IT employees’ body seeks mandatory WFH advisory amid fuel conservation push

New Delhi, May 11 The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) on Monday urged the Centre to advise IT and IT-enabled services companies to implement work from home wherever operationally feasible, saying the move could help conserve fuel and reduce unnecessary travel amid rising global uncertainties.

In a letter addressed to Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the employee body said remote working should be encouraged as part of a broader national effort to support fuel conservation and reduce pressure on urban infrastructure.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal encouraging citizens and organisations to adopt measures such as work from home, virtual meetings and reduced travel, NITES described the call as a collective national responsibility in view of current geopolitical developments and concerns around fuel consumption.

The association said the IT and ITES sector had already demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic that remote working models could function effectively without impacting productivity or business continuity.

“The Indian IT sector had already successfully implemented large-scale work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic without disruption to productivity or business continuity,” Harpreet Singh Saluja, President, NITES said.

“The IT/ITeS sector has both the infrastructure and capability to once again support national priorities through remote working,” he added.

According to NITES, technology companies, multinational firms, customer support operations and software teams continued to serve global clients and execute projects efficiently while operating remotely for several years during the pandemic.

“Companies invested heavily in remote infrastructure, cybersecurity systems, cloud operations, digital collaboration tools, and virtual management systems,” the industry body said.

“Employees adapted successfully. Productivity targets were met. International business continued uninterrupted. The sector itself repeatedly acknowledged during that period that operations remained stable under remote working conditions,” it added.

NITES further argued that requiring lakhs of employees to commute daily despite the availability of digital alternatives puts unnecessary pressure on fuel consumption, traffic congestion, public transport systems and urban infrastructure.

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