Indian Workers to Be Recruited for UK Jobs
Daily Express (London), July 29,2009
INDIAN workers could be handed more than 100 jobs at the British Council which will be outsourced to save taxpayer money, it was reported last night.
The council–which promotes British culture and language overseas–will recruit local Indian workers for finance and IT roles.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which funds the body, is exploring similar options, it was also reported. The move by the council–during a recession–has sparked union outrage. It is feared it could become a blueprint for Whitehall.
The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents civil servants, said the decision was in direct conflict with Gordon Brown’s vow of “British jobs for British people”. And it is thought to be the first time that the Civil Service, or a quango, has directly exported jobs to save money.
The council said that 500 of its 1,300 British workers would have to go in the next 18 months to save £45million.