Hi Manish, I cannot agree more. Performance and productivity still remain the key criteria for retaining a job in the private sector, be it for an employee or a contract worker.
Since most messages in this thread expressed the view that disabled contract employees are specially being targeted, I would like to add here that I have been working oncontract for the past four years now. Companies *do* value skill and performance. Rather than implicating the private sector, let us concentrate on being better workers in order to ward off layoffs. Geetha ----- Original Message ----- From: "Manish Agrawal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 4:13 PM Subject: Re: [AI] IT sector starts shedding its differently abled resources. > Someone on this thread said: <snip> I have repeatedly said that being > handicaps we deserve more than > others from the nation. </snip> > > I couldn't disagree more with this statement. > We deserve equal or less than what we contribute to the nation and there > is no other factor that determines what we deserve. > It is a debate at the paradigm level and I don't want to move this > thread away from the subject of discrimination in employment. > My views on the subject having stayed with the private sector in IT for > a fairly long time now are very different and contrary to most views > expressed on the subject so far. > Even with the eminent recession in the US and everything, the fact still > remains that there is a net shortage of "adequately skilled" people in > the IT industry in India. I know that at a general level and also have a > first hand experience having been hiring for my company for a long time > now. > As a company, I am hard stretched to retain my good people let alone > coming up with divisive ways of firing them. > The keyword here is "adequately skilled". the private sector is for > profit and not for charity. we need to prove our worth to earn the > returns. In my career across different companies I have seen at least 4 > rounds of layoffs and none of them were focused at cutting me off first > because I am blind. Layoffs are a pure mechanism of cutting costs. The > highest cost centers that are expected to give the lowest returns are > laid off first. > if we are trying to say that "Since we are blind, we will be less > productive, cost the same or more than others but deserve greater job > security than others because there is nowhere else for us to go." then > that argument falls on its face. > If we are not "less productive" then I can bet that there is no private > company so dumb as to let go of its relatively higher productive people > just because of a bias. > We need to come out of this mindset of "deserving" charity. There is no > such thing. > "deserving" a level playing field is much more tenable. A 'level playing > field" however, means that we play with the rules as they apply to > everyone and in this particular case, the private sector needs to be > able to right size its workforce to stay profitable. > I have worked on a contract for a fairly long time as well but that was > the case for my peers as well and that had nothing to do with the fact > that I am blind. > I am not saying that in the specific case that started this thread there > is no malpractice (simply because I don't know anything about this > specific case). However, it is wrong to generalize this to the entire > private sector. > I will propose a radically different idea: "I wish things were the same > in the govt. sector as well." This so called "job security" in the govt > sector is what causes most govt. officials to be as productive as we all > know they are. > This statement I'm sure will provoke heated responses but those are my > personal views and I'll not respond to this thread any more or try to > defend this in any way. > > Regards, > Manish > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rajesh > Asudani > Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 4:16 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [AI] IT sector starts shedding its differently abled > resources. > > Dear Shadab > > excuse me, but after going through message a couple of times, I am > unable to get at the gist. > >>From what I comprehend I think you are trying to suggest some kind of a > sting to prove the discrimination with vi by it companies. > > Now it is not something concrete like taking bribe to be captured on > camera and telecast nationwide. > > In fact, keeping employees on contract and terminating them at will is > not contrary to any existing regulations on the private sector. > > Contract employment is a part and parcel of private sector nowadays. > > Even if we assume that only vi employees are being kept on contract and > not confirmed, it is extremely difficult to establish it beyond doubt > let alone capture it on camera. > > as is said earlier, corporates do know sophisticated ways of avoiding > legal trap like giving breaks/terminating contract and re-negotiating it > with same person. > > It is what is called "hire and fire" policy in west, and adequate social > security or stringent regulations may put forward the solution. > > Rajesh > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Shadab > Husain > Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 2:25 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [AI] IT sector starts shedding its differently abled > resources. > > Dear Harish sir and others: > > Thank you for your emails. > > Agreed in order to "prove candidly discrimination is Practiced" is > very difficult but not impossible. I have a plan which would look > childish - however I am confident that if anyhow we managed this then > our target will fell as a house of cards. Besides this, I presume that > we do not have enough options either. > > In the recent passed I heard a bit of the programme "Citizen > Journalist" on CNN-IBN English. To give a sketchy outline - the foul > play is recorded in a camera by the common folks and sent to the > channel which they broadcast (understandably after the approval of the > editor). > > I understand that for us gathering a proof like this will be a > Herculean task, but we can do this by arranging a rendezvous for this > covert shooting. This, I feel, should not entrap only a single > company; but we have to hunt down several preys because if we targeted > only a single company then others would become vigilant and after that > reaching them will be beyond us. > > I have repeatedly said that being handicaps we deserve more than > others from the nation. Mr Subramani has rightly pointed out that we > do not have a strong votebank and therefore we are being pushed aside. > Let us use this weakness as our strongest point, because this will let > others know that how Praetorian the Indian realpolotik is. > > We will need a lot of money to arrange for trained cameramen etc. in > which the Human Rights firms might help us because if we put our > project before them, they will feel that they will earn a lot of fame > in helping the disables. They will come in the limelight because this > will be an operation which will not only push the emotional button, > but since never has such an operation engineered so it would grab the > freedom of minds of the whole nation. Government also bestows a lot of > prizes on such initiatives - though this would be a bit skirting from > what I said earlier - but anyhow, it is so. > > I am sorry if my plan is airy-fairy. But by the list postings I > presumed that there isn't any shrewd plan coming up so I thought I > might wrongly make a little difference. > > Sincerely, > > Shadab Husain > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.i > n > > Notice: The information contained in this e-mail > message and/or attachments to it may contain > confidential or privileged information. If you are > not the intended recipient, any dissemination, use, > review, distribution, printing or copying of the > information contained in this e-mail message > and/or attachments to it are strictly prohibited. If > you have received this communication in error, > please notify us by reply e-mail or telephone and > immediately and permanently delete the message > and any attachments. 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