Public service union Unison is to fight plans by British
Gas to cut up to 2,000 jobs and outsource roles to
India.
British Gas claims that it needs fewer staff because of a new
customer billing system being introduced as part of a major change
programme. However, public service union Unison has slammed the
plans, which would hit offices in Oldham, Solihull and Manchester,
branding them "completely unacceptable".
Steve Bloomfield, Unison’s head of utilities, said, "No-one
should be fooled that these saving will go towards reducing
customers' bills or improving services. We have an agreement with
British Gas that they must consult the unions on their plans before
any final decisions are made. We will hold them to this agreement
and will fight the management all the way to stop these office
closures."
British Gas said, "As we have always indicated, following the
implementation of the new systems we will have considerably reduced
need for back-office staff and we are consulting with the trade
unions about the future options.
"As you would expect, when any decision has been made our first
priority will be to inform our employees and ensure that they are
supported through any changes that may impact on them, which would
include redeployment to other roles where possible. We can confirm
that whatever future option we decide on there will be no impact on
jobs this year."