HYDERABAD: Former IT minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah was highly critical of the present governments, especially in Telangana state, for the problem afflicting the IT industry. He said the industry had never heard of unionisation in his time. “What made IT professionals think of floating a union now,” he asked. “This government has no foresight and advance planning to address these issues. The affected employees are trying to find solace through unionisation,” he said.
He said that laid-off techies of a noted company approaching the labour department was an indication of how the government did not reach out to companies to resolve the issue. “Why are retrenchments becoming a controversy this year,” he asked. Mr Lakshmaiah spoke of the Information Technology Investment Region that was conceptualised during the UPA regime but was later put on the backburner by the present government. He said the creation of nearly 71 lakh jobs, direct and indirect, was the objective, but the present government is not serious,” he said.
