IT/BPO wages not likely to come down: Infy official

Wage hikes in both information technology and the BPO sector are not likely to see any moderation from next year but would continue to grow at the current rate of 12-15 per cent annually, a senior Infosys Technologies official said.

"We feel that it will still remain at 12-15 per cent. The reason is nothing has changed so far," Infosys' head (HRD & Education & Research) T V Mohandas Pai told PTI in Bangalore.

Arguing that wage inflation would remain at the same levels, he said the Indian economy continues to grow at nine per cent which means that many people have more options than before.

"External environment for IT remains the same. We have not seen the impact of subprime (mortgage crisis in the US). Nothing has changed", Pai said.

He also brushed aside suggestions that talent supply is improving. "In two years, you can't turn the tap on and say more people will come to the market. We feel that the wage increase will remain at 12-15 per cent for next year".

NASSCOM Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan and Tata Consultancy Services Chief Operating Officer N Chandrasekaran said last week, they expect wage hikes in the IT and BPO industries to moderate beginning next year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Vice-Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan had said manpower supply was improving, thanks to various initiatives taken on talent and workforce development by NASSCOM, companies themselves and various engineering colleges.

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