The labour department has asked TCS to explain its stand on the matter during a formal meeting on January 18.
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The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an organisation that works with IT/ITeS and related-sector employees, had filed a complaint with the state’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, accusing TCS of transferring more than 2,000 employees without proper notice or consultation, ET reported on November 15.
TCS did not provide an immediate comment on the issue.
According to company insiders that ET has spoken with, transfers were a “routine” activity.
NITES claims that it received more than 300 complaints, accusing TCS of systematically forcing employees to transfer to different cities. This is causing hardship for employees and their families, it claimed.
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“The company had threatened the employees that failure to comply with the transfer directions would result in disciplinary actions. The company now has unethically stopped the salary of employees who are opposing these forced transfers,” NITES president Harpreet Saluja said in a statement.TCS has been sending emails to employees, informing them about their transfer to Mumbai among other locations, NITES wrote in its complaint to the labour ministry. The emails state that the transfer is necessary due to business requirements, however no specific details are provided, NITES has claimed. Employees are required to report to the new location within two weeks and will be reimbursed later, according to emails seen by ET.
NITES said it had also received complaints where employees claimed that their access rights to their current locations had been revoked in case they failed to comply.
NITES said these requirements have put employees under financial and emotional stress. It urged the ministry to investigate TCS’ transfer practices to determine if they were in violation of labour laws and take the requisite actions.
TCS has asked its employees to work from office five days a week, after almost three years of work from home during the pandemic. Most IT companies including TCS however have been struggling to get employees to return to office completely.
