US reintroduces bill to put brakes on outsourcing
Two US Congressmen -- Doug Collins, a Republican, and Derek Kilmer, a Democrat -- have re-introduced a bill to prevent employers from making American workers train cheaper non-immigrant staff so that the imports can take away their jobs. The bill aims to curb companies in the US from "abusing" the H1-B programme by outsourcing jobs overseas.
According to Collins, "The Keeping American Jobs Act protects American workers by preventing bad actors from abusing the system in order to offshore jobs."
He added, "Protecting American jobs is crucial in order for our economy to continue to gain strength and momentum. Companies have the opportunity to bring workers from overseas on H-1B visas in the event that qualified Americans aren't available, but we can't allow the law to be exploited to displace American workers and send their jobs abroad."
Kilmer said, "Our policies should promote jobs in America. They shouldn’t be about sending jobs done by hard-working Americans overseas. That’s why I m continuing my push with Representative Collins to keep H-1B visas from ever being used to send any job to another country." A Congressional statement also noted that H-1B visas allow American businesses to employ foreign professionals if skilled American workers are unavailable to fill the job openings and added that, in such casses, the employees must have expertise in fields such as science and technology, besides college degrees.
"This week, 60 Minutes reported that unscrupulous employers have utilised the programme to employ foreign workers and displace American jobs. This follows reports last year that American workers were forced to train H-1B visa holders to do their job so the jobs could permanently be outsourced to foreign workers," the statement added.
Source: SIFY