The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union fears that the
government will start outsourcing more roles in civil and public
services as public sector organisations face reduced
budgets.
The PCS aired its views following an
announcement by the British Council, which promotes British
culture overseas, that it is outsourcing UK roles to India.
The organisation is considering consolidating IT work into a
single hub likely to be in India. "Overall job numbers overseas are
likely to remain similar, although some hubs will close, and in the
UK the number of posts will fall from 185 to around 100 if this
plan is approved."
The union said it is not the fact that the jobs will go offshore
to India that it objects to, but the fact that public bodies are
cutting jobs.
"We do not fear offshoring, we fear that what we will see is
more
outsourcing in the civil and public services," said a PCS
spokesman. "At the end of the day, it is jobs being cut."
He said there are already plans to outsource large parts of the
Land Registry as the government tries to cut costs.
Martin Davidson, CEO at the British Council, said in June that
the organisation had to cut costs. "We are not immune to the
external financial pressures facing everyone today. We must adapt
to these realities if we are to safeguard and grow our work."