UNITE to hold talks with UK, Japan govts on Satyam fiasco

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) UNITE, the UK's largest employees
union, Saturday said it would talk to the governments of UK,
Japan and other countries where the tainted IT firm Satyam has
a branch to protect the interest of over 10,000 foreign
workers of the company.

Satyam employees, who are also UNITE's members (in UK),
would be assisted through representation, advice and guidance,
and support as necessary and appropriate.... Within the UK, we
have national responsibility for UNITE members working in the
IT sector," UNITE National Officer Peter Skyte said in an
e-mailed statement to PTI.
UNITE is the largest union in the UK with about two
million members. Its Indian arm UNITES Professional India is a
union for IT and BPO workers.

"We are receiving a number of queries in the UK, at this
stage expressing concern over the implications of the scandal
affecting the company and what effect it will have on the
future," Skyte added.
The Indian arm of UNITE is also in touch with all the
foreign offices.

UNITE Professional India General Secretary Karthik
Shekhar said , "We are in touch with all the UNITE offices in
other parts of the country. We have already talked to our UK
counterparts who said that they will talk to the government
there and ask them to intervene."
Satyam has presence in more than 65 countries. Satyam
development and delivery centers in the US, Canada, Brazil,
the UK, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia,
Singapore, and Australia serve 690 clients, including 185
Fortune 500.

Though a company spokesperson could not confirm the exact
number of foreign work force of the company, UNITE said it
could be around 10,000.
"We are in touch with the senior and top-level management
of Satyam, all kind of rumours are doing the rounds, but we
still do not have any clarity on the issue," he added.
In India, the company employs over 50,000 people.