Corporate Visas Deal with India
Rishi Sunak is in the process of negotiating a Corporate Visa Deal with India. This would allow UK companies more access to India’s markets in return for for allowing India to send more software developers, and other IT workers to the UK.
The deal was that there would be many more visas granted mainly in the software development industry and mainly to India.
The livelihoods of UK IT Contractors would be offered in a swap deal for UK multinationals access to Indian markets.
GATT Agreement
They tried this maybe 15 years ago via a worldwide GATT agreement but it was never implemented mainly because the Indian government weren’t willing to give UK and other Western companies more access to its markets.
ITContractor.com exposed this at the time resulting in an emergency meeting being called in London by the Professional Contractors Group (now IPSE) to discuss it.
For many years this was dropped as people protested against so much globalisation resulting in large amounts of immigration. It became a hot potato.
Now it appears to have been resurrected in a bilateral deal between the UK and India.
Intra Company Transfers
Again the deal would be more access to Indian markets for UK companies but more visas to be issued to IT literate Indians. One of the ways this could be done is via intra company transfers.
At the moment, if UK companies can’t find people with the skills they need in the permanent market they will employ UK IT contractors.
If this deal goes through, and it is exceedingly likely to, Indian companies operating in the UK can then offer UK client UK companies extra IT resources and then just send them over from India to the client companies. This would be via an intra company transfer.
Temporary Movement of Business People for Specific Purposes
Sunak flew to India recently to lay the groundwork for an agreement later this year. They have been negotiating the deal for the past 18 months.
Companies like Infosys, owned by Sunak’s father in law, will benefit greatly by this.
According to a spokesperson for Sunak ““The only aspect of the movement of people covered by a [free trade agreement] is business mobility – that’s the temporary movement of business people for specific purposes’ They added: “I can’t get into more detail about what’s being discussed”.
IT Contractors Shafted
It looks as if UK IT contractors are going to be shafted again when another country’s nationals are going to be given precedence over UK taxpaying citizens.
Their jobs are being used as chips on the global poker table.
Who will benefit – why, UK corporations, India companies and individuals.
Who will lose – UK IT Contractors once again.
IPSE should prepare themselves for battle once again.
