Telangana labour wing forces Cognizant talk to staff

Hyderabad: The tussle between expelled techies and US-based software firm Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) took a crucial turn after the company agreed to meet the aggrieved staff and hear the case of three employees serving notice period. 

The Labour department, meanwhile, has made it clear to the companies that they cannot force their employees to resign. Officials from the department, it was learnt, have explained to the firms about the rules and regulations that govern hiring and firing procedures. Forcing an employee to resign or terminating the services of someone without valid reason was against the labour laws, they were told.

M. Durga Prasad of National Confederation of UNITES who is assisting the techies in this fight stated that three employees serving notice period would be invited for a one-on-one interaction with the company. The other five who have resigned after taking a few months’ salary as advance, stand no chance of reinstatement as they are out of office, he said.

It may be mentioned here that eight techies from CTS approached the labour department alleging that they were illegally expelled by their employer.

The techies had made a  complaint after which R. Chandrasekharam, Joint Commis-sioner, Ranga Reddy Zone, gave notices to the US-based IT firm under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and held joint meetings with both parties earlier. Another round of meeting was held on Friday.

Mr Chandrashekaram said that the case was closed after company representatives said on Friday that they would arrange a one-on-one meeting with the concerned employees, which the latter agreed.

“The company representatives stated that they were ready to resolve the issue by speaking one-on-one with the affected employees. This proposal was accepted by the techies,” he said.