Features

Of a Murder, Employer, and Responsibilities

DQI Bureau

19 Jan 2006 00:00 IST

New Update

While having processes to manage in-bound and out-bound calls for data and

information security of customers, we have neglected crucial processes that

could have saved a life

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Should

HP GlobalSoft be held responsible for the murder of Pratibha? Did it abet,

albeit indirectly, the crime by leaving enough room for a psychopath to claim an

unsuspecting life? It's a question that begs an answer from HP GlobalSoft, the

legal bodies and, of course, colleagues and family of Pratibha.

It

would appear that the Karnataka Police is contemplating taking such an action,

according to sources. Clearly, with emotions running high, one would be most

tempted to agree with the Karnataka Police. Could this have been averted at all?

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In

the reconstruction of events-from the time Pratibha was picked up from her

home, there appears to be several points, which now stand out, where HP

GlobalSoft could have reacted and thus averted this tragedy.

For

instance, why didn't the person who was informed by Jagdeesh, the regular

driver, that another driver had picked Pratibha, check on her getting delayed,

or why she hadn't turned up at all despite leaving home at 2 am?

That

HP GlobalSoft responded to her husband's query with “she has not reported

into work”, points out that it completely lacks a system of tracking its

employees while on road.

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This

raises another question. What is the actual process followed by BPO companies to

ensure the safety of a person from the time he/she leaves the premises (home or

office) and reaches his/her destination? This, apparently, is the root cause

behind the Karnataka Police's ire -the state's Shops and Establishment

Act, amended in 2002 after the IT Act came into being that year, permitted IT,

ITeS and BPO firms to put women on night shifts with a clear provision that

makes companies responsible for the safety and security of its women employees,

especially with respect to their transportation.

The

10-point Agenda

No woman employee should be picked up first or

dropped last when on night duty by company's vehicles;

In case male employees are not commuting with them

in the same vehicle or on the same route, the company's security

guards should escort women employees to and fro office from their

places of stay;

Vehicles ferrying women employees should be equipped

with GPS (global positioning system) to ensure the company as well

as the transport service operator can keep a track of their movement

and location;

Companies should submit a database of their taxi

service operators and drivers on their duty to the local police

station. The database should contain details of contact numbers,

addresses and background checks of operators and drivers;

Companies will have to ensure their transport

operators employ or engage drivers only after their police

verification certifies their background and conduct;

Companies should make route charts and schedules of

pick-up drivers every monday and ensure they are not changed without

the clearance of the in-charge concerned;

Drivers or cabs ferrying women employees should not

be changed frequently. If a driver is not deployed on a specific

route, he should not have access to the phone or mobile numbers or

address of women employees;

Vehicles hired by IT firms for ferrying their

employees should not have tinted or dark glasses;

Companies should check transport vehicles to ensure

no harmful weapons are carried. Similarly, drivers should be frisked

to check they are not carrying weapons, and

Drivers should not be put on duty for 14-16 hours as

has been the practice.

Clearly,

this clause has been violated. The law does not leave room for any confusion or

doubt regarding the nature of security. So there is no case for Som Mittal,

managing director of HP Global Soft, to state, “The element of risk is always

there.” While there may not be a foolproof way to guard against a 'suicide

bomber', surely it becomes the responsibility of the company to ensure that

all necessary steps are taken to 'minimise' the risk, given that the

nighttime poses the ideal situation for perpetuating crime.

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Then

there is the question of Shivkumar calling Pratibha and informing that he was

the substitute driver. That Pratibha left with him indicates that this is a

regular practice. That in itself leaves room for psychopaths work out their

nefarious designs. All they have to do is call and inform that they are the

substitutes. Is it not the responsibility of the BPO companies to call and

inform in case of any changes?

Now,

if Shivkumar never worked for SRS Travels, as claimed by SRS, how did he get

hold of Pratibha's number? Who gave out the number, and what security measures

followed up to ensure that employee related information was kept confidential?

Clearly,

what all this boils down to is a simple truth: while having processes to manage

in-bound and out-bound calls for data and information security of customers, we

have neglected processes such as these, which are just as crucial. Why? Is it

because they are peripheral activities and do not add value besides cost to the

operations?

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The

solution or the answer does not lie in witch hunting. Yet, in the name of

“knowledge economy” we should be careful about not exploiting our youth. If

this is indeed an industry that has long-term economic value for the country,

then the health and safety of BPO

employees should also be seen thus. However, if this is just a short-term boom,

only leveraging on labour arbitrage, then it is a bigger sin perpetrated by

global companies in cahoot with Indian companies wanting to rake in a quick

buck.

-Latha

Chandradeep/CyberMedia News

mail@dqindia.comv

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