London, Nov 04: Perturbed over grim projections of job losses touching a staggering two lakh in coming years as a result of 'outsourcing' by big companies here, a direct beneficiary being call centres in India, Britain's trade unions are gearing up for a spate of countrywide protests. Drastic cut in costs in the range of 30 to 70 per cent, a better quality in services and stiff competition are pushing more and more companies to establish their call centres in India.

"When people lose jobs, you will find them protesting. This is a normal process inherited from globalisation," says noted industrialist Lord Swraj Paul. Observing that the government was not directly involved in this, he said in all probability, the situation would work itself out. "It evolves around more and more competition. The sooner this sinks in, the better it will be for the affected companies," he said.

But this view is not shared by others. "The unions are loud about the problem of outsourcing. It is becoming one of the biggest issues," Robert Blackhurst, editor-in-chief at the foreign policy centre, told a group of visiting Indian journalists. Bureau Report