The Easy Corporate Answer: Alien Work Force Waiting at Our Shores

After reading “The View from India,” an article at middleclassimpact.com, my suspicions about the intentions of the corporate elite were answered. It’s a revealing story about outsourcing Indian workers INTO the U.S., for the growing IT market. Here are some interesting passages:

The people reaping the really big profits in India (not the employees themselves, but their bosses) are no fools. They know that the U.S. is a democracy, and that an election is right around the corner. Are they afraid that working Americans will assert themselves at the polls, and elect candidates who might attempt to rein in the permanent elimination of American jobs through outsourcing? Apparently not. They know how our political system works, and that our ruling elites have no intention whatsoever of standing in the way of globalization. But they’ve expressed resentment that when hired as consultants inside the U.S., they sometimes have no choice but to hire American workers for American jobs.

As sify.com, an Indian site reports, the IT industry in India isn’t worried about major shakeups, only “protectionist hiccups”—the usual little bumps on the road. Still there aren’t enough H1B visas (which allow alien workers to come into the U.S. and compete with Americans for jobs) to completely suit the outsourcers’ wishes. This is cause for some concern. Here’s a direct quote:

“Last year, out of every three (H1B) visas applied for by a company, only one was issued. This year also the ratio was the same. The professional visa would have taken care of this irritant [sic!],” said Nasscom chairman Ganesh Natarajan. This visa restriction has forced IT firms to hire more American workers for onsite jobs. This pushes up their labour cost.

Clearer words are rarely spoken. To Indian outsourcing pros, the need to hire Americans in America is an “irritant” that pushes up costs. Some firms have resorted to drastic measures: Indian readers are probably shaking their heads at the unfairness of it all. Visa rules in the U.S. may become too “restrictive.” So Indian firms may be forced to resort to extreme measures in order to “protect” themselves—like hiring a few Americans to do the jobs that have, unfortunately, remained in the United States.

The next time you hear a story about increasing visa quotas, remember this story and the impact of the corporate “easy answer” to their problems.

Note: Thanks to carriesnation for finding middleclassimpact.com