KITU Challenges TCS’s Labour Law Violations

Bengaluru: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is facing formal conciliation proceedings under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, following complaints of forced resignations raised by the Karnataka State IT/ITES Employees Union (KITU). The union has submitted evidence, including audio recordings, to the Labour Department, alleging that the company pressured employees to resign instead of adhering to due legal procedures for termination.

The conciliation process is being overseen by Additional Labour Commissioner G. Manjunath, with the next hearing scheduled for October 15 at Karmika Bhavana, Bengaluru.

TCS has been engaging in a systematic practice of circumventing statutory retrenchment norms. Employees have reportedly been asked to resign under duress, with threats of adverse consequences such as denial of experience letters or damage to their future employment prospects. The term “involuntary attrition,” used by TCS Chief Human Resources Officer Sudeep Kunnumal, describes this practice of forcing resignations without following due legal process.

Involuntary attrition is when employees are made to resign instead of being formally terminated, allowing the company to avoid legal procedures required for layoffs, which include prior approval from the Labour Department for retrenchment in companies with over 100 employees.

KITU has pointed that the TCS’s actions as a violation of Sections 25F and 25N of the Industrial Disputes Act, which govern conditions under which a worker may be lawfully retrenched. The union contends that the company failed to issue written notices, provide compensation, or follow mandated procedures before asking employees to leave.

While formal trade union activity has been historically limited in the Indian IT sector, KITU is part of a growing movement of white-collar workers coming together to organise. The union has been at the forefront of raising concerns over job insecurity, lack of grievance redressal mechanisms, and the widening gap between legal protections on paper and their enforcement in practice.

KITU has called on IT employees across the country to support the workers affected by these practices and to participate in efforts to bring greater transparency and accountability to employment norms in the industry.

TCS had not issued a response to the charges at the time of publication.