- News>
- World
UK union threatens stir over job outsourcing
London, Sept 26: British trade union Unifi said on Thursday it will hold strikes at banks that fire staff to move jobs to India and warned that financial companies are also tapping South Africa for cheap labour.
London, Sept 26: British trade union Unifi said on Thursday it will hold strikes at banks that fire staff to move jobs to India and warned that financial companies are also tapping South Africa for cheap labour.
"We will take it as far as industrial action if any of the institutions say there will be compulsory redundancies," a spokeswoman for Unifi told Reuters. "We are pretty concerned". (Can trade unions abroad stop job outsourcing to India?)
Britain's banks such as Barclays and Lloyds TSB, facing increased competition in a mature market, are under pressure to cut costs to maintain returns for investors. India offers cheap, highly educated labour for data processing, information technology and call centres.
South Africa is now luring UK financial companies by offering low-cost labour and advanced technology, the union warned. "One UK finance company has already agreed a 700-job offshore site in South Africa and a second is finalising a deal," Unifi said in a statement sent to Reuters, without naming the companies.
Barclays, Britain's third-biggest bank by assets, is considering outsourcing up to 1,750 computer software and systems-building jobs to India. Lloyds TSB plans to have 1,500 workers in India by the end of next year and Abbey National also intends to shift jobs there.
In February, BT Group sought to avert threatened strikes by telling unions it would not sack permanent staff as it announced plans to move 700 call centre jobs to India.
Barclays could keep some or all of the computer jobs in the UK, a spokeswoman told Reuters. It is working with Unifi and will tell staff its decision in the fourth quarter of 2003, she added. Barclays already has about 150 data-input workers in India and might hire more, the spokeswoman said. Lloyds TSB deputy chief executive Mike Fairey told staff in an internal message on Wednesday that any British job cuts would be made through people leaving, reductions in temporary staff or voluntary redundancy. Abbey CEO Luqman Arnold on Wednesday would only guarantee no UK job losses to India this year.
Unifi is seeking a guarantee from Lloyds TSB that no British call centre will be closed to move jobs to India.
Lloyds TSB started its operation in Bangalore, India, earlier this year to process credit card arrears and special accounts for people to pay in their social security benefits. The bank has about 250 people working at the operation.
Insurers are also transferring jobs to India. Prudential is moving 850 jobs to cut costs, and rival UK insurer Aviva is hiring about 1,000 people in the country.
HSBC and Standard Chartered, which have retail banking operations in Asia, run their own processing and call centres in India rather than contracting out work to other companies. Bureau Report
Britain's banks such as Barclays and Lloyds TSB, facing increased competition in a mature market, are under pressure to cut costs to maintain returns for investors. India offers cheap, highly educated labour for data processing, information technology and call centres.
South Africa is now luring UK financial companies by offering low-cost labour and advanced technology, the union warned. "One UK finance company has already agreed a 700-job offshore site in South Africa and a second is finalising a deal," Unifi said in a statement sent to Reuters, without naming the companies.
Barclays, Britain's third-biggest bank by assets, is considering outsourcing up to 1,750 computer software and systems-building jobs to India. Lloyds TSB plans to have 1,500 workers in India by the end of next year and Abbey National also intends to shift jobs there.
In February, BT Group sought to avert threatened strikes by telling unions it would not sack permanent staff as it announced plans to move 700 call centre jobs to India.
Barclays could keep some or all of the computer jobs in the UK, a spokeswoman told Reuters. It is working with Unifi and will tell staff its decision in the fourth quarter of 2003, she added. Barclays already has about 150 data-input workers in India and might hire more, the spokeswoman said. Lloyds TSB deputy chief executive Mike Fairey told staff in an internal message on Wednesday that any British job cuts would be made through people leaving, reductions in temporary staff or voluntary redundancy. Abbey CEO Luqman Arnold on Wednesday would only guarantee no UK job losses to India this year.
Unifi is seeking a guarantee from Lloyds TSB that no British call centre will be closed to move jobs to India.
Lloyds TSB started its operation in Bangalore, India, earlier this year to process credit card arrears and special accounts for people to pay in their social security benefits. The bank has about 250 people working at the operation.
Insurers are also transferring jobs to India. Prudential is moving 850 jobs to cut costs, and rival UK insurer Aviva is hiring about 1,000 people in the country.
HSBC and Standard Chartered, which have retail banking operations in Asia, run their own processing and call centres in India rather than contracting out work to other companies. Bureau Report