IT major Wipro has mandated freshers, who had opted for a lower salary package of ₹3.5 lakhs p.a instead of ₹6.5 lakhs p.a to pass a new programme called Project Readiness Program or face termination, according to IT employees union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES).

Wipro previously informed new hires who had completed the four-month-long velocity training that they only had a Project Engineer job profile available at ₹3.5 LPA, and that if they accepted this offer letter, their prior offer letter at ₹6.5 LPA would be void.

Also read: Hiring of freshers by Indian IT sector to slow down

The union said that the freshers who accepted the job role for a lower package received a new offer letter with the joining date of March 30, 2023, to be onboarded on March 14, 2023. However, the company has now insisted that the employees undergo a new training program after joining the company on March 30, 2023. This comes as freshers have been awaiting onboarding for more than a year now.

Project Readiness Program

“Project Readiness Program (PRP) is a programme offered by Talent Transformation to all campus and off-campus hires referred to as NGA’s (Next Gen Associates). The broad objective of PRP is to equip NGA with the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable them to start working on customer projects,” Wipro said in a document-reviewed by businessline - addressed to freshers.

Additionally, Wipro stated that employees will be terminated immediately if they do not pass the Project Readiness Programme PRP training with an overall score of at least 60 per cent.

Difficult situation

Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of NITES said, “This sudden change in Wipro’s policy has left many fresher employees in a difficult situation, especially since they have already wasted their 1.5 years and are now playing with their future. The company’s threatening approach, which only talks about termination, is causing immense stress and anxiety among the employees.”

NITES demands that Wipro rectify its actions immediately and provide fair and just treatment to its employees. “We are in communication with the affected employees and are exploring all possible avenues to help them during this difficult time,” he added. 

Amid a difficult macro-environment, onboarding delay of freshers has been a prolonged issue in the IT industry. Wipro had let go of 450 freshers under training after they repeatedly failed internal tests.

“At Wipro, we place immense value on seeing our talent grow and succeed. The Project Readiness Program is a part of our routine onboarding process and is designed to ensure that our next-gen associates are assigned to the right client projects and have the most up-to-date skillset to make an immediate impact,” the company said in a statement.

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