Wipro to give India staffers 9% pay hike

This will also apply to those working temporarily on onsite projects.

Wipro Technologies, the country's third largest information technology services company, is giving all its employees in India a pay raise from February. This will also apply to those working temporarily on onsite (with foreign clients) projects.

It is reliably learnt that the average raise is 8 to 9 per cent. A spokesperson confirmed the hike but wouldn’t give the range or the cost to the company.

As of December 31, Wipro had 102,746 employees in its IT services business, which accounts for 74 per cent of the company's overall revenue. Salaries account for 50-60 per cent of an IT company's expenses.

The salary hike by the Azim Premji-owned company — which also has an interest in consumer care, lighting and engineering equipment — signifies the overall mood of the IT industry in India. Last year, most of them had cut jobs and pay, or had deferred salary hikes, with the sector facing the global economic slowdown.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro, the big three, had all deferred pay raises last year. Infosys had announced a salary raise of 8 per cent to all its employees in India recently. The company's personnel head, Nandita Gurjar, said employees with promotions had got a rise of about 12.5 per cent. TCS, the number one IT services company, is yet to decide on any raise.

Wipro usually gives a pay raise to its offshore (India) employees in October and onsite (abroad) employees in January every year.

Last April, it had announced it was not planning one for the year.

In October 2008, Wipro had given wage hikes in the range of 7-8 per cent to all employees.