Buenos Aires-based entrepreneur Franco Pereyra has stirred a debate with his perspective on the issue of pay disparities in global remote work.
Pereyra, co-founder of Hire With Near, argued in a post on LinkedIn that paying overseas workers, from countries like India, less than their US counterparts isn’t inherently wrong. “It’s okay for global talent workers to get paid less than Americans,” he said.
India, one of the largest hubs for global remote talent, faces similar dynamics. Skilled workers in fields like IT, customer service, and marketing are often paid significantly less than their counterparts in the US or Europe, despite doing the same work. Critics argue that such pay disparities are exploitative. However, Pereyra offered his conflicting view saying, “A lot of people get upset and say workers in Latin America, India, and the Philippines are being exploited. And yes, there are certainly companies that do exploit global talent. But paying less for overseas work is not inherently wrong.”
Pereyra stayed firm on justifying the pay disparity and added, “So yes, I realize that compared to US salaries we are getting paid less to do the same job. But I get to stay in my country, be with my family, and enjoy a lower cost of living.”
He then took the argument towards economic conditions of different countries. Citing his own experience of living in the Argentina capital the entrepreneur said, “here’s the reality: The opportunity here is limited. Our country’s economy is in bad shape.” “Hopefully, my country’s economic condition will improve one day, and wages will rise,” he further said adding that “In the meantime, those with marketable skills can keep taking advantage of the opportunities that global remote work provides.”
In a separate post the startup founder acknowledged “lot of companies chase the cheapest possible labor” while viewing them as “disposable” while “giving the minimum resources to support the workers”. He claimed that the companies are “not only are they trying to pay the least, they’re also giving the minimum resources to support the workers. I see this happen way too often, especially with talent from India and the Philippines—a revolving door of workers treated as disposable.”
Franco Pereyra’s take justifying the pay-gap received severe backlash from LinkedIn users. Voicing disagreement, a user asked the Argentinian entrepreneur, “Do the people in Argentina or Brazil do less quality work than their US counterparts? Do they work less hours or produce less code? No.”
“Just another post justifying under-payment. Should the under paid worker also under deliver the work (quality or deadline misses)? Would you be happy with that?” said a LinkedIn user while another labeled this opinion as “racism and classism”.
