Did it during Covid, can do now too: IT employees seek mandatory work from home after PM Modi's appeal

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call to conserve fuel and work from home, a union of Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITES) employees on Monday wrote to the Union Labour ministry seeking a mandatory directive to work from home.

The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), which is a registered union of IT and ITES employees across India, sought an order from the Union government directing companies to implement mandatory work from home for an appropriate period in the larger national interest.

While addressing a gathering in Hyderabad on Sunday, PM Modi had urged citizens to conserve fuel, work from home, avoid buying gold for a year and limit foreign travel. These slew of measures were announced to cushion India’s economy from the impact of the West Asia war. Crude prices jumped on Monday after peace negotiations remained in limbo with US President Donald Trump refusing to blink. Although the Modi-led central government has not announced an increase in petrol and diesel prices yet, the cost of commercial LPG cylinders has been hiked twice in the last two months.

NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja told Mint that a mandatory work from home directive will prove to be a responsible policy recommendation and in the larger interest of the nation, given the global headwinds.

“Reducing daily commuting by lakhs of IT employees can significantly contribute towards fuel conservation, reduction in traffic congestion, environmental protection, and employee well-being, while ensuring uninterrupted digital operations and economic activity,” Saluja said.

A press statement from the union pointed out how major tech companies and multinational corporations, during the Covid-19 pandemic, invested heavily in remote infrastructure, cloud operations, digital collaboration tools, and cybersecurity systems. It added that the IT and ITES sectors have demonstrated, on a massive scale, that remote working can be implemented effectively without disruption to productivity or business continuity.

“In such circumstances, requiring lakhs of employees to undertake long daily commutes despite the availability of proven digital alternatives places unnecessary pressure on fuel consumption, urban infrastructure, public transport systems, road congestion, and employee well-being,” the statement from the IT employees’ union read.

Having both the infrastructure and the capability to carry out uninterrupted work remotely, India’s IT sector can function effectively under work from home arrangements, the union underlined. It added that the same capability can now be utilised once again in support of national priorities.

“We further submit that the objective of such an advisory is not confrontation with employers, but collective national cooperation,” the statement cautioned.

Meanwhile, industry body NASSCOM underlined that India's tech sector is continuing to operate on “well-established hybrid work models, with organisations calibrating work-from-home and in-office arrangements based on role requirements and customer needs.”

NASSCOM's statement, seen by Mint, said companies have undertaken measures to rationalise energy consumption and enable remote or hybrid work where operationally appropriate.

These measures are not new but are part of the industry’s broader approach to operational resilience and sustainability…While this remains an evolving situation, we are closely monitoring developments and remain engaged with industry stakeholders and government authorities to ensure a coordinated and responsible response," the statement read.