TITA Asks IT Firms For Paid Holiday On Polling Day

Even after the election authorities made it clear that companies in the Information Technology sector were not exempt and would need to declare a paid holiday on the day of polling, many IT companies had not yet announced a paid holiday on April 30, Telangana IT Association Sundeep Kumar Makthala said.

In a media statement, Sundeep said that as per the provision of Section 135 B (i) of the Representation of People (RP) Act, every person employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment and entitled to vote, should be granted a holiday on the day of polling.

"Of the nearly 1,200 IT companies in Hyderabad, less than 30% have officially announced a paid holiday on April 30, the day of polling in Telangana. As per the information received by us, some companies are granting 2-hour permission for their employees to cast their votes. Practically this may be very absurd as the majority of the IT employees must travel to remote places to cast their votes. Considering the above cases, we request that all the IT companies announce a paid holiday for the employees to cast their votes," Sundeep said.

If a company was not declaring a paid holiday on the day of voting, its employees could approach TITA, and the body would take up the matter with the Election commission of India, he stated. (INN)