BT workers threatened to strike yesterday over the transfer of directory inquiry jobs to call centres in India, where staff are forced to adopt Anglicised names such as John and Molly to hide the fact that they are Asian.
The Communication Workers' Union's annual conference in Bournemouth voted unanimously to ballot on industrial action if any more jobs are exported by the telecoms giant. Activists claimed that as many as 200,000 jobs across the economy could be transferred abroad by companies in the next 10 years.
BT, which plans to move 2,200 jobs to Bangalore by the end of next year, pays Indian staff only 80p an hour, compared with £6 in the UK, the union says. Employees abroad work longer shifts but earn only £3,000 a year instead of £15,000 in the UK.
The union accused BT of requiring workers to "shed their national identity and culture" so that callers ringing directory inquiry and information services were unaware that they were being answered some 5,000 miles away.
Mark Taggart, a member of the CWU executive, said banks and other financial institutions already using centres in India required staff to watch soaps, including Coronation Street and EastEnders, to learn local accents and chat about the previous night's TV with customers.
Dialling codes prompted local weather conditions to appear on screens, he said, allowing staff in another continent to know whether it was sunny or raining in the UK.
"There's no altruism here, it's crude exploitation and it's simply about making more profit," said Mr Taggart. "Most companies are currently turning to India, but it could soon be Malaysia or China. We will continue to protest and, if necessary, we will strike."
The telecoms giant said it had no plans to move jobs on top of the 2,200, and told the CWU it was prepared to negotiate an agreement on best practice in India, insisting it would guarantee staff pay rates and conditions above the norm there.
The 2,200 Bangalore jobs include some new positions, but BT has already announced the transfer of 700 directory inquiry and 300 billing jobs to India, including some provided by contractors.
It employs 30,000 staff in 34 UK centres including areas such as Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Dudley and Newport, where the investment has replaced manufacturing jobs.
Agency workers will bear the brunt. The company said: "Not one BT permanent employee will lose their job as a result of moving work to India."
BT also denied claims that it was paying qualified technicians from India, contracted to work in the UK, only half the wages of equivalent British nationals.
Jeannie Drake, a CWU assistant general secretary, said she had been told that workers contracted from Mahindra BT, a joint venture in India, were being employed on the cheap by the parent company. "If you work in the UK you should be paid the UK rate."
A BT spokesman said the allegation was untrue, insisting they were on "comparable" wages, before claiming they were, in fact, better paid - on an average £45,000 a year, compared with £35,000 to £50,000 for British nationals.
