Programmers Guild says Visaholders are slave labor
Around 300 discrimination complaints have been filed by The Programmers Guild so far this year against companies that have posted “H-1 B Visa holders only” ads on job boards. The actions have been filed with the US Department of Justice, Office of Special Council for Immigration-Related discrimination.
The interesting twist though is this. The companies have been charged with creating an atmosphere of “Americans need not apply” scenario on both Monster.com and Dice.com. Whereas this is a valid claim, the counter claim from the recruiting agencies say its perfectly legal to seek for H-1B visas after search for required workers who are citizens and permanent residents has run out.
But this case opens up a Pandora’s Box into the functioning of IT industry. John Miano, founder of the Summit, N.J.-based Programmers Guild who filed the action, said, “H-1B workers are in demand because they are cheap and they make good slave labor.”
Mark the phrases. “Cheap” and “good slave labor”. At least the silver lining in the entire argument is an admission of the exploitative legacy of the IT industry. Whether the companies can defend their advertisement to cater to American clients’ needs or not is a matter which will take quite a while to be resolved. In the meantime, welcome to the good slave labor market!
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