Revealing his traumatic experience in a Reddit post, a Bengaluru technician says his nine-year stint at India's largest IT company has been compared to “unchained slavery”. Despite nearly a decade of service, his monthly salary was only Rs 35,000 when he left the company.
Today, his earnings working for a global IT giant have risen nearly 400%, underscoring the stark pay disparity he endured.
His story sheds light on the systemic issues plaguing the organization. Low annual increments – often between 4-6% – stagnated wages, and a “progression” system simply moved workers into sub-levels without pay raises or expanded roles. “When I left after nine years, my monthly salary was Rs 35 lakh. Today I earn Rs 1.7 lakh,” he said, calling for a change in corporate culture.
In his Reddit post, the mechanic criticized policies that, unlike his current and previous employers, ignore market wage adjustments, which typically set wages in line with industry standards.
Employees at his old company faced single-digit raises and were underpaid despite years of service. Referrals to his new employer often earned former colleagues an 80-100% raise, which underscores the disparity.
In addition to wages, the technician described other burdens. Employees were charged Rs 3,200 per month for transport and parking charges further added to their expenses. Restaurant costs were steep, with a glass of juice costing 40 rupees—double what he was now paying at his current workplace.
The company mandated minimum physical work hours monitored through ID card swipes. This led to employees coming to the office on weekends for trivial reasons like doing laundry to meet the required hours.
While the company's leadership projected a philanthropic image, employees often joked that the generosity could have been directed toward staff welfare and better pay.
Advocating for a “minimum wage policy” across all sectors in India, the technocrat called for systemic reforms. His story is not just a personal narrative but a motivation for labor policies that prioritize fair treatment, better wage structures and worker dignity.