IT Sweatshops Breaking Indian (was Re:[lbo-talk] US firms turn to India for chip designing)

matthew bradley matt at machination.org
Sun Jul 13 09:17:21 PDT 2003


On a tangential note:

IT Sweatshops Breaking Indians  <http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59477,00.html> MUMBAI, India -- Outsourcing tech jobs to India has caused turmoil for workers in the United States and Europe. But it seems it's causing turmoil for Indians, as well.

An estimated 50,000 young English-speaking Indians who work in call centers here are exposed to a host of health problems. They are usually in their early 20s, just out of college and up all night answering tech calls.

Because of the time difference between India and the United States, the work day for these workers starts late in the evening and extends until dawn. Such odd work hours have brought on a host of health problems including digestive diseases, hair loss, back pain and stress. [...]

On Sunday, July 13, 2003, at 11:54 AM, Dwayne Monroe wrote:


> Ulhas Joglekar wrote (quoting Hindustan Times
> article):
>
>
> International companies, especially from the United
> States, have been using India's skilled and cheap
> workers for almost two decades to handle software jobs
> but have done most of their research in-house. Now,
> that is changing.
>
> <snip>
>
>
> During a visit last month to Bangalore, Intel's
> president and chief operating officer, Paul Otellini
> said his company could access "incredible talent" in
> India. "To get these skills, we may not be able to
> hire and train people quickly in the United States."
>
> <end excerpts>
>
>
> Yes, indeed.
>
>
> There seem to be two major categories of reaction to
> all this tech offshore outsourcing and H1-b business:
>
> a.) American tech is being sold down the river just
> like auto and steel and other industries that survive
> but whose workers suffer from reduced leverage due to
> the constant threat of cheaper alternatives. Also,
> these international workers, higher salaries by local
> standards notwithstanding, are being used as pawns in
> Capital's war against labor.
>
> and
>
> b.) You big techie babies need to shut up and take
> your medicine. Do you begrudge Indians, Chinese, etc.
> a little piece of the pie? Sorry that you won't be
> able to afford to stay at the Four Seasons, live in
> oversized houses and buy new SUVs any more but those
> are the breaks. Welcome to the real world, arrogant
> jerks.
>
>
> It seems that reactions to the apparent torrent of
> news about this or that element of tech being
> outsourced to India (just heard some interesting news
> at a client on Friday that will result in a loss of
> many programmer positions to India, etc)are shaped
> more by a person's proximity to the industry or
> beliefs about its workers than an objective review of
> the implications.
>
> My own feelings, for example, are the result of my
> concerns about job security. An illusion, I know, but
> it's natural for the mind to dream of stability.
> Others - progressives who probably watched the 90's
> bubble with disdain - appear to harbor a certain,
> muted glee that these spoiled brats are getting their
> comeuppance from skilled second and third worlders.
>
> Meanwhile, back on Earth, aside from the fears and
> preconceptions of American earthlings, a process of
> labor relocation and displacement is underway. It
> won't be a complete rout, there will always be an
> American tech industry I suppose, but it will be
> weaker and, for the workers, poorer once the trend
> evens out.
>
> Captial always seeks cheaper labor, and will search
> the globe - around and around again - to find it. I
> wonder, can such a system of global impoverishment
> last for many more decades (never mind centuries)
> alongside climate change, nuclear proliferation and
> other planet-wide problems?
>
>
> DRM
>
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