HYDERABAD: The IT industry is not too thrilled about being exempted from the Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the State government. Although a majority of employees in the IT sector are availing the Work From Home (WFH) facility, there are still many who have to go to office. Now with transport services stopped, IT sector employees are at a loss as to how they can reach their offices.
An IT employee working in HiTec City said, “Companies have found a loophole in this process. They know that the government is not going to take any action. So now while company seniors like managers are staying back at home, we are being asked to report for work.”
Another employee asked, “How can a non-essential business like IT get exemption from the lockdown? Is it safe for us to go out and work while the rest of the State is advised to stay at home? This is ridiculous.” Some companies are even offer their employees an extra Rs 1,000 per day to come to office.
One of the reasons why some IT companies are not able to offer WFH for their employees is that they cannot cope up with hardware and software demand that this situation has brought up.
Employees returning from work also faced problems. “I just returned from Madhapur. It was very difficult to get an Ola or Uber. I finally booked a Uber bike. Police is stopping all vehicles and the airport route is also closed,” said one such employee.
Govt will not intervene, says Jayesh Ranjan
As many IT employees demand that their sector also be shut down amid Covid-19 outbreak, the State government reiterated that it would not interfere and let IT companies decide on the matter.
“The companies would have to take a call on that,” IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told Express. “The government’s stand remains the same as before,” he added.
Earlier, when the Covid-19 scare hit the IT sector, the government, while recommending that companies should try giving Work From Home (WFH) for their employees, had clarified that it would not impose any order. Ranjan said companies were instructed by the State government to mitigate their hardware and software problems soon