Danger after Dark

DANGER AFTER DARK
Late night attacks against IT and BPO staffers, who work long hours, are on the rise in the city
The Times of India

IT’S not working late that’s worrying callcentre staffers and techies. It’s getting home that they are becoming increasingly paranoid about. Cases of Business Processes Outsourcing (BPO) and Information Technology (IT) staffers being waylaid, assaulted and robbed on their way home, even if they have been in company vehicles, has made returning home late virtually an ordeal for many of them. The recent murder of a techie is only adding to the existing fears. A significant percentage of workers in the IT sector work night shifts. In the BPO sector, it is said to be over 90 per cent. Many call centres and IT companies are located away from the heart of the city and vehicles can take up to an hour or more just to drop an employee home.

Fear factor
Techie Neeta Ramesh (name changed) says, “This is frightening. Not just for BPO or IT workers, but for anyone who is out late. A woman techie was mugged at 9 pm and that is not even late! The nature of our industry is such that we can only work late hours. Recently, a van with six call - centre employees was stopped and everyone was made to get out. Then they were mugged. We have requested the company to provide buses instead of cars or vans now. The only solution to this is increased patrolling on the ring roads and peripheral roads. Law enforcement agencies must wake up to this growing problem.”

Ladies first
Paul P, BPO worker says, “The target is mostly techies and BPO employees. The problem is compounded by the fact that the bulk of such employees are from out of station and do not speak the local language. Moreover, a sizeable proportion of these employees are women. Many such incidents go unreported. Some companies are employing guards to accompany vehicles ferrying women employees, as a precaution. Right now, the company provides security guards in vehicles where the first pick-up is a girl or the last drop is a girl. For cabs where the first pickup is a guy, there are no such provisions.”

Safety in numbers
Why do some of these employees prefer not to use company transport? Says a call centre floor manager, “Several companies offer reimbursement if employees use their own transport. Others pay for employee parking spots and discount fuel bills. So many people prefer to use their transport. But with all these incidents taking place, I’m sure everyone will get back to using company transport again. Plus, I think it is more convenient if you have your own vehicle.”

Going the extra mile:
What are companies doing to give employees the reassurance they need? With the police maintaining that an acute staff shortage is hindering deployment of personnel on the streets late at night, many companies are now hiring extra security to accompany the company vehicles. The duty manager of a leading call centre says that all their vehicles, even the ones with male staffers, are provided with guards who accompany the vehicles till the last staffer is dropped home. “It is incumbent upon us to ensure our employees reach home safely. So, we have put processes in place to ensure that security of our staffers is taken care of. We also ensure that the verification of drivers and the travel company is done before hand.”

The floor manager of another leading call centre adds, “This is already being done in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Since we introduced guards accompanying our vehicles, our staffers say they feel more safe.”