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BT sub-contracts work to Mahindra, who can then bring its Indian employees to the UK on Intra Company Transfers, BT sees all round benefits to this arrangement, including for BT's British workers, Mahindra's Indian employees, and BT's customers and shareholders.
The BT statement said that the suggestion made in a Times article that the Mahindra employees were being paid a quarter of the rate of UK counterparts is simply not true.
BT said: "The total package of the Indian sub-contractors working on BT projects is comparable to those of their UK counterparts and well above UK national wage. They do not lose out.
"BT sub-contracts a number of projects to Mahindra BT. The work is typically basic software maintenance on legacy systems. This approach allows BT's software engineers to be freed-up to concentrate on other work.
"We are extremely proud of our employment record and of our commitment to corporate social responsibility.
"Our approach is good for BT's British workers, as it means they can work on leading edge developments; good for Mahindra's Indian employees, who get excellent experience and the chance to work abroad; good for BT's customers, who get the benefits from outsourcing; and good for BT's shareholders, for whom this approach demonstrates a well-managed company."
Times story
The denial was sparked by the Times story 'BT under fire for paying Indians quarter UK rates' which claimed that BT was at the centre of a fresh storm over exporting jobs to India after it emerged that several hundred Indian software developers are being employed in the UK but are being paid in India at greatly reduced rates compared with British workers.
The Times reported that neither BT nor Mahindra BT (MBT) would reveal the number of workers being employed in the UK and paid in India, nor the level of wages, although they confirmed that MBT workers in Britian also receive a living allowance for their expenses in the UK on top of their Indian salary.
Indian software engineers are employed by MBT, an Indian software company in which BT owns a 43 per cent stake. Overseas workers can move within their employing company into jobs in the UK without the usual visa requirements via the Intra Company Transfer Scheme.
BT has already clashed with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over its plans to open two new call centres, employing 2,200 people in India. This latest row has reignited the dispute.
Jeannie Drake, deputy general secretary of the CWU, said: "It is outrageous to pay people less than the UK rate. If they are working in the country they should be paid in the country, anything else is sheer exploitation. We are actively opposing the movement of work to India."
Times article
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2003
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