Swansea
Council is facing an indefinite strike by 100 IT staff from next Monday (16
August) in response to the authority’s outsourcing plans.
All
payments and billing, including housing benefits, are likely to be affected,
after members of the public service union Unison voted 97 per cent in favour of
the strike.
The
union claimed the council had refused to fully consult staff and negotiate over
its plans to move IT work to either Capgemini or ITNet as part of an estimated
£100m contract.
All
IT support will be suspended indefinitely when the strike begins, apart from
the Child Protection Register.
"We
need to convince the authority to be more transparent on the true costs of this
project," said Jeff Baker, regional organiser for Unison Wales.
"Staff would have no guarantee of their future status."
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Mary
Jones, the member of Swansea Council’s cabinet with responsibility for the
disputed project, said: "The council has not taken any decision over
whether IT staff would transfer. If they did, the council would ensure that
staff had enhanced protection."
