Employee Voice and Collective Formation in Indian ITES-BPO Industry

Author(s): Philip Taylor, Ernesto Noronha, Dora Scholarios, Premilla D'Cruz

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 43, No. 22 (May 31 - Jun. 6, 2008), pp. 37-46
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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EmployeeVoice and CollectiveFormation

in Indian ITES-BPOIndustry
PHILIP TAYLOR, ERNESTO

NORONHA, DORA SCHOLAR1OS,

PREMILLA D'CRUZ

Thegrowthofthe information
technologyenabled
calls
services-business
processoutsourcingindustry
to employees'workingconditionsand
forattention
Can an independentorganisationsuchas unites
rights.

Pro(theunionofinformation
technologyenabled
servicesprofessionals)
employees'interests
represent
theirrightsand
worktowardsprotecting
and effectively
theirworkingconditions?A surveyofunites
improving
withthe need for
membersindicatesthattheyidentify
and
to deal withpoorsupervisory
suchan organisation
for
concerns employeesafety,
managerialtreatment,
to
related
payand workload,and even the
grievances
offavouritism.
indignities

ofStrathclyde,
PhilipTaylorand DoraScholariosare at theUniversity
are
UK.ErnestoNoronhaand PremillaD'Cruz{pdcruz@iimahd.ernet.iri)
Ahmedabad.
ofManagement,
at theIndianInstitute
Economic&Political weekly

E32ES may 31, 2008

technospectaculargrowthofthe Indianinformation
logy enabled services-businessprocess outsourcing
has thrustto theforeissuesofwork(ites-bpo) industry
and employeerights,particularly,
thequestionof
ingconditions
whetheran independentorganisationis requiredto represent
employeeinterests.The positionof National Associationof
Softwareand ServiceCompanies(Nasscom),theemployers'
orhas been consistent,
disganisationforthe ites-bpo industry,
missingtradeunionsas unnecessaryin the Indiancontexton
KiranKarnik."In
groundssummarisedby itsformerpresident,
the bpo industrythe grievancesof the workersare addressed
and thewages are good so thereis no needforunions"
promptly
(http://www.rediff.com/money/2oo5/oct/17bpo.htm).
Accordingto this widely-acceptednarrative,the ites-bpo
is portrayed
as providing
industry
unparalleledcareeropportunitiesand generouspay and rewards'packagesforthe young
make up itsworkforce.
On the
graduateswho overwhelmingly
or grievancesdo
rare occasionsthatemployeedissatisfactions
arise,theycan be resolvedeasilyand timeously
bymanagement
and arrangements.
Human
withinexistingcompanystructures
thusoperateas "substitutes"
forthe
resource(hr) departments
of
forms
of
collective
and
organisation representation.
development
of
These are whathave been termedthe "inclusivist"
strategies
and
Noronha
Noronha
and
d'Cruz
2006],
[d'Cruz
2006;
employers
have succeededin capturing
employbywhichconcertedefforts
ees "heartsand minds"and capitalisingon employees'powerful
ina "productively
docile"
senseofprofessional
identity,
resulting
workforce
[Remesh2004].
Whilethereis some evidenceof a less positiveexperienceof
embrace
held thatites-bpo professionals
work,it is commonly
their employmentopportunityso eagerlythat they identify
withtheircompany's
successand favourable
working
uncritically
is essentially
conflictthat
the
conditions
relationship
employment
that
is
evidence
there
free.Atthesametime,
employers
showing
stancetowards
more"exclusivist"
havetendedto adopta firmer,
tradeunionism.Thereare threeaspectsto thisoppositionthat
needtobe considered.
First,the chief executive officers(ceos) of Indian third
partycompanieshave publiclydeclaredthatunionismshould
be opposed because its presencewould dissuade clientsfrom
sourcingfromIndia,therebydamagingthe interestsofthe inand job
dustryand by implication,threatenthe opportunities
securityofemployees.
thatoperate
Second,manyofthe multinational
corporations
captivefacilitiesin India or act as businessserviceproviders
37

^^

REVIEW OF LABOUR

relationshistorieswhichhave companiesfallintoseveraldistinctcategoriesincludingmulti(forexampleibm)have industrial

nationalcorporation
an
to
trade
unionism.
(mnc)captives,mncthirdpartyproviders,
displayed opposition
Indian
third
uk
and
such
as
Third,many
Prudential,
partyproviders(eitherpureplaysor bpo armsof
Europeancompanies
and
software
Sun
Siemens
Business
Alliance,Barclays,
Lloyds/TSB,
companies) and domesticplayerswhose scale of
Royal
Servicesand abn-amro, who have offshored(eitherto their operationsdifferwidely.While 60-65 per cent of servicesfall
own "captive"operationsor to thirdpartyproviders)do recog- withinthecall centrespace and 35-40percentarebackoffice
acnise trade unions for bargainingpurposes in their "home" tivities,
therehas been no wholesalemoveup thevaluechaintoto India. wardsgreatercomplexity.
operationsbuthave notextendedthesearrangements
Undeniably,
thoughtherehasbeenconWhileit is notbeingarguedthatexplicitunionavoidancewas siderablediversification
in therangeofprocessesdeliveredfrom
a primarymotiveforrelocation,the centraldriversof lower India and therecertainly
and
has been growthin higher-value
costsand labourflexibilities
have
been
facilitated
the
evidence
certainly
by professional
knowledge
processoutsourcing,
strongly
the union-freeindustrialrelationsenvironment
inIndiastill
prevailingin suggeststhat,in overallterms,theites-bpoindustry
Indianites-bpo.
tendsto providelargelystandardisedand routinised
servicesof
to establish low complexity
Thoughthesefactors
together
implythatattempts
[Taylorand Bain 2006b], in keepingwiththe
an independent
for
employees'organisationwould be destinedto massproductionmodel,whichhas important
implications
of ites-bpo employees,the establishment
of workorganisation
and the experienceofwork[Battet al 2005;
fail,fora minority
suchan organisation
surveillanceand a
(unites Pro-theunionofinforma- Taylorand Bain 2005]. Tightmonitoring,
precisely
tiontechnology
enabledservicesprofessionals)
has been a wel- plethoraofquantitative
and qualitative
controls
areimplemented,
comeinitiative,
themwitha voiceand a bodytorepre- minimising
providing
employeediscretion[d'Cruz and Noronha2006;
senttheirinterests.
Remesh2004; Taylorand Bain2005].
Witha principalaim to interrogate
thecategoricalclaimthat
the"cybercoolie"metaphor[Remesh2004] maybe
Although
in Indianites-bpowillbe stillborn,
efforts
thispaper overdrawn,
organising
manyvoiceand non-voiceagentsdo reportthatthey
is based on a
of unites, highlighting experiencetheirworkas pressurising
and contributing
to exit
studyof the membership
theirexperiences,
and expectations.
Whileitenables and burnout.In recenttimes,manyemployeeshaveexperienced
perceptions
us to evaluatetheextenttowhichthereis a genuinebasisforthe an intensification
of work,stemmingfromsharpenedcompetiestablishment
oftradeunionisminIndianites-bpo,itswidersig- tionin theoutsourcing
bothcaptivesandthird
market,
affecting
nificance
liesinthefactthatlittleis knownoforganising
workers parties,risingcosts in India and reducingmargins[Nasscominthe"offshored"
industries
ofdevelopingeconomies[Castreet McKinsey2005]. While companieshave soughtto realisecost
al 2004; Kelley2002].
withthishas
savingsthrougheconomiesof scale, concomitant
been this focuson leveragingefficiencies
through"managing
1 Indian ITES-BPOIndustry
and utilisation".
Theoutcomeoftheseimplyincreasproductivity
WhilethePhilippines,
SouthAfrica,LatinAmericanand eastern ingpressureon workers:longershifts,shorterand fewerbreaks
of
characteristics
Europestatesare emerginglocations,India remainsthe pre- and tighter
targets.Yet,theexistingdistinctive
eminent
locationforoffshored
and outsourced
businessactivities, theIndianbpo industry
nocturnal
embodysignificant
pressures:
times,
accountingfor46 per centof all global outsourcing[Nasscom- call-handlingforoverseas customers,long commuting
and
"an
mix
and
all
of
have
health
unbeatable
of
low
extended
shifts
which
2005]
costs,
McKinsey
offering
unpaidovertime,
balanceimplications.
deeptechnicaland languageskills,maturevendorsand support- andwork-life
ivegovernment
inIndian
havealso identified
a "democratic
deficit"
Researchers
policies"[Walkerand Gott2007: 29].
The figuresprovidedby Nasscomare undeniablyimpressive. ites-bpo, with customaryIndian hierarchicalculturesbeing
Indian ites-bpo exportswere estimatedto have grownfrom transposedto the ites-bpo sectoracrosssegments[Taylorand
communications
$ 6.3bninthefinancial
year2005-06to $ 8.4bnin2006-07,while Bain2006a]. Top-downmethodsdominatestaff
revenueindomesticites-bpogrewfrom$ o.bnto $ i.2bninthe systems[Nasscom2003] and employeeinvolvement
practices
sameperiod[Nasscom2007].
are task:based,geared to increasingproductivity
and quality,
Directemployment
in ites-bpois calculatedat 5,53,000inthe withoutgivingemployeesa voice,letaloneanyrealparticipation
final
forIndiainto in decision-making.
2006-07
year.Puttingtheemployment
figures
Employeeshave reportedmanagerialand
somecomparative
a
of
arbitrariness
and at timesauthoritarian
perspective,May2007 report employment supervisory
treatment,
levelsforthesecondmostimportant
ites-bpoglobaldestination, includingdisciplinaries
and evendismissalsforlittleorno good
the Philippines,was givenas 1,60,000 call centreemployees reason.One issuethatappearedtoemergeas an employee
concern
and perhapsanother60,000 foremployeesengagedin various has beenthepracticeofmanagerswithholding
leavingorrelievback-office
activities[Locsin2007].
fromleavingfor
ingcertificates,
bywhichworkersare prevented
That the Indian ites-bpo industrydisplaysa high level of anothercompany.These are partofmoreconcertedNasscominternaldifferentiation,
whichhas implications
forthecollectivi- facilitated
to controlattrition,
suchas establishing
nonattempts
sationendeavourcannotbe ignored.Apartfromgeographical poachingpacts [Nasscom2005]. Thereis theimportant
issueof
acrossTier1,Tier2 and Tier3 citieswhoseurbanchar- pay and rewardswhich are distributedunevenlyacross the
dispersion
costsand laboursupplyand qualitydiffer sector:levelsofremuneration
tendto be higherforback-office
acter,infrastructure,
considerably,the industryalso embodies heterogeneityas employeesthan forvoice-basedagents [Nasscom2007] but,
38

may 31, 2008

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REVIEWOF LABOUR

moresignificantly,
and now incomingpresident,
captivesand mncs tend to pay morethan fuU_story.php?content_id=84ii8)
Indianthirdpartyprovidersand both considerably
morethan provoked
in whichunites was prominent.
these
protests
Through
domesticoutsourcers.
itsfirst
trancheofmembers.
actions,unites attracted
significant
Other notable interventionshave included representing
2 Emergence of UNITES
oftheBangalore-based
employees
companyBelAirwhohadbeen
unites was formedin September
laid from summarily
dismissedwithoutpay and successfully
2005 on foundations
intervening
Profes- to supportemployeesofa thirdpartycentrein Noidain theiref2004 bytheCentreforBusinessProcessingOutsourcing
sionals(cbpop).cbpophad emergedorganically
as a network
of fortsto securepaymentsthattheyhad been denied.In addition,
who believed they needed theirown unites has playedan important
ites-bpo professionals
role of advocacyon behalfof
organisationto representthem and advance their interests. manyindividuals.
fromtheInformation
cbpop/uniteswas thusdistinct
Technology unites has also succeeded in negotiatingfour collective
Professionals
Forum(itpf),an organisation
whichwas oriented bargainingagreements(Excel OutsourcingServices,e-Merge
morespecifically
onsoftware/information
and TransactSolutions),
(it) profes- BusinessProcessing,
technology
Infopoint
although
sionals[Hirschfeld
are confined
to smalland me2005].Bothunites and itpfwereand remain thesebreakthrough
arrangements
TradeSecretariat
(smes) in the domesticsectorand the aim of
projectssupported
bytheInternational
respon- diumenterprises
sibleforbusinessservices,UnionNetwork
International
collective
(uni).
securing
bargainingin international
facingoperations
Thejustification
forcreating
unitesas a separateinitiative
direc- has yettobe realised.
at ites-bpowas grounded
tedexclusively
intheunderstanding
that
unites has establisheda genuine,iflimited,presence
Clearly,
conditions
of
were
distinct
work
from
those
of
in
Indian
Nasscom
employees'
sufficiently
ites-bpo,highlighting
questionsconcerning
it professionals.
a
distinctive
unites
took
on
and
the
assertion
that
the
Although
undertaking,
industry's
independent
representation
boardsomeofitpf'sethosand orientation.
Itsmembers
wishedto of employeesis unnecessaryand unwantedin the Indian
ofprofessionals",
whichwoulden- ites-bpoenvironment.
developunitesas "a community
surethatitprovided
educational
and training
services
as wellas information
and adviceforitscareer-minded
One conse- 3 The Study
employees.
of
this
was
the
conscious
avoidance
of
distribution
aimedtocaptureas many
quence
approach
unnecessary Thequestionnaire
strategy
andhostility
adversarialism
toemployers,
whichwereredolent
ofan unites' membersas possibleworkingin domestic,thirdparty,
conflictual
thatwouldneither and captive operationsbetween April and July'2007. Using
inappropriate
styleoftradeunionism
the
interests
of
the
nor
attract
members.
Nevethe- unites' membershipdatabases, independentsocial science
progress
industry
made
it
that
it
unites
clear
would
not
hesitate
from
less,
champion- graduateswere employedunder the directionof the Indian
issues
of
and
fairness
social researchersto approachmembersand completethe questioning
rights,
justice,
employee
corporate
and
those
with
would
responsibility
represent
genuinegrievances nairesas structuredinterviews.This strategyproduced1,206
their
and
fromBangalore(30 percent),Chennai
against managers employers.
completed
questionnaires
unites' historyoforganisingites-bpoworkersis a (17percent),Hyderabad
(16percent),Cochin(16percent),Mumbai
Although
does indicatereal (14percent),and Delhi/NCR
(8 percent).However,13percentof
veryrecentone, its recordsince formation
numerousbureaucratic
ob- respondents
claimednottobe unites members
andwereexcluded
progress[unites2006]. Overcoming
stacles,ithas securedlegalstatusundertheTradesDisputesAct fromanalysis,leavinga totalof 879 completedquestionnaires,
reflects
unites' activemembership.
(1926) throughthe LabourCommissionin Karnatakaand has whichwe are confident,
been granted"provisional
affiliation"
to IndianNationalTrades
semi-structured
interviews
withunites memSupplementary
UnionCongress(intuc).Itnowhas organising
centresandclaims bers enabled deeper explorationof theirexperiences.The reviablechaptersin six areas (Bangalore,Hyderabad,New Delhi/ searchteamcarriedtheseoutin fourlocations- Chennai,Delhi/
was
ncr,Chennai,Mumbaiand Cochin).
ncr, Hyderabadand Bangalore.A crosssectionofmembers
and there- chosenacrossgendersand companytypeproducing
ofunites activities
betweenitsformation
a totalof45
Analysis
searchperiod[Taylorand Bain 2oo8a,b] demonstrates
thatsuc- interviews,
each lastingapproximately
one hour.All interviews
cess has been achievedthroughmuch-publicised
and weretapedand transcribed.
campaignson werevoluntary
behalfofites-bpoemployees.The issuewhichprovidedunites
withitsfirst
was generated
recruitment
bythedistinc- 3.1 Respondent Profile
opportunity
tiveIndianindustry
forem- The majority
of unites membersresponding(70 per cent)was
practiceof providing
transportation
had longidentified
concernsovernight-time based in Indiandomesticcompanieswith22 percentin captives
ployees.Employees
findsafety,which tragicallyanticipatedthe rape and murderof and 8 percentin Indianthirdparties.Thisis an important
a
in
December
woman
PratibhaSrikanth
the
concentration
of
unites
members
in
the
2005,
Murthy
young
ing,demonstrating
Globalsoft
Services
in
Hewlett
Packard
domestic
sub-sector
and
a
lesser
(hp)
employedby
penetration
amongstcaptives
Thishorrific
crimegalvanisedpublicopinionandraised and particularly
thirdpartyproviders.
The evengenderbalance
Bangalore.
for reflects
whatwe knowabouttheindustry
issues,mostpertinently
[Battet al 2005]. Posiresponsibility
corporate
manyimportant
The
callous
indifference
this
that
to
thesafety
ofemployees
the
limited
extent
thatunites has
women).
tively, suggests
(especially
then
of
hp's
Nasscom's
made
it
has
the
remarks
of
Som
succeeded
in
Mittal, ceo,
headway,
exposedby
recruiting
equallyfromboth
also
the
council
reflects
executive
natureof
genders.
Membership
(http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/ple/
youthful
strikingly
Economic& Politicalweekly

Q3S9

may 31, 2008

39

REVIEW
OF LABOUR=

jjjj

was 24. mayindicatethatunites was morelikelyto attractemployees

themeanage ofunites members
theworkforce;
surveyed
is also consistent who remainedwith the same employerfora longerperiod.
wereemployedfull-time
Thatmostrespondents
indomesticandthird-parties
Around70 percentofrespondents
withwhatis knownabouttheites-bpoworkforce
(ibid).
More outstandingare the statisticson workinghours.The wereengagedpurelyin call centrework.In captives,however,
meanof216hourspermonth(54 hoursperweek) demonstrates 67 per cent combinedcall centrewithotherbusinessprocess
receiving
theprevalencein Indianites-bpo ofa longhoursculture,most work.Over 70 per cent overall reportedprimarily
calls
service
customer
or
technical
inbound
tenure
centres.
and
domestic
sales,
general
Average
pronouncedin captives
shifts
telesales.
in
outbound
than
rather
in
domestic
lower
Night
was one and a halfyears,although
being engaged
companies
at 35 per cent of
this were most commonin Indian third-parties
at just overone year.Givenwhatis knownaboutattrition,
thatsub-sample.
Characteristics
Table1:Respondent
Captive
(N=192)

Gender
Male
Female
Contractual status
Full-time

Indian

Domestic

Total

(N=69)
Third-Party
N
%

(N=618)

(N-879)

66

293

48

448

52

34

314

52

417

48

57

85

544

90

788

92

10

15

59

10

69

111

58

44

80

42

23

187

100

Part-time
Nature of work
Combine call centre/BPOwork

125

67

19

28

204

33

348

40

62

33

48

72

413

67

523

60

98

77

33

83

398

69

529

71

(telemarketing,sales)

30

23

18

180

31

217

29

Nightshifts

24
N

22

35

25
N

16

Mean

15
N

192

27,0

69 25.6 618 23.4

Call centre work only

Inbound calls (sales,
technical support,
customer service)
Outbound calls

Age
Tenure(months)

192 25.9

Mean

Mean

64 21
N Mean

879 24.3

69 29.5 618 13.4 879 17.4

95 206 48 191 520 219 663 216

hours3
contracted
Monthly
aBasedona restricted
calculable
(79%)whoprovided
responses.
sample
range
N= number
Table2:JoiningUNITES
Captive

Domestic Total
Indian
Third
Party
N
%~ N XT
N
%

87

49

18

28

452

80 557

69

92

51

46

72

111

20 249

31

HowdidyoufindoutaboutUNITES?
151
atwork
Colleague/friend
10
UNITES
web site

79

43

63

451

73 645

74

13

19

211

34 234

27

52

27

31

45

73

12 156

18

51

127

67

32

47

51

27

35

DatejoinedUNITES
Within
lastyear
Morethanoneyearago

in
Friend/relative
working
different
callcentre/BPO

58

541

88 700

80

51

106

17 192

22

55

57

11

58

75

11

16

57

68

12

memberoutside
Friend/family
workplace
encouragedmetojoin 9
Ijoinedon-line
5

10

15

79

13

98

13

23

I sentform
to UNITESoffice

13

13

21

43

Ijoinedat UNITESmeeting

13

12

13

34

UNITESleaflet
HowdidyoujoinUNITES?
UNITESmemberinmy
workplacesignedmeup
Colleaguesinmyworkplace
encouragedmetojoin
Ijoinedafterreceiving
leaflet

Iaskeda UNITES
in
member
13
myworkplace
Myteamleader/
managerencouragedmetojoin 0
I madecontactmyself
withUNITES5

40

4 Findings
We nowpresentourfindings
joiningunites, working
regarding
related
conditionsin the ites-bpo industryand recruitment
problems.
4.1 JoiningUNITES
We discussthejoiningprocess,thereasonsforjoining,employee
and oftheroleofhr.
ofmanagement
perceptions
4.1.1 JoiningProcess
and the factthatalmostall were
The youthof the workforce
graduatesmeans that veryfew respondentshad been union
fromdomestic
membersbeforejoining unites. Recruitment
sourceofnewmembership,
companiesappearstobe theprimary
recruitedin thelastyear(Table2). Thosewith
withthemajority
tendedto be fromIndianthird
longestperiodsof membership
has slowed.Encourbuttherateofrecruitment
partyoperators,
foundtheprocessofjoining
theoverwhelming
majority
agingly,
thatwere
easy. Only 11 per cent overall reporteddifficulties
to lackofawarenessofunites' existenceorof
largelyattributed
directcontactwiththeorganisation.
or
fromfriends
Members'awarenessofunites cameprimarily
relatives,eitherin the same workplaceor workingin different
betweenrecent
ites-bpofirms.Here,therewas somedifference
and oldermembers,withrecentrecruitsmorelikelyto report
in
workplacecolleagues and older members,friends/relatives
national
the
allowance
for
due
othercall centres.
differing
Making
confirm
thefindings
contexts,
knowledgeofuniongrowthin uk
as
call centres,wherethekeyroleofworkplacerepresentatives
standsout [BainandTaylor2002].
recruiters
and "friends/
Following"workplacemembers/colleagues"
the unites
were
of
information
as
sources
elsewhere"
family
web site and leaflets.This was especiallyso formorerecent
or
members.Othersources,such as newspaperadvertisements
or
radio/television
campaigns
emails,
articles,
programmes specific
It seemsthatforms
werecitedbyonlyhandfulsofrespondents.
of remotecontactand individualstakingthe initiativeto join
Sur(joiningon-line,postinga form)are muchless important.
that
fact
the
is
concern
of
some
an
issue
and
prisingly perhaps
When
at
unites
meetings.
onlysmallnumbersreportedjoining
a higher
asked whatunites could do to improverecruitment,
Several
mentioned.
were
profileand greatermedia coverage
in
in
its
stressedhowsuccessfulunites has been
earlydays gainPratibhaand BelAir
throughthe much-publicised
ing publicity
cases but thatrecentlydecliningmedia coveragehad reduced
may 31, 2008

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Economic& Politicalweekly

REVIEWOF LABOUR

to buildunites
publicawareness.Thiswas hamperingattempts
andneededtobe rectified.

inthirdpartiesand domestics.Further,
a majority
incaptivesand
lessthana majority
inthirdpartiesbelievedthatites-bpo
slightly
shouldhave theirown organisationto represent
professionals
4.1.2 Reasons forJoiningUNITES
theirinterests.
Collectiveimpulsesemergealso whenwe consider
of membersin captivesand thirdpartiesreport
Whileemployeesjoin unites formultiplereasons,the most- thata majority
In
that
instrumental
were
cited
(Table
3).
partithey
joinedbecause"otherpeopleatworkaremembers".
frequently
primarily
Therearesomedifferences
unites as helpingto improvepayand
betweenmembers'attitudes
across
cular,77 percentidentified
Those in thirdpartiesweremorelikelyto have
Formembersin thosecompanieswherecollec- thesub-sectors.
otherconditions.
tive agreementsexist,joining the union mightbe directly joinedbecause othersin theirworkplaceweremembers,
or that
relatedto unites' abilityto improvepay and otherconditions. unites wouldsupportthemovera specificworkproblem.Those
does notexist,as forexam- in captivesweremorelikelyto citeunites community
wherecollective
activities.
However,
bargaining
Also
is
that
of
this
reason
notable
those
in
in
the
domestic
were
less
cent)
(81 per
maybe
companies
ple captives, importance
likely
Interviewevidencereveals several in- to relateto the attitudinalor value-basedreasonsforjoining,
differently.
interpreted
on behalfofemployeesover such as the beliefthatites-bpo professionalsshouldhave an
stanceswhereuniteshad intervened
to represent
theirinterests.
pay/bonuses, independent
organisation
grievances(forexamplewithholding
pay-related
the
view
Others
that,
expressed
underpaying).
unpaidovertime,
its 4.1.3 Respondents' Perceptions of Management
whileunites wouldnot impactpay ratesin the short-term,
to
Two-thirds
their
decision
of perceptions
to do so influenced
future
of
Space constraints
join.
prohibitfulldissemination
ability
with
oradviceaboutrights management
and
to provideinformation
citedunites'ability
respect to operationaleffectiveness
members'generalattitudes.Firstly,
as a reasonforjoining.
managementwas seen as
unsuccessfulin the followingrespects:listeningto
overallsawjoiningunites as assistingin career particularly
One-in-three
formembers employees'ideas (73 per centvery/quite
undera proportion
thatrisesto one-in-two
unsuccessful),
development,
membersreportedthe importanceof standingjob pressures(71 per cent),managingcall-volumes
in captives.Additionally,
(71
excessiveworkpressure(71percent),providthatwouldenhance"skillsand know- percent),preventing
unites providing
training
incaptivesparticularly
(70 percent),varyingtasks(69 percent),
(67 percent),joining ingcareerprogression
ledge".Formembers
intarget-setting
to
on payand conditions involving
unites enabledthemtoaccessinformation
(68 percent)beingsensitive
employees
resonatewitharguments family/personal
thesefindings
acrossites-bpo.Clearly,
(67 percent),involving
responsibilities
employees
ofites-bpoemployees'professionalism in decisionsthataffectthem(65 percent),fairallocationoftasks
theimportance
stressing
sufficient
and aspirantcareerism.Nevertheless,the data also provides (64 percent),providing
training(62 percent)and fair
oftheworkforce
conAs manyas 62 percentin treatment
evidenceofa tradeunionorientation.
(60 percent).Domesticoperators
in
received
the
lowest
third
and
the
that
believed
was
that
reason
for
one
stated
sistently
party
ratings
operators
they
joining
captives
ofmanagerialineffectiveness
members highest.Theseperceptions
thiswas lesspronounced
tradeunions,although
suggest
amongst
Table 3: Reasons forJoiningUNITES
waysin whichunites, throughraisingissuesofequityand fairDomestic Total
Captive Indian
a voicefor
enhanceitsstatusas providing
ness,maypotentially
Third
Party
where
members
theremay
can
act
Evidently,
openly
N
%
%
employees.
% ~N
%N
N
at
to
interests
the
be
champion
workplace
opportunities
employee
155 81 27 40 472 77 654 77
mypayandconditions
Improve
level.This need not always involveadversarialrepresentations
37 407 66 565 66
aboutmyrights 133 69 25
Information/advice
intendedto persuade
butcouldformpartofa broaderinitiative
96
50 18 27 205 33 319 33
Helpmycareer
enhance
that
119 62 16 24 195 32 330 32
I believeintradeunions
performance.
employers involvingemployeesmay
Otherpeopleat workaremembers 102 53 35 52 149 24 286 24
Ata nationalscale,unites couldjudiciouslyhighlight
instances,
toenhance
UNITESprovides
training
inIndianites-bpoinorderto
deficit
whichrevealthedemocratic
100
52 . 19 28 135 22 254 22
myskillsand knowledge
advancethe case foremployeerepresentation.
Approachesthat
willhelpmefindoutabout
UNITES
and
those
which
in
tone
are
exposemalpractice
employer-friendly
inotherworkplaces129 67 21 31 133 22 283 22
pay/conditions
and injusticecouldbe utilisedat bothscales.
InUNITESIfoundpeoplewiththe
107 56 28 42 131 21 266 21
ingeneralreveala scepticism
to management
sameattitudes
attitudes
Secondly,
shouldhavetheir
BPOprofessionals
thatchallengesthebeliefin theuniversalprevalenceofunitarist
to
ownindependent
organisation
values.Forexample,as manyas 97 percentoverallagreed/agreed
101 53 28 42 111 18 240 18
theirinterests
represent
and effiin statistics
is onlyinterested
thatmanagement
strongly
conditions
Iwantedtohelpimprove
13
welfare
196
has
the
of
83
13
cent
that
27
28
49 18
95
intheindustry
management
ciencyand only per
a
with
alhave
me
in
unites
members
UNITES
at heart.Arguably, joining
gave support
employees
11 216 11
109
57 39 58 68
problematwork
readyexpressedto some degreecertainvalues and attitudesat
UNITES
campaignsto improve
thefactthat,
variancewiththoseoftheiremployers.
Nevertheless,
37 62 10 188 10
101 53 25
inBPO
conditions
forexample,thereis widespreaddisagreement
(71percent)with
8
8 202
70 16 24 52
134
activities
UNITES'
community
havecommoninand
that
the
statement
employees
management
UNITESprovideshousing/
7 161 7
52 19 28 42
100
characteristics
welfareinformation
terests
does indicatethatthiscohorthas attitudinal
4 131 4
48 14 21 24
UNITESprovidesgood socialactivities93
withcollectivisation
at leastcompatible
[Bainetal 2004]. Howfar
Economic& Politicalweekly

QSH

may 31, 2008

41

REVIEWOF LABOUR=

the workforce
theseattitudesextendthroughout
cannotbe an- the extentthat it can become embeddedin social networks
a valuablesubjectforfurther withincompanies.
sweredhereand would constitute
hr practicesdo notprevailininterand effective
research.
Sophisticated
centres.Budhwaret al (2006) emphasiselimitanational-facing
4.1.4 Respondents7Perceptions of Role of HR
and retention
tionsin careerprogression,
policies,
development
havebeendomia small whilefocusedsessionsat Nasscomconferences
As mightbe expectedfroma surveyofunites members,
hr managethe natedbydiscussionsoftheneedtodevelopcoherent
number(16percent)believedthatthepresenceofhr removed
needfortradeunions,yetthisoverallfinding
concealssignificant mentapproachesinplaceofexistingadhocpractices[Taylorand
as
variations.While only 10 per cent of domesticmemberscon- Bain2006b]. Recallingthetellingcritiqueofhr management
between
siderthathr obviatedtheneedforunions,thisproportion
roseto it emergedin the uk, thereis oftena contradiction
evidenceto
28 percentforcaptivemembersand 44 percentforthoseinthird "rhetoric"
and "reality"[Legge2004],withsufficient
and their
in
the
human
while
cent
domesnotion
that
resource
(Table
4). Furthermore,
parties
departments
only15per
question
ticshad turnedto hr to get problemsresolved,32 per centin supposedlyincreasingly
of
have
the
effect
policies
sophisticated
thirdpartiesand43 percentincaptiveshad doneso. Suchfigures "rendering
unionsredundant"[Noronhaand d'Cruz2006: 2118].
reflect
inhr practicebetweentheites-bposegments.
differences
Frominterviews
and otherevidenceitis clearthathr practiceis 4.2 WorkingConditions
farless developedin the domesticsub-sectorthan in captives The findings
because
presentedin Table 5 (p 43) are important
and thirdparties.Ofthoserespondents
whohad turnedto hr to theyare the responsesof unites membersas theyreflect
upon
seektheresolution
ofproblems,thosein captivesand thirdpar- theworkingconditions
theirnonthatare mostlikelyto prompt
ties were considerably
more positiveabout hr's success than membercolleaguestojoin.The resultsshouldprovidesomeindithosein domestics.Moststrikingly,
only7 per centofdomestic cationof the issues thatunites mightfocusupon in orderto
membersthoughthr had successfully
taken actionto resolve extenditsmembership
base.
theirproblemscomparedto 40 per centof captiveand 59 per 1 The mostsignificant
times.Thiswas
issuewas thatofworking
centofthirdpartymembers.Fromanotherperspective,
inprompting
though, citedby65 percentoverallas beingveryimportant
these figuresindicatethat a majorityof membersin captives membersto join. This categoryof "workingtimes"has several
and
(60 per cent) and a sizeable minorityin thirdparties(41 per aspectsto it.It can includeshiftlength,night-time
working
on well-being.
It is also closelyassociatedwithissues
cent)whoturnedto hr did nothave theirproblemsresolvedto theeffects
theirsatisfaction.
forthosewhohad notturnedto relatedto travel-to-work
times.As we can see,thiswas explicitly
Furthermore,
hr witha problem,thetwomostfrequentresponseswereto do citedby47 percentas veryimportant.
nothing(55 per centcaptives,27 per centthirdparties)or to
Following"workingtimes"in termsof overallimportance
seek supportfromfriendsand personalnetworks(23 per cent were concernsaboutthe securityof employees,whichremain
incompanies'practices
captives,25 percentthirdparties).The lattersuggestsa poten- prominent
despiteclaimedimprovements
tial roleforunites eitherin providingadviceor in advocacyto afterPratibhaMurthy'smurder.In fact,unites has led other
road"accidents"
campaignsin Delhi and in Bangalorefollowing
Table 4: Respondents' Perceptions ofthe Role of HR
.
forproites-bpoemployees.Companies'responsibility
Indian
Domestic
Total
Captive
involving
ThirdParty
issueas faras
an enduring
is obviously
safe
viding
transportation
N
N
N
N
%
%
%
%
unites membersare concerned.
The presence of HRto solve problems
itis perhapssurprising
removes the need fortrade unions
continuedgrowth,
Giventheindustry's
44
10 137 16
49
28
28
60
(%Yes)
thatso many(62 percentoverall)considercolleagues'concerns
I turned to HR to get problems
as potentially
overjob securityto be veryimportant
prompting
resolved (% Yes)
75
43
20
32
89
15 184 22
evidence
the
to
From
the
responses,
questionnaire
employees join.
HR's success at making themselves
fromunites memberssuggeststhatanxietiesoverjob security
available to listento problems3
113 19 209 28
69
56
27
68
HR's success at listeningto
are moreprevalentamongstemployeesin the domesticsuband understanding problems8
107
18 198 27
65
53
26
65
In interviews,
sectorthaninthecaptiveorthird-party
segments.
HR's success at taking actions that
a numberof employeesin captivesand third-parties
expressed
7
solve problems3
49
43
115 15
40
23
59
thebeliefthattheIndianites-bpoindustry
mightbe potentially
How did you deal with your problems?
orto
fromotherlow-costgeographies
vulnerableto competition
I did nothing
27 429 43 533 43
80
55
24
;
I sought support frommyfriends
decisionsby companiesin developedeconomiesto repatriate
and personal network inside
servicesand processes.
the company
7
22
68
124 10
34
23
25
^
Interviewevidence also suggeststhat the cause of some
I sought support frommyfriends
fearsoverjob securitymightlie as muchin managemembers'
and personal networkoutside
the company
17 136
14 161 13
7
10
15
ofindividualworkersand theirsenseofvulnerment'streatment
I triedto ignore the problems/
thanwiderconcerns
in smesand domestics,
ability,
particularly
thinkdifferently
about them
10
7
7
14 151 12
6
135
or
in generalmightbe affected
thattheindustry
bydownsising
I decided to quit and look for
their
are
on
In
this
members
closures.
sense,
colleagues'
reporting
another job
11
5
14 154 12
3
13 138
a
% answeringvery/quite
successfulofthe 184whoturnedto HR.
individualsenseofinsecurity.
Represents
42

may 31, 2008

Q229

Economic& Politicalweekly

REVIEWOF LABOUR

ofmembersoverall(46 per
Paywas seenbyalmostone-in-two
thatwouldbe veryimporconditions
cent)as an aspectofworking
theirnon-union
tantinprompting
colleaguestojoinunites.Again,
betweentheindustry
therewas somedifference
More
segments.
in "captive"centressaw payas
thanhalfofrespondents
working
ofmembers
in
comparedto lessthanone-in-three
veryimportant
thirdpartycentres.Giventhatthe dominantassumptionis that
withtheirsalaries,thisis an
iTES-BPO
areverysatisfied
employees
It
concerns
overpay maybe more
finding.
suggests
interesting
than
be
Some
oftheinterviewees
rewidespread might imagined.
that
one
of
the
of
the
boom
in
1
Tier
cities
has
consequences
ported
Bonus
been a steeprise^inlivingcosts,notablyaccommodation.
andbenefits
issueswerealsoidentified
to
a
lesser
extent.
although

be an issueprompting
morethana
employeestojoin byslightly
fifth
ofrespondents.
The findings
also providesomeevidenceoftheimportance
of
employersrestraining
employees'abilityto leave employment
foranotherjob. Whileonly13 percentofmembersin domestic
centresreportedthatthiswas an importantfactorthatmight
to join, thispercentagedoubled(26 per
promptnon-members
cent)formembersin captivesand rose to one-in-three
(34 per
cent)formembersin thirdparties.Itwouldappearthatleaving
orrelievingcertificates
remainsan issueofconcernforat leasta
of
minority employees.
Finally,it is necessaryto considerthe beliefin the general
importanceof the need foremployeevoice. Almostsix-in-ten
overall thoughtthat this would be a very importantreason
to
Join
Work
Conditions
UNITES
Table 5:
(% "very
important")
PromptingEmployees
Indian
Total
Domestic
Captive
in promptingemployeesto join. However,differences
were
Third
Party
in
between
members
the
different
sub-sectors.
expressed
N
%~N
%
%N
%~ N
industry
Membersin captives(64 per cent)were morelikelyto see this
104
55
37
57
419
68 560 65
Workingtimes
as a very importantreason leading non-members
to join as
Securityof employees,
46
54
70 544 64
87
34
423
eg, transport
comparedto thosein domesticcentres(60 per cent)and third
24
97
52
37
410
67
531 62
Job insecurity
partycentres(35 percent).
22
117
64
35
363
60
502 59
The need foremployee voice
Two-thirds
ofallrespondents
thattheywereeither
reported
'Very"
47
22
34 294
88
48 404 47
Travelto worktimes
or "quitepressurised"
a resultof theirworkon a normalday
as
21
51
32 284
46
397 46
92
Pay
therewerenotabledifferences
to
(Table6). Nevertheless,
according
46
44
384 45
86
31
50
267
Targets
sub-sector,
genderandnatureofcallsas faras voiceagentswerecon63
48
243
40
390 45
116
31
Health and safetyissues
cerned.Respondents
inthedomestic
weremorelikely
tore50
29
45
220
36
343 40
94
Pressureofwork
segment
No fewer
than77percentstatedthattheyfelt
46
43
30
209
34
319 37
80
Bonuses and other benefits
portbeingpressurised.
or"quitepressurised"
ona normalday.Thiscompares
to44per
Management goes back
'Very"
22
72
34 222
39
36
316 37
on promises
centincaptivesand31 percentinthirdpartycentres.
Womenwere
59
32
19
30
172
28 250 29
Demanding supervisor
morelikelyto report
andhandling
outbound
calls
beingpressurised
17
27
189 22
35
20
137
23
"Apple polishing" (favouritism)
wasmorelikely
tobe a sourceofpressure.
Employersmaking itdifficult
The greatestsourceofpressureidentified
was "havingto meet
26
22
34
76
13 147 17
49
to leave foranotherjob
with almost nine-in-tenoverall reportingthat this
targets"
Table 6: Degree ofPressure Felton NormalWorkingDay (% Quite/Very
Pressurised)
"a greatdeal" or "tosomeextent"to thepressureof
contributed
Indian
Total
Domestic
Captive
Third
Party
work.It would appear thatthissourceof pressurewas experiN
N
N
%
%
%
N
%
encedmostacutelybythosein Indianthirdparty(92 percent)
82 384 73
46
48
13
39
325
Inbound calls
and domesticcentres(89 per cent).This findingconfirms
what
144
3
50
80 175 81
28
93
Outbound calls
in developed
we knowalreadyabout call centreenvironments
4
42
19
273
87 310 75
33
Women
countries(the uk specifically)and in India [Bain et al 2002;
16
38
194
66 259 59
49
45
Men
Taylorand Bain2001;Tayloret al 2002; Tayloretal 2003].
77 577 66
44
475
20
31
82
Total sample
Call queuing or waiting is a particularlyacute source of
of
concerns
of
task-related
be
made
the
must
Mention
pressure pressurein the Indianthirdpartysub-sector(98 per cent)and
have
and
which
of work
long complained captives(90 per cent).Notenoughtimebetweencalls,difficult
employees
targets,
of calls, havingto keep to a script,
Bain
Bain
etal 2002] as customers,repetitiveness
and
centres
aboutinuk call
2001;
[Taylor
down
to
"smile
the phone"and call monitoring
one-in-two
of
members
Around
well as ofsupervisory
alwayshaving
pressure.
from
but
far
sourcesofpressurewhich
their
are
lesser
would
be
issues
factors
believedthatboththese
insignificant,
prompting
with
that
are
overall
cent
while
45 per
greaterfrequencyby respondentsin both
reported
thought
colleaguestojoin.Further,
third
and
to
would
issuesrelatingto healthand safety
parties
captives(in thatorder)thanby membersin
promptcolleagues
centres.
in
domestic
cent
and
join,as manyas 63 percentin captivecentres 48 per
Additional
sourcesofpressureappeartobe moreacutelyfeltin
thiswas veryimportant.
centresthought
Perhapsthe
third-party
the
internationalfacingoperations(both captivesand third
in international
facingcentresis a reflection
higherpercentages
times,not
ofthefactthathealthand safetyconcernsare morelikelytoarise parties)thanin domestics.These includeturnaround
occurs.
incentreswherenightshiftworking
enoughbreaks,breaksnotlongenough,fearofmakingmistakes,
withscreen
to do thejob,difficulty
acrossall industry
ofrespondents
Morethanone-in-three
seg- notgivenenoughinformation
not
mentsbelievedthatthe factthatmanagementgoes back on its menus/software,
physicaldiscomfortat the workstation,
with
associated
and
talk
to
to
time
non-member
their
in
was
problems
colleagues
enough
veryimportant prompting
promises
and also beingheardbythem.
bymanagerswas seen to hearingcustomers
colleaguestojoin unites. Favouritism
Economic& Politicalweekly

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may 31, 2008

43

REV EWOF LABOUR

^=

to the
Mentionmustbe madeoftherelativeimportance
ofparticular 44 per cent in captives,reportedthis as contributing
items.Travellingtimesto and fromworkobviouslyremainsa pressureof workcomparedto a mere 15 per centof respondmajor source of pressurefacingemployeesin all sectorsof entsin domesticcentres.
the industry.
If anything,it is experiencedas even moreof a
Whenaskedto identify
additionalsourcesofpressure,many
problemby employeesin the domesticsub-sector.These are mentionednot havingenoughtimeto spendwithfamilyand
relatedboth to the overstrainedinfrastructure
in the major children,
and othersfurther
emphasisedthepressurefromteam
ites-bpo locations,whichgeneratesthe widelyacknowledged leadersand managerto achievetargets.
traffic
congestionproblemsand to the systemfortransporting
whichhas theeffectof 4.3 RecruitmentRelated Problems Facing UNITES
employeesto and fromtheirworkplaces,
traveltimes.
Fromthe standpointof unites, as it attemptsto developits
lengthening
theissuesthatitsmembers
base, ithelpsto identify
membership
Table 7: Aspects ofWorkContributingto Pressure (A GreatDeal'and ToSomeExtent'
Combined
%)
believe are preventingnon-membercolleagues fromjoining
Indian
Domestic
Total
Captive
(Table8).
Third
Party
N
N
N
%
%
N
%
%
the mostfrequent
Lookingat the "exclusivist"
category,
perceivedobstaclein thewayofincreasing
139
78
recruitment
tounites is
55
540
89 734 87
92
Having to meet targets
78
32
65
86 675 83
508
Travellingtimes to and fromwork 135
the factthatcompaniesare opposedto unites. Fifty-seven
per
127
90
45
98
77 622 80
450
Numberofcallsqueuing/waiting
centofrespondents
overallsaw thisas a veryimportant
problem,
109
65
36
69
395
67 540 67
Workingevening/nightshifts
fewerin Indianthirdpartyand captivecentres
althoughslightly
Turnaroundtimes
123
69
77
43
310
53 476 58
and
cent
didso thanindomestic
(48 per
49 percentrespectively)
Pressure froma supervisor
120
69
37
69
309
52 466 57
centres(60 percent).Fifty-four
that
cent
overall
considered
per
Not enough breaks
122
69
35
69
43 414 51
257
the fearthatcompaniesmightterminatesomeoneforjoining
Difficultcustomers
83
48
38
81
251
42 372 45
unites was a veryimportantproblem.The perceptionof this
105
63
29
66
204
34 338 42
Inadequate staffinglevels
indomestic
problemwas mostpronouncedamongstrespondents
Not enough time between calls
102
64
36
75
193
33 331 42
centres
and
so
in
less
those
(60 percent)
Breaks not long enough
118
69
71
amongst
captives(45per
34
180
31 332 41
84
52
cent)and thirdpartycentres(25percent).In addition,
30
67
205
34 319 40
45 percent
Repetitiveness of calls I handle
Fear of making mistakes
109
66
overallbelievedthatjoiningunites wouldaffecttheircareers.
33
61
178
30 320 39
78
47
76
34
185
31 297 37
Monotony/repetitivenessofjob
Again,thiswas morefrequently
expressedby respondentsin
90
54
36
75
157
27 283 35
Having to keep to a script
domesticcentres(52 percent)thanbythoseinIndianthirdparty
Makingsure myaccent isacceptable 68

40

30

64

170

29

268

33

Having to workas part of a team

89

51

37

73

142

24

268

33

Notgivenenough information
to do thejob

79

47

33

65

151

26

263

32

Difficultywith screen menus/

software

84

50

31

69

131

22

246

31

Physicaldiscomfortat workstation 78

45

32

60

123

21

233

29

Not being understood by

the customer

57

34

31

63

147

25

235

29

Not understanding the customer

71

42

28

58

100

17

199

25

Not enough time to talk

to colleagues

82

49

31

63

87

15

200

25

Makingsure myspoken English

isaccurate

67

44

36

75

92

15

195

24

Alwayshavingto "smiledown
the phone"

73

42

30

63

89

15

192

24

Call monitoring

77

45

32

73

78

13

187

23

was also seenas a majorsource

Working
eveningornightshifts
of pressure,beingexperiencedto the same degreeacross the
different
sub-sectorsoftheindustry.
Supervisory
pressureand
the"lean"model,wereidentiinadequatestaffing,
underscoring
fiedbyrelatively
largenumbersas a sourceofpressure.
withlinguisticprotocolsis a source of greater
Conformity
pressurein both captivesand thirdpartiesthan in domestic
centres."Makingsure myaccent is acceptable"was reported
as contributing
to pressureof workby 64 per cent in third
partiesand 40 percentin captivesas opposedto 29 percentin
domesticcentres.It is less ofa surpriseto findan even greater
differencein respectof "makingsure my spoken Englishis
accurate".As manyas 75 per centin Indian thirdparties,and
44

Table 8: Main Problems Facing UNITESOver Recruitment(% answeringVeryimportant')

Indian
Total
Domestic
Captive
Third
Party

49

30

48

364

60 488 57

58

16

24

367

60 490 57

45

16

25

362

60 458 54

44

23

35

363

60 468 54

45

16

24

355

59 451 53

63

34

21

32

328

54 412 48

76

42

22

34

306

50 404 47

thinkthat
Employees
joiningUNITES
willaffecttheircareers
40

22

28

42

317

52 385 45

49

20

31

213

35 324 38

31

19

29

242

40

41

23

35

191

32 288 34

47

189

31 280 33

10

21

32

179

29 218 26

19

23

35

64

11 122 14

Companiesareopposed to UNITES94
Highsalariesmeanthatemployees
do notneedtojoinUNITES
105
Fearthatcompaniesmightterminate
someoneforjoiningUNITES
80
BPOemployeessee themselves
as professionals
82
isyoung
Muchoftheworkforce
and inexperienced
80
makesithardto
Highattrition
and builda stable
recruit
'
membership
ManyBPOemployeesdo not
believeintradeunions

Employeesbelievethatthe
isalltheyneed
91
employer
do notsee
ManyBPOprofessionals
theneedforUNITES
56
thinkthat
ManyBPOprofessionals
74
theywillbe promoted
Employeesbelievethatany
problemstheyhavewillbe
solvedbymanagers
85
UnionsinBPOareseenas damaging
totheIndianindustry's
growth 18
havecapturedthe
Employers
"heartsand minds"ofemployees35
Statements
rated
onfour-point
scale.

may 31, 2008

DSEa

317 37

Economic& Politicalweekly

REVIEW
OFLABOUR

Turningto the inclusivistobstacleslisted,Table 8 demonoperations(42 per cent) and captives(22 per cent).These are
oftheserelatesto theeffects
of
thatthemostsignificant
that
numbers
of
strates
very importantfindings,suggesting
large
that
will
of
overall
believe
be
their
salaries.
cent
Fifty-seven
respondents
reported
employees
they
penalisedby
per
employers high
forjoiningunites (Table8).
thathighsalariesmeantthatemployeesbelievedthattheydid
Interview
dataillustrates
inthe
members'
ofites-bpoem- notneed tojoin unites. Whiletherewas littledifference
perceptions
and
in
anti-unionism.
Of
of
members
those
considerable
interest
is
the
testidomestic
(60
cent)
ployers'
explicit
per
capresponses
monyof thememberwho maintainedunites' web sitewho re- tives(58 per cent) farfewerin thirdparties(24 per cent)befactor.Nextin orderofimporwhentheycontacted
theorganisation lievedthiswas a veryimportant
portedhowmanyemployees
"Can
I
in
secret?"
or
"I
am
a
was
the perceptionthatites-bpo
member
but
tance
cent
do
overall)
(54 per
mightsay,
join
please
no letitbe knownthatI am a member".
Fearswereexpressedthat employeessee themselvesas professionals.
Againthiswas seen
in domestic
would
if
more
be
"terminated"
their
a
as
became
employees
problemby
respondents
membership
veryimportant
and third
knowntomanagement.
than
in
to
the
official
centres
cent)
(60
cent)
Therefore,
per
captives(44 per
contrary
portrayal
ofa universally
there
is
centres
evidence
(35 percent).
benignemployment
experience,
party
obstacles(employees
believe
inclusivist
of a relatively
Mostoftheremaining
widespreadfearof punitivemeasuresbeingtaken
all
ites-bpo
who
an
that
is
either
voice
their
concerns
or
the
professionals
theyneed,many
againstemployees
express
employer
injoininga union.
interest
do notsee the need forunites or thinkthattheywill be prowillbe solvedbytheirmanofthereluctanceofemploy- motedorbelievethattheirproblems
Giventheevidenceofperceptions
of
to
be
ees tojoinunites forfearofreprisalsincluding
it
is
were
seen
veryimportant
byaroundone-in-three
beingsacked,
agers)
the
overall.
For
most
items
the
differences
between
to
reflect
the
International
Labour
necessary
pertinent
respondents
upon
conventions.
thereis convention
87 (Freedom sub-sampleswerenotconsiderable,
Firstly,
exceptin relationto last of
Organisation
ofAssociationand Protection
oftheRightto Organise)and con- these.Only9 per centof respondents
in thirdpartiesbelieved
vention98 (Rightto Organiseand CollectiveBargaining).Atthe thatthesuccessfulsolvingofemployees'problems
bymanagers
wouldap- was a veryimportant
veryleast,manyemployeesin the ites-bpo industry
problem.
characteristics
oftheites-bpoindustry,
the
pear to believethattheserightsdo notapplyand it seemsthat
Comingtostructural
are
not
efforts
to
that
and
of
the
workforce
was
considered
to
be
ensure
are
very
employers
making
youth inexperience
employees
overall.The questionof
appraisedoftheirrights.
by59 percentofrespondents
important

SOCIALJUSTICEANDLABOURJURISPRUDENCE

JusticeV R KrishnaIyer'sContributions

I SHARATH BABU and RASHMI SHETTY

Social Justice and Labour Jurisprudence is a labouroflove,a paean ofpraise,
and a faithful
recordingof KrishnaIyer's work.Its collectionof interpretations
and judgements,steeped in Iyer'segalitarianismand humanitarian
philosophy,
is no doubtvaluable in itself.
Himal South Asian
This comprehensivebook traces the growthoflabourjurisprudencein Indiaand
providesa clear understandingofthe contentofthese principaljudgements.

2007 I 608 pages

Rs 1950 (Cloth)

The Supreme Court of India has always had pro-socialistjudges, the most
prominentof them being Justice V R Krishna Iyer. His contributionsto
labour jurisprudence are legendary. This book analyses and critiques the
most importantjudgements delivered by Justice Iyer fromthe perspective
of social justice. The judgements are arranged contextuallyin accordance
with the subject and withinthe frameworkof prevailingindustriallaws.
The authors elaborate on the key aspects of industrialrelationsin India and
providea clear understandingof the linkage between labour issues and the
philosophy of the Constitutionas perceived by Justice V R Krishna Iyer.
Los Angeles London New Delhi Singapore

Economic& Politicalweekly

rem

may 31, 2008

45

REVIEW
OFLABOUR-

=.

andbuilda stablemembermakingithardtorecruit
highattrition
(54 per
shiprequiressome discussion.Whilealmostone-in-two
centresperceivedthisto be veryimportant
as a
cent)in domestic
in bothcaptives(34
problemfacingunites,aroundone-in-three
with
percent)andthirdparties(32 percent)didso. Thisresonates
whatwe knowalreadyofthetendency
amongstmanyemployees
to treattheircurrent
in thedomestic
sub-sector
as a
employment
and higher-paying
to themoreprestigious
internastepping-stone
intenselabourturnover
centres.Clearly,
has contrational-facing
as faras thepotentialfordevelopingcollective
oreffects
dictory
and unites are concerned
for,on theone hand,labour
ganisation
is placedin a potentially
strongbargaining
positionbut,on the
meanstocapitaltendto pursueindividual
otherhand,employees
iseonrelative
scarcity.
the more overtlyideologicaldifficulties
facing
Considering
thatthe
(47 percent)thought
unites,almosthalftherespondents
factthattheirmanyites-bpoemployeesdo notbelievein unions
was a veryimportant
problem.Onlya quarter(26 percent)ofrethat
thought thefactthatunionsare seenas damaging
spondents
was a veryimportant
theIndianindustry's
problem.
growth
5 Conclusions

thatthereis a constituency
Theevidenceisunequivocal
forunites
attitudes
in Indian ites-bpo, notwithstanding
contradictory
the
ites-bpo
of
andthe
amongst
employees, opposition employers
ofthejob. It needsto be emphasisedthatwhathas been
benefits
capturedin thissurveyare theattitudesof employeeswho have
withunites that
alreadyindicatedthroughtheiridentification
there is a need for some kind of independent
Of course,we cannotgeneralisethese
employeerepresentation.
to theentirepopulationof the ites-bpoworkforce.
Yet,
findings
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46

thehostofgrievances
trivial
inhere,fromtheseemingly
reported
offavouritism
to themoreheavyhandedarbitrariness
of
dignities
andmanagerial
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tionto the captivesegment,developments
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partbe shapedbyexternaldevelopments,
bytheactionsand interventions
of unionsin the global northand of globalfederations[Taylorand Bain 2oo8a,b]. Wheretradeunionrecognition
existsin developedcountries,attemptscan be made to extend
to India eitherdirectlyor throughglobalframearrangements
workagreements.
At the veryleast,unites can benefithugely
from external union support, informationexchanges and
visits.
reciprocal

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