British Telecom Denies Exploitation

Date: Friday, May 16, 2003 11:52 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

British Telecom claims that replacing British workers will liberate
them from the jobs nobody wants. This statement is a classic, "Our
approach is good for BT's British workers".

BT denies paying their Indian replacements less money. If BT is telling
the truth then why do they go through the trouble of importing Indian
workers?

Either one of two things would be true in this case, you choose which
one is the most believable:

a) This is a clear case of racism against British people.

b) BT hires Indians because they are cheaper

c) There is a massive shortage of British software developers.

Clue:
If any of you choose C, put on a dunce cap and go to my website for
remedial education.

http://infotech.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=45752329

BT denies hiring Indians on low wages

IANS[ THURSDAY, MAY 08, 2003 12:36:55 PM ]

NEW DELHI: British Telecom (BT) has denied reports that Indian software
professionals subcontracted to work for the company in Britain are paid
less than their British counterparts.

The company's denial came in the wake of a newspaper report that
workers of Mahindra BT, a joint venture between India's Mahindra and
Mahindra and BT, could be working on BT projects in Britain for as
little as a quarter of the usual wage.

"The total package of the Indian sub-contractors working on BT projects
is comparable to those of their Britain counterparts and well above
Britain's national wage," said a statement pasted on BT's official
website on Wednesday.

"They (the Indian software engineers employed by Mahindra BT) do not
lose out."

The Indian software professionals are reportedly working on key BT
projects, including its core IT systems.

BT has a 43 per cent stake in Mahindra BT that was set up in 1986 and
currently has over 3,000 employees. Pune-based Mahindra BT's customers'
include AT&T, Alcatel, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard-India, Microsoft
(India) and Qatar Telecom.

BT, which is already facing the wrath of workers' union over plans to
open two new call centres employing 2,200 people in India, said it
subcontracts a number of projects to Mahindra BT.

"The work is typically basic software maintenance on legacy systems.
This approach allows BT's software engineers to be freed-up to
concentrate on other work.

"We are extremely proud of our employment record and of our commitment
to corporate social responsibility," the BT statement said.

"Our approach is good for BT's British workers, as it means they can
work on leading edge developments; good for Mahindra's Indian
employees, who get excellent experience and the chance to work abroad;
good for BT's customers, who get the benefits from outsourcing; and
good for BT's shareholders, for whom this approach demonstrates a
well-managed company."

Last month, Australia's leading telecommunication and information
services company, Telstra, was charged with using Indian computer
workers on "sweatshop wages" to replace higher paid Australians.

The claims have been strongly rejected by Telstra and Indian IT giants
-- Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer Services -- engaged by the
Australian firm.

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