There is no guarantee that hundreds of jobs to be transferred from Barclaycard on Teesside to a call centre agency will stay in Britain according to Stockton North Labour MP Alex Cunningham.
Concerned for the future of hundreds of people from his Stockton North constituency who work at the Barclaycard offices on Teesdale, Alex this week held talks with the company’s Director of Transformation and Head of Public and Community Affairs.
Barclaycard which has been established in the Stockton Borough for nearly 40 years are in negotiation with First Source to transfer the bulk of their Teesdale business and some 700 staff to them within the next few months. The company hopes to come to an agreement soon.
A further 200 employees will remain on the Teesdale site though they too could find themselves working elsewhere, locally or somewhere else, when the company’s lease on their building expires.
“It will be a sad day for our people and area if Barclaycard go through with such a transfer and there is no doubt in my mind that it will. I know that the company are in discussions with the staff and Unite, their trade union to make the change but there is little consolation when hundreds of people could see themselves transferred and then their jobs possibly exported to the Far east,” said Alex.
“I know Barclaycard hope that First Source, planning a major expansion into Teesside, will be able to deploy any staff who see their jobs transferred but the Company’s representatives admitted there are no guarantees that those who want to stay in work will be found a job. The best they can do is promise Barclaycard redundancy terms for those who find themselves out of work.”
“The company say the changes are part of their world wide global reorganisation but it will be a terrible day when we lose Barclaycard from our community.”
“It has been a major brand in our area for nearly 40 years and people from this area, including my constituency, have helped them towards annual profits in excess of £800 million. Whilst the company are attempting to soften the blow, their actions do little to recognise the tremendous contribution a loyal workforce has made to their business over four decades,” he said.
“As always with banking organisations, it is the profits that matter ahead of everything else.”
Now Alex will hold talks with First Source next week to hear from them firsthand what their plans are for the local jobs and what they will do to make sure the loyal employees of Barclaycard don’t rapidly find themselves out of a job.
