IT Firms Not Giving Salaries To Covid-19 Infected Employees; NITES Petitions Govt To Stop This

Breaking all rules of professionalism and humanity, IT and BPO firms have been found to be deducting salaries of those employees, who are under quarantine due to Covid-19.

This is cruel for the employees, who are already battling a deadly virus, and without any financial help.

Understanding their plight, a prominent IT Employee Union: NITES has petitioned to the Govt to stop this.

Will Govt act now, and help the IT employees?

IT & BPO Firms Not Giving Salaries To Covid-19 Employees

As per various complaints filed, it has been revealed that IT and BPO firms are deducting salaries of those employees, who are under quarantine, and not able to work.

Instead of helping them with salaries and financial help, their employers are not only deducting salaries but also refusing to provide any financial help.

Stuck with coronavirus, and insensitive employers, IT and BPO employees are facing a double blow.

NITES Petitions Maharashtra CM To Stop This

After receiving numerous complaints and grievances, a prominent IT employee union having thousands of registered members, have petitioned Maharashtra CM to stop this practice.

Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate – NITES has sent a letter to Maharashtra CM, requesting the Govt to ask IT firms not deduct salaries of those employees who are under quarantine for Covid-19.

Harpreet Saluja, President, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate NITES said, “NITES requests Chief Minister Maharashtra Shri Uddhav Thackeray ji & Labour Minister Shri Dilip Walse Patil ji to issue advisory regarding grant of quarantine leave to employees affected by Corona Virus COVID19

During this critical period of COVID19 pandemic when Central and State governments are trying to protect the employment and wages of the employees; various IT/ITeS/BPO/KPO companies and its management are in complete defiance of the mandatory legal provisions & have acted illegally by deducting salaries of employees who were quarantined or affected by CoronaVirus. Hence on behalf of employees Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate NITES has requested for guidelines in order to ensure maximum containment of COVID-19 and the utmost safety of all employees.”

This Is What IT Firms Should Do Now

As per the petition filed by NITES to protect the interests of IT and BPO employees, the following demands have been put forward:

• IT firms and BPO companies shouldn’t treat the period of quarantine as an unauthorized absence from work.
• Employers should first use the available leaves for an employee who is under quarantine. 
• In case any employee is not covered under ESIC, and not entitled for any medical leaves, the employers should show some humanity, and allow paid leaves for them, since they are battling a deadly virus.
• In case all the leaves are exhausted, the employer should provide advance leaves for the quarantined employees

Update: We have just received information that the Maharashtra CM office has received the petition, and they will work on it now.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.