UK staff told to move to Mumbai to save jobs

Updated on: Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A minister in the David Cameron government has sparked a row by suggesting that Newcastle-based call centre workers who have lost their jobs should relocate to Mumbai.

Rail minister Theresa Villiers appears to tell sacked call-centre workers in Newcastle to relocate to Mumbai in a letter written to Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith.

The opposition Labour party and the unions have described the prospect of staff from north-east England being asked to move 5,000 miles to do the same job in India as "unhinged and unpatriotic".

The row follows the closure of Baron House, a former East Coast passenger call centre, which resulted in the loss of nearly 200 jobs and delivered a major blow to the region's struggling economy, The Independent reported .

A review of public contracts by the newly-nationalised rail operator meant the existing provider, National Express, missed out to two other companies, one of which, Intelenet (UK) has operations in Plymouth and Mumbai.

A third of those jobs have now been reportedly exported to India while the rest have been pided between centres in Wolverhampton and Devon.

Villiers sought to reassure Beith that under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), their future was secure.

She said: "These staff will be given the opportunity to transfer to the new service providers under TUPE where those services are to continue.

"Staff who are unable to move to the new location will be offered a voluntary redundancy package or alternatives roles within East Coast, where available."

Maria Eagle, Labour's shadow Secretary of State for Transport, dismissed the suggestion as adding "insult to injury".

She said: "The buck must stop with Theresa Villiers and her fellow ministers in this Tory-led Government.

"They should be offering support for those who risk losing their jobs rather than making ridiculous suggestions that they move to India."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "National Express Services Ltd staff employed at Baron House will be given the opportunity to transfer to the new service provider under TUPE. Exactly how this works will be a matter for the new service provider."

UK staff told to move to Mumbai to save jobs

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