Campaign Issues At the end of September Lloyds TSB announced plans to outsource 1,500 jobs to India by the end of 2004, after which it will make a further decision on how many more jobs will follow. The work will be transferred to Hyderabad and Bangalore where staff can be employed at around one-sixth of the salaries of staff in the UK. This was followed at the end of October by a further announcement that it plans to close its Newcastle Contact Centre by the end of 2004, with the loss of 960 jobs. All work will transfer to India. This is just one of many recent announcements made by UK companies aiming to move work abroad - also known as "off-shoring" - that individually and collectively could have a major impact on UK jobs, the local communities in which they are based and the wider UK economy. Other recent announcements have concerned HSBC, National Rail Enquiries and BT Directory Enquiries. Lloyds TSB's announcement has attracted less media attention than that of HSBC - which says it plans to transfer 4,000 jobs to the Far East over a three-year period (1,500 in 2004, 2,000 in 2005 and a further 500 in 2006) - but this has concealed a potentially much greater impact. Lloyds TSB’s divulging of its plans only up to the end of 2004 - which are identical to those of HSBC - has diverted attention from the fact that the eventual total will almost certainly be much larger. Giving Customers A Say LTU is campaigning vigorously against the transfer of work to lower cost countries, believing that to do so is bad for customers, bad for staff and bad for the local communities affected. The Union has had a superb response to its petition outside Lloyds TSB branches, in which it gives customers the opportunity to demand that the Bank drops its plans to transfer the handling of bank accounts abroad. The Union is confident of easily surpassing its target of half a million signatures and has already received a remarkable response from customers in the North East. For more detailed information take a look at our Press Briefing of 30/10/03. About Lloyds TSB Group Union (LTU) LTU is, in effect, the only trade union representing staff within Lloyds TSB, with over 45,000 members. Any claims or reports suggesting the involvement in this campaign of other Unions operating in the Lloyds TSB Group are completely bogus. LTU is a financially and politically independent Trade Union.

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