back to article More Home Office and MoJ jobs could move abroad, union warns

Jobs at the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office could be next in line to be offshored to India, the PCS union has warned, with both departments joining a £1bn shared services venture with outsourcing giant Steria. The Shared Services Connected (SSCL) joint venture, in which Steria owns a 75 per cent stake and the Cabinet …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another way to save money...

    ...move from Whitehall ooop North. Probably cheaper than paying a 3rd party to outsource to a 4th party.

    1. AMBxx Silver badge

      Re: Another way to save money...

      Alternatively, take into account the tax the UK based employees are paying to UK gov. then the move to India doesn't looks so clever.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Boffin

        Re: Another way to save money...

        Plus the economic knock-on effects of having a British IT worker spend their money with local British merchants, restaurants, pubs, etc. After the IT worker loses his job, only the pubs will still see him!

        I'm not really anti-outsourcing, and I am happy that India's middle class is growing after centuries of relative poverty, but offshoring jobs is not victimless.

  2. SolidSquid

    Is it just me, or is 7 years a ridiculously long time to have a contract with company? Especially since it seems this is the *first* contract with that company, so they wouldn't know how well they work

  3. Caff

    clever

    so UKIP and the Torys have solved the immigration problem, giving foreigners jobs in their own country!

    Who knew they were so kind hearted?

  4. Rottenham

    Same Old

    Offshoring will continue until the working man wises up - if that's possible.

  5. Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese Silver badge
    Boffin

    headcount

    "will provide HR, payroll and other services to more than 65,000 MoJ staff."

    Presumably that 65K headcount doesn't include the people who will lose their positions because of the outsourcing.

    I remember conversations about how bad it is that the MoD has a near 1:1 ratio of civil servants to armed forces personnel....anyone got any idea what sort of staff:convicts ratio the MoJ have based on this headcount?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Devil

      Re: headcount

      Depends on whether Parliament count as "staff" or "convicts" in that equation :)

  6. msknight

    As usual asleep at the wheel

    UK Gov outsourcing to India just as the outsourcing pioneers are bringing work back because of poor service, etc. in India.

    Even my mobile phone provider is bringing customer services back to the UK because of complaints.

    I wonder who in government is so asleep at the wheel that they really think this is gong to work?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Outsourcing US Goverrnment to Mexico

    The US Government could solve a number of problems in a single shot by out-sourcing work to Mexico and other Latin America countries. This would reduce the cost of government, incentivise people not to come to America as illegal aliens, and allow a substantial streamlining, especially if the work is contracted out to third parties. The Republicans would vote for that!

    Democrats would decry the loss of union jobs, but applaud the aid to developing countries. Secretly, thay'd be happy to provide jobs to keep illegals home, too. Sounds like an all-around win.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Outsourcing US Goverrnment to Mexico

      Many functions already are.

      "...according to the Times’ investigation, “American government suppliers in countries including Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Pakistan and Vietnam show a pattern of legal violations and harsh working conditions, according to audits and interviews at factories. Among them: padlocked fire exits, buildings at risk of collapse, falsified wage records and repeated hand punctures from sewing needles when workers were pushed to hurry up.”"

      Another source: http://www.towardfreedom.com/35-archives/labor/2871-behind-the-profit-how-the-us-government-facilitates-outsourcing-jobs-overseas

  8. alain williams Silver badge

    All that lovely data going overseas ...

    where it will be perfectly safe! Ahem :-(

    What could possibly go wrong ?

    +1 to MOJ ignoring the cost to the tax payer through job losses & tax lost if it were done in the UK.

    #100m over 10 years = #10m a year. Job loss: 65000 = #154/year saved for every job lost!

    MoJ might gain; UK as a whole loses. Morons.

  9. chrismeggs

    CV

    As a contractor, I am used to havng my CV inspected. References are taken.

    Who on earth in the government did the same with this supplier and actually inspected their track record? And, if they did, how could they on earth reappoint them?

  10. davidp231

    Give it time...

    You'll need to learn fluent Indian in order to sign on. And may $deity help you if you need to chase them for not bothering to pay you on time.

  11. ecofeco Silver badge

    Government data in foreign hands

    I'm almost sure that when government data is given to foreign countries it used to be called "spying" and was usually only done by "traitors".

  12. Badger28

    Wealth exporters

    It seems our glorious leaders are intent on sending our wealth abroad. I assume that we can send our politicians and mangers jobs abroad also, when they have exported everyone else's jobs as we will only have skills for flippin burgers.

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