Indian IT firms exempted from labour laws

With the IT firms being affected the most during slowdown and facing tough situation to come out of that phase, the government has rendered a helping hand by exempting IT/ITES and software establishments from the provisions of Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946 (Central Act 20 of 1946) for two years.

This Act applies to every industrial establishment wherein one hundred or more workmen are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months. This law is strict on classifying workers, their working hours and shifts, the wages payable, besides other archaic rules on leave and attendance.

Following the announcement, Mohandas Pai, Head of HR in Infosys Technologies told the Economic Times, "We have antiquated labour regulations, which do not fit the requirement of the knowledge-based industry. This reform is necessary. We do not want inspector raj here, what we want is more such reforms across industries."
Related: IT companies free of labour laws for 2 years