Over 100 IT workers gather in B'luru to demand healthy work-life balance

Bengaluru, PTI: Responding to a call by the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU), more than 100 people gathered at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Sunday to advocate for a healthy work-life balance in the IT sector. Expressing disappointment over the turnout, KITU advisor Vasanthraj said that, given Bengaluru's status as a tech hub, at least 6,000 people should have participated to make their collective voice heard.

"The hard reality is that IT industry captains are minting profits through the dollar exchange rate but end up squeezing workers. In the last three decades, the IT industry should have become an IT product giant. But despite moving up a few steps in the value chain, it remains a service industry," said Vasanthraj. KITU member Ram said the protest was organised to counter recent remarks by Infosys Chairman Emeritus Narayana Murthy and L&T Chairman and MD S N Subrahmanyan, who have blamed workers for the sector's failure to move up the value chain.

"They are pushing for increased hours, as if that would solve the problem. But increased hours do not really lead to productivity. Since their voices have been ringing too loud of late, we decided to counter that with our collective voices, stressing the importance of worklife balance," added Ram. Suhas Adiga, General Secretary of KITU, highlighted that the IT industry's intense work culture has come under scrutiny in recent years due to its negative impact on employees' health and wellbeing. "Several studies highlight the detrimental impacts of long working hours, which are prevalent among IT employees in India. As per the reports, more than 70 per cent of employees in this sector are facing mental health issues," added Adiga.

According to Adiga, on March 13, 2024, a memorandum was submitted to the Labour Minister, alleging that IT/ITeS companies were not compensating overtime wages and were extending work hours beyond statutory limits. The union urged the government to investigate actual working hours and overtime payments. "But even after one year of meetings and protests, there has been no concrete effort from the government to regulate working hours by ensuring the implementation of labour laws," he claimed.