Lloyds 'uses Indian staff to undercut UK IT contractor pay'

Lloyds' blanket pay cut for IT freelancers at its UK division has been linked to the bank's quiet importing of hundreds of less expensive IT contractors from India.



Unions said the group's bringing across of cheaper IT labour from the subcontinent was designed solely to "undercut the pay and replace the jobs" of its UK-based techies.



Evidencing its claim, the Lloyds TSB Group Union said the bank had shed 5,700 roles in the last three months, with a further 15,000 likely to go in the coming months.



Undercutting UK staff wages emerged last week, LTU continued, when Lloyds slashed pay for IT contractors by 15%, which CUK revealed thanks to a reader's tip.



Lloyds is not alone in cutting its use of UK IT contractors, who can push for premium wages, but the depth of its job cuts makes is import policy "wholly unacceptable."



LGU added: "Replacing existing UK-based staff with lower paid staff from India raises very important issues and concerns."



Despite calling Lloyds to cancel the policy outright, the union also hinted its 42,000 members would want some explanation from ministers.



"The government has important questions to answer over why, when it owns 43.4% of the Lloyds Banking Group after bailing the bank out early this year, it should not be using its influence to force Lloyds into investing in - and protecting - the jobs of UK-based staff?"



The union added: "Furthermore, why is it providing work visas to overseas workers, who would otherwise have no legal right to work in the UK, when it could instead force the bank to invest in the jobs of existing workers in the UK?"



Inside Lloyds, senior managers are reportedly expressing concern about the 'knowledge gaps' of the Indian IT contractors, in spite of them working on sensitive projects such as security and risk.