Ongoing Consultations

Monday, June 13th, 2016

Please see below an update on some of the business changes that Unite are currently engaged in across the Prudential Business Areas.

Annuities – Reading

On 26th May, 82 employees in Annuities, Reading were put at Risk at of redundancy. Consultation with Unite had started on 25th May where we were presented with the Company’s proposal to move some work from Reading to Craigforth and the vast majority to PPMS in Mumbai. The rationale is drop in volumes, improved technology, increased efficiencies and, of course, cost.

We have been involved in a number of meetings with members and the Company and the consultation process will run until mid-July.

Following our meetings with members we have advised the Company we will be resisting these proposals and we will continue to talk to members on the best way to do that. A copy of the Unite Press Release following the announcement can be found on our website www.prusection.co.uk

PGDS

The long awaited re-structure announcement finally took place on 1st June. 56 roles will be lost across PGDS and the PMO team (4 people) will be transferred to PPMS in Mumbai.

PGDS have introduced a targeted VR exercise whereby people in the teams impacted can volunteer for redundancy.

Following meetings with our members we have advised PGDS that we can accept the voluntary process but will resist any compulsory redundancies in this re-structure. From our analysis we believe the reduction can be achieved via the voluntary route. We have also requested that should any of the 4 PMO members want to stay PGDS find them a post.

We still have concerns about the impact this scale of cuts will have on the people left in PGDS and the impact it will have on the customers PGDS are there to serve. Consultations on all this are ongoing and again we will continue to hold regular members meetings in all PGDS sites to keep them updated on the consultations.

Finance

The re-structure of Grade 3’s has now been completed and Unite are supporting those members who were unsuccessful in the selection process. This includes the options and terms for those individuals who want to stay within Finance albeit in a Grade 2 role.

We are also still in discussion with HR in relation to the G1 & G2 mapping process which is due to be completed by the end of June.

As you can imagine this is a very busy time for your reps who are working very hard on your behalf so apologies if it has taken slightly longer to respond to some of your queries.

Unite are concerned with the scale of some of these announcements and with the re-emergence of Off-Shoring as a way of cutting costs. We don’t believe Off-shoring makes the Company more efficient than keeping the work in the UK and we don’t believe it will improve Customer Service. We are concerned that offshoring will lead to a loss of knowledge and experience just to cut costs and it is not something our members will simply accept.

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Unite Reaction to Reading Annuities Announcement

Friday, May 27th, 2016

Following the announcement in Reading on 26th May which saw 82 Prudential employees in the Reading Annuities area put at risk of redundancy Unite Finance Sector have issued a press release.

The proposals which are subject to consultation will see some work moving to Craigforth, some remaining in Reading but the vast majority moving to Mumbai.

The press release says:-

Prudential, the life insurance and financial services giant, has announced plans to offshore up to 80 UK jobs from Reading to Mumbai, India, said Unite, the trade union for UK finance workers.

81 workers in the Individual Annuities division, which handles servicing and bereavements, have been told that their jobs are to be moved out of Reading. While a minority of these roles will transfer to Prudential’s site in Craigforth, Scotland the vast majority will be offshored to India.

Following this news Unite will begin a 45 day consultation period with the employer. Throughout this process the union will reiterate its total opposition to offshoring, which is used by multinational finance firms to drive down the wages, terms and conditions of the workforce.

Pending the results of the consultation, the company anticipate that offshoring could begin as early as October 2016.

The job cuts in Reading are the latest wave of insurance sector job losses to impact areas surrounding London. In Surrey both Legal & General and Diligenta have announced plans to either close operations or cut jobs, as companies chase short-term savings by transferring work away from the London commuter belt.

Dominic Hook, Unite National Officer for Finance, said:

“Prudential knows full well that offshoring is a toxic issue. That’s why transferring a handful of public-facing jobs to Scotland will be used as a smoke screen to hide the fact that the majority of this highly technical and skilled work will go offshore.

Behind the buzzwords used to justify the decision is the fact that Prudential want to pay someone in Mumbai far less to do the same work. Offshoring is cynical, exploitative and ultimately it will be the firm’s customers who will pay the price.

“Unite will stand with our members in Reading and as we prepare to enter consultation we warn Prudential that nothing is off then table when it comes to defending our members.”

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