UK Contractors Win Hollow Victory

Date: Thursday, August 29, 2002 1:14 PM

*** H-1B NEWSLETTER ***

Get the Facts on H-1B at
www.ZaZona.com

IT/computer contractors in the United Kingdom are being replaced by cheap
foreign labor with a work visa that is very similar to H-1B visa used in the
United States. British high tech workers are complaining that companies
won't hire them as long as they can import cheap labor. Familiar arguments
used to justify this visa include worker and skills shortages.

A coalition of UK contractors fought back and convinced their government to
require a labor market test before approving a visa. Unfortunately these
tests are useless and don't prevent or even discourage the importation of
cheap foreign labor. The cost of running a few fake newspaper ads is trivial
compared to the savings they realize by cheaper labor costs.

Labor market tests for H-1Bs are no longer required in the US because they
didn't work. Charles C. Masten, Inspector General H-1B Labor Condition
Application (LCA) program, said that "The OIG also found that the labor
market test, which is designed to ensure that there are no qualified U.S.
workers available to fill the positions for which the application has been
filed, is perfunctory at best." These tests didn't work in the U.S. and they
won't work in the U.K. because they are nothing more than "feel good"
legislation for the unemployed. British programmers shouldn't expect to go
back to work but they might see a few more ads in the newspapers once
companies have to go through the market test routine.

For more information on labor market tests go to
http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/H1BFAQs.htm#LaborMarketTests

This newsletter will be sent to both the Inquirer and to ContractorUK. Both
articles show extreme naiveté regarding how the cheap labor game is played
by greedy corporations.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=5180

UK contractors win work permit victory

Cheap labour visas come to an end

By INQUIRER staff: Thursday 29 August 2002, 10:55

CONTRACTOR UK reports that the government has now agreed to restrict work
permits for IT workers, who were able to get visas because of a "skills
shortage" which does not now exist.
IT contractors here are in the same hole as everywhere else in the world,
with jobs now at a premium – a far cry from 18 months or so ago when reports
of a shortage caused the Home Office to authorise a fast track scheme.

UK contractors had complained about adverts for jobs on different web sites
offering ludicrous hourly rates at just over the minimum wage.

When no UK contractor worth her or his salt would apply for the jobs,
employers would invoke the "skills shortage" mantra and attempt to import
people from abroad at the lower wages.

Several UK firms, for example, are reported to activel recruits overseas
workers, usually from India, to fill the jobs of IT consultants here, and at
much lower salaries.

You can find Contractor UK here. µ

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2222212.stm

Wednesday, 28 August, 2002, 17:23 GMT 18:23 UK
Tech workers win jobs battle

The IT labour market will be reviewed in 3 months

A group of computer consultants who said their jobs were being taken by
cheaper foreign workers have won their battle with the UK Government.
The freelancers said they were suffering because the Home Office included IT
specialists on a list of skills shortages.

This meant that companies could apply for fast-track visas to bring workers
in from overseas.

British workers said the system was being abused.

Finding jobs became hard

Some companies, including big household names, were ending contracts then
employing people on fast-track visas and lower salaries to do the same jobs.

Many of the overseas workers came from India.

Freelancers said they were finding it increasingly difficult to find new
contracts, which suggested there was no skills shortage.

The Professional Contractors' Group collected evidence from its members and
presented it to the Home Office.

After a series of discussions the government has agreed to remove all IT
jobs from its skills shortage list and all IT work permit applications must
show that the job has been advertised in either a national newspaper or a
relevant trade journal.

But the Home Office said it would review the state of the labour market in
about three months' time.

http://www.contractoruk.co.uk/news290802.html

All IT skills to be removed from 'shortage' list!
[29/08/02]

Following on from reports posted on the Contractor UK Bulletin Board on
Wednesday, it has now been confirmed that all IT skills currently listed as
'shortage occupations' on the Work Permits (UK) website are to be removed.

At the ITCE sector panel meeting held on 21 August, a variety of evidence
and research regarding the current state of the IT labour market was
considered. As a result, the Panel unanimously recommended that all
occupations should be removed from the Work Permits (UK) IT shortage
occupation list, and as such, there will no longer be a shortage list for
the IT Sector.

This means with effect from 1 September all IT work permit applications that
would have been considered as a Tier 1 shortage occupation (which meant the
resident labour market test was waived) will now be considered under Tier 2
(where a resident labour test will be required).

The state of the labour market will be reviewed again in around three months
time. The shortage list may be re-introduced if there is evidence of
shortages at this time.

The Panel considered evidence including the Salary Survey Publication (SSP)
in Computer Weekly, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the e-skills (UK)
quarterly bulletins.

The PCG, who have been instrumental in this move, collected evidence from
its members and presented it to Home Office Ministers and at the Skills
Sector Panel meetings to demonstrate that the skills which were included on
the list as being in short supply were in fact plentiful.

Jane Akshar, Chairman of the Professional Contractors Group, said: “This is
excellent news. It demonstrates how we have been able to work with the
Government and the other members of the Skills Sector Panel to show clearly
that these skills were not in short supply in the UK.

“As a result, Work Permits has listened to our case and has acted on it.”

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