1. Outsourcing and Offshoring Major trend in UK business and service industries Outsourcing –work delegated to other companies under contract Offshoring –the same, but based overseas

2. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing Pre mid 1990s BT did everything “in house” Market pressure to cut costs Specialist companies formed to tender for outsourced business

3. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing Many areas of BT work now affected –Finance –IT –HR Services –Real estate and Property management –Catering –Security Most Call Centre work remains in house

4. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing – impact on members Most people feel very insecure Basic terms and conditions protected by EU ‘TUPE’ legislation (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) For how long? Pensions excluded from TUPE

5. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing – union response Resist? Technically and legally difficult Members do not usually want to fight to the end If transfer happens, it’s a very bad start to the relationship with the new company

6. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing – union response Engage and protect BUT HOW?

7. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing – union response Engage and protect Your employer tells the union that it wants to outsource technical support for PCs and printers in the company. 500 employees will transfer to another company. –How do you respond? –What are your priorities?

8. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing – union response Engage and protect Organise! –Meet the members –Find out their key concerns –Focus on securing the benefits which matter most eg pensions –Establish a union presence in the new company

9. Outsourcing and Offshoring Outsourcing – union response Consequences of change Wider recognition BUT Very big increase in resources needed to service more companies – sometimes very small numbers of members involved

10. Outsourcing and Offshoring Off-shoring Major trend in UK service industries Lower costs of overseas labour High skilled workforces eg India Key areas in telecommunications –Call/contact centres –IT systems

11. Outsourcing and Offshoring Off-shoring Politically controversial and high profile Many UK unions campaigning publicly against it “British jobs for British workers?”

12. Outsourcing and Offshoring Off-shoring 2003 BT proposes moving IT work to India Connect priorities –Job security –Skill enhancement –Rights of workers in the receiving countries

13. Outsourcing and Offshoring Off-shoring September 2003 BT and Connect make ground-breaking agreement Key points: –no compulsory redundancy –redeployment to jobs of at least similar career value and terms and conditions –full and advance consultation about future plans –“ethical trading”…

14. Outsourcing and Offshoring Off-shoring Connect agreement controversial –Opposed by CWU Now copied by other employers/unions –Barclays Bank and Unifi