Hi folks !
Thanks to Subramani, the Deccan Herald of Saturday, July 7, 2007, has carried
an article exposing the discriminatory practices followed by some IT companies
against the disabled.
Now that the issue is in the open, here are a few courses of action that we may
contemplate :
a) Write letters to the Editor voicing our protests. That will
incentivise them to carry the issue further. The mail id is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
b) Bring the issue to the notice of industry bodies like CII,
Nasscom etc. May be, someone like Asif can play the role of our advocate in
this.
c) Bring the report to the notice of the PR managers of the
companies concerned. Companies are usually sensitive to adverse reports
appearing in the mainstream media.
d) Take up the issue with authorities like CCPD. This may have to
be done by an NGO preferably.
We should bear in mind that our actions should not harm the interests of our
friends who are on contract and also not result in IT companies
cold-shouldering the disabled in the future. So, kindly reflect on these
courses of action and give your suggestions. We will take action on all
options (excepting the first) only after mutual discussions and coming to a
consensus.
Pl give your considered opinions.
Rgds
RS
M: 098 472 76 126
---
Panorama
ยป Detailed Story
Darkness at end of the tunnel
By R Sudhir
Indian mindset has been historically biased against the people with special
needs, and, despite all technological and managerial advancement this bias still
persists in the Indian IT sector.
Habib, 22, is a disillusioned youngster. The visually challenged from
Kozhikode, Kerala, who is doing his Masters in English Literature at the local
University,
had experienced the awakening of a new hope just a couple of months back. All
that this hardworking lad had ever wanted to achieve in life was to get himself
a steady, teaching job in one of the numerous colleges; a job that would have
ensured him a comfortable living, dignity in the society and the security
of assured employment.
However, a seminar that he had attended in May at Kochi had changed all that.
Resource persons from across the country, most of them visually challenged,
described how companies in the IT and ITES sectors were opening their doors to
persons with disability. The IT majors, facing a severe shortage of qualified
human resources to meet the scorching pace of the business, were ready to
recruit disabled youngsters if they had a graduation, were computer literate
and had good communication skills in English.
Habib intended to finish his course, move to Bangalore, get properly trained in
facing interviews and make it to one of the numerous national and transnational
companies that were holding regular walk-in interviews for Persons With
Disabilities.
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But, the dreams of Habib and several others have been shattered in a matter of
months. Stories of discriminatory practices followed by these leading votaries
of 'equal opportunity employment practices' started surfacing in the virtual
communities of the disabled on the Web. Initially the rumours were speculative,
but soon, the silent ones at the receiving end of such shameful practices
started speaking about their experiences in these "progressive" corporate
entities.
The charges levelled against these companies are more or less uniform. First,
and the most serious, is about the actual nature of employment. Companies
are known to keep their disabled resources as contract employees for years
together, often renewing their half-yearly contracts only on the last day.
While contract employment per se is nothing new to the IT industry, what makes
this discriminatory is how these companies regularise the services of the
non-disabled resources.
Says Kala, 26, a University gold medallist in MA (History), who has been
working on a contract mode with a software company in Bangalore," The company
seems
to have no intention of regularising our services. It is so frustrating to see
one's peers and juniors being taken on rolls merely because they are not
disabled."
Interestingly, Kala's manager is quite pleased with her performance, but, cites
unwritten directives from the top echelons as reason for not confirming
her services.
According to Suman, another visually challenged executive who has put in almost
two years with a global IT giant that claims HR diversity as one of its
many guiding philosophies, she has been told not to compare her contract terms
with those of her sighted peers and juniors who have been confirmed and
are moving up the career path.
Being a contract resource, she is also denied promotional avenues, access to
the rich on-line learning resources on the company's intranet etc. When she
confronted her manager to know why she was not getting confirmed, the manager
explained it was part of their global strategy to keep the headcount low.
"But then, the contract system should apply universally," points out this
disillusioned girl.
But, sadly, there is little that anyone can do in this matter since the Persons
With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation)
Act, 1995 that gives protection of the rights of the disabled, does not apply
to companies in the Indian private sector. The office of the Chief Commissioner
for PWDs at the Centre and those of State level Commissioners are largely
ceremonial posts that lack real authority. Legal experts say that courts can't
also interfere in this matter since these contracts would be construed as
voluntary and bilateral agreements.
At the end of the day, it is sad but true that the more the things change, the
more they remain the same. Indian mindset has been historically biased against
the people with special needs, and, despite all technological and managerial
advancement this bias still persists in the Indian IT sector. Will there
ever be light at the end of the tunnel for the persons in the gray zone?
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