Prathiba's murder makes BPO staff more cautious

Prathiba's murder makes BPO staff more cautious

The Hindu

`It is difficult to trust drivers as they are not employees of the company'

# Some firms have taken steps to check the movement of vehicles
# Employees feel they should be told if a substitute driver is going to pick them up

BANGALORE: Shocked by the rape and murder of call centre employee Prathiba, BPO workers across the city have become more sensitive about their safety, observing fault lines here and there which they would have otherwise ignored.

Here is a sample: Rohini Walekar, an employee of a BPO firm, feels that if a cab picks up five employees there should be at least two men.

"It is difficult to trust drivers as they are often outsourced," she says.

Drivers often change, as it happened in Prathiba's case. "It is better that the companies ensure that the drivers do not change at least for a month. A substitute driver can take his place on his weekly off but the company should personally call and let the employees know of the change," says Ms. Rohini.

When the last drop is a girl then the company can make sure that a security guard from the company travels with them.

Even in the wee hours we often find vagabonds on the streets and it is quite a concern, says Pooja Sharma, another BPO employee. "Before I am dropped, I call up home to let them know that I am setting off. Sometimes when the cab leaves after the drop and there is none to open the door for some time, then it is a problem," she says.

At least two major BPO firms in the city have adopted safe strategies such as control rooms that ensure that the vehicles are always under surveillance through a GPRS system, security guards to accompany women employees if they are alone and strict action against drivers guilty of misbehaviour.

"The drivers are also fined heavily if they are more than 10 minutes late to pick up the employees at the office. Rules require them to be at the office at least half an hour before a shift change," explains Fardin, a call centre employee.

Male employees too feel the heat. With many of them falling prey to muggers near ATMs and getting waylaid on isolated roads, they thought that office vehicles would be safe. But no longer.

Women employees have to face the added pressures of accommodation, complicated by their unearthly work timings and strict rules of working women hostels.

"Security always weighs on our mind and many of us would like to shift to software development projects ... There too, the working hours are late but more pay and respect and options to work day shifts exist," says an employee.

The men say they mostly pool resources to share a house or apartment.