The gruesome rape and murder of a woman BPO
employee in Pune by the BPO cab driver has come as a wake-up call
for the industry players operating in the
NCR.
They said on Saturday that they were taking all possible steps to
ensure that the employees were dropped home safely but asserted
that creating a safe environment and a sense of fear in the minds
of criminals was the responsibility of the government.
They claimed the industry had taken enough initiatives to ensure
safety and security of the employees and these steps were part of
a continuous process. "In case a woman employee has to be dropped
last, we have made it a norm that she should be accompanied by a
security guard. To ensure that there is no connivance between the
driver and the guard, we pick the guards randomly," said Raman Roy,
CEO of Quatrro BPO Solutions.
However, he argued that when the government was earning a huge
revenue and each employee was paying tax, ensuring safety was
primarily the responsibility of the government. "When we claim
10% economic growth, we must see whether the sense of safety prevails.
So far as putting drivers under surveillance is concerned, we
have installed GPS in all cabs," he pointed out.
Other major players claimed they have sacked drivers who did not
mend their ways despite warnings. "At Genpact, we do
a random check of the guards to ensure they don't connive
with the drivers. We ensure 100% compliance with the norms set down
by the police and the apex association of our industry,"
said Vibhu Narayan of Genpact BPO.
Deepak Ohlyan, director, India facilities of Dell International,
said they had mentioned it in the official advisory that no woman
employee should board a cab if she would be the last passenger.
"We track the cabs. Whenever there is any diversion,
the employees taking the cab must call up the emergency number.
The industry survives on manpower and hence we take all complaints
seriously. If one can't call up, an SMS can be sent,"
he said.
All these claims notwithstanding, each time such an incident
happens, it undermines the confidence of the employees. "How
can you read the mind of a driver who behaves rationally everyday
and drops you back safely," wonders Niharika, a call
centre executive in Noida.
Industry analyst Deepak Kapoor says the only solution is to ensure
that the drivers know they are under constant watch. "That's
possible only by installing GPS. This must happen and the industry
and cab operators have to fix the problem," he added.
Business Process Industry Association of India president Samir
Chopra said they had a meeting with the Gurgaon
police commissioner recently and will meet the Delhi
police commissioner soon. "We are not the lawenforcing agencies.
However, we have agreed to give bandwidth connectivity of all
cabs to the police so that they can contact any driver. That will
help create fear in them," said Chopra.
MINIMISING RISK
Always ask driver to follow the regular route
Be attentive while in cab and keep checking on driver so that
he doesn't deviate from route
Don't allow any stranger to board the cab even if the driver
insists otherwise
Call up emergency number or send an SMS if driver or other passengers
in the cab act in a strange manner
Always insist on getting dropped before the last male employee
gets down
Source: The Times Of India
