Unions have called on Birmingham City Council to halt plans to outsource more than 70 IT jobs to India, fearing the move could be 'the tip of the iceberg' for cost-cutting councils nationwide.
Service Birmingham, the joint venture call centre operation run by the council and Capita is 'lifting and shifting' the posts of around 74back office staff. Employees from India are thought to have been already recruited to shadow workers in Birmingham, subject to visa clearance.
In February the council granted the joint venture, which employs 1,100 staff, a five-year contract extension to deliver ICT support and contact centre services until 2021.The new deal is expected to generate £135m efficiency savings over this period.
A spokesman for Service Birmingham said no customer-facing staff would be affected and emphasised the offshoring represents'a very small element of the work we do for the council.'
'It's still early days and we will actively work with our trade union representatives as our plans develop,' they added, ahead of talks between the council and unions due on Friday.
Peter Allenson, national officer for Unite, Britain’s largest union, branded the move a 'major betrayal' of the Birmingham people and an 'outrageous decision.'
Mr Allenson said:'Unite is demanding that Birmingham City Council halts its plans.We fear this could be just the tip of the iceberg and other councils could follow suit.Thousands of public sector jobs could go. Once these jobs go they will not come back.'
