Indian IT Companies Extend Work From Home Till July, 2021; Govt Employees Also Demand WFH

As the pandemic is roaring back, several IT firms are scrambling to ensure none of its employees return to their physical offices. Many firms had issued a deadline till Mar 31 when work from home (WFH) was supposed to end. 

Firms Sending Employees Home

The date for most firms to return to work was Mar 31 but now many are taking a U-turn.

Private sector firms have been contacting employees through emails stating that they should not come to the physical office from Wednesday unless absolutely necessary.

Some companies have been extending the WFH mandate by 2 months till May-end, some with 3 months till June and some till September.  

Public Sector Wants WFH Too

State government employees too are asking to be allowed to WFH since they are at higher risk of exposure to the contagion. 

This is because being government entities, they cannot curb the number of daily visitors as private firms can.

Employees have lamented the lack of hygienic measures despite having hand sanitizers and thermal scanners, which are inadequate in detecting infection in a person. 

Trade Bodies Want Employees Prioritised 

Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) President Perikal M Sundar has urged the government to widen its inoculation drive to cover everyone irrespective of age group or health history. 

He further said that blue collar workers who cannot perform their jobs from home must be prioritised for vaccination.

A Hotels and Restaurants Association official has insisted that hospitality sector workers who also cannot WFH should also be high up on the list when it comes to providing vaccines

Second Wave: Brace Yourselves

To understand the gravity of this situation, bear in mind that the Centre has stated that 8 out of 10 high risk regions in the country are in Maharashtra. 

Maharashtra is staring at another health crisis, just like several European countries did last year since the outbreak, when the active caseload hit 110 people per million. 

The health crisis saw the public health infrastructure nearly crumble with bed shortages in most hospitals and more patients than the staff could treat.

Maharashtra’s current rate is 310 people per million.

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