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British trade unions have promised “a vigorous” campaign against a British utility firm’s decision to outsource 1,000 back-office jobs to India.
npower, the UK subsidiary of the German energy firm RWE, said that following a three-month review it planned to make 1,460 people in its offices in north-eastern England redundant over the next eight months.
Under the plan, which will only be implemented following a 60-day consultation period, 1,000 back-offices roles will move to Tata Consultancy Services in India, while 540 customer service roles will remain in the UK, but be carried out by outsourcing firm Capita. npower will close a number of offices in north-eastern England as a result of the move.
The changes were needed to ensure the company could deliver “the levels of service our customers deserve,” npower’s CEO Paul Massara insisted.
Rising prices
Unions condemned the move that comes at a time British utility firms have been under scrutiny for raising energy prices well above the rate of inflation even as households struggle to pay their bills. While the opposition Labour Party has called for the tariff to be frozen, the Government has pledged an annual review of the energy market.
“This is about the cost of living, bad management and naked greed,” said Colin Smith of the GMB Union, calling for politicians and regulators to address what he described as an “unsustainable situation.”
“GMB will vigorously campaign against the offshoring of jobs to India because it has absolutely nothing to do with customer service and everything to do with cost,” he added.
Last month, npower said it would raise gas rates by 11.1 per cent and electricity charges by 9.3 per cent. A protest against the so-called “Big 6” energy suppliers that dominate the UK market took place outside npower’s London offices.
Earlier this month, npower’s retail supply business reported an 8 per cent rise in third quarter operating profits, year on year. However, when combined with RWE’s power generation business in the UK, the combined entity reported a 51 per cent dip in profits.
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