the nightshift terror

My blog 'nAda' is usually about music. But I had to write this today as I think we must do something about this.

I am sad, terrified and angry (about) - a recent disappearance of a young IT professional in India at 3 am after his night shift. A few months ago, in Bangalore, a 24 year old woman was attacked and killed by a cab driver during her night shift. The driver pretended to be the late night driver of her company transport. The innocent call center employee rode along not realizing that the driver was a killer. She was found dead a few days later. As usual, this story was in the news but buried as time went by. There was no action taken by the employer.

There are many several cases where Indian IT professionals who work "off shore time" are attacked/killed because they are out late at night and cannot reach out for help. When are we going to learn? Firstly what is the need to be a slave to a company, to sacrifice safe and normal living? Offshore jobs seem to be the pride of many locals so they might claim that they are working for an multinational or who are desperately seeking opportunities in bigger cities and for big bucks. Some may argue that working offshore shifts give fathers a chance to attend their child's school events or not spend money on day care. What about the young single individuals and their safety? There have been too many incidents the last few years that have proven that it is NOT entirely safe for a young 20 year old girl/boy to be out on the streets at 2 am in a city like Bangalore. Is the money worth it??

It has been proven that night workers get less sleep and get less restful sleep. Chronic lack of sleep harms a person's health and safety. But apart from all health reasons, it is just very unsafe. Companies *have* to take responsibility in peoples lives. They have to believe that their employees are not slaves. As employees, we have to make it clear that we are not here to be driven by them. We must not succumb to their rules if it is a matter of our safety and health. If we don't speak out, no one else will for us. One thing is changing the law, which seems to be an non-penetrable task for the common man. The least we could do is spread the word as it ultimately lies in our hands. We got to do something about this. If you are reading this and agree with me, I hope you will spread the word too and let people know that they do not have to live life dictated by their employer, and its not really something to be proud of. My heart goes out to those families that have been affected by this already.