Bengaluru IT sector to face 14-hour work day? Employees' Union expresses opposition
New Delhi: The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) has claimed that the state government is planning to increase the working hours of IT staff to 14 hours a day, sparking outrage among employees.
According to KITU, the proposal to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act was presented in a meeting called by the labour department with various stakeholders in the industry.
The union has expressed strong opposition to the proposed amendment, stating that it would have a significant impact on the health and well-being of IT employees. Citing studies, KITU said that extended working hours could lead to a higher risk of death by stroke and ischemic heart disease.
The union has urged the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led government to rethink the proposal, warning that any attempt to implement it would be met with resistance from the 20 lakh employees working in the IT/ITeS sector in Karnataka.
Earlier, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy had sparked a debate by suggesting that India's work culture needs to change and that youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week.
The development comes amid controversy over a bill that required private sector firms in Karnataka to prioritize locals for 70 per cent of non-management roles and 50 per cent of management-level jobs. The bill was paused after outrage followed the announcement.
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Our relationship with both India and Pakistan is 'good': US
New York/Washington (PTI): America’s relationship with both India and Pakistan is “good”, the US State Department has said, asserting that the diplomats are "committed to both nations".
Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that the US working with both nations is good news for the region and the world, and will promote a beneficial future.
“I would say that our relationship with both nations is as it has been, which is good. And that is the benefit of having a President who knows everyone, talks to everyone, and that is how we can bring differences together in this case. So it's clear that the diplomats here are committed to both nations,” Bruce said.
She was responding to a question on the possibility of increased US assistance to Islamabad in terms of arms sales following Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s meeting with Trump, and whether this was coming at the cost of Trump's relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Referring to the May conflict between India and Pakistan, Bruce added, “Obviously, we had an experience with Pakistan and India when there was a conflict, one that could have developed into something quite horrible.”
She said that there was "immediate concern and immediate movement" with Vice President J D Vance, President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in “addressing the nature of what was happening….we described the nature of the phone calls, the work that we did to stop the attacks and to then bring the parties together so we could have something that was enduring."
She also claimed that top leaders in the US were involved in “stopping that potential catastrophe.”
New Delhi has been maintaining that India and Pakistan halted their military actions following direct talks between their militaries without any mediation by the US.
Bruce added that the recent peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan “follows negotiated peace arrangements between Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia and Serbia and Kosovo.”
Meanwhile, in an interview on Tuesday, Rubio said that “credit goes to” Trump for helping bring several conflicts around the world to an end.
Trump says he wants “to be the President of peace. And so any time we see a conflict where we think we can make a difference, we get involved, and we’ve had good success in that regard. India-Pakistan, Thailand-Cambodia, the peace deal with Azerbaijan and Armenia, just a few days ago,” he said in an interview with ‘Sid and Friends in the Morning’.
