Infosys Under Scrutiny for Unpaid Training and Delayed Onboarding of 2000 Graduates
More than 2000 fresh graduates have found themselves in a precarious situation after being subjected to years of unpaid training by Indian IT giant Infosys, with current employees voicing concerns about their own 14-hour workdays leaving no room for additional workload. The tech industry is buzzing with the news, as the company’s practices have been labeled as exploitative.
According to reports, new hires at Infosys have repeatedly undergone unpaid onboarding training without actual job placements. The company, which is known to recruit thousands of engineering graduates, has been accused of severe exploitation. Despite issuing job offers, Infosys has allegedly kept these graduates in a prolonged training phase for up to two years without providing them with formal employment. This has led to widespread frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty among the affected individuals.
The National Association of Information Technology Employees (NITES), an advocacy group for IT workers in India, has written to the country’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, requesting government intervention to stop Infosys from exploiting young IT graduates. NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja highlighted in the letter that the organization has received multiple complaints from engineering graduates who claim to have been subjected to unprofessional and exploitative treatment after being hired as System Engineers and Digital Specialist Engineers.
Infosys, a multinational IT company headquartered in Bangalore, India, is the second-largest IT company in the country after Tata Consultancy Services. With a global ranking of 596 in terms of revenue in 2017, Infosys operates in 29 countries, maintaining development centers in India, the United States, China, Australia, the UK, Canada, and Japan. The company offers business consulting, IT, and outsourcing services in over 30 nations. Infosys’ market capitalization surpassed $100 billion in August 2021.
The controversy revolves around an unpaid, online onboarding training that the graduates were required to complete from July 1 to July 24, 2024. Infosys’ HR team initially promised to finalize the onboarding plans by August 19 or September 2. However, NITES’ letter highlighted that these promises were not fulfilled, leaving the graduates in limbo for over 20 days. Adding to their distress, the graduates were not only denied a concrete start date but were also informed that they needed to undergo additional offline training and exams without any compensation.
The Register, a technology news outlet, reported that Infosys’ new recruits have undergone multiple unpaid online and offline training courses and assessments, citing emails sent to the employees. Refusal to participate in these sessions reportedly jeopardized their job opportunities, with one six-week course being mandatory. The situation sparked discussions on social media, with a self-identified Infosys employee questioning how they could complete 14-hour workdays and still have work available for others.
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh addressed the issue this week, stating that the graduates would eventually be onboarded but failed to provide a specific timeline or explanation for the extended delay and repeated training sessions. In an interview with Press Trust of India, Parekh assured that every job offer would result in a position at Infosys, although he acknowledged that the actual start dates had been adjusted.
Infosys’ CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka had mentioned in a recent earnings call that the company planned to hire between 15,000 and 20,000 fresh graduates this year, depending on business growth projections. It is unclear if the 2000 graduates in question are part of this hiring plan. In March, Infosys reported a slight decline in its employee count to 317,240, the first contraction since 2001. Parekh has also recently assured that Infosys does not foresee job cuts due to emerging technologies like AI.
NITES has advocated for Infosys to pay full salaries during the delayed onboarding period and assist those who ultimately do not secure a position in finding alternative employment. As of June 2024, Infosys’ employee count further reduced to 315,332. The company’s latest financial report showed a 5.1% year-on-year growth in profits and a 2.1% growth in revenue.
The ongoing saga raises questions about the fairness of Infosys’ recruitment and training practices, particularly in an industry where job security and fair compensation are paramount concerns. As the spotlight remains on Infosys, the company will be under pressure to address these issues promptly and transparently.
【source】https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/j_pQJhSB-JoOpV0g8IRY0g
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