IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has filed a complaint against Indian IT major Wipro with the Labour Ministry on Wednesday, Business Today has learned.
The complaint reads: "The company [Wipro] is now reducing the salary of freshers unethically, which is a clear violation of the terms of the offer letter and a breach of contract."
Business Today reported on Tuesday that Wipro rolled out a revised offer letter for recruits awaiting onboarding at the company for over 12 months now. The revised offer letters assured immediate onboarding to freshers if they accepted a reduction in cost to the company (CTC). The initial CTC or salary being offered was Rs 6.5 lakh and the fresh CTC being offered was Rs 3.5 lakh.
The complaint stresses that this instance could set precedent and other companies would also follow suit. "We are concerned that this could set a dangerous precedent for other companies to follow, which could lead to the exploitation of workers and a lack of job security," the NITES complaint letter stated.
It is worth noting that several IT giants, including TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Capgemini, Accenture, Mphasis, and others have been delaying the onboarding of fresher recruits for the past 12 months, as Business Today has been reporting.
"Hence through this letter, we are seeking your prompt intervention and support to ensure that Wipro honors the terms of the offer letter and does not reduce workers' salaries unethically. We also request that the labour department takes necessary actions against the company for violating the terms of the offer letter and breaching the contract," the complaint noted.
Business Today has reached out to Wipro for a response on the same, the copy will be updated with their response.
As per the revised offer letter, Wipro tried to assure the job claimants that their onboarding or joining would be prioritised and would begin in the next month.
“The onboarding for these roles will be initiated from March 2023 onwards,” the email sent to the job claimants read.
Business Today reported last month that the IT company had fired freshers after they failed internal tests. Sources alleged that over 800 freshers were laid off while Wipro insisted that the number was limited to 452 employees.
Also Read: Wipro sacks freshers; 452 employees fired after internal test - BusinessToday