NITES files official complaint against Infosys with Labour Ministry

The IT-union body Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has submitted a formal complaint to the Karnataka State Labour Department against Infosys’ “unfair and illegal termination of approximately 700 campus recruits” at its Mysuru campus. The NITES said that the freshers who had been onboarded in October 2024 were handed letters of ‘mutual separation’ and asked to leave abruptly. 

These employees had reportedly all received their offer letters two years ago. 

The IT major spoke to PTI on the issue saying, “At Infosys, we have a rigorous hiring process where all freshers, after undergoing extensive foundational training at our Mysuru campus, are expected to clear internal assessments. All freshers get three attempts to clear the assessment, failing which they will not be able to continue with the organisation, as is also mentioned in their contract. This process has been in existence for over two decades and ensures a high quality of talent availability for our clients.” 

While the freshers said that these tests were made difficult on purpose so people failed them, the NITES called the move unjustified. “These employees were interviewed multiple times and have cleared multiple tests after which they were allowed to join the organization. Moreover, the company forced them to sign Separation Agreements. No where in the agreement it’s mentioned that the company is terminating these employees because of failure in assessment examination,” Advocate Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of the association told The Hindu. 

Additionally, while the NITES has said that 700 freshers were impacted from these layoffs, Infosys has refuted the claim saying they were more than 300 employees. 

Infosys HR responded to the freshers’ questions saying they had never been asked to wait for two years by the company. 

The NITES said that according to the complaint they had received, the employees were intimidated by bouncers and security personnel who ensured they did not have their mobile phones to seek help. They were also asked to leave before 6 pm the same day itself. 

“This blatant corporate exploitation cannot be allowed to continue, and we urge the government to take swift action to uphold the rights and dignity of Indian IT workers,” Saluja added.