They Want Their Jobs Back
Before the smoke from one issue could settle, a whole can of worms seems to have opened.
The recent uproar about two U.S. senators questioning companies on the misuse of H1B visas has led to a series of such issues being brought to light. There are instances of senators blaming government policies, pro-sourcing senators and business tycoons. The Net is full of such clippings, interviews, blame games and statement from all sections of the American society.
One such recent video clipping is on an immigration company telling (supposedly American) organizations how to fake appointment ads and how to make ads that would attract only foreign workers (www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7CLsQ5ZTOU). The goal, they say, is to “not find a qualified and interested American worker.”
The video also describes recruitment practices that would disqualify a qualified American and goes on to tell you how to frame policies that wouldn’t get them on the wrong side of law. The video also claims that companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and many others run fake ads that wouldn’t attract natives.
Yet another clipping (www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7CLsQ5ZTOU&mode=related&search=)shows U.S. senator Sherron Brown walking against the back drop of American workers and closed plants (apparently shut down due to jobs being sourced to foreign workers in foreign lands). Hitting on the offshoring practices that are being adopted, he says, “they [American workers] work hard, they love their country, they go by rules…do they [policies on offshoring and outsourcing] put Americans first?”
Yet another one blames senator Mike Dewine on his statements supporting America’s trade agreements with Mexico and China (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCTMv-KmbY&mode=related&search=)that cost Americans their jobs. Somewhere Bill Gates is being accused of seeking more H1B visas for bringing foreign workers on to the American land, and that 56% of the total H1B visas issued are for getting low-skilled workers. You can even find strong statements like, “it is sad that there is no similar anxiety on getting foreign oil as is on getting foreign talent”.
There is no dearth of such stuff on the Net. But the theme is one. They want their lost jobs back.
Hi Rinku,
The problem is two-way. Like I have said in my blog [link: http://sujayvsarma.blogspot.com/2007/06/and-company-in-bangalore-that-attends.html ] There are many many companies here in India too that engage themselves as a pure jobs outsourcing partner. Their game is not to necessarily find the best. The survival game is now a little skewed, if I can put it that way. New candidates are not the ex-IITs and ex-MITs, they are the “purchase a degree for free online” types who have a few dozen letters after their names, but cannot [code] for nuts. Their only redemption is the ultralow pay packets they will come onboard for and the monstrously gross hours they are willing to work for.
The global workspace is becoming one huge sweat-shop. The problem is, earlier the sweatshops used to be in one part of the world (India, China, Indonesia, etc), and the workmasters in the other (US, UK, etc). But now that's not the case, Indian's for example are busy setting up hugely successful corporations in the USA and flooding that market with cheap labour. Simultaneously, Americans and Britons are coming to India in hope of realizing their quashed dreams (thanks to offshoring/outsourcing) and flooding THIS market with cheap labour from their lands as well.
To balance this equation, one must take into consideration that just like Indian workers are willing to work in the USA for free, there are Americans who would come to India for similarly low packages --- reason: lack of Jobs in his/her country thanks to outsourcing/offshoring!
Otherwise, a very good blog....
Regards,
Sujay V Sarma
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP)