Karnataka to issue workplace protocol for IT/BT companies

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is working on a workplace protocol for information technology and biotechnology companies to follow when they resume limited operations as allowed from Monday.

Deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan, who holds the IT/ BT portfolio, asked the health department to issue a set of guidelines for the sector. Representatives of IT/BT companies, with whom Ashwath Narayan held a videoconferencing on Friday, sought clarity on issues such as how they should respond in the event of detection of any Covid-19 positive case on their campuses.

Company representatives said they would follow measures such as maintenance of hygiene and social distancing, and provide screening facilities in the work premises.


“As soon as the restrictions are relaxed, the risk of infection spreading is high. Continuous screening can help detect infections,” Ashwath Narayan told reporters after the videoconference.

He said there might not be any pass system for employees of the IT/BT sector once the relaxation kicked in. The government will work with companies to see if they could engage BMTC buses on contract to ferry employees to the workplaces and back.

The companies may discourage employees from using private vehicles, he added.

Wage Adjustment
Ashwath Narayan favoured the idea of embattled IT/BT firms going for pay adjustments for sections of their employees, rather than job cuts. These are difficult times for employees to find alternative jobs, he said.

A few senior executives suggested the companies could work on wage readjustments including deferral of a part of the pay instead of firing employees, on the grounds that their revenues and new orders had taken a hit.

Ashwath Narayan endorsed the idea, and offered support from the government. Industry leaders such as S Gopalakrishnan, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Prashant Prakash attended the virtual meeting.