Infosys says no to trade unions in software firms
Monday, 02 July 2007, 19:30 IST
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Thiruvananthapuram: Coming out strongly against trade unions in the IT industry, Infosys Technologies chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan says the sector should instead opt for self-regulation if there are labour problems. "Perception and image are vital ingredients to consider for the IT industry, and if there are any problems in the industry, the industry itself should form a self regulatory mechanism to tackle issues," Gopalakrishnan said. "Moreover, the National Association for Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) is also taking an active role in these issues. So why trade union in the IT industry?" Gopalakrishnan queried. "It would not be good," said the alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, after inaugurating the website of the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here. His remarks came in the wake of some leading trade unions seeking to bring about an organized movement in Kerala's industries, especially in the IT sector. It was this fear that Infosys took time to open shop in the state. "It was all about perception that we took some time to open here, and now that we are here employing 1,100 professionals, we are very happy that we are in Kerala," said Gopalakrishnan, also the managing director of the software major. "Our new campus work has begun and we expect to increase our strength to 5,000. And if things go well, it would be doubled," he added. It was on June 22 that he took over the reins from Nandan M. Nilakani, who is now co-chairman. Asked why the IT sector had not progressed in Kerala, despite the state being home to the country's first technology park park, Gopalakrishnan said that now that all major IT firms were in the state, things would improve in the future. In the country as a whole, too, the industry will progress since 67 percent of the players had high quality. The industry employs more than a million people and some 300,000 join the industry each year. Yet, he said, one problem faced by the industry was shortage of engineers. "The need of the hour is the quality of the educational system has to improve because if there is a drop in quality, then it is a cause of worry."
Source: IANS
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