The crime the workers had made was- they were involved in 'moonlighting'. That's why 300 workers were laid off by the famous Indian IT group Wipro, headquartered in Bengaluru State. The issue of job security in the information and technology sector is being widely discussed in the background of a large number of layoffs. Along with this, curiosity about moonlighting also increased.
Rishad Premji, the chairman of Wipro, said that the IT group has caught the moonlighting of 300 employees. There is no way in our IT business group Wipro for such workers.
What is moonlighting?
Moonlighting is working for one organization while simultaneously working for another organization by an employee. In this case, this work is done keeping the authorities of the original organization completely in the dark. Such activities are frowned upon by large companies, as they claim it results in loss of 'productivity' of the employees.
Moonlighting became widely practiced during the lockdown due to Covid-19 because at that time information technology companies were forced to give their employees the opportunity to work from home (work from home). This made it easier to earn money by doing part-time work in other places by bypassing the main company.
Another IT firm, Infosys, took a strong stance against moonlighting. Employees are informed by email that no other job can be entered without notifying the organization. Violation of this rule will result in no employment.
This incident is being criticized all over India. Because the organizations are opposing moonlighting without paying the workers the necessary money for living. If organizations do not accept moonlighting, it will be a violation of customary labor norms.