The Karnataka IT/ITeS (Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services) Employees Union (KITU) has issued a clarion call for a mass gathering of all those employed in the IT/ITeS sector in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on March 9, 2025, to demand better working conditions.
The gathering, with the rallying slogan “A healthy work-life balance is every employee’s right,” aims to raise awareness of the plight of software employees in the city dubbed India’s Silicon Valley.
This call comes at a time when debates on work-life balance have polarised India Inc, where corporate leaders like Narayana Murthy, Co-founder of software services giant Infosys and SN Subramanian, Chairman & Managing Director of multinational conglomerate L&T (Larsen & Toubro) decrying the concept and pushing for increases working hours, and workers pushing back against their remarks.
In its pamphlet announcing the gathering, KITU flagged the following issues posing a problem to IT employees’ work-life balance:
The Karnataka Government’s proposal to implement a 14-hour workday by amending the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act
The exemption given by the Karnataka Government to IT/ITeS companies in the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, which guarantees clear employment terms, job security, fair disciplinary procedures, legal protection and proper grievance redressal to employees
Underrepresentation, underpayment and discrimination of women in the workplace
The union began campaigning for the gathering in January, raising awareness for it through sticking posters, organising rallies and on-ground interactions with the people of Bengaluru.
“We campaigned at residential areas, corporate complexes, IT parks and traffic signals, calling people to join us,” says Sooraj Nidiyanga, Karnataka State Secretary of KITU, to EdexLive.
He adds that their fight to ensure work-life balance began when the Karnataka Government proposed a 14-hour workday last year. “After we protested against the amendment, the Department of Labour froze the bill. However, the bill was not withdrawn in its entirety,” he said.
Further, he adds that the Karnataka Government did not have data on the number of companies that had long working hours, and made their employees work overtime without compensation.
“Our gathering would be a message to the government to withdraw the bill in its entirety, extend the Industrial Employment Act to IT/ITeS companies, and ensure that employees have a healthy work-life balance,” Sooraj says.
He adds that the union’s call garnered positive responses in Bengaluru, and expects the gathering to draw huge numbers.
The gathering is scheduled to take place in Freedom Park, Bengaluru at 2.30 pm on March 9.
