Safety of onsite Indian IT workers a concern

Murder of a Mindtree employee from Bangalore at Sydney raises questions on the security of the onsite workforce and shatters the dreams of onsite IT workers.

Increasing instances of such crimes and security breaches towards Indian employees abroad have led to serious concern about onsite jobs which attracted many Indian young professionals in IT sector.

The latest such case is the stabbing of Bangalore Mindtree employee Prabha Arun Kumar in Sydney, while she was on her way home from work.

The Indian IT services sector, expected to generate export revenue of $98 billion in FY15, has about 3.5 million employees. Of these, it sends 50,000-60,000 abroad a year for projects or onsite work; every year, 25,000-30,000 IT services employees head to the US.

Experts say most IT services companies give a list of Dos and Don’ts to employees traveling abroad. They add while there are no services to pick up and drop employees from and to their houses abroad, Prabha Arun Kumar, 41, was stabbed to death in Parramatta Park in Westmead.

Industry players say the murder of a Mindtree employee in Sydney is a ‘wake-up call for every immigrant going to Australia.

If one was visiting the US, you will be told not to ask questions on personal life, politics and religion. “If you travel to Japan, you will be told about discipline, that things are slow there and you need to be extremely cautious. If you are travelling to South Africa, you will be told not to travel after six in the evening,” said a NASSCOM source.