Karnataka IT Employees Union Display Show Of Strength By Holding May Day Parade: Will Unions Work In IT?

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In a rare display of show of strength by IT employees union, hundreds of IT employees staged a parade in Bengaluru, on the occasion of May Day.

Will such unions work in the IT industry? And what is the purpose of this?

We try to find the answers..

Karnataka IT Employees Unite In Bengaluru

Under the banner of KITU or Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union, hundreds of IT employees staged a parade in Bengaluru, on the occasion of May Day on May 1st.

The march took between Bangalore Town Hall to Freedom Park.

KITU, which organized this march, and made all the arrangements, said via Facebook post: “Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union #KITU on the occasion of International Workers’ Day conveys its militant greetings to all the workers of all the lands who struggle against all coercion and oppression of man by man, the struggle to uphold the right to a better life and real freedom.”

In the images uploaded on their Facebook page, and other social media platforms, we can see hundreds of members clad in the red color, marching along, and celebrating May Day.

This unique march by IT Employees is a rare occasion, whereon IT employees from the Silicon Valley of India came out, and displayed their strength to the world.

KITU: A Left Supported IT Employees Union

KITU or Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union is India’s first union of IT employees. Till date, no union was allowed to be formed within IT companies, since their business comes from US and Europe and other foreign nations, and formation of an employee union can create doubts in the minds of the clients.

But things changed last year, when the Labour Commission allowed the formation of Karnataka IT Employees Union, under the Trade Union Act, 1926, and Karnataka Trade Unions Regulations, 1958.

KITU is backed by Centre of Indian Trade Union, which in turn by backed by CPI (M), the biggest ‘surviving’ communist ideology in India right now.

Is IT Employees Union A Success Or Failure?

When KITU was launched last year, the Union claimed to have 250 member employees, whereas Bengaluru alone has 15 lakh employees.

The current membership count is not known as of now, and the images posted on social media clearly showcase atleast 100-odd employees taking part in the parade.

This gives us a hint that KITU has not been a massive success, which was assumed.

Besides, the role of an employee union in the IT sector is also debatable – unlike factories where employees need to protect their rights, the IT industry is largely very lenient and flexible towards employees.

However, in case of mass firings, employee unions such as KITU can help out, but again, the sheer number of members is so less, that we don’t think that this employee union can have a major impact in the overall industry.

Do you think the IT industry needs such employee unions? Do share your views by commenting right here!