On February 26, Wednesday, Pune-based IT workers union NITES (Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) said it would not hesitate to start a protest along with trainees who were laid off recently by Infosys if the government does not take "appropriate" action.
Infosys said that every trainee joins with full understanding that performance evaluations are a key part of their progress, and asserted that all eligible trainees (over 98 per cent) have received their relieving letter upon separation, along with outplacement services, severance pay, counselling, among other measures, stated the Deccan Herald.
NITES, in a statement on Wednesday, said, "...we will continue to stand with these employees until they receive the fairness and dignity they deserve. Today we are politely requesting the authorities for justice, but if the government will not take appropriate measures then NITES along with all the employees will not hesitate to start a massive protest outside the Infosys campus." NITES emphasised immediate action must be taken to address "this injustice" and added "those responsible must be held accountable for their actions".
Counter statement
Infosys, meanwhile, countered the allegations, saying every trainee joins with the clear understanding that performance evaluations are an integral part of their development and progress. "Each trainee that joins Infosys, fills an Apprenticeship Registration Form accepting their apprenticeship with Infosys, where the training cost is borne entirely by Infosys. Our testing processes are articulated in the evaluation policy document and also communicated proactively to all trainees," Infosys said in a statement
Further, the company said that as part of the evaluation process, negative marking is applicable across all three attempts where multiple-choice question (MCQs) formats are followed.
"This is part of the evaluation policy document and also communicated proactively at the time of induction of our trainees," Infosys said, asserting it takes pride in the quality of its employees and provides one of the finest training programmes that has been globally recognised as a leading foundation programme in the industry
Earlier, responding to allegations that assessment criteria and syllabus were altered and intimidation tactics were resorted to, leading to the 300-plus terminations at the Mysuru campus, Shap Mathew, Chief Human Resources Officer at Infosys, had said that as the company invests money and effort to select and place trainees through the training programme, it is in the interest of Infosys to see that all of them are successful.
