Swansea Council has finally signed a ten-year £83m
outsourcing contract with Capgemini after an 18-month disagreement
with trade union Unison.
At one stage Unison members were involved in a bitter two-month
strike over transfer arrangements, but the council eventually
negotiated a settlement with staff, which includes a reduced number
of staff transferring to Capgemini.
Mary Jones, the council’s cabinet member for Top Performance and
eGovernment, said, "Our eGovernment programme is a massive
investment in the future of the council and our customers. We will
create a more modern and efficient organisation that meets the
needs of all our customers.
"We will introduce world-class IT systems and new working
practices which will save millions of pounds each year, by
replacing outdated systems that currently cost us time and
money.”
She said, "We expect to save millions of pounds during the
10-year contract, which means the programme pays for itself - the
people of Swansea will have a modern and efficient council
providing better services without any extra cost.”
In the first phase, Capgemini will design and build new IT
systems and help introduce more efficient working.
In addition to designing and building the new IT systems,
Capgemini will also run them on an outsourced basis for the next 10
years, along with the majority of the council's existing IT
systems.
The second phase of the programme is intended to transform
customer access to services by introducing a new call centre, a new
face-to-face customer contact centre, extended opening hours and
24x7 internet services.
Mark Porter, chief executive officer of Capgemini UK, said, "The
Swansea eGovernment programme is widely considered to be a flagship
programme of business and technology transformation, and we are
thrilled to be confirmed as the council's partner in this hugely
exciting and ambitious venture."