Nearly 10,000 Birmingham City Council staff began voting yesterday on a strike ballot over changes to work and conditions, as tensions mount over plans to offshore 100 IT and call centre jobs to India.
Unison is balloting staff against the council's efforts to establish plans known as the 'Birmingham Contract.'The union argues the scheme would break nationally agreed terms and conditions, scrap payments for weekend and out of hours work and means staff could be moved without any regard to their personal circumstances.
The move comes as the council attempts to balance front-loaded budget cuts through £300m expenditure reductions and culling its workforce by over 7,000, a 37% cut by 2015.
Unison leaders are also today holding talks with Service Birmingham, the council's joint venture with Capita providing ICT and call centre services over moves to 'lift and shift' 100 jobs to India, resulting in the loss of 70 back office technology related jobs.
The first 18 recruits from India have been hired and are expected to shadow Birmingham staff, subject to visa clearance.
Mark New, Unison regional organiser claimed the council,Europe's largest local authority, is 'cutting too hard and too fast.'
'To add insult to injury the council plans to outsource more jobs to India.The massive job cuts,the pay freeze and privatisation, will leave the council struggling to provide decent services to people in Birmingham,' he added.
