India's calls centres in crisis, exploit workers
New Delhi (AsiaNews/SCMP) India's information technology sector (IT) is going through a crisis according to a recent study released by the New Delhi-based V.V. Giri National Institute of Labour. The institute, which is linked to the Indian Labour Ministry, slammed call centres operating for foreign companies for exploiting its workforce and forcing many employees to work without job security.
Outsourcing may have made India an ideal place for call centres because of cheap labour, but the study paints a pretty grim picture for those working them. It exposes Big Brother-style surveillance, brainwashing, manipulation and systematic exploitation of the employees.
The fallout has been heavy since the report was released in October, especially as it came after IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran described call centres as "the pride of the nation".
The study is based on lengthy interviews with 320 customer-care agents, team leaders and managers in call centres in the New Delhi area by scholar, Babu Ramesh.
"Workers are burdened with targets that are constantly hiked to pile pressure. The workload, unsocial hoursto live as Indians by day and westerners after sundowninevitably impact on health," Mr Ramesh concluded.
Moreover, these workers have no job security. Employment is based on short-term contracts and impossible working hours to satisfy the demands of European, US and Japanese companies.
In India IT companies are growing fast. Just four years ago, the industry accounted for only 42,000 jobs compared to 350,000 today. In 2004-2005, it earned US$ 5.2 billion and is estimated to grow by more than 40 per cent in 2005-2006.
For some years, the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which is affiliated with the powerful Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M), has been trying to unionise IT employees and reform the sector.
CITU chief Chittabrata Majumdar lost no time in welcoming the V.V. Giri National Institute of Labour study. For the CITU, the study's findings are proof the IT industry was flouting the country's labour laws and for Mr Majumdar the "IT [sector] cannot get away with murder simply because it is generating employment or earning foreign exchange".
.png)
