With two weeks left for the Lok Sabha polls to in Pune , employees working for IT (information technology) firms — who form a sizeable chunk of voters - have no excuse not to cast their votes as IT companies in the city have announced a paid holiday on poll day.
Companies have announced holidays on April 23 and April 29 - the third and fourth phases of the elections, under which all four constituencies in Pune district will vote.
However, a few companies have not yet confirmed a paid holiday, dangerously close to being in violation of guidelines of the Election Commission of India.
The relevant section of the Election Commission of India notification reads,: “The above provisions require that all establishments and shops including those which work on shift basis shall be closed on the day of poll in the constituency where a general/bye-election is to be held.”
A public relation representative from TechMahindra confirmed that the firm will be giving paid leave to its employees. The representative said, “We have sent an email to all employees regarding the paid holiday on polling day.”
When asked, whether the employees will be made to work on another day to compensate for the holiday, the company did not respond.
{{/usCountry}}When asked, whether the employees will be made to work on another day to compensate for the holiday, the company did not respond.
{{/usCountry}}Employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro Technologies, on basis on anonymity, confirmed that they have received emails from their employers regarding the holiday. An official representative of Cummins India also confirmed that the company has declared a day off on both voting days.
Pune-based Josh Software said that it will not give a holiday to its employees. When informed about the Election Commission of India’s notification, the company declined comment.
Forum of IT Employees (FITE), a registered union for IT employees, approached Nikhil Walke, assistant labour commissioner, Pune on April 5. In a memorandum submitted to Walke, FITE claimed that many IT companies are not allowing employees to take paid leave to exercise their constitutional right.
Pavanjit Mane, president of FITE, Pune said, “While most companies have declared a paid holiday for its employees, some companies are not allowing a paid leave to its employees. We have written to the Election Commission regarding this.”
IT staff will now be able to cast their vote
April 23 - Third phase of election
Going to vote
1. Jalgaon
2. Raver
3. Jalna
4. Aurangabad
5. Raigad
6. Pune
7. Baramati
8. Ahmednagar
9. Madha
10. Sangli
11. Satara
12. Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg
13. Kolhapur
14. Hatkanangale
April 29 - Fourth phase of election
Going to vote
1. Nandurbar
2. Dhule
3. Dindori
4. Nashik
5. Palghar
6. Bhiwandi
7. Kalyan
8. Thane
9. Maval
10. Shirur
11. Shirdi
What does the election commission of India notification say?
The above provisions require that all establishments and shops including those which work on shift basis shall be closed on the day of poll in the constituency where a general/bye-election is to be held.
Encouraging citizens to vote
1. Tata Consultancy Services
2. Wipro Technologies
3. Cummins India
4. TechMahindra
5. Fulcrum Digital
6. Tudip technologies
7. Symantec Software India Private Limited
Symantec isn’t asking their employees to work on any other day to compensate this leave. It is a paid holiday from the organisation. We at Symantec encourage our employees to vote.
Public relation officer, Symantec Software India private limited
As an organisation, we believe that it is important for everyone, including our employees to exercise their right to vote. In this light, we will observe a paid holiday on April 23 and on April 29 .Due to our presence across different regions, we have also announced a paid holiday for our outstation employees.
Anuradda Banerji, Lead Marketing, Fulcrum Digital
We want to encourage our employees to vote, and hence, we have ensured that all employees get a paid holiday, according to the voting days in their city.
Dipti Agarwal, CEO Tudip Technologies