'Unethical & unjust': Wipro's reduced pay package infuriates freshers, employee union

Wipro is rolling out revised offer letters with lower salaries to thousands of freshers who have been waiting for the company to onboard them for the past 12 months. Some of these IT freshers had received job offers from Wipro back in December 2021. They were then categorised as 'Elite' candidates with a cost to the company (CTC) of Rs 3.5 lakh. The same candidates would be upgraded to 'Turbo' category with a higher package of Rs 6.5 lakhs if they completed what Wipro called the 'Velocity' training.

Several new recruits enrolled for the training, cleared it, and were offered a fresh offer letter with Rs 6.5 lakh as salary. However, they still did not get a joining date. Some of these candidates have been waiting for over 12 months for Wipro to onboard them. Now, Wipro has reached out to them for onboarding but with a reduced pay of Rs 3.5 lakh instead of Rs 6.5 lakh.

Last week, on Thursday, the candidates, who had undergone the Velocity training, received an email that announced the company could provide them joining dates if they accepted the Rs 3.5 lakh package.

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The email read: “Like others in our industry, we continue to assess global economies and customer needs, which factor into our hiring plans. We appreciate your commitment and patience as we try to identify joining opportunities for you. Currently, we have certain Project Engineer roles available for recruitment with an annual compensation of INR 3.5 lakhs. We would like to offer all our Velocity graduates in the FY23 batch an opportunity to opt for these roles.”

The company assured that after accepting the offer letter with a lower salary these candidates would be onboarded in March this year.

“The onboarding for these roles will be initiated from March 2023 onwards,” the email read.

Wipro's revision of the package has not gone down well with the candidates. They accuse the company of wasting a year of their professional lives.

A fresher awaiting onboarding told Business Today, “We waited for over one year, even completed the training, and also interned with them. Wipro did not pay us anything. Now they are giving us this offer saying that joining will be on priority. We have no faith in them anymore.”

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The company responded to Business Today’s queries and said that it was forced to take this decision in light of the macroeconomic environment.

Wipro said, “Our talent is our most valuable asset. We are committed to creating an environment where all our current and future employees are able to build successful careers and realize their goals. In light of the changing macro environment and, as a result, our business needs, we had to adjust our onboarding plans.”

They also stressed that they would honour all the offers that have been made to freshers. “As we work to honor all outstanding offers made, this current offer creates an immediate opportunity for candidates to start their careers, build their expertise and acquire new skills—both through the interesting and innovative work that we do, as well as our extensive learning and development programs. At Wipro, we are committed to the growth and success of all our employees and look forward to welcoming this new group of recent graduates," the company told Business Today.

Meanwhile, employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) took cognizance of this development and called Wipro's actions ‘unethical’. Talking to BT, NITES' president, Harpreet Singh Saluja said: “We strongly condemn Wipro's unethical move.”

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“The decision to cut the salaries of the employees without prior consultation and negotiation is not only unjust but also goes against the principles of fairness and transparency. It is unacceptable that the burden of the company's financial troubles is being placed solely on the shoulders of the employees. We demand that the management reconsider its decision and engage in meaningful dialogue with the union to find a mutually beneficial solution. We will not stand by while the rights and dignity of our members are being violated,” the union's statement read.