Two hundred IT workers at Westpac bank’s Kogarah site have won a reprieve after the bank backed down on plans to outsource their jobs.

 

The workers come from an area of the St George Bank that has been part the Westpac group since the merger between the two banks in 2009.

 

 Geoff Derrick of the Finance Sector Union said the result “demonstrates that you can do business and be successful in the finance sector without outsourcing work, slashing positions and offshoring jobs.”

 

“FSU members, through their collective action, have saved 200 jobs at Westpac. I congratulate union members at Kogarah for standing firm,” he said.

 

The jobs were at risk when Westpac revealed the bank was in advanced discussions with IBM about outsourcing those jobs.

 

“The workers at risk of having their jobs outsourced stood together to get straight answers from Westpac and collectively raised genuine concerns about the outsourcing plan. Staff believed that they had the skills and expertise to provide outstanding service to customers and the business in regards to their technology functions. And that the proposed outsourcing was not in the best interest of all involved.”

 

Last week, Westpac advised employees and the union that the IBM proposal had been rejected and that the jobs would not be outsourced.