Canadians outraged by RBC foreign-worker outsourcing fiasco
MICHAEL BABAD-Monday, Apr. 08 2013,
Indeed, RBC may well have miscalculated its response by putting the blame on an independent supplier, and one wonders if the bank will be forced to take further action soon.
As The Globe and Mail’s Sophie Cousineau reports, the Canadian government is probing the subcontracting of some of the bank’s investor services back-office work to iGate Corp., a move that will cost 45 RBC employees in Toronto their jobs.
RBC tried yesterday to distance itself from the events first reported by CBC.
Here’s what Greg Grice, the bank’s chief procurement officer said:
“RBC agreements with suppliers, including in this case iGate, requires them to ensure that they are abiding by the applicable regulations. External suppliers allow us to leverage their scale and technical skills to continually improve our operation processes and service, and re-invest in initiatives that enhance the client experience.”
And this from Zabeen Hirji, RBC’s chief human resources officer:
“We recognize the impact of this situation on our employees and we continue to remain focused on assisting our employees through this transition. We are working diligently to find suitable roles for those affected and it is our hope over the next few months to transition them to other positions.”
It didn’t say what it would do about iGate. Indeed, it doesn’t appear to be taking any responsibility for the actions of its supplier, which has brought some of the replacement workers in from India to learn the job.
That doesn’t appear to be good enough for Diane Finley, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, who, given that foreign workers are only supposed to be used when Canadians can’t fill the jobs, said that, if it’s accurate, “this situation is unacceptable.”
And, as any bank that has gone through the hate-love relationship with Canadians should know, it won’t wash with the masses.
There’s now a Facebook page calling for a boycott, with a picture of a cute little kid crying, sitting nearby that RBC guy in the blue suit and bowler hat, with this tagline: “Your child’s future outsourced. Lost Canadian jobs you can bank on.”
Twitter is also abuzz.
Here are just some of the many comments on RBC’s Facebook page, related to the bank’s statement, with some people complaining that their posts were removed:
“I've done all my banking with RBC for the past 25 years. Tomorrow I'll be beginning the process of closing all my accounts.” Tammy Everts
“Your crisis-management response is insulting. But hey, you need the millions of $$$ - just keep your shareholders happy & stay focused on profits above all else. I will not do business with you.” Janet King-Coates
“We are moving our car loan, RRSP’s and car and auto insurance as soon as you open your doors today. Shame on you. I hope this hits you hard.” Doris Baker
“Anytime we use ‘suppliers,' which means contracting the work out to another company be there in Canada or elsewhere it is usually done to bring in workers at reduced wages. This will never be an asset to Canada. I am not focusing on RBC because this practice is done everywhere in Canada; you have just been the first one that the media have brought to the public's eye.” Katherine Browning-Cross
“Very disappointing, this is exactly why Canada's young people can't find work or are underemployed. Regardless of spin, you're still moving paying jobs from our country to another overseas.” Beverly Ivey-Newell
“To you it may only be 50 people but the people involved, it is 100 per cent of their livelihoods ... shame on RBC and the Conservative government for allowing this to happen.” Jean Campbell Priest
“I have closed my RBC account and a number of friends and family are doing the same. Shame on you RBC, I truly hope there is a movement of exodus to other banking institutions.” Colin MacKay
“RBC makes billions of dollars profit each quarter, the CEO is paid millions per year, the assets consists of my Canadian bank account. This is not acceptable! Reconsider your practices.” Jim Langeveld
“You didn’t directly hire foreigners to take Canadian jobs – iGate did – RBC just hired iGate.” Michele Engel
(All of this, by the way, is just above the RBC post that asks readers if they’re “excited” about Target Corp.’s arrival in Canada: “Be prepared and apply for the Target RBC MasterCard today so you can save 5 per cent* off almost everything in-store.” Just sayin’.)
Portugal back in eye of stormThe euro zone crisis has shifted back to Portugal after a court ruling rejecting austerity measures.
Portugal, which has been bailed out by international lenders, may now be forced to find other ways to cut in order to meet its targets.
“I have ordered ministries to cut expenditure to compensate for the effects of the court decision,” Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on the weekend.
Portugal is now in an extremely tough spot given the demands of its lenders, and in the face of Germany’s tough stance on fiscal discipline.
“The court decision means that Portugal’s government needs to come up with approximately €1.3-billion in additional cost savings or revenues in order to achieve a budget deficit of 5.5 per cent this year; if the savings aren’t found, the deficit will be 6.4 per cent,” said Derek Holt and Dov Zigler of Bank of Nova Scotia.
“On the line are Portuguese efforts to renegotiate the country’s obligations to the EU such that the payback periods are lengthened,” they said in a research note.
“With EU finance ministers meeting in Ireland later this week, the situation in Portugal – and whether it has reached the legal limits of feasible domestic austerity – are sure to be up for conversation.”
Loonie in high demand
A new poll illustrates just how attractive the Canadian dollar has become.
A new poll illustrates just how attractive the Canadian dollar has become.
The poll of central bankers, published in The Financial Times, shows that the Canadian and Australian dollars, Scandinavian money and China’s yuan have become the favourite alternative to the traditional reserves.
Some four-fifths of those polled said they either had invested, or would think about doing so, in the Canadian and Aussie currencies.
The poll was done by Central Banking Publications, a trade journal, and Royal Bank of Scotland.
