At Bengaluru's Freedom Park on Sunday, march 9, hundreds of tech professionals braved the extreme heat and demanded a good work-life balance while the nation watched the thrilling final match between india and New Zealand. The karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees' Union (KITU) organized the event.
The protesting workers, brandishing red flags and placards with statements like "We are not your slaves" and "A healthy work-life balance is every employee's right," called for legal protection against demands for after-hours work—a problem that has already received legal recognition in nations like Australia, France, and Spain.
The union also called for action against widespread labor law infractions in the IT sector, the removal of the industry's exemption from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, and stringent enforcement of daily working hour limitations.
Speaking at the rally, KITU member and IT worker Aswin pointed out the informal constraints employees experience when they opt not to react to work-related calls or messages outside office hours.
"There is a constant expectation to be available; work doesn't stop when we log off. You run the risk of being seen as uncooperative or less dedicated if you don't reply to messages after hours. Our personal lives and mental health suffer as a result of this ongoing strain," Aswin stated.
Ram, another union member, emphasized the value of collective worker action, pointing out that legal actions by themselves would not be enough.
"If employees do not unite, even the best laws will remain unenforced," he said.
Women in the IT sector are disproportionately impacted by the culture of extended work hours, as noted by KITU vice-president rashmi Choudhary. Many of these women are compelled to quit their employment because of unsustainable work-life expectations.
"We already put in 14–16 hours a day at work before returning home to perform unpaid labor. Corporate executives' support for 70-hour workweeks is a blatant indication of what they want to normalize. Rashmi referred to recent statements made by L&T's SN Subrahmanyan and Infosys founder narayana murthy, who both advised that indian workers should put in more hours to increase productivity, saying, "If the government doesn't step in, this will become our reality."
Protesters tried to burn the effigies of SN Subrahmanyan and narayana murthy as a symbolic act of disapproval. A little confrontation broke out between the union members and the authorities after the Bengaluru police stopped them.
The union persuaded the cops that burning the posters was a symbolic protest and well within their democratic rights after many minutes of fervent sloganeering and heated arguments. Suhas Adiga, the general secretary of KITU, denounced the toxic workplace atmosphere in the IT industry and demanded prompt government action as the demonstration went on.
The protesting workers, brandishing red flags and placards with statements like "We are not your slaves" and "A healthy work-life balance is every employee's right," called for legal protection against demands for after-hours work—a problem that has already received legal recognition in nations like Australia, France, and Spain.
The union also called for action against widespread labor law infractions in the IT sector, the removal of the industry's exemption from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, and stringent enforcement of daily working hour limitations.
Speaking at the rally, KITU member and IT worker Aswin pointed out the informal constraints employees experience when they opt not to react to work-related calls or messages outside office hours.
"There is a constant expectation to be available; work doesn't stop when we log off. You run the risk of being seen as uncooperative or less dedicated if you don't reply to messages after hours. Our personal lives and mental health suffer as a result of this ongoing strain," Aswin stated.
Ram, another union member, emphasized the value of collective worker action, pointing out that legal actions by themselves would not be enough.
"If employees do not unite, even the best laws will remain unenforced," he said.
Women in the IT sector are disproportionately impacted by the culture of extended work hours, as noted by KITU vice-president rashmi Choudhary. Many of these women are compelled to quit their employment because of unsustainable work-life expectations.
"We already put in 14–16 hours a day at work before returning home to perform unpaid labor. Corporate executives' support for 70-hour workweeks is a blatant indication of what they want to normalize. Rashmi referred to recent statements made by L&T's SN Subrahmanyan and Infosys founder narayana murthy, who both advised that indian workers should put in more hours to increase productivity, saying, "If the government doesn't step in, this will become our reality."
Protesters tried to burn the effigies of SN Subrahmanyan and narayana murthy as a symbolic act of disapproval. A little confrontation broke out between the union members and the authorities after the Bengaluru police stopped them.
The union persuaded the cops that burning the posters was a symbolic protest and well within their democratic rights after many minutes of fervent sloganeering and heated arguments. Suhas Adiga, the general secretary of KITU, denounced the toxic workplace atmosphere in the IT industry and demanded prompt government action as the demonstration went on.
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