H-2B Truck Drivers to Hit U.S. Roads

H-2B Truck Drivers to Hit U.S. Roads

Date: Monday, July 17, 2006 11:00 PM



<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1521 -- 07/17/2006 >>>>>

Thanks to NAFTA, and the relentless pushing of the free-trade fanatics,
Mexican truck drivers are now being allowed into the U.S. As if that's not
bad enough, soon we will also have Indians taking the big rigs for a spin
on our highways.

The Indian truckers will be trained in Andhra Pradesh, India and will use
H-2B visas to enter the U.S. H-2B visas are to be used for seasonal work,
which probably means they want to churn the truckers in and out of the U.S.
Typically the H-2B visa is used for agricultural workers but it can be used
for a broad range of blue collar jobs.

The department of labor has criteria that supposedly must be met to qualify
for H-2B visas:

http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/h-2b.asp
Qualifying Criteria
The job and the employer's need must be one time, seasonal,
peak load or intermittent; the job must be for less than one year;
and there must be no qualified and willing U.S. workers available
for the job.

You might think it would be a tough sell to convince the DOL that there
aren't enough American truck drivers, but according to the company that
import the Indian drivers there is not only a shortage of truck drivers in
the U.S. but the ones we have are not very good.

http://www.gaganglobal.com/aboutus.htm
The shortage of quality drivers in US and the tremendous
industrial growth has pushed the Americans to come calling
and knock our doors as India has a huge pool of drivers
and exposure to English. The US urgently needs 20,000
truckers. A truck driver gets $5000 a month and gets
long-term benefits.

If the truck unions think they have problems now, just wait until they are
underbid by the "tough guys" from India.

We also found that while the average long haul truck driver makes
between $50,000 and $90,000 a year, these truck drivers make far
less, and work a whole lot more. So what we have here are people
who are never shy of work, extremely friendly and cooperative, and
most of all, tough guys who are more than up to handling the
American trucks.



Articles Used for this Newsletter


http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEA20060707001825&Page=A&Title=Southern+News+-+Andhra+Pradesh&Topic=0
Driving their way to US of A

http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/25/stories/2006062504310200.htm
Overseas Manpower Company keen to tap job potential

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1706143.cms
US offers a ride to AP truck drivers

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

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEA20060707001825&Page=A&Title=Southern+News+-+Andhra+Pradesh&Topic=0

Driving their way to US of A
Friday July 7 2006 10:39 IST
VIJAYAWADA: For Arun Kumar of Hyderabad, Ampapuram, a dusty village 30 km
away from Vijayawada, is the gateway to America.

For the last four months, it is here that this former cargo handler and 150
other truckers are learning to manoeuvre 18-wheeled giant US trucks, speak
the natty yanky lingo and fine-tune their behaviour to suit the US social
life. They have paid Rs 25,000 each towards course fee.

These 150 form the first batch of truck drivers being recruited by US firm
Gagan Global LLC with the help of State governments Overseas Manpower
Consultancy of Andhra Pradesh (OMCAP). Hyderabad-based Western Truckers
School is training the drivers. Already, some 200 have been recruited by
the Gagan Global to work in the US.

"We have chosen the driving school being run by the Krishna District Lorry
Owners Association as it has got all the facilities that a modern
driving school should have. We have got professional trainers and teachers
to train these drivers in English," says Gagan Global CEO Philip JG Gagan.

The training is rigorous and prepares the drivers to take the mandatory US
Commercial Driving Licence (CDL). "We also teach the basics of defensive
driving, which means watching if others make a mistake. The driving
rules in US are quite stringent. One fatal mistake, you are off the wheel,"
Gagan says.

The shortage of quality drivers in US and the tremendous industrial growth
has pushed the Americans to come calling and knock our doors as India has a
huge pool of drivers and exposure to English. The US urgently needs 20,000
truckers. A truck driver gets $5000 a month and gets long-term benefits.

Though remunerative, not many Americans take up the truck drivers job in
the US. Their disinclination is our opportunity.

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

http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/25/stories/2006062504310200.htm

Jun 25, 2006

Overseas Manpower Company keen to tap job potential

Staff Reporter

Unemployed youngsters urged to register themselves with the firm Unemployed
youngsters urged to register their names with the firm floated by State
Government

Agency to help aspirants secure passport, visa
200 truck drivers already selected for the US
Full-fledged training centre in Hyderabad


KURNOOL: District Employment Officer G. Ramesh Reddy has urged unemployed
youngsters to register their names with the Overseas Manpower Company
Andhra Pradesh Limited to tap the huge employment potential abroad.

Considering importance of Andhra Pradesh in the overseas job market, the
State Government floated the company in March this year to facilitate
placements overseas.

Besides forecasting and researching the job market, the company proposed to
train unemployed persons in the skills required and give orientation in the
language and customs of the visiting country.

The agency would guide the aspirants in securing passport and visa. The
company established contacts with the overseas partners in the U.S.,
Malaysia and Gulf countries where the Indian labour force is in demand.

In the first batch, 200 truck drivers were selected for the U.S. and a
four-month training for them would begin soon at Vijayawada. The team was
likely to fly to the U.S. on seasonal employment visa (H2B) in November.

Indian workers in demand

According to the survey, Indian workers were in demand for security guard
posts in the Gulf countries. Considering the requirements of the overseas
employers, an orientation programme was conducted for the aspirants in the
law, ethics, customs and job environment in the host country.

A full-fledged training centre was established at Mallepally in Hyderabad
under the Department of Labour. Candidates aspiring to work overseas could
get their names registered with the company. The applications would be
forwarded to the company by respective district employment offices.

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

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1706143.cms

US offers a ride to AP truck drivers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JULY 05, 2006 12:00:30 AM]

HYDERABAD: After farmers making a beeline for the US, it could be the turn
of the kings of Indian roads. A recruitment company is hunting for
200 truckers from Andhra Pradesh to drive container trucks on US highways.

But the similarity with Punjab farmers ends here. Andhra truckers, perhaps
spooked by uncertainty, are not ready to grab the wheel. The state-owned
placement agency, Overseas Manpower Company of Andhra Pradesh (Omcap), is
having a tough time getting 200 truckers despite the $5,000 paycheck and an
H2B visa being offered to them.

Amid much fanfare in April, Omcap had tied up with American consultancy
Gagan Global to recruit 200 truckers for the latters clients in the US.
Though the US consultancy had actually sought 3,000 drivers - all trained
to exacting US standards, Omcap agreed to recruit and train 200 of them
initially. The first batch was to be sent to the US by January 2007.

Omcap then conducted a preliminary test and shortlisted 230 candidates of
whom only 100 turned up for training on July 2. Most of them stayed away as
selection wasnt guaranteed after the course, for which they would have
had to quit their current jobs.

But adding to Omcap woes was the fact that it had to send the candidates to
an institute run by Krishna District Lorry Owners Association at Ampapuram,
near Vijayawada. The institute also compounded problems as it didnt have
the equipment to teach the recruits how to handle left-hand-drive,
long-haul US trucks.

Gagan Global claims to have 40 transport companies as it has clients who
are in dire need of truckers. The problem is that Indian truckers would
have to meet exacting US standards to land the job. They need to have
cleared class VII, and more importantly, a commercial driving license -
obtained after a test in India or the US - and also know some English.

If that wasnt all, they would also have to pay Omcap a commission of Rs
1.5 lakh. Of this, Rs 25,000 is paid up front and the rest after getting
the offer letter from the US. The money would be returned if the recruit is
not selected. Omcap officials too are wary. We asked US consultancy
to bring representatives of US transport companies to India as proof of
serious intent," said Omcap manager K V Swamy.



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