Same practise being followed by Patni

SAME PRACTISE IS BEING FOLLOWED BY PCS FORMERLY PATNI COMPUTER SERVICES SINCE 2003. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BEING WHEREAS TCS PAYS MORE ONSITE AS WELL AS THE FULL INDIAN SALARY PATNI PAYS A MEAGRE THREADBARE ALLOWANCE ONSITE JUST SUFFICIENT FOR SUSTAINANCE (PATNI EMPLOYEES CAN BE SEEN SCAVENGING DUMPSTERS FOR ESSENTIAL ITEMS IN CITIES LIKE CINCINNATI, MINNEAPOLIS, BLOOMINGTON ETC) AND EQUALLY LOW AMOUNT OFFSHORE. AT THE END OF THE YEAR THEY FILE YOUR FEDERAL AND STATE TAXES MAKING YOU SIGN A POWER OF ATTORNEY DECLARING THAT THE REFUNDS WILL BE POCKETED BY PCS. WHEN PATNI EMPLOYEES HAD PROTESTED AGAINST THIS THEY WERE ASKED TO SIGN THE POWER OF ATTORNEY OR THEIR RESIGNATION PAPERS.
KUDOS TO THE MAN AT TCS WHO HAD THE GUTS TO FINALLY STAND UP AGAINST THIS INJUSTICE CONTINUING FOR DECADES. IT TAKES GREAT COURAGE AND RESOLVE TO ACT LIKE THIS. NOT ONLY TCS BUT EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER EXPLOITING IT FIRMS LIKE PATNI AND OTHERS SHOULD JOIN THE FIGHT AS TIME HAS COME FOR PAYBACK FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK 18 HOURS A DAY FOR THE COMPANY TO SUCCEED BUT ARE EXPLOITED SINCE THEY ARE IN US ON A VISA.

TCS badly deserves this

Some light at the end of the tunnel. Gopi vedachalam has turned saviour for thousands of TCS employees who suffer in the hands of their feudal masters year after year. All these violations have been going on for a long long time and finally all this has come out in the open. As a TCS employee who has been in U.S, I feel happy to see all this come out in the open. 3 years bond, 30000$ bond, 6 months bond....it is all about bonds and embezzlement! So much for tata code of conduct!!

Make an example of them

A lot of you guys in this forum are current or former TCS employees. I suggest you guys join the class-action lawsuit. I know it is a difficult decision but an example needs to be set. If Indian IT companies want to take advantage of the free market they have to play by the rules.

Surprised

I am really surprised that it took so many years to file a suit against TCS, which is known for very discriminatory practices against its employees. I was one of their employee way back in 1997 and I can tell they squeeze every pound out of you. Its time to receive back !

TCS

1. TCS is the No.1 IT company from India. And this is their track record. Everyone in the industry knows about TCS's practices but it has taken the guts of this guy to bring it out in the open. Other companies who put their employees on 'daily wages' in the US also pursue similar practices.
2. I hope at some point in time, the class action suit will cover all non-US citizens who worked for indian IT companies and that these employees are suitably compensated and the companies fined severely to make sure that such practices are avoided in future.

No Code of conduct

Thousands of TCS employees will be watching this space with bated breath. Everyone has suffered on account of such malafide practices being followed by TCS and other IT majors working with H1B and L1 resources. A thorough investigation in the L1 visa practice will expose these corporates. There is absolutely no "Code Of Conduct" of any sort followed by these corporates. The Earner Leave lapse and the tax refund embezzlement is true of TCS and another Tata group company Tata Infotech. They have been doing this for years and hoodwinking IRS.

We are on the same boat brother

TCS has been doing this from God knows how long - at least from the last 10 yrs. All of us have faced that - either sign on that tax refund check or... This lawsuit was pending for a long time... most of us donot have the time or even money to fight with TCS... TCS also makes you sign a power of attorney letter for such things...

True indeed!!

This is true. Most IT companies in India try to make maximum profit from minimum input - and gross exploitation is rampant. Making unrealistic promises to clients like doing a project in 2 months where ordinarily 5 would be needed, using 5 people where 10 would be needed and making them slog is a common practice. And all this is done knowing that people are afraid of losing their jobs and that there is an almost inexhaustible supply of people waiting for jobs. Unfortunately the life of a software developer is one of exploitation both physically and financially. Every effort is made to squeeze out every bit of work from an employee for the least amount of pay - doesn't matter if the employee has to put in long hours. This is a serious issue and must be tackled legally. I think the time is high to file PIL against such practices which deny even the basic liberty of a stable family life to IT workers.

Illegal on so many levels

We really dont want to dig deeper into this because of the stink it will raise. Many of our high tech stalwarts indulge in activities that are illegal on many levels.

a) TCS has been caught on the back foot on this issue. Imagine asking you to sign your IT refunds away ! Unbelievable - does not even happen in Uganda. This is however not suprising coming from TCS. THis company is notorious for its practices including basic bond (3yrs), onsite bond ($30000), and so forth.

b) the biggest fraud is the L-1 visa issue. I can bet my bottom dollar that 90% of TCS employees who are on L1 visa supposedly working for TCS America - have not even set foot in that office. They are transferred straight to Target, Prudential, GE or whatever client they want to serve. This is illegal and against the L-1 visa rules.

As I said at the start, let us cheerlead the Indian IT "majors" from the sidelines. We really dont want to dig deeper into their workings or operations. Thank you

Indians abused by Indians

It is not only TCS, but also many Indian Blue chip companies that send their consultants to UK and USA and then "plow back" salary funds.

Add to this, the pressure of working extra hours, often 60 to 80 hours a week (UK avg is 40 hours a week) with no overtime or benefits. The young professionals are always blackmailed that if they want more foreign assignments, they should toe the policy lines.

I have seen senior Financial Managers working with barely any resoures in London from top private bank of India.

Hope we learn how to respect our own brain before the drain starts again.