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There are signs New Zealand banking customers are rebelling against ANZ National's proposal to shift hundreds of jobs to India, banking workers' union Finsec says.
More than 200 ANZ National "banking operations" staff were told yesterday the bank's outsourcing proposal would slash their positions from the current 403 to 165, leaving the other 238 positions to be filled in the bank's Technology and Operations Centre in Bangalore, India.
It is understood filling the positions in India would cost the bank about a quarter of the cost of filling them in New Zealand.
The proposal would eventually see 5 per cent of the bank's total work moved offshore by the end of 2009. It is thought almost 500 jobs will go over the next 18 months.
The Herald yesterday asked ASB, BNZ and Westpac if they had similar outsourcing proposals in the pipeline.
All three banks said they did not.
Finsec's campaign director Andrew Campbell told the Herald last night it was possible the other major banks could benefit from keeping staff in New Zealand.
There was "a sense of parochialism" among New Zealand banking customers, and anecdotal evidence suggested people were already switching to other banks in protest at ANZ National's move, he said.
"We've had a positive response from customers against this. Customers don't like it. And people will reconsider their banking."
ANZ National has said all affected staff would be offered other New Zealand-based positions if they wanted them.
The bank's normal staff turnover meant some 800 people were employed in its Auckland and Wellington offices each year - roles the affected staff could be redeployed to, bank spokeswoman Virginia Stracey-Clitherow said.
The bank was "absolutely committed" to helping affected staff find new roles at ANZ National if they wished to do so, and would provide one-on-one career support and coaching to all affected staff, she said.
But Mr Campbell rubbished those claims. There simply weren't enough roles comparable to those being lost for the affected people to move into, he said. Many high-turnover roles, including teller and call centre positions, had skill sets far removed from the affected workers.
Many of the workers were highly skilled and had worked hard for many years. They had earned contracts which offered good money for their skills.
"There is a lot of worry. They like working at the bank. And these are good jobs. They're well paid jobs. Unfortunately, similar jobs outside of the banking sector, in terms of skills they have, probably don't pay as well.
As many of the workers were their families' primary earners, there was huge concern their ability to cope financially would be compromised by the move, he said.
Ms Stracey-Clitherow said the outsourcing would free up resources to reinvest in opening new branches in New Zealand, setting up more ATM machines and improving online banking.
The work shifted to India would be limited to operations and processing work, she said.
"All customer-facing functions, including contact centres, will remain in New Zealand."
