Asian tech ministers discuss Western backlash over outsourcing
Asian tech ministers discuss Western backlash over outsourcing
Associated Press, Heyderabad, India
India lobbied its neighbors and business rivals on Monday to
jointly resist a backlash in the U.S. and other developed nations
over companies shifting software and customer service jobs to
Asia.
"This is a matter of concern for all of us," Indian
Communications and Information Technology Minister Arun Shourie
told ministers and technology officials from 30 Asian countries
who gathered in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad for a two-
day summit Monday.
Scores of Western companies in recent years have moved jobs in
software development, chip design, and back office services to
Asia, especially India, to benefit from lower wages. The summit
is discussing how to attract even more of this work from the U.S.
and Europe.
Job losses in the U.S. from this trend have angered unions
there, and some U.S. states are considering legislation to
protect local jobs.
"We must come together to find a consensus approach to fight
this backlash," Shourie said.
Shourie also said Asian countries should cooperate more on
technology.
The New Delhi government turned to some of its rivals in the
outsourcing market, such as China and Philippines, to devise a
common strategy.
Shourie also repeated his recent warning that India - being
pushed to open its markets and ease import restrictions - will
link those moves to the willingness of Western countries to allow
job shifts to Asia.
"We can't keep opening our markets while they (advanced
nations) keep closing theirs, not just in goods but in services
as well," he said.
Besides discussing outsourcing, delegates at the meeting will
also look at ways to bridge Asia's digital divide - the gap in
access to technology between rich urbanites and poor, rural
communities.
India, where one-third of the 1 billion residents are
illiterate, is showcasing its modest successes in bringing
technology to the masses, including a computer-enabled system to
teach reading and writing and a wireless telephone system that
costs just a third of conventional phones.
Shourie said Asian countries must share what they learn from
such projects so that they can be implemented across the
continent.