IT Contractors Continue To Lose Out
For some time now, UK contractors working within the IT sector have been struggling to secure contracts as large companies have been using a government scheme to employ people from overseas instead. Using intra-company transfer visas, they have moved employees from overseas bases, usually in India, to UK jobs. The BBC first highlighted their concerns regarding ICTs back in May but as Donald Macintyre investigated on BBC Radio 5Live, they are still widely being used.
BBC Radio 5Live was told people are brought to the UK to work on government IT projects run by BT and Capgemini. Both firms say they are operating within the law. Intra-company transfer visas (ICT) mean an overseas employee can come to work for their company in the UK if they have six months’ experience, are paid an appropriate salary and do not take the job of a permanent UK worker. The government said it was tightening the rules on such visas. About 50,000 ICT visas are issued every year and two thirds of them go to employees in IT and telecommunications. About 70% are given to Indian nationals.
British IT worker Anil Verma has been out of work for two years and said;
“A lot of the IT contractors – they’re very very bitter about it. The government’s issued too many intra-company transfer visas and a lot of these guys have come over from India and flooded the IT industry. There are not enough jobs to go round.”
A contractor whose contract was not renewed by Capgemini believed talented Britons were gradually being replaced by Indian workers brought over on ICTs and he, like other IT contractors, feels that they are being undercut by cheaper overseas labour.
The UK Border Agency said there were strict rules on what ICT visa workers should be paid and any allegations of abuse would be investigated. The rules regarding ICTs will be tightened next year but it is not enough according to the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) and Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) who both believe the rules need to be tightened much more.
Filed under: Contractor News
