TCS revokes termination order served on pregnant woman employee

A week after protests by employees over large-scale retrenchment by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the company on Friday informed the Madras high court that it has revoked the termination order served on a woman employee.

Accordingly, the HC on Friday dismissed a petition filed by pregnant woman employee of TCS, who was served with a termination order, after counsel for the software major said the firm has revoked it.

Yashod Vardhan, senior counsel for the company, informed Justice M Duraiswamy that the termination order had been revoked. The termination letter dated 22 December 2014 has been withdrawn. "Therefore, there is nothing remaining for adjudication in this writ petition. Hence the writ petition stands dismissed as infructuous. It is made clear that the other issues involved in this writ petition are kept open."

The court had on Tuesday last restrained TCS from retrenching its analyst who was issued a termination order.

Amid reports that TCS planned to retrench 25,000 engineers, Rekha, who is pregnant, was issued termination orders on 22 December last. She was informed that she would be relieved from duty on 21 January this year. She moved the court contending that the retrenchment move was illegal and in gross violation of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Admitting her petition, Justice M Duraiswamy granted interim injunction restraining the company from retrenching her. In her petition, Rekha submitted that the company had reportedly taken an "unfair decision" to terminate the services of 25,000 workers holding designation of Assistant Consultant and above and to recruit 55,000 persons, predominantly freshers on the basis of campus interviews and other less experienced persons with a view to cutting costs.