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The jobs Britain stole from the Asian
subcontinent 200 years ago are
now being returned.....
If you live in a rich nation in the English-speaking world, and most of your
work involves a computer or a telephone, don't expect to have a job in five
years' time. Almost every large company which relies upon remote transactions
is starting to dump its workers and hire a cheaper labour force overseas. All
those concerned about economic justice and the distribution of wealth at home
should despair. All those concerned about global justice and the distribution
of wealth around the world should rejoice. As we are, by and large, the same
people, we have a problem.
Britain's industrialisation was secured by destroying the manufacturing
capacity of India. In 1699, the British government banned the import of
woollen cloth from Ireland, and in 1700 the import of cotton cloth (or
calico) from India. Both products were forbidden because they were superior
to our own. As the industrial revolution was built on the textiles industry,
we could not have achieved our global economic dominance if we had let them
in. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, India was forced to supply
raw materials to Britain's manufacturers, but forbidden to produce competing
finished products. We are rich because the Indians are poor.
Now the jobs we stole 200 years ago are returning to India. Last week the
Guardian revealed that the National Rail Enquiries service is likely to move
to Bangalore, in south-west India. Two days later, the HSBC bank announced
that it was cutting 4,000 customer service jobs in Britain and shifting them
to Asia. BT, British Airways, Lloyds TSB, Prudential, Standard Chartered,
Norwich Union, Bupa, Reuters, Abbey National and Powergen have already begun
to move their call centres to India. The British workers at the end of the
line are approaching the end of the line.
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The entire article is available at:
The Guardian: The flight to India
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1067344,00.html
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