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HCL Technologies asks resigning employees to return performance bonus

Pune-based IT labor rights nonprofit Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has filed an official complaint against HCL Technologies

According to TOI report, HCL Technologies is asking employees who are resigning to return the performance bonus that was given to them every month during the financial year.
Pune-based IT labor rights nonprofit Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has filed an official complaint against HCL Technologies, alleging the business has instituted a policy to claw back bonuses from resigning employees.

Commenting on this issue, Harpreet Saluja, President, Nites said, “We have received multiple complaints from employees across India that the employer HCL Technologies Limited has initiated a policy to recover bonus[es] paid to the employees.

If the employees fail to pay the amount, their experience certificate, relieving letter, and other employment documents & benefits are withheld by the company.

“HCL’s policy to recover the money as “iniquitous, arbitrary and harsh.” It is also to be noted that such a recovery policy without any statutory approval is resulting in hardship and it far outweighs the equitable balance of the employer’s right to recover.

It is almost impossible for an employee to bear the financial burden of a refund of payment of bonus received over a period of time under the current pandemic conditions,” he added.

Commenting on this HCL Technologies said, “it is not doing anything that the employees did not already know. But for employees, many of who have already spent at least part of the money they received, the demand is turning out to be onerous. Some of them have approached IT employee unions.”

The company further said, “Supporting employees is HCL’s top priority. We have strict global compliance policies whereby every relevant applicable law, including those applicable to employees, are adhered to as per the laws of the countries we operate in.

“We would like to put on record that the matter around the recovery of bonuses has been incorrectly reported. As a law-abiding organisation, HCL follows the best HR practices and continues to honour commitments and work in a fair and equitable manner towards all including employees.” the company added.

Budget 2022 for salaried: Rs 50,000 Work From Home allowance, Rs 1 lakh Standard Deduction expected

Covid-19 pandemic has badly hit salaried employees since 2020. The raging virus has forced employers across businesses to ask their employees to Work From Home.

Under unprecedented circumstances, employees had not only to spend extra to protect themselves and their families from Covid-19 but also undertake several additional expenses like internet and telephone charges, furniture to set up home office, extra electricity bills etc.

Before the pandemic, employees didn’t have to bother about the latter expenses as all necessary things for work were provided by the office. In view of the above, salaried employees are expecting the Government to provide a Work From Home Allowance in the upcoming Budget 2022 to provide tax relief on expenses incurred for carrying out office works from home during the pandemic.

The Government may take inspiration from countries like the UK, where a flat rate of GBP 6 per week of tax relief for additional household costs, if one has to work from home, has been provided to salaries employees.

What do labour law violations at Foxconn say about Make in India?

In 2021, India announced production-linked incentive schemes for thirteen sectors to push the Make in India initiative. But alleged disregard by factories may cast a pall on its manufacturing dreams

Last week, the Union Minister of State for Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the government would love to see the world’s largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company invest in India, among other firms.

His statement came amid the government’s efforts to attract semiconductor companies with a $10 billion incentive scheme launched last month. As India tries to woo one Taiwanese giant, another has been embroiled in a labour issue at its factory near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

Protests started at Foxconn’s factory after more than 250 women workers, who live at one of the company’s hostels, had to be treated for food poisoning. The factory employs 17,000 workers and makes iPhones for Apple. The Taiwanese company is the world’s biggest contract electronics manufacturer. The factory has been shut down since December 18. Some of the women told a news outlet that workers slept on the floor in rooms that housed between 6 to 30 women.

The toilets reportedly had no running water and food sometimes had worms on them. Food safety officials closed the hostel’s kitchen after finding rats and poor drainage. Apple and Foxconn accepted that some dormitories and dining rooms at the factory did not meet required standards. In fact, Foxconn attracted global media attention after 14 workers committed suicide at its factories in China in 2010 over low pay and stressful work conditions.

For Apple, this is the second incident involving a supplier in India in a year. In December 2020, thousands of contract workers at a factory owned by Wistron destroyed equipment and vehicles over alleged non-payment of wages. There’s also another hurdle that India faces as it strives to become a manufacturing hub. Apple’s suppliers are not the only offenders.

Recent examples include a BBC report in November 2020 that revealed how Indian workers in factories supplying UK’s top supermarket chains were being subjected to exploitative conditions. The US-based Workers Rights Consortium found that more than four lakh workers in Karnataka have not been paid the state’s legal minimum wage since April 2020.Foxconn plans to expand the factory, which has become central to Apple’s efforts to shift production away from China.

The worker unrest comes as India is trying to encourage global companies to shift some of their supply chains to India, to take advantage of the trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. But it has exposed the working and living conditions of workers at our factories, as well as their vulnerability.

The government should impress on companies like Apple on how they should treat Indian labour. Advancement in India’s manufacturing prowess should not come at the cost of its workers. India should set a better example than settling for apologies from manufacturers like Foxconn

Indian iPhone Factory shutdown: Women led protest against worm-filled food

Indian iPhone Factory shutdown: Women led protest against worm-filled food

Foxconn, a key supplier for the likes of Apple and Xiaomi, has been in the midst of a major protest led by women workers of its plant near Chennai in India.

The workforce of the plant protested against several lapses in the living standards, including crowded dormitories, toilets without running water and inedible food infested with worms.

The protest that started on December 17 led to the shutdown of the plant, post which Foxconn has apologised for lapses in the living standards in the factory.

The company has now promised to implement changes to both management as well as health services within the plant. The factory will reopen once these improvements are in place. Workers of the factory have since spoken to publications about the living conditions within the Foxconn plant that led to the protest.

Indians with MBAs compete for jobs as street sweepers as unemployment bites…

Thousands of highly educated Indians — many with business or engineering degrees interviewed for a handful of menial Government jobs in central Madhya Pradesh State at the weekend, amid a worsening pandemic crisis in the country.

More than 11,000 hopefuls gathered outside Gwalior District Court to compete for 15 positions as security guards, drivers, street sweepers and office helpers.

The minimum level of education required for the positions was high school level.

But officials were shocked by graduates and postgraduates crowding outside the court complex to appear for the preliminary interview for the vacancies, which offered monthly salaries of between 5,000 rupees ($66) and 10,000 rupees ($122).

Jitendra Maurya, a Law Graduate, said he had applied to become a driver. “I am also preparing for the Judge’s exam but the situation is such that sometimes there is no money to buy books,” he told a local news channel.

Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT).

App-based workers federation serves writ petition to Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Uber India  Food aggregator Zomato informed stock exchanges on Wednesday about a writ petition in the nature of public interest litigation (PIL) before the Supreme Court of India from the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT).

The IFAT, formed in September 2019, is a workers’ organisation representing app-based transport and delivery workers. Its petition names Zomato, Bundl Technologies (Swiggy), ANI Technologies (Ola), and UberIndia Systems, as respondents, apart from Central Government Ministries, according to the exchange filing.

The writ petition seeks the Supreme Court’s intervention to direct the Government to “notify or recognize app based workers as ‘workers’ or alternatively be recognised as ‘unorganised workers’ or ‘wage workers’ under various labour or social security legislations”, Zomato informed the stock markets.

Looking back at 2021: Digital impact on HR systems

HR managers have started to think ahead and plan systematically for 2022

The year 2020 sounded a wake-up call to businesses—big and small—that digital transformation is no longer a wait and watch phenomenon but has become an imperative for survival and reinventing themselves. While functions that are customer facing or are directly supporting markets were prioritized for digital investments, because of the need for remote working, HR function also had to reimagine their processes.

Post lockdown periods, with uncertainties around new virus variants and their impact on work, many organizations continue with remote working or with the hybrid model of physical and virtual working. Several businesses which have zoomed during the lockdown and post lockdown periods, have also been experiencing exodus of employees and need to hire new talent and also upgrade existing employees quickly. Prolonged periods of working remotely have raised concerns of employee wellbeing and the challenges around sustaining employee engagement efforts. Cyber-security and protection of employee data have become significant areas of focus for HR managers, and not just IT managers.

Starting with the call to digital action in the year 2020, rushing to put in place temporary inevitable steps, HR managers have started to think ahead and plan systematically for 2022 to rejuvenate the HR function to cope with the new realities of business functioning. The hybrid mode of working would require robust digital applications to capture attendance and other activities. There would be a greater reliance on cloud based systems for day-to-day administration work, learning and development and recruitment and onboarding of employees. In this context, it is also important to examine the multitude of applications created over a period of time and how to make unified HR systems, making them more effective and design a seamless process for both HR teams as well as for the employees.

During the pandemic those with disabilities as well as a large number of women had lost their jobs. Enabling talent from these segments to become part of the workforce would call for imaginative use of technology for search and recruiting process as well as for providing them with appropriate tools for successful work outcomes. Recruitment and retention of employees would largely depend upon their experience through interactions which are likely to be significantly more with technology applications in the coming years. Therefore personalizing employee experience at all stages of employee lifecycle through the blend of technology and human interfaces has to be an ongoing initiative of HR function.

Managers would required to be coached on new techniques to manage hybrid teams for high performance. AI will become the constant companion for HR managers specially for screening of applications and automated chatbots would have to be trained on a regular basis to handle the routine questions from candidates. In addition to adopting and implementing cyber security practices, adhering to compliances and putting in place controls for access and storage of data pertaining to employees, educating employees on cyber security practices and ensuring there is a frequent orientation on new practices would be an ongoing mandate for HR teams. With businesses recognizing the importance of data backed decisions and actions, HR managers would be expected to create the expertise in data analytics in every function. HR function too would have to build new real time dashboards on people productivity and performance and new measures linking with business outcomes would be required to be introduced.

The experience of the last two years and the recognition of the importance of digital in HR function should pave the way for the next big leap of faith for the HR function.

By: Uma Ganesh
The writer is chairperson, Global Talent Track, a corporate training solutions company

EPFO credits 8.50% interest in 23.44 crore account holders for FY21

In October, EPFO announced the declaration of the rate of interest for the Employees’ Provident Fund Members accounts for the year 2020-21.

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has credited an interest rate of 8.50 per cent in 23.44 crore account holders for the financial year (FY) 2020-21, the retirement fund body announced today on its official Twitter handle.

“23.34 crore accounts have been credited with an interest of 8.50% for the FY 2020-21, ” EPFO said in a tweet.

In October, EPFO announced the declaration of the rate of interest for the Employees’ Provident Fund Members accounts for the year 2020-21.
“The Ministry of Labour and Employment has conveyed the approval of the central government under para 60(1) of Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 to credit interest at 8.50 per cent for the year 2020-21 to the account of each member of the EPF Scheme as per the provisions under Para 60 of EPF Scheme, 1952,” EPFO had said in its official circular.

‘Madam if you want leave, come and meet me alone’; Chattisgarh HC held it not to be a sexually coloured remark; Offence under IPC and SC ST Act not made out

Chhattisgarh High Court, Narendra Kumar Vyas, J., quashed the FIR registered against the petitioner by Respondent 4 at Women Police Station, Bilaspur (C.G.) for commission of offence punishable under Section 354(A) IPC and Section 3 (1)(xii) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The facts of the prosecution are such that the petitioner is working as an Assistant Professor in D.P. Vipra College, Bilaspur, filed present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing FIR registered against him on the basis of complaint made by respondent 4 at Women Police Station, Bilaspur (C.G.) for commission of offence punishable under Section 354 (A) of Penal Code, 1860 i.e. IPC & Section 3(1)(xii) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act i.e. “the Act, 1989”. The petitioner also highlighted that a criminal case was registered the petitioner against respondent 4 along with other 33 teaching staff having committed offence of unlawful assembly , criminal intimidation for which Judicial Magistrate 1st  class convicted the accused persons including respondent 4 and imposed fine s well.

Counsel for the petitioner Mr. B P Sharma submitted that being aggrieved by the conviction order, respondent 4 lodged FIR as a counterblast to the criminal proceedings. It was further submitted that the remarks made by petitioner was “Madam yadi aap chutti chahti hain toh mujhe akele mein aakar milein” which cannot be termed as sexually coloured remarks. Hence, no ingredient of offence under Section 354 (A) IPC is made out and the offence under the Act of 1989 was also prima facie not made out.

Counsel for the respondent 4 Mr. Manoj Paranjape submitted that the alleged statement made by the complainant/respondent 4 feel humiliated and caused grievance as such statement felt as an attack to the dignity and modesty of the complainant. It was submitted that it is the feeling perceived by the victim that is of paramount consideration and not what the accused states.
The Court observed that from bare perusal of Section 3(1) (xii) of the Act of 1989, statement of the complainant and other witnesses, it cannot be prima facie established the offence has been committed with racial prejudice and that the petitioner was ever in a position to exploit respondent 4 sexually as petitioner and respondent 4 are working as Assistant Professors in the same college, therefore, it cannot be presumed that the petitioner was in a position to dominate the respondent 4 or to command or control her.
The Court observed that the contents of the complaint cannot be inferred as a sexual coloured remark against respondent 4. The remarks do not fall within the ambit of sexual harassment in order to prosecute the petitioner for commission of offence under Section 354 (A) (iv) IPC.
The Court held
“since the criminal case is going on, therefore it is counter blast on the part of respondent no. 4, as such; adjudication of the proceeding against the petitioner for commission of offence under Section 354 (A) of IPC will be nothing but an abuse.”

The Court held “FIR No. 0036 dated 25.06.2018 registered against the petitioner by Respondent No. 4 at Women Police Station, Bilaspur (C.G.) for commission of offence punishable under Section 354(A) IPC and Section 3 (1)(xii) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, deserves to be and is hereby quashed.” [Dr. Manish Tiwari v. State of Chhattisgarh, WPCR No. 363 of 2018, decided on 01-11-2021]

Sale Deed Executed Without Payment Of Price Is Void; Has No Legal Effect: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court observed that the payment of price is an essential part of a sale.

If a sale deed in respect of an immovable property is executed without payment of price and if it does not provide for the payment of price at a future date, it is not a sale at all in the eyes of law, the bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S. Oka said.

The court also observed that a document which is void need not be challenged by claiming a declaration as the said plea can be set up and proved even in collateral proceedings.

In this case, one Kewal Krishan executed a power of attorney in favour of Sudarshan Kumar on 28th March 1980. Acting on the basis of the said power of attorney, two sale deeds were executed by Sudarshan Kumar on 10th April 1981. The first sale deed was executed by him by which he purported to sell a part of the suit properties to his minor sons. The sale consideration was shown as Rs.5,500/-. The other sale deed was executed by Sudarshan Kumar in favour of his wife in respect of remaining part of the suit properties. The consideration shown in the sale deed was of Rs.6,875/-.

Kewal Krishan filed two separate suits. One was against Sudarshan Kumar and his two sons and the other one was against Sudarshan Kumar and his wife. Both the suits, as originally filed, were for injunction restraining the defendants from interfering with his possession and from alienating his share  in the suit properties. In the alternative, a prayer was made for passing a decree for possession. The Trial Court dismissed the suits filed by Kewal Krishan. In appeal, the District Court partly decreed the suits. The High Court held that the suits for declaration of invalidity of the sale deeds were barred by limitation as the said prayers were belatedly incorporated on 23rd November 1985.

In appeal, it was contended that there was no evidence adduced to show that the purchasers under the sale deeds dated 10th April 1981 had paid consideration to Sudarshan Kumar, and that the minor sons of Sudarshan Kumar and his wife had no source of earning

Referring to Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the bench observed:

Hence, a sale of an immovable property has to be for a price. The price may be payable in future. It may be partly paid and the remaining part can be made payable in future. The payment of price is an essential part of a sale covered by section 54 of the TP Act. If a sale deed in respect of an immovable property is executed without payment of price and if it does not provide for the payment of price at a future date, it is not a sale at all in the eyes of law. It is of no legal effect. Therefore, such a sale will be void. It will not effect the transfer of the immovable property.

The court noted that no evidence was adduced by Sudarshan Kumar about the payment of the price mentioned in the sale deeds as well as the earning capacity at the relevant time of his wife and minor sons. Hence, the sale deeds will have to be held as void being executed without consideration, the court added. On the issue of limitation, the bench said:

“It was not necessary for the appellant to specifically claim a declaration as regards the sale deeds by way of amendment to the plaint. The reason being that there were specific pleadings in the plaints as originally filed that the sale deeds were void. A document which is void need not be challenged by claiming a declaration as the said plea can be set up and proved even in collateral proceedings. Hence, the issue of bar of limitation of the prayers for declaration incorporated by way of an amendment does not arise at all.”

By Dayanand Mangaonkar