IT Employees Union Writes To Labour Ministry Against Wipro’s Salary Cuts For Freshers: Report

Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an IT employees union, has written a letter to the Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav regarding Wipro’s delay in inducting freshers and the pay reductions for new employees. NITES wants the ministry to take immediate action against Wipro for violation of contract and not abiding by the terms in the offer letter, reported Moneycontrol.

As per the letter written by NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja, the onboarding of the employees should have been completed in August 2022. “The company told employees in February 2022 that either they have to pay for training which will cost Rs 30,000-40,000 or else they need to undergo an unpaid internship and a training program called Velocity for a period of 3 months. The unpaid internship started around March - April 2022 and ended around July 2022. The joining of these employees was supposed to be completed in August 2022 but the company kept on postponing the joining or onboarding date,” it said.

Any alterations made in the contract should have been done with the approval of both the parties involved, as the offer letter given by the company is an official document which highlights all the terms and conditions of the employment, the letter stated. In this instance, the firm is attempting to force a salary drop despite the employees’ refusal to consent to it, it added.

Saluja claimed that the employees “who have devoted their time and strength for a year to the company” have not been paid by the company and that the employees have refused offer letters from other companies.

Recently, the IT giant contacted the candidates who were previously offered a package of Rs 6.5 lakh per annum (LPA) and asked if they were willing to take an offer of Rs 3.5 LPA in its place. In response to this, NITES called the decision "unjust and unacceptable" and urged the IT firm to reconsider its action.