Swansea IT staff warn of 'done deal'

Threaten strike action

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Director, 11th April 2005 10:09 GMT

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IT staff at Swansea city council are up in arms over the future of their jobs as the council ties up an outsourcing deal with Capgemini.

They claim that the council has already decided to shunt jobs to IT services outfit Capgemini even before senior council officials have voted on the matter.

Last autumn more than 100 IT worker went on strike for eight weeks over concerns that the council's £100m e-government outsourcing plan would lead to job losses.

As part of the return to work settlement IT workers were invited to help assess the different options available to the council including retaining staff as council employees or transferring them Capgemini. Capgemini has been chosen to run the service@swansea project.

However, IT staff have obtained an internal document which they claim clearly indicates that the council is to press ahead with the transfer of jobs - something staff are resisting.

"The discovery of the full document is the culmination of a catalogue of deceit by Council management which proves conclusively that this whole process has been no more than a sham," said IT workers in a statement.

They're now considering their next move and could even ballot union members on further industrial action.

The council has moved quickly to dampen employee fears and denied that any decision about the future of IT workers has been made in advance of a formal vote by the officials.

A Swansea Council spokesman, said: "The Council is absolutely clear that the decision will not be taken until April 14 and that the report has not yet been completed.

"The Council's policy statement on outsourcing is quite clear; there is no intention for mass outsourcing. The Council is committed to providing best value for the people of Swansea and to protect the interests of its employees," he said. ®