Swansea Council has delayed the transfer of its IT
department to Capgemini by a month and cut the number of staff who
will join the outsourcing company under the deal.
The council's decision to delay the start of the 10-year
outsourcing deal came just three weeks before 73 employees expected
to transfer to Capgemini.
IT staff at Swansea went on strike last year when they
discovered that the council planned to outsource their department
after reading an advertisement.
Although Capgemini has been Swansea's preferred bidder for 12
months, the contract has been delayed and the number of staff to be
transferred has been cut from 73 to 66. A contract between
Capgemini and the transferring IT staff has yet to be agreed.
Jeff Baker, regional officer of the Unison union, whose members
took strike action last year said, "Capgemini was supposed to be in
a meeting with us last week about the terms and conditions, but
that was postponed."
In a joint statement Swansea and Capgemini said both parties
were "pleased with the progress made" in contract negotiations.
Mary Jones, Swansea councillor in charge of "top performance and
eGovernment", said, "There are a number of areas where the
negotiations will continue over the coming weeks. This period is
essential to ensure that the council secures the best possible deal
for its employees and customers."
Mark Porter, chief executive at Capgemini, said, "The
eGovernment programme is a major undertaking and the decision to
defer rather than rush contract signature has to be the right one
for all concerned. We keenly anticipate concluding negotiations in
the coming weeks."