It seems that cumulation of various factors, converging at the same time within Indian corporate sector is resulting in job scarcity at a massive scale.
Demonetization, GST, Automation, US Outsourcing issues, H1B visa issues and other factors are forcing the corporates to take a back seat, and hand out pink slips faster than we expected.
But the issue here is that existing employees are being mistreated, and as we observed in some instances, they are being forced to resign, using methods which were previously unknown to IT employees.
And at the same time, the manufacturing sector has given up and has announced that no fresh hiring would be possible in the next 3 months.
Is this the darkest moment for Indian employees?
Pune: IT Firms Are Forcing Employees To Resign
In order to shed the load, and trim size their headcount, several IT firms in Pune have resorted to unfair means; and this is severely affecting the morale of employees.
Last week, when a 25-year old techie committed suicide in Pune, he had written in his suicide note: “In IT there is no job security”. It seems that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Several more IT employees have come up and revealed how HR and Management are using unfair means to terminate them. They have accused these companies of resorting to psychological pressure and other tactics to force them to resign, against their wish.
A 50-year-old employee said, “I was told, ‘If you don’t resign, you will face consequences. Your career will be spoilt. We will blacklist you. We will terminate you.’ I was threatened. When I still put my foot down, they said, they will trigger my resignation from the backend.”
I was told, ‘If you don’t resign, you will face consequences. Your career will be spoilt. We will blacklist you. We will terminate you.’ I was threatened. When I still put my foot down, they said, they will trigger my resignation from backend.”
This means that the employee has no option here: Either he has to put his resignation by himself, or the HR will do it from the backend. A checkmate.
And such behaviour and unfair means are, obviously, affecting their lives.
That employee said, “I am under tremendous pressure. My social life and family life has been affected,”
Another woman employee share that she surrounded by several men in a room, and threatened to resign – clear psychological tactics to force the employee to resign.
She said, “I was surrounded by four persons in a closed cabin. They asked me to resign. When I told them that the process was not transparent and not justified, I was threatened. They told me, they will terminate me. I kept asking for clarifications, they kept pressurising me for a week. I knew that forced resignation is illegal. So I kept asking for details,”
In fact, as per reports, during such HR meetings, the phone is being asked to switch off, and after the meeting, that employee is led by the security guards and asked to leave the premises. A very humiliating experience indeed.
Another unnamed employee explained the process of termination these days: “The HR generally gives you a call saying they have to talk about something. Then, when you enter the meeting hall, you are either asked to keep your phone out, or you are made to switch it off. You are surrounded by four-five senior persons who brainwash you or pressurise you. They threaten you, coerce you. Many times, employees resign right then. During such instances, the security guards accompany those employees till the gate, so that they’re not able to talk about their plight to anybody else. It is a nightmare,”
Recently, a sound clip of HR forcing an employee in Tech Mahindra became viral and such was the heat generated that Tech Mahindra MD had to come out and apologise.
Terminations and Pink Slips are part of the game, but a request to IT firms: Please do it with some dignity.
Manufacturing Sector: No Hiring For 3 Months
Meanwhile, as per findings of a survey conducted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), it was found that 73% of manufacturers will not hire for the next 3 months.
This is not surprising, as only 49% of the respondents said that they expect production to increase in the same period. Less production means less hiring.
The survey found that cost of production has increased by 69%, due to increase in minimum wages and demonetization effects.
GST as a cause was not mentioned.
What changes are you witnessing in your work space? Do let us know by commenting right here…