Corporates worry as Citu floats IT union
Corporates are shaken by the CPM labour wing’s open defiance of CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
By TNN |
KOLKATA: Citu’s surprise decision to float the first IT employees’ organisation in West Bengal has predictably sent shockwaves across India, Inc. Though the long-term ramifications are yet to sink in, corporate circles appear visibly shaken by the CPM labour wing’s open defiance of state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s resolve to insulate the state’s IT/ITeS sector from unionisation, strikes and bandhs. Something that threatens to erode the confidence levels the CM enjoys across the business community.
The timing of Citu’s move couldn’t have been worse, coming as it does when the chief minister is going flat out to rekindle Kolkata’s digital fortunes by rolling out the red carpet to the likes of Wipro, Infosys, TCS, ITC Infotech and Cognizant. It also comes at a time when the embattled CM faces stiff political opposition both within the ruling Left Front and outside from the likes of Trinamool Congress and Congress on the Singur land fiasco.
Not too long ago, Wipro chairman Azim Premji had described Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as “India’s best chief minister.” The latest rumblings in the corporate circles would tend to belie such unalloyed optimism.
West Bengal’s IT minister Debesh Das declined to comment on the Citu-related developments. But ET spoke to a cross-section of the IT/BPO community in Kolkata and across the country to get a fix on the scepticism triggered by Citu’s unprecedented decision to form the West Bengal IT Services Association.
The timing of Citu’s move couldn’t have been worse, coming as it does when the chief minister is going flat out to rekindle Kolkata’s digital fortunes by rolling out the red carpet to the likes of Wipro, Infosys, TCS, ITC Infotech and Cognizant. It also comes at a time when the embattled CM faces stiff political opposition both within the ruling Left Front and outside from the likes of Trinamool Congress and Congress on the Singur land fiasco.
Not too long ago, Wipro chairman Azim Premji had described Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as “India’s best chief minister.” The latest rumblings in the corporate circles would tend to belie such unalloyed optimism.
West Bengal’s IT minister Debesh Das declined to comment on the Citu-related developments. But ET spoke to a cross-section of the IT/BPO community in Kolkata and across the country to get a fix on the scepticism triggered by Citu’s unprecedented decision to form the West Bengal IT Services Association.
When contacted, a senior Bharti Airtel official did not mince words, “If this happens, it would be a disturbing development. No other state has such an IT services association. If the CPM’s labour wing (Citu) can openly defy everything that the state chief minister stands for, it would only make the West Bengal IT/ITeS sector more vulnerable. In future, industry would be apprehensive about the CM’s actual ability to deliver on his promises to the IT/BPO and telecom sector.”
A somewhat guarded Mr Ajoyendra Mukherjee, the eastern regional head of Tata Consultany Services, echoed similar sentiments: “We need to wait for a clearer picture on Citu’s actual objectives. The very idea of forming an IT services employees organisation in West Bengal does not make sense, especially since employees are like associates in IT companies.”
“As long as the proposed association does not hinder the smooth flow of work, there is nothing to fear, but if the objective is to disturb work, that should not be tolerated by the government,” he said.
A somewhat guarded Mr Ajoyendra Mukherjee, the eastern regional head of Tata Consultany Services, echoed similar sentiments: “We need to wait for a clearer picture on Citu’s actual objectives. The very idea of forming an IT services employees organisation in West Bengal does not make sense, especially since employees are like associates in IT companies.”
“As long as the proposed association does not hinder the smooth flow of work, there is nothing to fear, but if the objective is to disturb work, that should not be tolerated by the government,” he said.
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