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| Also redundant: BA jumbo jets join BA IT workers whose jobs have been outsourced to the Indian owned TATA Consultancy Services |
A furious row is brewing within British Airways (Spanish based parent company IAG) when as many as 800 (according to the GMB union) 'expensive' specialist British IT computing staff employed by BA in the UK, and members of the GMB Union, learned they are to be replaced over the next 2 years - inside the UK- with 'cheaper' foreign Indian IT workers.
To raise awareness of 'Home Office compliance' in what the GMB Union claim is a back door 'UK immigration loophole' and an uncapped abuse of the immigration system, British Airways workers staged a picket line outside the Home Office in London. Spanish based IAG who own British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus and other airlines claim they are simply amalgamating finance, buying and IT functions as a groupwide cost-cutting measure.
All the foreign workers are being legally admitted to the UK on Tier 2 temporary visas for skilled workers, and all will be non-Union members. The foreign workers will work on a rotational basis with others flown in and out of India.
This latest blow to UK jobs, is in addition to an earlier clear out of BA computing staff in February who were offered early redundancy before a new 'IT outsource' deal with TATA Consultancy Services became public knowledge.
BA has confirmed that a formal consultation process with their current staff has already started, and 200 UK jobs are at immediate risk. British Airways, which employs 35,000 people in the UK, is on course to outsource up to 80 per cent of roles in its IT department.
Eventually as is the usual process in the IT industry, the work contracted to TCS, will also physically transfer to India, where pay rates, and overhead costs for employers are a fraction of UK costs.
Once the Tier 2 visas had been obtained, BA begun flying in foreign skilled IT workers from India on temporary Tier 2 visas, as part of a new deal with Indian IT giant TATA Consultancy Services [TCS], a division of the TATA group of companies who are in the process of closing down their steel making operations in the UK, putting many thousands of British steelmaking jobs at risk.
TCS generated consolidated revenues of US $16.5 billion for year ended March 31, 2016, and has similar contracts in place with many leading multinational companies operating inside the UK including Boots.
In April, Tata Consultancy Services was recognized as one of the UK’s leading employers for women in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women rankings.
This is how TCS describes itself:
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™, recognised as the benchmark of excellence in software development.
A part of the Tata group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 353,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $16.5 billion for year ended March 31, 2016 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit www.tcs.com.
JULIAN BRAY +44(0)1733 345581 Aviation Expert, Journalist & Broadcaster, Aviation Security & Airline Operations Expert, Travel / Maritime & Cruise Industry, NUJ, EQUITY, LIVE ISDN LINK, Broadcast ISDN COOBE ++44 (0)1733 345020 e&oe Old faithful NOKIA: 07944 217476 www.aviationcomment.com
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