Karnataka IT Employees' Union to Hold Protests Against 14-Hour Workday Proposal

New Delhi: The controversial proposal to increase the work hours of IT employees in Karnataka to 14 hours has resulted in the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees’ Union (KITU) planning massive campaigns and large-scale demonstrations against the move.

Along with gate meetings at IT parks and street campaigns throughout the week, the union is also planning to take out a procession to the Labour Commissioner’s office on August 3, reported The Hindu.

“We are planning campaigns at 32 units. On August 3, we will organise a massive procession in which a large number of IT employees would march to the office of the Labour Commissioner,” Sooraj Nidiyanga, secretary, KITU, told The Hindu.

The Union has also been sharing its membership application form on social media to ensure the participation of more people.

Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad had said that the state government is ‘under pressure’ from the industries to give a green flag to the proposal of allowing IT employees to work for 14 hours.

Lad, who said that the Karnataka government didn’t come up with the proposal, urged industry heads to discuss and debate it publicly.

Meanwhile, industry association Nasscom has said that it doesn’t support a 14-hour workday.

“This is a strategy by companies to make people work more during busy months like December and March. This way, the companies wouldn’t have to hire extra hands, and this would fetch them huge profits. This is what they are trying to say by using words like flexibility,” said KITU secretary Nidiyanga, reported The Hindu.

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