印度IT業(yè)對美國H-1B簽證改革感到擔心

Indian executives are warning that a move by the US to limit visas for skilled workers would strike at the heart of the countries’ trade relations, sharply increasing costs for India’s $146bn IT services industry in a crucial market.

印度高管們警告，美國一項限制技術工人簽證的舉措將給美印貿(mào)易關系造成嚴重沖擊，大幅抬高印度規(guī)模達1460億美元的IT服務業(yè)在美國這個關鍵市場的成本。

Indian IT companies, which are heavy users of skilled H-1B visas to the US, have cut hiring from domestic university campuses after new legislation was proposed that would tighten US rules on skilled immigration.

在有關方面提議會收緊美國技術移民規(guī)定的新法案后，作為H-1B技術工人簽證“重度用戶”的印度IT企業(yè)已減少了在本國高校的招聘。

The industry is planning to send a delegation to the US this month to argue against the changes, which have prompted widespread alarm in India.

印度IT服務業(yè)正計劃在本月向美國派出一個代表團、勸說美方不要實施這些改革。這些改革已在印度引起了普遍擔心。

“Despite the importance that has been attributed to the Indian relationship, despite the warm words from Trump, there may be measures that are taken that are seriously damaging,” said R Chandrasekhar, president of India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies.

印度國家軟件與服務公司協(xié)會(NASSCOM)主席R•錢德拉塞卡爾(R Chandrasekhar)表示：“盡管美國看重與印度的關系，盡管特朗普(Donald Trump)發(fā)表了熱情的講話，但美方可能要采取的舉措會造成嚴重的破壞。

“If the US was to curb the number of people that are taken in on H-1B visas in the area, two things can happen: either those jobs remain unfilled in the US or the job goes out of the US.”

“如果美國要在該領域限制持H-1B簽證入境的人數(shù)，可能會發(fā)生兩件事：要么美國的這些工作崗位依然招不到足夠的人，要么這些工作崗位流出美國。”

Last month legislation was introduced to the House of Representatives that would require companies to pay H-1B immigrants at least $130,000 — more than double their previous minimum salary — unless they can prove that they were unable to find a US worker to do the same job. This effective wage floor currently stands at $60,000 and would be increased in order “to protect American workers”.

上月提交美國眾議院的法案要求企業(yè)得為持H-1B簽證的員工開出至少13萬美元的薪資——為此前最低薪資水平的兩倍多——除非這些企業(yè)能證明它們找不到美籍員工來做這份工作。目前針對這類員工施行的最低薪資要求為6萬美元，為了“保護美國勞動者”，將抬高這一門檻。

Sean Spicer, President Donald Trump’s press secretary, has said the White House will also consider reforming H-1B visas through an executive order.

美國總統(tǒng)唐納德•特朗普的白宮新聞秘書肖恩•斯派塞(Sean Spicer)表示，白宮還將考慮通過行政令來改革H-1B簽證制度。

The move has prompted a public outcry in India — two-thirds of the H-1B visas issued by the US in the 2015 fiscal year were granted to Indians, according to US state department figures. The concern is that an increase would make it too costly for Indian contractors to recruit Indian workers for jobs in the US — and would sharply constrain an industry that has become an engine of skilled job growth in the country.

此舉在印度引起輿論一片嘩然。根據(jù)美國國務院的數(shù)據(jù)，美國在2015財年簽發(fā)的H-1B簽證有三分之二發(fā)給了印度人。印度人的擔憂是，提高最低薪資要求會使印度承包商招聘印度工人赴美工作的成本變得過于高昂，嚴重制約一個已成為印度技術工作崗位增長引擎的行業(yè)。

The IT sector in India is still heavily reliant on its traditional, labour-intensive sources of revenue despite efforts to shift to more cutting-edge areas such as data analytics. Although they can provide some services remotely, the companies rely on sending their best employees to work directly with clients in the US.

盡管已嘗試轉向數(shù)據(jù)分析等更為尖端的領域，但印度IT業(yè)目前仍嚴重依賴其傳統(tǒng)的、勞動密集型的營收來源。雖然這些企業(yè)可以遠程方式提供部分服務，但把最優(yōu)秀的員工派到美國與客戶直接合作仍是它們主要的業(yè)務模式。

The industry last year generated 60 per cent — or $64.8bn — of its revenues in the US, where it employed 155,000 people in 2015, according to Nasscom. After Mr Trump was elected in November, the association cut its growth outlook for the industry this financial year from 10-12 per cent to 8-10 per cent, citing “domestic and global factors impacting its performance”.

NASSCOM的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，去年印度IT業(yè)60%的營收(即648億美元)是在美國創(chuàng)造的，2015年印度IT業(yè)在美國雇傭了15.5萬人。特朗普去年11月當選總統(tǒng)后，NASSCOM將其對印度IT業(yè)本財年增速的預期從10%到12%下調(diào)至8%到10%，理由是“國內(nèi)和全球因素會影響其業(yè)績”。

Vineet Nayar, former chief executive of HCL Technologies, the fourth-largest Indian IT services company by revenue, said US companies would also be hit: “Facebook, Microsoft — everybody applies for H-1B.”

前HCL Technologies首席執(zhí)行官維尼特•納亞爾(Vineet Nayar)表示，美國企業(yè)也會受到打擊，“Facebook、微軟(Microsoft)，所有公司都申請H-1B”。HCL Technologies是以營收計的印度第四大IT服務公司。

US-based companies such as IBM, Cognizant and Accenture are among the largest applicants for H-1B visas, according to My Visa Jobs, an immigration consultancy which compiles data on applications.

根據(jù)匯編簽證申請數(shù)據(jù)的移民咨詢公司My Visa Jobs的數(shù)據(jù)，申請H-1B簽證最多的公司包括IBM、高知特(Cognizant)和埃森哲(Accenture)等總部位于美國的公司。

India’s ministry of external affairs was forced to complain to the Trump administration after news about the new bill caused a slump in IT stocks last month. Sector leader Tata Consultancy Services lost more than 7 per cent of its market value. “India’s interests and concerns have been conveyed both to the US administration and the US Congress at senior levels,” the ministry said.

有關新法案的消息導致印度IT股上月暴跌，印度外交部不得不向特朗普政府表示不滿。在這輪暴跌中，行業(yè)領頭羊塔塔咨詢服務公司(Tata Consultancy Services)市值縮水逾7%。印度外交部表示：“印方在高層級上向美國政府和美國國會都傳達了印度的利益和關切所在。”

Companies have begun to take pre-emptive steps, according to placement advisers on college campuses. “[Trump] will impact the employment opportunity for Indian students,” said Kanwal Kapil, chairperson of placements at the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon, which has seen IT hiring fall by 26 per cent compared with last year.

按照印度高校就業(yè)顧問的說法，印度企業(yè)已開始采取預防性措施。古爾岡管理發(fā)展學院(Management Development Institute)就業(yè)部門主任坎瓦爾•卡皮爾(Kanwal Kapil)表示：“(特朗普)會影響印度學生的就業(yè)機會。”該院發(fā)現(xiàn)，與上年相比，IT業(yè)招聘人數(shù)減少了26%。

“We cannot rule out the fact that the scepticism has some [relation] to Mr Trump’s future policies,” said Saveeta Mohanty, placements adviser at the Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, which expects a 40 per cent fall in IT hiring this season.

澤維爾管理與創(chuàng)業(yè)學院(Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship)就業(yè)顧問薩維塔•莫漢蒂(Saveeta Mohanty)表示：“我們無法排除這一事實：這種疑慮與特朗普未來的政策有一定(關系)。”該院預計，本季度印度IT業(yè)招聘人數(shù)會下滑40%。

Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research said hiring had fallen 30-40 per cent. All three institutions claimed there was less take-up from TCS and Infosys, which filed the most applications for H-1B visas last year, according to My Visa Jobs. The average salaries for applicants were significantly below the new proposed $130,000 mark — at $79,201 for Infosys and $69,648 for TCS.

韋林卡管理發(fā)展與研究學院(Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research)表示，招聘人數(shù)已經(jīng)下滑30%到40%。上述三家機構都聲稱，塔塔咨詢和印孚瑟斯(Infosys)的招聘人數(shù)減少了。根據(jù)My Visa Jobs的數(shù)據(jù)，去年申請H-1B簽證最多的公司就是印孚瑟斯。申請者的平均薪資大大低于擬議的13萬美元的新門檻，其中印孚瑟斯為79201美元，塔塔咨詢?yōu)?9648美元。