Racist Perks:  Rs 125,000 Monthly Rentals
By Shivani

The outsourcing boom to India has indeed provided a great deal of employment opportunities. It is common knowledge that the IT and BPO employees are in a position to travel abroad on business and also have considerable liquidity due to the BPO sector.

However, what we don’t know is that expat employees enjoy excessively lavish benefits, when they visit India on secondment for brief periods, say about 6 months to 1 year. For example, a global insurance giant with a shared services unit in Pune has regular exchange programs for managers with the objective of providing equal opportunities to all their employees irrespective of geography.

The managers visiting India stay in palatial bungalows or serviced apartments for which the company pays about Rs.125, 000 per month as rentals!!! Additionally, these employees are provided with chauffer driven cars available 24 hours, cooks and servants. When they go on holidays to Goa, they take their servants along with them, which are also borne by the company. On top of all these facilities, they are given a considerable “hardship” allowances for living in a “third world” country.

On the other hand, his Indian counterpart is not given any special treatment or allowances when s/he visits abroad. The manager stays in an ordinary flat and is paid a meager allowance according to their standards. They have to take care of their transport and generally, travel by buses or trains. Despite the fact that the standard of living is very high abroad, the managers have to take care of their food expenses in that allowance itself. Further, they tend to accept these unconditionally since these secondments are good opportunities, and provide valuable exposure to global work environments.

However, when these people are colleagues in all aspects, in terms of qualification, capabilities and experience, why such discrimination? Does the nationality alone qualify for preferential treatment? Don’t we live in a society where fair treatment is the right of all employees irrespective of race, sex, religion or any other factor?

India is a country that compares its guests to God. Either this is a case of taking advantage of our goodness or we are not smart enough to fight for our rights that we deserve.

 Looks like its not just Shilpa Shetty who faces racial discrimination and the British still rule over India, after all!!!!