The Hindu Business Line : Conditions in call centres

The report of the V. V. Giri National Labour Institute about the working conditions in BPO call centres has provoked a national debate. There is an opinion that the IT industry is different from others and should not be unionised. The article "Labour laws, unions and BPOs" (Business Line, November 1) throws some light on this subject.

Regardless of the industry, it is essential that discipline and work culture be maintained. At the same time, long hours of work, even if put in willingly, are not good for the health of the employees, the families and society.

High salary or other benefits are no excuse. In fact, this gives rise to other problems, as highlighted in "Small IT firms cry foul over poaching by bigwigs" (Business Line, October 31). In an ideal situation, the interests of the employees, the employers and the industry must be seen as one. Increasingly, in many industries, employees' associations work in cooperation with the management. The IT industry generally discourages such staff associations or unions so that outsiders may not come in. This shows that there is definitely a need for some regulation in the IT industry that could pave the way for further labour reforms. The Government should give some thought to this and act accordingly.

A. Jacob Sahayam

Thiruvanathapuram

Letters to the editor and contributions can be sent by e-mail to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in

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