When India was under the rule of Congress government, huge number of engineering colleges popped up in thousands which resulted in lack of quality education. Most of the people have only one career in mind and that is engineering.
And working in software companies became a prestigious issue for most of the people. Especially parents push their children towards engineering and compel them to become a software engineer.
Well, we have been hearing many techie deaths.
Moses Ranjan Raj, a techie working at TCS’s SIPCOT Siruseri campus died and it is revealed that TCS failed to provide proper medical facilities to its employee at the right time.
This is what happened
41-year-old Moses Ranjan Raj was attending a conference call when he suddenly fell ill. A team mate found the delivery manager lying on the ground near his work desk having seizures. Moses was soon taken to the Chettinad hospital but he was declared ‘brought dead’.
The newly formed trade union for the IT sector in Tamil Nadu, Forum For IT Employees (FITE) has sought an enquiry into his death.
In the enquiry, it’s revealed that the ambulance reached almost 15 minutes after Moses began having seizures. And when he was finally carried to the ambulance, there was no doctor or nurse available in the van to provide him the necessary first aid.
“When the IT companies have got exemption from labor laws which facilitates them to extract work out of employees 24×7, why haven’t they set up appropriate medical facilities round the clock to safeguard employees’ lives? Why isn’t the Labour department taking notice of this?” FITE asked in a statement.
Company failed to show the responsibility towards their employees.
“Moses would have been there with us by now had he been treated the first time he suffered from fits (seizures). Is this the responsibility the companies have towards their employees numbering in lakhs who give up even their lives, health, time with their families for the sake of these companies who operate solely on profit interests?” it asked.
FITE alleges that it was a harmful work culture in the industry that contributed to his death.
“Without realising day and night, IT workers work for extended hours due to workload which leads them to stress. Many times they skip their meals and are also deprived of adequate sleep. Due to this they fall prey to depression and fatal disorders such as Heart attacks at younger ages,” FITE said.
The union has asked TCS to provide adequate compensation to his family keeping in mind the future of his wife and children. It asked TN government to take action against TCS for “failing to provide necessary emergency first aid treatment thereby failing to protect the life of Moses Ranjan Raj”.
Most of the companies are not paying attention to the physical and mental well-being of its employees.
“The post mortem showed that he died due to heart attack and fits. There has been no full-fledged research done on the disorders arising out of workplace issues (occupational health hazards) nor there has been any holistic plan implemented to safeguard the health of IT sector employees on part of the government,” says FITE.
The adverse effects of a hectic work culture came to international attention this year when Miwa Sado, Japanese woman had ‘died of overwork’ who put in 159 hours of overtime in the month before her death. She passed away due to a heart failure.
Here is the FITE’s full description of the events on the night of Moses’s death:
“On the fateful night, Moses was involved in a conference call with the on-site team in the U.S. Since he became silent during the course of the call, the on-site team informed to an offshore team mate to reach out to Moses. When he reached the desk of Moses, he witnessed Moses lying on the ground suffering from fits. Baffled by the scene, the team mate tried his best to recover Moses from fits and had also immediately alerted the security guards. Meanwhile Moses had fainted and also suffered fits for the second time. The ambulance had reached the tower after 15 minutes of all these happenings. With the help of security guards Moses was boarded on to the ambulance. There was no doctor or nurse available in the ambulance to provide necessary first aid to Moses or to check his pulses and blood pressure. Since there was nobody else to accompany Moses to the hospital, the team mate had accompanied Moses in the ambulance,” says FITE.
In today’s world, earning money is very important. Most of the people work overtime to earn extra money. In this scenario, maintaining proper diet and exercise is also important. If you feel over-stressed then watch some comedy shows. Take breaks and plan small trips to nearby scenic locations.
Health is wealth. If you don’t take care of health, all the money you earn will go to medical bills.
Isn’t it so? Share us in the comments. Few months back, an engineer in Pune did suicide as he felt that there is no job security in IT. Work pressure and job safety are becoming major concerns
