CWA Visit to India

Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 3:18 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

by Rob Sanchez
March 16, 2005 No. 1215

The Communications Workers of America sponsored a few union members to
participate in the International Exchange Program to go to India. I put
some excerpts from their reports that really caught my eye below. Read
the full reports by following the links.

I asked Steve Tisza if he thinks there is any possibility that workers
in the U.S. and India could form a global labor union to counter the
abuse and exploitation of multi-national corporations. His answer was
insightful but not very encouraging. In a nutshell, Indian programmers,
like their American counterparts, feel they don't need unions to
further their careers, and of course they think the good times will
last forever as long as they can write computer code for companies like
Tata. Under the circumstances the possibility of forming a global labor
union seems very far-fetched.

Steve Tisza's reply to the question:

I believe once you read Beverly Hicks report on CWA's visit
to India you will see why it will very difficult to organize
IT workers in India, not unlike the United States.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.cwalocal4250.org/outsourcing/binarydata/India%20Report.pdf

CWA Visit To India January 31 - February 8, 2005 Report By: Steve
Tisza, President CWA Local 4250

The following report consists of my findings and observations during a
historic visit to India sponsored by the AFL-CIO American Center for
International Labor Solidarity Center and the Communications Workers of
America International Exchange Program.

A common Indian concern was how do American workers feel about
outsourcing. Beverly Hicks emphasized that as CWA union representatives
we must do whatever is necessary to protect our members jobs and
consequently do not support the outsourcing of middle-class American
workers jobs to low-wage countries such as India, China, Philippines,
etc.

Human nature being what it is, Indian IT workers dont seem to be
overly concerned about workers in other countries who have been
displaced by the outsourcing of their jobs to India, China, etc. Most
IT workers are college graduates who cannot find a job in India in
their chosen field.

There were interactions during our visit with regard to common problems
in Indian and U.S. labor movements. We clarified that in the U.S.A.
only 8% of the private sector workforce is organized, the IT sector is
totally unorganized and government policy since 9/11 has reduced public
sector union membership significantly. Overall, the U.S. workforce is
about 12% organized, including the public sector. In addition,
enforcement of existing U.S. labor laws is very lax and biased in favor
of the employer.

An Infosys manager informed us that they already have a subsidiary in
Beijing, China. He explained that Indian and Chinese software
industries are forging new alliances to facilitate becoming the favored
offshore software outsourcing destinations of the future.

We visited a medical transcription center that was Indian owned but its
director of operations was an American, Lawrence R. Sherman of
International Medical Business Consultants, and LLC. He stated American
global corporations outsource work to India solely because of cheap
labor costs.

Ironically, members of the India News Media were most concerned about
our feelings with regard to an American radio DJ on the East Coast who
ridiculed an Indian call center worker on his show.

The typical Indian IT worker is college educated and not unlike
American IT workers does not consider unions relevant.

Upon my arrival in Mumbai, India, I was immediately conscious of the
poverty.

The general infrastructure of India is basically Third World. Most main
arteries are paved.

The minimum wage for construction labor is $1 per day.

I believe the only reason U.S. corporations outsource to India is
because Indian wages are about 1/10 of U.S. workers. An Indian call
center worker makes approximately $200/300 U.S. dollars per month
depending on their experience. How can America compete with that?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.cwalocal4250.org/outsourcing/binarydata/India%20Trip.pdf

INDIA - THE CEOS HAVEN by Beverly A. Hicks, Asst. to Vice President
Communications Workers of America

I ventured to India with expectations of helping these people to
realize how abused they are by companies bringing work to them for one
purpose alone - cheaper wages. It didnt take me long to realize that
$1.70 to $3.20 an hour, American money, is white-collar work for these
people.

One of our main visits was to a complex on the outskirts of Bangalore
where we went from total poverty into a 55-acre complex where the
grounds would surpass a resort in Hawaii. It was called Infosys. The
compound or campus was surrounded by fences and security would remind
you of any AT&T or Bell system complex with name tags, security, etc. -
until you get inside. There are 44 six-story buildings with another 16
being built. There are 8,000 employees there now. The main company is
Progeron. Infosys was started in 1981 by eight entrepreneurs with 200
employees. They handle outsourcing of business processes, banking and
collections, and are moving to other ventures. Their revenue averages
9-10 million each year with last year reaching 1.5 billion. They were
the first company in India to introduce stock options. 3-1/2 million
students in IT graduate each year. One million apply to their company
and they select the top 1%.

We witnessed outsourcing of:

E-Accounting
Tax Returns
Multi-media and animation
Call Center & Project Services
Help Desks
Insurance
Medical Transcription
Library Transcription
Operators
Service Reps
Software Companies

We were asked over and over if the American people were mad at the
Indian workers and I replied, "No, we are mad at the CEOs who are
abusing the American workers by outsourcing their work, and the Indian
workers by paying them cheap wages."

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