Solidarity in a global labour market....................Rajiv Dabhadkar

"If you come only to help me, you can go back home.  But if you consider my struggle as part of your struggle for survival, then maybe we can work together" - These are the echoing sentiments of local workers globally.

Today, working people of India are participating in a continuing global economy. The borders that once separated them have now become common ground where workers and their families can come together and are no longer lines that separate them and pulled them apart.

Indian workers worldwide are forced into a global labour market and these workers have a direct interest in helping workers in other countries and in other cultures, to organize and to raise living standards; all in support of a free trade system. Not only that, working people also have a great advantage in the global economy by creating a human bond that connects them with other workers in countries of the developed and the developing world.

Some thoughts that come to my mind are:
   * Which natural vehicle for solidarity is available then, other than knowing more about the working conditions in both halves of the world?
   * Who can see most clearly the operation of the global economy, and have a greater stake in changing it?

Speaking of the on-site deployment of workers overseas, or the off shoring of jobs back home, it may justify the creation of employment opportunities. However, the arrangements made by these employers are inadvertently questioned, because somewhere in the process the human rights of their workers are violated. Those that happen subtly across borders… 

Why? Because, when we consider globalization, and the related job displacement it causes, it invariably pits one class of worker with the other - the citizens as well as guest workers, those with small, insecure incomes, who are in the same boat and appear to be fighting on the same side for better pay and better living conditions.

It may seem as though the global economy today has turned job insecurity into a virtue, convincing it as a necessary attribute to increase flexibility and competitiveness in the workplace. However, while evaluating proposals for immigration reform - security, equality, family and community are the watch words used by human rights activists. And any proposals that deny people their rights or benefits because of their visa status moves away from equality. 

Reading what the recent media reports speak, it is but obvious that a change is sought by both sides and a new wave of reforms is therefore inevitable.  Now, questions arise on how the forthcoming immigration proposals will align to the futuristic globalization needs of nations? Will one nation suffer at the cost of the other?  Will the forthcoming change continue to tie guest workers to their foreign employers or will the workers be bound to one another instead, creating a never ending stream of migrant pool of happy working people? 

Contrary to what the word on the street is, below are a few highlights of the forth coming 'Comprehensive Immigration Reforms', under which the US government will -

(1) Increase the annual quota to import foreign workers to 110,000 from the previously set 65,000, additionally a separate 25,000 quota reserved for those with a US education degree and want to return back to work. In future years, this quota can increase up to 180,000.

(2) Prevent foreigners on work visas from under cutting the wages paid to American workers by requiring employers to pay significantly higher wages for foreign workers than under current law (and to first advertise the jobs to American workers at this higher wage before hiring a foreign worker--only if the employer has 15% of their workforce paid under $60,000.)

(3) Provide spouses of foreign guest workers with work authorization.

(4) Establish a 60-day transition period for foreign workers to change jobs.

(5) Provide dual intent visas for all international students on bachelor’s degree programs or above.

(6) Crack down on abusers of the work visa system by requiring employers dependant on foreign workers to pay significantly higher wages and fees than normal users of the program.

(7) Crack down on the use of the H-1B and L visas to outsource American jobs by prohibiting companies whose U.S. workforce largely consists of foreign guest workers from obtaining additional H-1B and L visas.

(8) Transparency of job openings filled by H-1B visa holders. The Secretary of Labour must establish a searchable website for posting H1B positions, including salary and contact info for American applicants 30 days prior to requesting an H1-B visa.

(9) Bar employers from recruiting or giving preference to H-1B or OPT workers over American workers.

(10) Establish significant new authorities and penalties to prevent, detect, and deter fraud and abuse of the H-1B and L-1 visa systems by fraudulent employers.