Investments over welfare? Karnataka’s labour law exemption to IT, ITES firms gets pushback
Sweeping technological advancements are creating a sea change in today’s regulatory environment. The pace of development of today’s technological innovations and the scope of the transformations they induce is indeed unprecedented. At times, regulatory frameworks are not agile enough to accommodate the fast pace of innovation .
However, Karma Global, a leading international solution provider in the field of Regulatory compliance has stood formidable with the integration of sophisticated AI into its tools and processes and its expansion into countries like the U.K, U.S. Canada, Middle East and South East Asia, specialising in areas like staffing, on-boarding, payroll, facility management , curbing regulatory risk, auditing and abiding by all labour law related compliance on PAN basis.
Karnataka’s AIITEU pushing for stronger legal protection against Government’s exemption to IT/ITeS till 2029 !
In a recent move that has significant implications for the Information Technology (“IT”)/ IT-enabled services sector (“ITeS”) and start-ups in Karnataka, the state government has once again exempted certain categories of establishments from the applicability of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 .
The notification dated June 10, 2024, marks a continuation of the previous exemptions in this respect that have sparked debates and discussions in the past surrounding labour laws and employee rights within the industry.
Needless to mention, this move comes at a time when the IT sector plays a crucial role in the state’s economy. This employment law prism seeks to understand the rationale behind the exemption, the conditions attached to the same and its potential impact on workplace dynamics.
However, the companies are still required to follow basic labour practices, like constituting an internal committee as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, constituting a Grievance Redressal Committee, intimating information about all the cases of disciplinary action like suspension, discharge, termination, demotion, dismissal etc., of its employees to the Jurisdictional Deputy Labour Commissioner and Commissioner of Labour in Karnataka and more.
AIITEU slams government
The AIITEU not only condemned the move but also demanded to protect the rights of employees in the firms, especially start-ups.
In Bengaluru alone, there are over 8,000 companies IT and ITES companies. The workforce in the IT sector is surging annually, with the state capital also turning out to be a hub for start-ups in the country.
AIITEU working committee member Suman Das Mahapatra said “The IT industry value is pegged anywhere around $254 billion industry. There are over 60 lakh IT employees in India. Among them a whopping 22 lakh techies are working in Bengaluru alone.”
“Initially, to encourage investments, especially in the IT sector in Bengaluru, the government exempted IT and ITES companies from the Industrial Standing Orders Act, 1946,” he said.
“There is lot of exploitation in the IT sector because they are being exempted from the existing laws. There is no legal protection from the government for the techies,” he continued.