The Hindu : History with a twist

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Monday, Jul 28, 2003

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History with a twist

By Timeri N. Murari

We are back in the 1950s, and back in history too. Except, instead of bringing people to the jobs, the jobs go out to the people where they live.

SOME AMERICAN States are considering passing legislation banning the corporations from shifting computer jobs to back offices in India and other countries. There are rumours that Washington could take up their cause. The American corporations consider these back offices a cost saving, while I think it is ironic. History repeats itself. Well sort of, but with a twist.

Back in the 1950s, there was a shortage of labour in post-war Britain and Europe. Not actually a shortage. There were able-bodied young men and women available for work. However, they did not want to do the menial jobs that were on offer. They were more ambitious and wanted clean, white collar and suit jobs.

Being recent ex-colonisers, Britain and some European countries turned to their former colonies for the cheap labour to do the menial work. Britain imported Indians, mainly from the Punjab and Gujarat, and shiploads of Jamaicans and Barbadians from the West Indies. While France turned to Cameroon, Senegal and Algeria for its workers. These immigrants were brought in to sweep the streets, collect the garbage, clean the toilets, scrub the floors and drive the buses. These jobs were below the dignity of the native populations. If we go further back in history, cheap, or free, labourers were shifted around the globe like pawns. Indians went to Africa (railways), the Chinese to America (railways again) and African slaves to America (plantations).

Today, they would need visas to cross the boundaries of these nations. Immigration control is the eye of the needle, and not many are allowed to enter these economic paradises. At the same time, these paradises are coping with multi-culturalism and conflicts of interest. They do not want cheap labour flooding their countries again. However, they are in the same situation they were in back in the 1950s. They have the jobs but their natives do not want to do them.

"Why don't they want to do them," I asked an educationalist when I was in London recently. We had begun by discussing the call centre syndrome, and someone was complaining that when he called his bank to transfer funds he ended up talking to a woman in India. She had been charming but unhelpful; his local branch would service his request. He could not get to his local branch as his calls kept being routed back to the same woman. They ended up discussing cricket and the weather.

"No young person wants to sit in a cubicle all day connected to a telephone," my friend said. "They consider those as menial jobs."

"Like sweeping streets back in those days?"

"Yes. We face a catch-22. Those who could do it don't have the education or the skills, while those who have the education, a university degree, don't want to do it. The pay isn't very good and our young people want to work in banks or advertising, the media or corporations. Those are the high paying jobs. They would rather not work than tell their friends they're locked away in a cubicle answering the phone all day. Nor do they want to process airline tickets or any other repetitive work. While in India, you have qualified, smart young men and women who are happy to work in call centres and other computerised jobs. They are well paid, by Indian standards, and they find those jobs interesting."

We are back in the 1950s, and back in history too. Except, instead of bringing people to the jobs, the jobs go out to the people where they live. It is the 21st century twist on Europe's and America's labour problems. They invented the computer and the Internet and discovered the economies of exporting the work. Why pay an American or a European $ 50,000 a year, when an Asian could do the same work for half that? Corporations are not patriotic entities. They only look at the bottom line and it had better be in the black or else their native shareholders rise in rebellion. Corporations cross borders at will in a single leap, leaving behind happy shareholders reaping profits and an increasing line of educated and qualified unemployed people.

"I advise students not to go for a university degree," the educationalist said. "It costs a lot of money and they graduate in debt. And without a job in sight. I tell them to learn a trade — become carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters. In the U.K., these people make £ 40-50 an hour. They need to work only 10 hours a week to lead a good life. But very few students listen to me. They want the degree."

India has an abundance of good carpenters, painters, plumbers and electricians. Cheap too and would work for half that amount. One day, when America and Europe run out of these skilled craftsmen, we could be losing ours very soon. They will get special visas.

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