Kripa Raman

Introducing a lot of automation to cope with the problem

L&T'S FUTURE: File photo showing trainees at the Larsen and Toubro's construction skill training institute in Chennai. — Bijoy Ghosh

Mumbai May 23 Larsen & Toubro, which is already grappling with a high employee turnover in its engineering force, is now facing an exodus of skilled workmen too.

If many of its engineers are being lost to the software industry or finding jobs in West Asia, its fitters, welders and fabricators are going even further, finding jobs in the US, Canada and the UK.

"We have lost 50 workmen from our Hazira facility in the recent past, at least half of whom have gone to the United States," said Mr M.V. Kotwal, Senior Executive Vice-President, L&T.

"We know that even more workmen will head there, and it is an outflow that one cannot stop," he said. The difference in wages is so large that there is no way to stem the flow, he added.

Workmen going to these countries are getting the equivalent of $25 to $30 an hour (up to Rs 1,200 an hour), which cannot be matched by any Indian company, he said.

Demand triggers

There are two reasons why Indian workers are in demand, according to Mr Kotwal. One is that they are willing to work under difficult conditions (many are hired for reconstruction work happening in the US post the Katrina calamity), the other being their level of skill.

It is the younger and very skilled workmen who are going away, he said, the older ones being too "settled" and more unwilling to take risks in a new country. The company's Hazira and Vadodara facilities have highly specialised, multiple-skilled workmen whom the company has trained almost from scratch, said Mr Kotwal.

Agents for overseas contractors station themselves at Hazira and Vadodara and hire the workmen, who go on leave and simply do not return, said another L&T official. "Not much of an interview or checking is required if they are hiring someone who works for us from right outside our factories."

Workers going to the US need an H2B visa which has a quota of 66,000 a year, issued for a fixed time period, said Dr Arun Vakil, Mumbai-based US visa expert. Typically these visas are issued to construction workers and to farm workers, he said. Although workmen are hired for specific contracts for a period of one or two years, they do not find it a problem to get further contracts.

Automation alternative

For L&T, losing such people is very unfortunate, because it spends a lot on training its workmen who only have passed their school level exam or have come out of the ITIs. "We train them in very high end work, and they become useful after many years."

To cope with this problem, L&T is introducing a lot of automation, said Mr Kotwal.

Indian workmen are also going to countries in East Europe, Brazil and even China, said Mr H.K. Batra, Managing Director, International Manpower Resources, which helps companies overseas to hire workers from India. Demand from countries such as Canada is huge, especially in the oil and gas sector, he said.

"It is now becoming more and more difficult to get good workmen in India, we are simply not able to cater to the demand. We keep requesting the government to augment training facilities for workmen, but nothing is being done," he said.

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