National Savings and Investment

Siemens Business Services (SBS) has formally requested permission from NS& I to outsource a further 200-240 roles on the NS& I contract to Siemens’ subsidiary in India.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ed Balls MP, has today written to Johannes Feldmayer, Siemens Executive Vice-President, to say that he can agree to the offshoring, subject to a number of conditions to which Siemens have agreed. These conditions are set out in the attached letter to Johannes Feldmayer.

Ed Balls, the minister responsible for NS& I, said: “Having met with senior management from Siemens and NS& I, with MPs whose constituencies are home to employees working on this contract, and with the unions, I am clear that, with the conditions that I have agreed with Siemens, this proposal offers the best possible outcome for all concerned.”

“In particular, I have secured a guarantee from Siemens that there will be no compulsory redundancies on the NS& I contract for the remainder of its life, that is until 2014.

“No employees who wish to remain with Siemens will have to leave the company. Siemens are committed to redeploying UK staff where possible, to focus on higher value work that is more sustainable in the long term, but no-one will be asked to re-locate against their will. Siemens have also agreed to offer a £1,500 retraining allowance to any staff who choose to leave as a result of these changes. Furthermore, Siemens have agreed to engage in meaningful discussions on pay progression withrepresentatives of the NS& I workforce.

“As part of their commitment Siemens have reconfirmed that they will abide by the agreement between Siemens and the PCS Union which guarantees minimum working standards for staff employed by SBS outside the UK and sets out a code of conduct on how workers in the UK should be treated if affected by any offshoring.”

“This is a substantial improvement in terms of future job security and job prospects for all staff currently servicing the NS& I account, and I believe it represents the best possible outcome for all those employed on the contract. I believe that that conditions we have agreed with Siemens provide a constructive and appropriate framework for taking forward this proposal.”

“The alternative would not be a maintenance of the status quo. SBS would look to make the equivalent savings elsewhere on the contract, in all likelihood by cutting further into the UK workforce, inevitably resulting in compulsory redundancies and declining customer service standards.

“Siemens has confirmed their ongoing commitment to the SBS UK business, which employs over 5,000 people at sites across the country, and to the NS& I contract. The NS& I-SBS partnership is on track to deliver savings of £540m for the taxpayer and maintain good service for NS& I customers.

“NS& I will now go ahead and start negotiating on the specific details of this proposal with Siemens Business Services within the framework that the Treasury has set.”