While many German organisations welcomed the move, Indians are, generally, sceptical whether they would want to work in Germany, given the restricted validity of the labour permit and also the hostile working environment against foreigners, particularly Indians. With the passage of the ordinance in the Bundesrat, which consists of representatives of state governments, Indian IT experts can be hired to work in Germany, effective from August 1.

These experts will be issued "green cards" which are de facto labour permits with a maximum validity of five years. Despite problems, Indian and Pakistani experts have been leading among all foreign professionals in making enquiries about jobs in Germany. According to the Bonn-based Central Employment Agency, some 15,000 computer experts from all over the world had made enquiries, as of mid July, for employment possibilities in Germany.

The highest number of enquiries came from India (2,500), followed by Pakistan (1,770) and Algeria (1,080). Trailing them were Bulgarians (725), Russians (648) and Romanians (492). Meanwhile, the president of the Federal Labour Office, Bernhard Jagoda, and president of the German Employers' Association, Dieter Hundt, urged German companies to establish contacts with prospective candidates immediately and not wait until August 1.

Jagoda advised German companies to publicise their job vacancies on the Internet employment exchange which has been specially created for the purpose. Jagoda assured that the labour offices would be able to take a decision within a week's time. The Federal Labour Office has established an employment exchange on the Internet which has received over 2,700 applications. Another 6,300 persons had given their passwords to receive offers electronically from the exchange. According to the ordinance passed by the Bundesrat, a maximum number of 20,000 computer professionals from outside the European Union can be issued labour permits.

However, initially the German authorities will be issuing labour permits to 10,000 candidates, after that the situation will be reviewed to determine if further labour permits should be issued. Under the regulations, the candidates should have at least a professional degree in their field of expertise or a salary offer of at least DM 100,000 (US$ 1 = DM 2.05).

The foreign IT experts can also bring their spouses and children. Many German companies and organisations lament that the upper limit of 20,000 labour permits would not be sufficient to meet the heavy demand in the industry. The minister of state in the German Interior Ministry, Fritz Rudolf Kuepper, maintained that there were, currently, some 75,000 job vacancies that could not be filled in. Some of the conservative-ruled federal states, feeling that the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had stolen the thunder from them with its green-card initiative, have come out with a novel programme called the "blue card".

Many Indians living in Germany were amused by what is described here as a "show of political upmanship". "What's in a name, after all? Whether you call it the green card or the blue card, it boils down to the same," observed Sumeeta Guha, a software specialist from Mumbai, who was in Frankfurt recently to negotiate a possible contract with a German employer.

However, there are differences between the green and blue cards. The state of Hesse, for example, emulated the example of Bavaria when it announced last week that it was introducing the "blue card" which would facilitate the hiring of foreign computer professionals. Unlike green card regulations, the blue card envisages that the residence permit be linked directly with the job, Hesse's Interior Minister Volker Bouffier stated recently. In other words, those foreign professionals who lose their jobs would have to leave the country after a brief period of time. This would also mean that foreign experts would not be entitled to any unemployment or welfare benefits, as is the case with Germans who avail of these benefits when they lose their jobs.

While the authorities in Hesse and Bavaria say the blue card would be an "improvement" in the issue of visas for foreign experts, many critics say this procedure will, in fact, create bureaucratic impediments and is fraught with social disadvantages for the foreign expert.

--India Abroad News Service