labour laws.
In a press release by the trade union circulated to media houses, they have claimed that 20 of these forcefully sacked employees have contacted them for assistance. As of now, NDLF has refused to reveal the identities of these 20 employees.
As per the press release, “Syntel has planned and is enforcing layoff of 3,000 employees. This has been going on for the past one month and thousands have already lost their jobs”
$1.22 Billion worth Syntel has 24,534 employees all over world with 17 delivery centers in USA and India.
Last year they clocked revenues of $911.4 million, with operating income of $268.3 million. Syntel was incorporated in Michigan, USA in the year 1980 by Bharat Desai and his wife Neerja Desai; and quickly gained a solid name in the market by acquiring clients such as General Motors and key US Government projects. As of now, all their key management persons are Indians with Bharat Desai as Chairman and Nitish Rakesh as CEO.
Syntel Responds
Rajesh Save, global head of human resources at Syntel has denied these allegations of forceful terminations, and has said that the low performing employees are being asked to remove as per the industry practice.
He said, “As part of Syntel’s annual evaluation process, few employees who have not performed to these expectations were released. The numbers reported are speculative and do not represent facts on the ground.”
However, NDLF, which is known to support employee’s cause and have actively taken part in agitations against MNCs for mistreating their employees are sticking with their version of the story.
S Karpagavinayagam, organizer of NDLF- IT employees wing, said, “Our union strongly condemns this illegal and unethical labour practice by Syntel. IT employees should also be able to protect their rights through a labour body, just like workers of other sectors,”
NDLF & Employee Agitation
This involvement of a trade union in employee’s relationship with their employers is the second instance in the last 12 months.
Last year, NDLF filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Madras High Court against TCS for firing thousands of their employees on grounds of performance and other issues. Based on the PIL, Madras High Court issued an order to the Tamil Nadu Government wherein it they were instructed to initiate a policy decision for implementing Industrial Dispute Act in the IT sector to save employees from forceful terminations.
In this latest issue concerning Syntel, NDLF has demanded that the concerned state govt. take immediate action to stop these forceful terminations.