印度IT業(yè)對(duì)美國(guó)H-1B簽證改革感到擔(dān)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(guó)一項(xiàng)限制技術(shù)工人簽證的舉措將給美印貿(mào)易關(guān)系造成嚴(yán)重沖擊，大幅抬高印度規(guī)模達(dá)1460億美元的IT服務(wù)業(yè)在美國(guó)這個(gè)關(guān)鍵市場(chǎng)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(guān)方面提議會(huì)收緊美國(guó)技術(shù)移民規(guī)定的新法案后，作為H-1B技術(shù)工人簽證“重度用戶”的印度IT企業(yè)已減少了在本國(guó)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(wù)業(yè)正計(jì)劃在本月向美國(guó)派出一個(gè)代表團(tuán)、勸說(shuō)美方不要實(shí)施這些改革。這些改革已在印度引起了普遍擔(dān)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(guó)家軟件與服務(wù)公司協(xié)會(huì)(NASSCOM)主席R•錢德拉塞卡爾(R Chandrasekhar)表示：“盡管美國(guó)看重與印度的關(guān)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(huì)造成嚴(yán)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(guó)要在該領(lǐng)域限制持H-1B簽證入境的人數(shù)，可能會(huì)發(fā)生兩件事：要么美國(guó)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(guó)。”

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(guó)眾議院的法案要求企業(yè)得為持H-1B簽證的員工開(kāi)出至少13萬(wàn)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(lái)做這份工作。目前針對(duì)這類員工施行的最低薪資要求為6萬(wàn)美元，為了“保護(hù)美國(guó)勞動(dòng)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(guó)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(guò)行政令來(lái)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(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院的數(shù)據(jù)，美國(guó)在2015財(cái)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(dān)憂是，提高最低薪資要求會(huì)使印度承包商招聘印度工人赴美工作的成本變得過(guò)于高昂，嚴(yán)重制約一個(gè)已成為印度技術(shù)工作崗位增長(zhǎng)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(zhuǎn)向數(shù)據(jù)分析等更為尖端的領(lǐng)域，但印度IT業(yè)目前仍嚴(yán)重依賴其傳統(tǒng)的、勞動(dòng)密集型的營(yíng)收來(lái)源。雖然這些企業(yè)可以遠(yuǎn)程方式提供部分服務(wù)，但把最優(yōu)秀的員工派到美國(guó)與客戶直接合作仍是它們主要的業(yè)務(wù)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(yíng)收(即648億美元)是在美國(guó)創(chuàng)造的，2015年印度IT業(yè)在美國(guó)雇傭了15.5萬(wàn)人。特朗普去年11月當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)后，NASSCOM將其對(duì)印度IT業(yè)本財(cái)年增速的預(yù)期從10%到12%下調(diào)至8%到10%，理由是“國(guó)內(nèi)和全球因素會(huì)影響其業(yè)績(jī)”。

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(guó)企業(yè)也會(huì)受到打擊，“Facebook、微軟(Microsoft)，所有公司都申請(qǐng)H-1B”。HCL Technologies是以營(yíng)收計(jì)的印度第四大IT服務(wù)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(qǐng)數(shù)據(jù)的移民咨詢公司My Visa Jobs的數(shù)據(jù)，申請(qǐng)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(guó)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(guān)新法案的消息導(dǎo)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(lǐng)頭羊塔塔咨詢服務(wù)公司(Tata Consultancy Services)市值縮水逾7%。印度外交部表示：“印方在高層級(jí)上向美國(guó)政府和美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)都傳達(dá)了印度的利益和關(guān)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(wèn)的說(shuō)法，印度企業(yè)已開(kāi)始采取預(yù)防性措施。古爾岡管理發(fā)展學(xué)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(huì)影響印度學(xué)生的就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)。”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(xué)院(Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship)就業(yè)顧問(wèn)薩維塔•莫漢蒂(Saveeta Mohanty)表示：“我們無(wú)法排除這一事實(shí)：這種疑慮與特朗普未來(lái)的政策有一定(關(guān)系)。”該院預(yù)計(jì)，本季度印度IT業(yè)招聘人數(shù)會(huì)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(xué)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(jī)構(gòu)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(qǐng)H-1B簽證最多的公司就是印孚瑟斯。申請(qǐng)者的平均薪資大大低于擬議的13萬(wàn)美元的新門檻，其中印孚瑟斯為79201美元，塔塔咨詢?yōu)?9648美元。