Centre to act against Infosys over onboarding delays of freshers?
What's the story
The Union Ministry of Labor and Employment has urged the Karnataka government to take action against Bengaluru-based IT giant Infosys, following complaints about delayed onboarding of new recruits. The ministry has directed the Karnataka State Labor Commissioner's Office to investigate these allegations under applicable labor laws. This development comes after a complaint was lodged by Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) in August, accusing Infosys of exploiting and unprofessionally treating over 2,000 young engineering graduates.
Complaint details
NITES alleges exploitation of young graduates by Infosys
NITES's complaint against Infosys centers on the alleged mistreatment of over 2,000 engineering graduates. These individuals were selected for System Engineer (SE) and Digital Specialist Engineer (DSE) roles during the 2022-23 recruitment drive. The union claims that after receiving offer letters as early as April 2022, these graduates faced continuous delays in onboarding process, unpaid pre-training programs, and unexpected additional assessments.
Union response
Government's intervention hailed as a major step
NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja has lauded the government's intervention in this matter. He stated, "This is a major step toward ensuring the protection of employee rights in the IT sector, particularly for new graduates entering the industry." Saluja expressed gratitude toward the government's commitment to safeguarding young professionals who have been subjected to delayed onboarding and other unfair practices.
Company action
Offer letters issues to more freshers post-complaint
Following NITES's complaint, Infosys has issued offer letters to the remaining 2,000 freshers from its 2022 campus hires. However, around 700 campus recruits are still awaiting their joining dates. The roles in question are for System Engineers (SE) and Digital Specialist Engineers (DSE), who have already completed two pre-training sessions.
CEO assurance
Infosys CEO assures all offers will be honored
In response to the ongoing situation, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh has assured that all offers extended to freshers will be honored by the company. He stated, "Every offer that we have given, that offer will be someone who will join the company." This statement comes amid allegations of ad hoc selection criteria for certain freshers who have been issued offer letters so far.