28,000 ? brought in via ICTs

[Sean Key]

Today Computer Weekly picks up the Intra Company Transfer Visa story again, illustrated with figures released from the PCG suggesting c28,000 people have been brought into the country using ICTs recently.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articl...worker-law.htm

That seems like a lot....

The petition remains here (now with >120 signatures) if anyone else feels like signing up.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Abolish-ICTs/

[HairyArsedBloke]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's far too late.

The PCG should have been fighting harder 7 or 8 years ago when we all got stuffed last time. Instead they were wined and dined and they sucked up to the government.

[malvolio]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's far too late.

The PCG should have been fighting harder 7 or 8 years ago when we all got stuffed last time. Instead they were wined and dined and they sucked up to the government.

You don't half talk some crap sometimes, don't you? For example, has it occurred to you to wonder why we now have a point-based system instead of the old free-for-all? Or why IT is not on the list of skills shortages for which Tier2 visas can be sought?

Tell you what, go look up the membership of the Migration Advisory Committee that is trying to resolve this issue.

[DimPrawn]

The way to sell this to the government is to say, okay Big Co. you can have your ICT visas for your "Indian staff", however there is a levy of £10K pa per visa per year. This is to encourage Big Co. to use European workers in Europe.

This would make using the ICT less cost effective to Big Co, and raise billions in revenue for the government.

A win-win situation.

I think the PCG would do better trying to push for a high cost penalty rather than trying to ban the process.

[malvolio]

The process is both vaid and entriley justifiable. Where it's going wrong is BigCos onshoring any old bog-standard employee of a subisdiary to do coding or micky DBA support work. ICTs are needed to allow the transfer highly-skilled individuals to perform specific and necessary tasks that require detailed company knowlege. Of the 28k onshoreds to date, I would guess about three meet that criterion.

Also, no need for financial penalties, since the onshored worker has to be paid at local rates for the role. Most of the onshored are paid back home and get a living allowance over here, so they not only blow the wages rule, they pay no tax here either.

The rules are right, the abuses aren't. That's what we're fighting against.

[TimberWolf]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's far too late..

WHS. IT should also not be taught in the UK any more.

[sunnysan]

Question

" transfer highly-skilled individuals to perform specific and necessary tasks that require detailed company knowlege"


What are the criteria to meet this. Are there any criteria?

I am interested to know how you would quantify something like detialed company knowledge unless each case is dealt with on its own merits.


I have no axe to grind I am just curious as to how this is applied.

[DiscoStu]

" transfer highly-skilled individuals to perform specific and necessary tasks that require detailed company knowlege"


What are the criteria to meet this. Are there any criteria?

I am interested to know how you would quantify something like detialed company knowledge unless each case is dealt with on its own merits.


I have no axe to grind I am just curious as to how this is applied.

I believe you have to be highly-skilled in working for plenty cheapness. This would appear to be the only criteria that matters.

[malvolio]

I believe you have to be highly-skilled in working for plenty cheapness. This would appear to be the only criteria that matters.

Quite!

The idea, in its narrowest sense, is to allow a multinational to transfer say a skilled engineer that understands their widget-making machine from his normal place of work into the UK to install a machine over here and train people how to use it, where such work will take more than a few days. Obvioulsy there's a bit of a grey area, but the essentials are "same company", "highly skilled" and "short term" (if you want them here permanently they'll need an HSMP visa). I would venture none of the 20-odd thousand coders currently screwing up BT's output fit that category in the slightest.

[vetran]

Simples

Minimum wage = 2 * average + all tax paid in UK.

But it is down from 50,000 and the PCG are partially to thank for that maybe because of the fabled Tea & Biscuit sessions.