Today, Monday, March 10, Bengaluru Police intervened to prevent members of the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees' Union (KITU) from burning effigies of Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy and L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan.
The protest, staged against exploitative work practices in the Information Technology (IT) sector, saw a large turnout of professionals voicing their opposition to extended working hours proposed by the two business leaders.
A similar demonstration took place on Sunday, March 9, at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru, under the slogan "A Healthy Work-Life Balance is Every Employee's Right." The protest aimed to draw attention to concerns about prolonged working hours, unpaid overtime, and expectations for employees to be available outside their official work schedules, reported Times Now news.
In July last year, KITU strongly opposed a proposal by IT companies urging the Karnataka government to extend working hours for the IT/Information Technology Enabled Service (ITeS)/Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector from eight to 14 hours. The union petitioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to reject the proposal, warning that such extended hours would result in excessive overtime and heightened employee burnout.
KITU criticised the proposed plan as "an attempt to impose slavery," which emerged during discussions regarding the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2024.
The protests followed contentious remarks from prominent business figures endorsing extended workweeks. L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan suggested a 90-hour workweek, adding, "I regret that I cannot make you work on Sundays. If I could, I would be happier." Likewise, Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy previously advocated for a 70-hour workweek, sparking further criticism.
