Infosys onboarding delays: Labour ministry asks Karnataka government to take action

The centre asks Karnataka to take action against Infosys over complaints of 'exploitation and unprofessional treatment' of over 2,000 graduates

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has asked the Karnataka government to take “appropriate action” on Infosys after complaints of delays in the onboarding of freshers, Moneycontrol reported, citing a letter from the ministry. HT couldn't independently verify the information.

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Infosys logo in this illustration. (Reuters)

“...it has been requested for intervention in the matter to protect these young graduates from exploitative practices carried out by the companies," Moneycontrol quoted the letter. "Since the appropriate government for action under respective Labour Law in this matter is the State Government, you are requested to look into the matter and take suitable action under intimation to the applicant and this office.”

This comes after Pune-based IT union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) filed a complaint on August 20 against Infosys for the “ongoing exploitation and unprofessional treatment” of more than 2,000 engineering graduates selected for System Engineer (SE) and Digital Specialist Engineer (DSE) roles as part of the 2022-23 campus recruitment drive.

Infosys issued 1,000 more offer letters to the 2022 batch, but after more than a two and half year delay, according to the report, which added that while over 2,000 freshers from the 2022 batch got their final offer letters, about 700 are still awaiting their joining dates.

Why were Infosys campus hires subject to onboarding delays?

Infosys did not immediately board the candidates despite sending offer letters due to the IT industry as a whole facing a slump at that time.

This was also accompanied by fears of recession in the major markets for IT companies, which led to a multi-decadal headcount decline.