Chennai: Forum for IT employees (FITE) has demanded severance pay for the IT staff being laid off by IT global major Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), which it said had laid off some 17000 employees in the recent past.

FITE representatives, who reached the office of the Labour commission in Chennai on Thursday, alleged that the company representatives did not meet the employees as per the tripartite reconciliatory talks initiated by the officials.

FITE representatives alleged that the company representatives met the labour commission officials privately ahead of the scheduled meeting and then went away without meeting the IT employees. The third round of conciliatory talks were scheduled for Wednesday.

Following this attitude, the FITE has decided to take on the company in the appropriate legal court, under the industrial disputes act. FITE office bearers told media persons that this was the only recourse available to the employees as they were being pressurized to quit by the management illegally.

“Representatives from CTS had met the officers concerned ahead of the scheduled time and reiterated their stance that the resignations were of the employees’ own accord. They did not meet us directly today,” said Vasumathi, vice-president of FITE. The forum had submitted a petition at the Labour Commission after which three rounds of conciliation meets were facilitated so far.

At the end of the meeting with the Joint Commissioner (Labour), members of FITE said employees who have not yet resigned, should not resign. FITE alleged that around 17,000 employees have been laid off all over the country by the MNC.

“They are giving reasons such as poor performance,” she said rubbishing the charges as false.