Drawing on interviews conducted with trade unionists and labour activists in 2008, this article addresses nascent unions and professional associations operating in India's information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITES) industries. This work builds upon the literature that is developing around unionisation within knowledge- and information-based workplaces, and is particularly informed by the work of Mosco and McKercher (Mosco & McKercher, 2008; McKercher & Mosco, 2006, 2007), whose research focuses on knowledge worker mobilisation. Such an approach, as adopted here, requires reflection on India's industrial relations regime and the IT and ITES industries’ political-economic framework in the broader context of the new international division of labour, based on the increasingly fragmented commodity production chains that are distributed throughout the globe. The central theoretical model is grounded on a critical political economy of communication (Mosco, 2009).
Acharya, K. (2009) ‘Labour-India: getting “Bangalored” back’, Global Issues , January 2. Accessed on January 12, 2009 from http://www.globalissues.org/news/2009/01/02/189
Ackers, P. (2006) ‘Leaving labour? Some British impressions of Indian academic employment relations’, Economic and Political Weekly , September 30:4187–419.
Bain, P. & P. Taylor (2002) ‘Ringing the changes? Union recognition and organisation in call centres in the UK finance sector’, Industrial Relations Journal , Vol 33, No 3: 246–261
Basu, I. (2009) ‘IT workers join unions to fight job cuts’, UPI Asia.com , May 6. Accessed on May 8, 2009 from http://www.upiasia.com/Economics/2009/05/06/it_workers_join_unions_to_fight_job_cuts/9707/
Batt, R., V. Doellgast, H. Kwon, M. Nopany, P. Nopany & A. da Costa (2005) The Indian Call Centre Industry: National Benchmarking Report, Working Paper 05–07 , Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Bhargava, G.R. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, November 13.
Bhatnagar, R. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, December 11
Bhattacherjee, D. (1988) ‘Unions, state and capital in Western India: structural determinants of the 1982 Bombay textile strike’ in R. Southall (ed) Labour and Unions in Asia and Africa: contemporary issues , London: MacMillan Press:211–237
Bibby, A. (2002a) ‘IT professionals' forums in India’, World of Work , No. 42. Accessed on September 7, 2007 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/magazine/42/itindia.htm.
Bibby, A. (2002b) ‘Labour organisation in India's IT industry’, Financial Times . Accessed on November 19, 2007 from http://www.andrewbibby.com/telework/india.html
Bibby, A. (2000) Organising in Financial Call Centres: A Report for UNI . Accessed on November 19, 2007 from http://www.andrewbibby.com/docs/ofcc1.html
Bidwai, P. (2005) ‘For a “New Deal” for labor’, Frontline , Vol 22, No 17. Accessed June 11, 2008 from http://www.flonnet.com/fl2217/stories/20050826003310900.htm.
Bidwai, P. (1997) ‘Indian labor leader shot’, Multinational Monitor , Vol 18, No 3:8–9.
CWA, CEC, JwJ, NTUI & YPC (2006) Bi-National Perspective on Offshore Outsourcing: a collaboration between Indian and US labour . Accessed on November 24, 2009 from http://www.jwj.org/campaigns/global/tools/outsourcing/us_india_report_2006.pdf
Deccan Herald (2005) ‘Allow IT women pros to choose work hours’, December 19 The Economic Times (2008) ‘IT-BPO union flays Nasscom stand on layoffs’, December 7. Accessed on December 11, 2008 from http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/The_Sunday_ET/Companies/IT-BPO_union_flays_Nasscom_stand_on_layoffs/articleshow/3803038.cms
The Economist (2004) ‘The thin red line’, May 8–14:40
FES & UNITES (2006) ‘Organizing strategies for ITES workers’, Hotel Golconda Hyderabad, April 14–16, 2006
Fine, B., C. Lapavitsas & J. Pincus (eds) (2001) Development Policy in the 21st Century , London, Routledge
Fournier, V. (1999) ‘The appeal to “professionalism” as disciplinary mechanism’, The Sociological Review , Vol 47:280–307
Hegde, N.R. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, October 22
Hill, E. (2009) ‘The Indian industrial relations system: struggling to address the dynamics of a globalizing economy’, Journal of Industrial Relations , Vol 51, No 3:395–410.
The Hindu (2005) ‘ITES union urges staff safety measures’, December 17
Hirschfeld, K. (2005) IT Professionals Forum in India: organization at a crossroads: Report on a visit to IT Professionals Forums in February 2005 , Nyon, Union Network International
Holman, D., R. Batt & U. Holtgrewe (2007) The Global Call Center Report: international perspectives on management and employment , Global Call Centre Project. Accessed on November 24, 2009 from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globalcallcenter/upload/GCC-Intl-Rept-US-Version.pdf
The Indian Express (2005) ‘Industry meet in January to formalize code of conduct’, December 23
Kanellos, Michael (2005) ‘India's tech renaissance’, C-Net News.com, June 28–30
Kazmin, A. (2009) ‘Vulnerable IT workers find comfort in union’, Financial Times , February 12. Accessed on February 15, 2009, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1a6cdb42-f92d-11dd-ab7f-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Krishna, S. (2005) ‘India: globalisation and IT development’, South Asian Journal , April-June. Accessed on August 5, 2009, http://www.southasianmedia.net/magazine/Journal/8_it_development.htm
Mahalingam, T.V. (2009) ‘Where dreams end … and nightmares begin’, Outlook Business , June 27:47–57
McKercher, C. & V. Mosco (eds) (2007) Knowledge Workers in the Information Society , Lanham: Lexington Books
McKercher, C. & V. Mosco (eds) (2006) Canadian Journal of Communication , Vol 31, No 3.
Mishra, B.R. (2008) ‘IT-BPO union to file PIL against “extended” working hours’, Rediff.com , November 26. Accessed on November 30, 2008 from http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/nov/26bpo-it-bpo-union-to-file-pil-against-working-hours.htm
Mishra, P. (2009) ‘The nightmare has just begun’, The Economic Times , January 27
Mosco, V. (2009) The Political Economy of Communication: rethinking and renewal , second edition, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications
Mosco, V. & C. McKercher (2008) The Labouring of Communication: will knowledge workers of the world unite? Lanham, Lexington Books
Mosco, V., C. McKercher & A. Stevens (2008) ‘Convergences: elements of a feminist political economy of labor and communication’, in K. Sarikakis & L.R. Shade (eds) Feminist Interventions in International Communication: Minding the Gap , Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers:207–223
Natarajan, R. (2008) Interview conducted by Andrew Stevens, October 20
Noronha, E. & P. D'Cruz (2009) ‘Engaging the professional: organising call centre agents in India’, Industrial Relations Journal , Vol 40, No 3:215–234
Noronha, E. & P. D'Cruz (2006) ‘Organizing call centre agents: emerging issues’, Economic and Political Weekly , May 27:2115–2121
Prasad, H. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, October 20
Prasad, H. & K. Shekhar (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, October 20
Ramaswamy, E.A. (1977) The Worker and his Union: a study in South India , Bombay, Allied Publishers
Rege, K. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, November 20
Remesh, B.P. (2004a) Labour in Business Process Outsourcing: a case study of call centre agents , New Delhi, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute
Remesh, B.P. (2004b) ‘“Cyber coolies” in BPO: insecurities and vulnerabilities of non-standard work’, Economic and Political Weekly , January 31:492–497
Remesh, B.P. & Neetha N. (2008) ‘Gender implications of outsourced work in the new economy: a case study of domestic call centres’, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics , Vol 51, No 4:717–730
Rodrik, D. & A. Subramanian (2001) ‘From “Hindu growth” to productivity surge: the mystery of the Indian growth transition’, IMF Working Paper, 04/77 , Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund
Roy, A. (2009) Interview by Vincent Mosco, July 8
Roychowdhury, S. (2003) ‘Public sector restructuring and democracy: the state, labour and trade unions in India’, The Journal of Development Studies , Vol 39, No 3:29–50
Sajjanshetty, G. (2008) Interview with Andrew Stevens, October 18
Sayeed, V.A. & A.S. Sekhar (2009) ‘Thousands of IT professionals have lost their jobs in the major cyber cities’, Frontline , February 28. Accessed March 3, 2009 from http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20090313260501400.htm
Schiller, D. (1999) Digital Capitalism , Cambridge: MIT Press
Sengupta, S. (2009) ‘Attack on women at an Indian bar intensifies a clash of cultures’, New York Times , February 8. Accessed February 9, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/world/asia/09india.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Shankar, B.V. Shiva (2006) ‘Lessons from Oz: inspired by the IBM employees stir in Australia, India's IT, ITES sector renew their trade union plans’, Mid-Day September 8
Shekhar, K. (2009) Personal correspondence, December 11
Shekhar, K. (2008a) Interview by Andrew Stevens, October 14
Shekhar, K. (2008b) Interview by Live Mint reporter, October 31
Shekhar, K. (2008c) Interview by Andrew Stevens, November 3
Shetty, V. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, November 24
SiliconIndia (2009) ‘Sacked Wipro employee alleges harassment’, August 20. Accessed on August 25, 2009 from http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Sacked_Wipro_employee_alleges_harassment-nid-60537.html/1/1/error1#success
Srinivasan, N. (1989) ‘Growth of professional managerial unionism: The Indian experience’, Economic and Political Weekly , Vol 24, No 47:M169–M174.
Subramaniam, E. (2008) Interview by Andrew Stevens, October 30
Suresh, S. (2006) ‘This domain doesn't exist: 93 employees of Bel-Air BPO didn't know firm had shut down until they saw this message on its site’, Mid-day.com. Accessed on October 22, 2008 from http://www.unitespro.org/uniindia/Pres%20reports%20and%20UNITES%20response.pdf
Taylor, P. & P. Bain (2008) ‘United by a common language? Trade union responses in the UK and India to call centre offshoring’, Antipode , Vol 40, No 1:131–154
Tejaswi, M.J. (2009a) ‘Tension in the air: IT union website hits rise dramatically’, The Times of India, February 5. Accessed on February 5, 2009 from http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIBG&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T&AW=1233869242187
Tejaswi, M.J. (2009b) ‘Techies say “no” to pink slips’, The Times of India , May 1:15.
The Telegraph (2006) ‘Who says BPOs don't have unions?’, November 5
UNI (n.d.) UNI India: Unions . Accessed on November 23, 2009 from http://www.union-network.org/Apps/iportal.nsf/pages/20090218_dl9tEn
UNI (2009) ‘A dose of women power in uniting IT workers in India’, March 28. Accessed on June 5, 2009 from http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/iportal.nsf/pages/homeEn?Opendocument&exURL=http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/0/ABF72DAC6DF952CEC12575870058BAE9
UNI (2003) ‘Organising IT professionals in India’, Nyon, Union Network International.
UNITES (2009a) ‘Decisions for Life project launch’. Accessed on June 30, 2009 from http://www.unitespro.org/files/html/DFL%20Page/dfl_launch.htm
UNITES (2009b) ‘Request to appoint a Commission of Enquiry under Commissioner of Enquiry Act’, January 7. Accessed on January 12, 2009 from http://itnitesunion.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/request-to-appoint-a-commission-of-enquiry-under-commissioner-of-enquiry-act/
UNITES and UNI (2008) UNITES and UNI press conference, New Delhi, December 6.
Upadhya, C. (2008) ‘Ethnographies of the global information economy: research strategies and methods’, Economic and Political Weekly , April 26:64–72
Upadhya, C. (2007) ‘Employment, exclusion and “merit” in the Indian IT industry’, Economic and Political Weekly , May 19:1863–1868
Verma, P. (2004) ‘Forum to tackle unfair HR policies in BPO industry’, The Financial Express , July 29. Accessed on December 8, 2007 from http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe_full_story.php?content_id=64607
Young Professionals Collective and Focus on the Global South (2005) When the Wind Blows: An Overview of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in India. Young Professionals Collective and Focus on the Global South