News

UNI’s Norwegian affiliate EL&IT has asked the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority to investigate whether Indian IT consultants employed by Tata TCS are systematically forced to work overtime in breach of Norwegian labor laws. The consultants, working with app development in Oslo at Norway’s largest bank DNB, reportedly work 14-16 hours per day, including on weekends.

The Norwegian public broadcasting company NRK, which investigated the situation following EL&IT’s notice, reports that both DNB and Tata TCS are aware of the situation but consider it normal that employees work long hours on similar projects. DNB also says it has discussed the situation with Tata TCS in their regular meetings. However, NRK was denied access to interview any of the Indian IT consultants. 

Says Jan Olav Andersen, head of the EL&IT union: “We have received detailed information about the working conditions for the Indian IT consultants. If it is true that they work 14-16 hours per day for DNB then this is a clear case of social dumping.”

The director of the labor inspection authority, Ørnulf Halmrast, says that they take this case seriously and will prioritize an investigation into the two companies.

The original NRK article can be accessed here (in Norwegian): https://www.nrk.no/norge/xl/arbeidstilsynet-gransker-vipps-prosjektet-1....