India has the biggest pay hike

In last night's class we discussed the fact as the resources in India became more skilled and experienced their rates would gradually increase. Yesterday, an article in the Economic Times confirmed that this trend has begun. The average salary in India has increased more then other GR countries. However, with that has come an increased turnover rate.

India has the biggest pay hike
Economic Times, Nov 9 2004

NEW DELHI: India has the highest average salary increase in the Asia-Pacific region during 2004, more than China, Korea and Japan, according to a survey by global human resources firm Hewitt Associates.
India showed the highest average salary increase followed by China, Philippines and Korea. While India reported an 11.6 per cent overall pay hike, in China salaries grew by 6.4-8.4 per cent, 7.4-7.7 per cent in Philippines and 6.4-6.8 per cent in Korea for the year 2004, the survey said.
The hike during Phase I of the survey in India was marginally higher than 11.45 per cent in 2003, Hewitt's Asia Pacific Business head for talent and organisation, Nishchae Suri said, adding Phase II for the Indian market would be completed by February 2005.
The information technology industry in India witnessed the highest average salary increase at 14.5 per cent and as many as 89 per cent of participating companies linked salary hike to performance ratings, Hewitt said in a release.
Employers in the region reported a more positive outlook in terms of salary increases in 2004 largely due to a region-wide economic upswing, Hewitt said, adding the trend was expected to continue next year as well with very few companies reporting the need for pay freezes in 2005.
"The economic upswing is clearly reflected in the overall increases experienced by countries in Asia. Considering the global attention drawn by India, Philippines and China, it is not surprising to see the highest salary increases in these countries," Mick Bennet, Hewitt's managing director for Asia-Pacific, said.
The survey, however, warned against the high attrition rate in Asia. Highest turnover was reported in India, where the average overall turnover rate was 15.4 per cent.
Other markets with high attrition rates include Australia with 15.1 per cent, China 12.6 per cent and Hong Kong 12.1 per cent, the survey said.
The respondents also projected greater salary increases for 2005, it said, adding there was a stark reduction in the number of companies projecting pay freezes next year. None of the companies in India, China, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore anticipated a pay freeze, it said.
Over 1,000 companies from IT, banks, chemicals, construction and engineering sectors in Australia, China, Korea, India, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippenes, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand took part in the survey.

USCIS ANNOUNCES NEW H-1B PROCEDURES – REACHES CAP

Interesting press release I came across that I thought I would share. This means that no new application for H1-b will be processed until the October 1, 2005 quota is in effect, and, quite possibly, visas that countries have submitted, may be returned. If the process follows as it did this year, new application against the FY2006 cap will be accepted before April 1st, 2005, and will not be processed until 4Q2005.



Press Office
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security
www.uscis.gov

October 1, 2004
Press Release

USCIS ANNOUNCES NEW H-1B PROCEDURES – REACHES CAP

Washington, D.C.– U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated cap for fiscal year 2005. Congress has set an annual H-1B cap of 65,000 of which 6,800 are set aside for the H-1B1 program under terms of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. The total H-1B cap number available for FY 2005 is therefore 58,200. USCIS has factored into its count of petitions subject to the FY05 cap the number of Chile/Singapore set-asides that were unused in FY2004 and any other cases that can be counted against the previous fiscal year’s
H-1B cap rather than the FY 2005 cap. USCIS has received enough petitions to reach the limit for FY 2005.

After today, USCIS will not accept any new H-1B petitions that are subject to the FY 2005 annual cap. For the remainder of FY 2005, USCIS will follow the procedures set forth in the notice published on February 25, 2004 in the Federal Register at 69 FR 8675 to address the cap reached during FY 2004. Those procedures include:

• USCIS will process all petitions filed for first-time employment received by the end of business today.
• USCIS will return all petitions for first-time employment subject to the annual cap received after the end of business today.
• Returned petitions will be accompanied by the filing fee.
• Petitioners may re-submit their petitions when H-1B visas become available for FY 2006.
• The earliest date a petitioner may file a petition requesting FY 2006 H-1B employment with an employment start date of October 1, 2005, would be April 1, 2005.

USCIS plans to provide further details on these procedures in a new notice that will be published in the Federal Register shortly. Petitions for current H-1B workers do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position

USCIS also notes that petitions for new H-1B employment are not subject to the annual cap if the alien will be employed at an institution of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, or at a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization.

- USCIS -
On March 1, 2003, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services became one of three legacy INS components to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. USCIS is charged with fundamentally transforming and improving the delivery of immigration and citizenship services,
while enhancing our nation's security.