Last week Westpac announced to Australian employees at its Sydney transaction and unsecured lending operations centre that it had entered a contract to send their jobs to India. 25 jobs will be immediately lost under a contract signed with Genpact, an Indian based outsourcing provider.
Finsec’s sister union in Australia, FSU, fears this announcement may be the tip of an iceberg along with sensitive customer data, in what it is feared will be only the tip of the iceberg. 485 employees at the centre had previously fought moves by the bank to offshore their jobs, convincing the bank that such a move was unnecessary. This time employees were given no opportunities for input or consultation. An FSU update to its members last week says the process undertaken by the bank raises the question as to what other jobs in Westpac are secretly under review.
“Westpac has an obligation to consult with employees and their union before cutting jobs. They should be fair dinkum about giving employees the opportunity to look at alternatives to job losses. The jobs that are being offshored handle very sensitive customer details, including credit card details, as well as undertaking the very important service of providing special approvals on large or urgent cheques. Individuals and business customers will not welcome the decision.”
FSU has sought an urgent meeting with the bank to discuss the announcement and its implications for thousands of Westpac employees. Finsec’s Westpac Union Council Chair, Maxine Mullen has written to the FSU to express Finsec’s support FSU members at the Concord Operational Centre.
“It is outrageous that Westpac, with is stated commitment to corporate social responsibility would have so little concern for the workers in its own country that it would consider sending jobs off-shore to save costs. We on this side of the Tasman are utterly dismayed by the apparent lack of consultation from Westpac…
“Please accept our full support in your efforts to resolve this issue. We will raise the matter strongly with Westpac New Zealand.”
(thanks to Scott Ingram Photography for the image)
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