Indian IT sector paid better than other emerging nations
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 13 July 2010, 14:51 IST   |    3 Comments
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Indian IT sector paid better than other emerging nations
Bangalore: In terms of pay and working hours, IT enabled services (ITES) have created good number of jobs in developing countries including India, reveals a news study. Wages are below those for similar jobs in rich countries, but average pay in the sector in India is nearly double that in other areas of the formal economy. The study, launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found that improved work practices in the outsourcing industry could reduce excessive rates of staff turnover. "The jobs being created in offshore business services in developing countries are reasonably good quality jobs by local standards in terms of wages and working conditions," said Jon Messenger, an ILO researcher and main Editor of the study. The study gives the lie to claims that outsourcing of such work has created "cyber-coolies" or "electronic sweatshops," Messenger said. The book looks at outsourcing in the two biggest markets, India and the Philippines, and two growing Latin American centres, Brazil and Argentina. A study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) last year found the global market for ITES was about $54 billion in 2008. The industry includes companies such as Infosys Technologies and Wipro. The study found that average weekly hours were 46-47 hours in India and 45 in the Philippines, whereas one fifth of workers in developing countries work more than 50 hours a week. But negative factors such as frequent night work to handle customers' different time zones, and demanding targets enforced by electronic monitoring resulting in a low level of worker autonomy, led to extremely high levels of staff turnover. Sometimes the turnover rate in the typically young and well-educated workforce could exceed 100 percent a year, and rates of 30-40 percent are not unusual. "A few key changes in policies and practices could actually make these good jobs even better while simultaneously helping to reduce staff turnover which would benefit businesses," Messenger told a briefing. These could include steps to improve health and safety for night workers, such as regular check-ups, and more flexibility for workers to organize their time and to meet targets. Naj Ghosheh, an ILO researcher and the other editor of the book, said governments would want the industries to develop and innovate to move up the value chain rather than simply replicating imported processes. They would also want to retain skilled workers at home rather than encouraging them to emigrate. The industry is highly influenced by language skills, with India and the Philippines serving English-speaking countries, Argentina serving Spain and Mexico building up operations to serve Spanish-speakers in the U.S. The study has also shows that Africa is relatively underdeveloped although Nigeria's computerliterate population gives it potential.

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