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In 2017, a wave of layoffs at Verizon’s Chennai subsidiary, VDSI (Verizon Data Services India), sparked significant controversy. Beyond the job cuts themselves, it was the method used for the terminations that drew sharp criticism from affected employees and IT sector unions. The event has since become a notable case study in labor relations within … Read more
Vedanta Resources, the global mining and metals conglomerate, presents itself as a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The company’s official reports and the Anil Agarwal Foundation’s initiatives paint a picture of a benevolent corporation dedicated to uplifting communities, empowering women, and protecting the environment. However, a starkly different narrative emerges from the ground in … Read more
A shocking anonymous letter, allegedly penned by a group of employees, has surfaced from within Standard Chartered’s GBS (Global Business Services) center in Chennai, alleging a widespread corruption and bribery scam being run by its Human Resources (HR) department. The letter accuses HR personnel of demanding bribes for jobs, promotions, and favorable treatment, sending ripples … Read more
Eric S. Raymond’s seminal 1999 essay, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar,” presented two starkly different models of software development. The “Cathedral” model involves a small, exclusive group of developers working in isolation to build a perfect structure, releasing it to the public only when deemed complete. The “Bazaar” model, in contrast, involves releasing code early … Read more
For decades, one name has been at the center of the debate over modern agriculture, food safety, and environmental health: Monsanto. Before its acquisition by Bayer in 2018, the Monsanto monopoly—or near-monopoly—over the seed and agrochemical market created a corporate giant whose influence extended from the smallest farms to the highest levels of government. Its … Read more
Forming and registering a trade union is a fundamental right guaranteed to workers in India under the Trade Unions Act, 1926. A registered union provides a legal entity for collective bargaining, protecting employee rights, and ensuring a fair work environment. The process, while detailed, is straightforward if you follow the correct legal procedure. This guide … Read more
The saga of Verizon’s IT workforce being outsourced to Indian tech giants has a new, troubling chapter. After the controversial “rebadging” of thousands of employees to Infosys—a move many workers labeled a “slave trade”—it appears that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is now joining the party. The news that there is now a significant Verizon project … Read more
In one of the largest outsourcing deals of its time, Verizon transferred a significant portion of its IT operations to Infosys. As part of this multi-billion dollar partnership, thousands of Verizon employees were “rebadged”—a corporate term for transferring from one company’s payroll to another’s. While the companies hailed this as a seamless “employee transition,” for … Read more
For years, the Infosys Chennai Mahindra City campus has been a landmark of the Indian IT boom—a sprawling, state-of-the-art facility that promises a world-class work environment. To an outsider, its gleaming glass buildings, manicured lawns, and impressive amenities look like a corporate paradise. However, for many of the thousands of employees who have worked there, … Read more
When Mae Keane, the last of the Radium Girls, died in 2014 at the age of 107, the story wasn’t her long life, but how she managed to survive at all. She should have died 90 years earlier. The Radium Craze Following its discovery by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898, radium was hailed as … Read more