Transport remains a critical factor for BPO employees
The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Karnataka case, paving the way for the trial of a BPO Chief Executive Officer for negligence under the Shops and Establishments Act, has sparked a heated debate on the responsibilities and accountability of CEOs.In this particular case, a woman BPO employee was raped and murdered allegedly by a cab driver as she was returning home after night duty.
Aside from the more serious question of whether CEOs are responsible or culpable in such cases — which the courts will decide — the larger issue that it has raised relates to the transport of employees in the IT-ITES-BPO sector.
When the industry employs around 1.8 million people across the country, many of them quite young, transport arrangements become a serious problem. Given the odd working hours of this sector, the imperative night duty, and the need to work to the hours of foreign clients, industry sources agree that it will be impossible to expect all employees — men and women — to make their own transport arrangements. This assumes greater significance in cities and town that do not have an organised or efficient public transport system, which may not anyway be operational beyond midnight.
The Bangalore police filed a case against the CEO of the BPO for failing in his duty to provide safety and security to a woman employee who was on night duty. Under the Act, he or she has to take responsibility for her safety.
Top management officials in the IT and BPO sector contacted after the apex court ruling, made one thing clear — the time had come for updating some of the outdated laws of the land, especially in relation to industry and labour. None of the existing laws could suit the IT-ITES sector, which has been a new phenomenon, they argued.