The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) today termed Jack B Palmer’s statement on H-1B visa workers having ‘minimal skills and little business knowledge’ as untrue and highlighted that highly trained employees of the Indian companies were working in the US. Referring to Jack Palmer’s statement, NASSCOM stated that H-1B workers are highly qualified, skilled workers and over the years have been providing vital services. The US government has also recognised the innovation and competitiveness the H1-B workers have spurred in thousands of U.S. businesses and the investments these global IT services companies make in their economy.
On these allegations, R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM, said “Indian companies and their employees working in the US are deeply committed to the US marketplace and are important contributors in their local communities as well as the country as a whole. Apart from the cutting-edge work, Indian corporate and individual citizens are deeply ingrained in the country’s everyday activities. We feel that the allegations made are completely misplaced and rhetorical. Indian IT-ITeS employees going onsite are both educated and skilled and are subjected to laws that govern that particular visa category. NASSCOM will continue to work with different stakeholders in India and the US to address this issue and ensure that Indian companies and their employees continue to deliver the best of the technologies and technological advancements to the US”.
The recently released US labour statistics highlighted that there was a need for the skills that Indian professionals possess and that the unemployment rate in this sector is around 3 percent. In today’s labor market, Indian employees fill a critical need — particularly in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. The strengthening India and US bilateral ties recently resulted in the US government’s agreement to discuss elements required in both countries to pursue an India-US Totalisation agreement.
