Indian IT Industry - Beware of communist conspiracy!

Of late there is a talk in the air seeking rights to stike and form labour unions by IT workers. No prizes for guessing that it is a brainchild of Indian communists who are trying desperately to get foothold amidst Indian urban middle class. While on surface, there looks nothing wrong with the demand and in fact many would come out in support of this demand, there are far reaching consequences of bringing IT industry within ambit of a labour union. But before going into those details, let us first examine, is it really needed to form a union in IT industry as demanded by leftists ?

Broadly speaking, a worker's union is required to protect rights of workers from all powerful ownership and management. It forms a platform for collective bargaining by common workers in any industrial setup.

As far as IT industry is concerned, it is very hard to imagine that workers can be exploited, given the accute shortage of skilled workforce, inherent dependency on intellect of the person in place and higher level of awareness because of high educational profile. A very high attrition rate in the industry, where job switch is almost always at the behest of the worker, is a strong enough evidence to substantiate the fact that it is usually the employer who is at the receiving end. If we get into details there are a number of such parameters, each of which will only support the claim that in this industry, the upper hand lies with the common worker. Hence, as far as exploitation of workers is concerned, ownership and management are inherently not powerful enough to exploit an IT worker. This eliminates the need for a right to strike or that of union to collectively bargain.

There are doubts likely to be raised by some stubborns. What if the situation changes tomorrow? What if shortage of manpower is overcome? What if industry goes in slump and retrenchments become order of the day?

Ha! Ha! But would forming union really solve any of these problems? No. It cannot. It cannot change the economics of any business, not without the cost of natural freedom, and financials of the nation. Infact in the name of solving these "would-be" problems, it will introduce so many deficiencies in the present system that industry would anyway doom to crests. And solution to an imaginary problem would detroy the subject itself.

The usual inefficiency associated with industries in comminists bations will creep in into IT industry as well. Deadlines and performance appraisals will no more be acceptable, and who knows, they might form a basis of strikes by unions. Experience only will be the sole criterion. There won't be something like performance-based variable incentives. And eventually when productivity would decrease but salaries would stay intact (decrements would again mean strikes!), the setup would become bankrupt... and finally close down! Even before this happens the industry would be dried of customers, who only seek output.

Then why is this demand of right to strike and form union still around? Are they not aware of this ground reality? Or they have some political motives? None of these feels so bad but what scares me is likelihood of so called ideological objectives to bring in equality in the society. I hope somebody tells them that IT industry cannot be handled in the traditional ways they are used to and that they should please keep off their politics and ideology from IT industry.