Probe harassment of techies: Industry

R Ravichandran / Hyderabad

Even as the i-flex episode was the third in a series of incidents involving alleged harassment of Indian IT professionals across the globe, the industry has started calling for a probe at the highest levels so as to ensure that such incidents do not recur. The IT industry has also called for a detailed and discreet study on these incidents and guidelines on how to tackle these issues.
While some industry members feel the incidents were a fallout of increasing global protectionism, others have taken the line that the incidents were aimed at damaging India’s credibility in the information technology area

While the i-flex chief had to cool his heels in a London prison for alleged visa irregularities by his employees in The Netherlands last month, the Polaris chief was detained by Indonesian authorities for allegedly defaulting on a contract with a Jakarta-based bank a couple of months back.

Several Indian techies were also allegedly mistreated by Malaysian police in a crackdown on illegal immigrants last month.
“In the absence of all the facts and the motives behind the incidents, these need to be thoroughly investigated at the highest level,” said Wipro Technologies vice president Rohit Kumar.

“Though one may consider these as isolated incidents, they need to be probed to identify the root cause behind such incidents. It is certainly a cause for concern,” Kumar said.

Says ADP Wilco managing director Shakti Sagar, “It was sad to see Indian IT professionals undergoing such treatment in all the three incidents. It should be probed thoroughly at the highest levels as socio-political issues affect the business environment.”
Since Indian IT companies have a lead over emerging competitors such as the Philippines, Korea and Indonesia, there is always a chance that such incidents will occur again. So it is imperative that these issues are sorted out amicably or otherwise they could lead to business turmoil, Sagar warned.

“The safety issues of Indian techies need to be looked into seriously as protectionism may lead to such incidents occurring again and again,” he added.

Said Goldstone Technologies chief executive officer Shyam Bhethanabotla, “With the big companies continuing to depend on Indian capabilities and cost-effective solutions, one cannot rule out deliberate attempts to damage the country’s reputation in the IT sector.”

— The Financial Express