Rain customer support staff who have been outsourced to Wipro have lodged a wide-ranging labour dispute against their employer that is being heard by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration .
Rain acknowledged that staff members were given the opportunity to move to Cape Town but denied allegations that anyone was pressured. Rain assured that these fears were unwarranted, saying it had undertaken the outsourcing process precisely to ensure all staff would keep their jobs. According to their contracts, staff are entitled to 1.5× pay on Sundays and double time on public holidays.Another point of contention was the revocation of work-from-home privileges and asking employees to return their laptops.Wipro did not make transport arrangements for workers who then had to come into the office for the late shift and couldn’t catch a bus or taxi home.
When the toilets in the Wipro building didn’t work, staff complained that they were told to go to a nearby mall to use the bathrooms.