Fired by MNC, woman seeks help on Twitter

Fired by a multi-national corporation, a young woman took to twitter to find help.

Aishwarya (name changed), the 27-year-old employee of a BPO in Bellandur, said the firm fired her and 15 others on April 7 against the government notifications asking companies to refrain from laying off employees.

In a handwritten note she posted online, she said they were sacked without prior notice and the company gave them just Rs 5,600 each as settlement. She told DH that she was one of the 29 people the firm hired in January to provide online and telephone support on mortgages and loans to US-based clients. She was paid a monthly salary of
Rs 26,000.

In her April 10 post on Twitter, Aishwarya tagged the Bengaluru city police, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, DCP Whitefield, state department of labour, Captain P Manivannan (secretary to the government and department of labour) and two private
citizens.

Manivannan responded the same day, saying: “If it’s an IT company and you are not a ‘worker’, then you are not governed by labour laws, but the agreement between you and your employer.”

He added that the labour laws are to protect “gullible blue-collar workers” and not educated white-collar workers who can take care of themselves.

Manivannan also issued an order on Monday night, asking private firms to abstain from layoffs or unpaid leaves during the lockdown period or risk punishment under the Disaster Management Act.

Manivannan also clarified to DH that the order has no link to Aishwarya’s case. “The order was issued on March 24. It was an advisory, but now it’s fiat. If they violate, action will be taken,” he said.

Aishwarya revealed to DH that she was doing third year LLB in correspondence and the job was her primary source of support. She added that Manivannan had reached out, asking for copies of relevant documents, and that the Government of Karnataka’s Karmika Sahayavani had also messaged her.