British IT outsourcers back Remain in the EU referendum campaign A trade group representing companies that ship UK tech jobs overseas says we should vote to stay in the European Union. “Outsourcing is a significant growth industry for the UK - currently the UK’s second largest employer - and one where we have every chance of taking a global leadership position. Exiting the EU would quickly …
Exporting services of UK workers is one edge. Using foreign services instead of UK workers is the other.
When we limit them strictly to Eu, they are significantly smaller than people tend to claim. UK living standard tends to be too high to work well in "providing services from the UK" computation.
The reverse direction is also negligible. Most other Eu countries and even some USA companies with significant Eu presence have moved a lot of what used to be done in India and the far east to Eastern Europe (both in-house and outsourced). It is simply better value for the money for a German company to get things done across the border to Brno in the Czech republic than in Bangalore (despite Czech salaries being higher than starting IT salaries in the UK). Similarly, Amazon has found its "better place" in Romania and Vmware in Bulgaria.
UK PLCs and UK Government have so far not joined that trend. The only large outsourced project with Eastern European labor I can think of the top of my head is the digitization of the library and archives of the Parliament (including the secret sections by the way). Done with Bulgarian labor. The rest of UK outsourcing still goes to India as the tradition (and other "factors") command.
So all in all the effect of in-out on outsourcing will be minimal. In fact, as noted by some people as Eu regulations on data, labor, etc will no longer apply it will become easier for UK companies to ship jobs overseas (and they will).
I think we should leave the EU and outsource the UK government to North Korea, because I can't understand a word either of them say, so at least that should be a big saving only having one set of arseholes running us both.
I'm sure that over the last few years I have become audibly dyslexic or are they all just lying.....no THAT CAN'T BE TRUE! Teasing the small fact from the larger than life politicians lie is nigh on impossible.
I must be behind the times, I thought all the outsourced jobs went to India, or have they re-joined the EU now, more to the point when did they leave the EU the first time, or is this all part of some cunning ploy to con them into applying for membership, to further complicate the issue of commonwealth versus europe and what happens when it's all the wrong way round and will I need a residency permit to emigrate to the Scilly Isles?
Or have I just mis-read the "oh god oh god we're all going to die" bit which and I can't stress this enough, is the argument used by both sides, one on the basis of 'immediate national suicide' and the other on the basis of 'slow economic strangulation'. Yes, very much on the fence and becoming more and more convinced that neither side will ever do anything stupid like present any facts for the benefit of us plebs.
Alien icon because harvesting farts might turn out to be more useful.
more and more convinced that neither side will ever do anything stupid like present any facts for the benefit of us plebs.
That's true. But arguably irrelevant, because the referendum is really about sovereignty. The grinning apes of Westminster seem (to me) inordinately keen to export all the powers they can to Brussels (for even less well behaved apes to abuse). As I see it, stuff the "facts" wheeled out from both sides, but asking myself whether I'd rather be governed from Westminster or from Brussels I reach my personal conclusion fairly readily, that I'd rather be governed closer to home, given there's little to choose between the competence of both sets of politicians.
Which leads me onto a particular puzzle, where perhaps some haggis munching commentards can advise. As a UK "outer" I can understand why the SNP are desperate to achieve home rule and not be governed from another country's capital 300 miles away. But I'm then puzzled by their obsession to remain in the EU and apparent happiness to continue to be subsumed into the EU super-state project, ruled from the capital of another country 500 miles away?
SNP.. quite clear, the current UK government is Tory, with more than 50% of the votes on 36.9% of votes.
Scotland voted SNP and Labour, just 15% voted Tory, yet we have to be ok with not being able to choose...
As for sovereignty.. well, I disagree, international treaties and commerce tie all countries.
@ Aitor 1
"Scotland voted SNP and Labour, just 15% voted Tory, yet we have to be ok with not being able to choose..."
I think that was his question (and is certainly mine). If that gripes you then how can you want to have even less say over the running of your country. This isnt about treaties and commerce, the EU project is about ever closer union to become the united states of europe (or EUSSR depending on member influence). And as it was plainly spelled out during the referendum by the members of the EU- Scotland will not get the UK's special treatment, they will have to sign up as a new member with all the trimmings (e.g. Euro).
I can understand independence. The EU will not give you (or allow you to take) that.
"The grinning apes of Westminster seem (to me) inordinately keen to export all the powers they can to Brussels (for even less well behaved apes to abuse). "
Be careful what you wish for.
For all the claims of EU abuse (bent bananas?), it should be noted that the primary protector of human rights in the UK over the last 30 years has been the EU courts telling UK.gov that it can't enact or continue various discriminatory practices.
One of the prime motivations of this particular UK.gov for Brexit is that it would enable them to scrap the human rights act - which has successfully been used to prevent them passing some of the more extreme legislation brought before the house.
"Outsourcing is a significant growth industry for the UK"
Good for the economy as long as they are outsourcing another country's jobs and not ours.
Anything about outsourcing always reminds me of this guy....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21043693
Not sure if he was a genius or stupid.
I work for a British headquartered company that mainly sell in the EU but it early on set up an office within the eurozone to make it easier and less risky to deal with EU customers. We only work with UK customers at the UK offices. Quite often though people from the UK gets posted over in Germany, France etc. We wouldn't be able to do that easily without the free movement of people EU rules. I'm sure there are many other companies who do the same - having offices in proper EU and eurozone and EU 'export's are therefore far less visible than they would otherwise have been. Merilyn's 6% figure is probably far higher.
My father worked several countries, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and others, during the 1960s, well before the UK was in the EEC and before the EU guaranteed free movement of people.
He was sponsored by his employers and granted a visa to work in those countries. At the very least there would be a return to that system. It might not be as simple or trouble free as simply turning up at the airport, but even if you did work overseas for any length of time, some sort of tax number and identity document would be required.
"during the 1960s, well before the UK was in the EEC and before the EU guaranteed free movement of people."
Yes. That was long before the current regimes of anti-immigration laws resulting from populist rhetoric; in the 1960s people still remembered what the populist rhetoric of the 1930s led to. You can't set the clock back 50 years. Today we need freedom of movement treaties to combat the pervasive anti-immigration rhetoric.
Text-book case: Ozzies and Kiwis can no longer just show up in Blighty, and Brits can't just show up in AU/NZ. With Brexit, Brits couldn't just show up in the EU.
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