Allegedly Sacked Tech Mahindra Employees Move High Court Against Ouster

The Hyderabad High Court has sought the stands of Tech Mahindra and the Telangana government on a plea by four former employees of the IT major, allegedly sacked from the job illegally. Justice M S Ramchandra Rao on Monday issued a notice to the IT major, asking it to explain why a direction to take back the petitioners in service may not be passed. The judge also sought a reply from the Labour and Employment Department's principal secretary as to why the government department failed to follow mandatory legal procedures to examine the legality of the action. The replies are to be filed within three weeks.

The petitioners said that after they were removed from Tech Mahindra, they first approached the Commissioner of Labour, who is yet to conclude the conciliation proceedings.

They had to move the high court because the labour commissioner was not giving due attention while adjudicating the dispute, the petition alleged.After losing their jobs, the petitioners were leading a hand to mouth existence, it said.

Indian IT industry is facing challenges in the business environment and stricter work permit regime in countries like the US, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. There have also been reports of layoffs by various companies, even though the industry has consistently denied the allegations.

Many companies have also deferred their wage hikes to later in the year, instead of the earlier practice of revision from April. The IT firms are also under pressure to hire local workers instead of taking Indian employees on work visas to client sites as the US hardens its stance on outsourcing. Higher on-site hiring means higher costs.

IT companies have been one of the largest recruiters in the country. Apart from the impact of stringent visa regime, increasing automation of processes would also lead to reduction in hiring in coming years, say experts.