HP union gears up for strike action

Public and Commercial Services Union is consulting with its members over HP's Bangalore offshoring plans

Up to 200 UK jobs at HP are in jeopardy because of cost-cutting plans to offshore to India, according to the public and commercial services (PCS) Union.

If the plans come to fruition, the union is hinting at strikes to come in protest at the move.

The union, which represents more than 2,000 HP members in the UK, said the jobs at risk are those that provide IT support to the Department for Work and Pensions at sites in Newcastle, Lytham St Annes in Lancashire, and Sheffield.

Proposals have yet to be finalised and will need ministerial approval by the Cabinet Office, the union has claimed.

However, it warned that knowledge transfer work could start as early as August this year, with jobs moving to Bangalore in November.

As a result, the PCS is calling on the government to "fully consider" the wider economic arguments and has revealed it is consulting its members.

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “The government must not allow low-paid jobs to be offshored. It will be a disaster for UK workers and the taxpayer and will only ensure that HP’s shareholders reap the benefits."

In a statement, HP confirmed consultation plans were underway.

"HP is transforming its global delivery strategy and has continued to improve the quality and cost-competitiveness of services to clients by expanding our global delivery footprint," it said. "We have begun consultation on the transfer of some roles to our operations in India, that will be effective in 2012. We are working to redeploy staff affected into other roles within HP."

It added: "HP uses a combination of onshore and offshore deployment models to most effectively support its customers. This is always done with customers' agreement and in compliance with their requirements to protect the security and integrity of any data."