Indian Outsourcers Accused of Importing Foreign Staff in Industrial Proportions to U.K.
According to recent reports, the Indian outsourcing firms have been accused of imported several thousand IT employees from India to U.K. every year. The Association of Professional Staffing Companies has said that this is deleterious to employees in Britain.
Nonetheless, these claims have been rebutted as simply an emotionally charged notion stemming out of the fact that recession is causing firms to lay off thousands of employees in the U.K.
According to APSCO, seven of top ten firms employing non-EU workers in the U.K. were brought from India - this includes Infosys, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services bringing in about 10,000 employees in 2008. Ann Swain, CEO of APSCO said in a statement, outsourcers continue to import foreign staff in industrial proportions. She added that these outsourcers need to be legally bound to seek employees within the U.K. labor market ahead of utilizing staff from abroad, reports computerworlduk.com.
Analyst at advisory firm TechMarketView, Anthony Miller, however, commented that this issue is not so clear-cut as it is being presented. Although it is possible that there is a misuse of the temporary visa to the U.K. by suppliers, it is not understood how this is taking place or who is behind this.
In addition, Miller said that it was incorrect to oversimplify that importing overseas IT staff lead to a diminishing of jobs in the U.K. He noted that while most job that are outsourced could be performed by staff within the U.K., it also translates into British firms assuming cost savings allowing for more IT projects. This would assist businesses to grow and to hone in profits.
Miller also noted that the U.K. IT industry was obliged to make sure that local skills were being enhanced, so that U.K. is not entirely dependent on offshoring. Moreover, the U.K. government needs to regulate abuse of the temporary visa by suppliers.
Another factor that is unrecognized in the debate is recruitment of U.K. employees by Indian outsourcers, according to Miller. This might be because Indian outsourcers are not organized independently or as a group to get this message out.
In light of the outsourcing debate in the U.K., employment laws are bound to change. Following the end of contracts, temporary employees will be allowed to remain in the U.K. However, they will not be allowed to enter the U.K., if they have not been working at their company for more than a year.
U.K. immigration minister, Phil Woolas, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times, transfers within a company highlight U.K. as a favored location conducting business. However, authorities are planning to make laws that would deter employers from undercutting U.K. wages.