If there’s one thing that browns people off, it’s trying to access services of the companies enjoying our custom, and finding you have to deal with staff located overseas. In the FSU’s recent Better Banking survey 90% of the public and 93% of finance workers wanted a commitment from Government and banks to stop off-shoring.
Even though we operate in a global economy, and we’re quite comfortable buying things from Amazon and Ebay, and emailing, Facebooking and Skyping friends and family on the other side of the globe, when it comes to commerce we want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone local.
Companies know it too, and are starting to respond. Customer service staff in call centres with some major corporations have started to provide their location, in addition to their Christian name, when you connect with them.
We impart all sorts of personal information in these phone calls. First, we have to identify ourselves by providing our date of birth, address and the name of our first pet. And if you’re calling about your banking, insurance or superannuation, you’ll be asked to provide or confirm all sorts of sensitive personal financial data, like your income, or details of your assets.
When finance sector companies send jobs offshore, they’re also sending your personal details offshore. Think about it: loan applications, credit card processing, insurance claims, sent offshore, outside of the control of our government regulations and laws. And there’s no compulsion on the finance company to tell you they are sending your details offshore, or even ask your permission. Yet 87% of Better Banking survey respondents believe Government should require banks to let Australians know when their personal financial data is being sent overseas.
Recent comments by Coalition leader, Tony Abbott on Adelaide radio station 5AA, that losing your job in a call centre to lower cost labour sourced overseas is “sometimes unfortunate” but that “there will be other jobs you can go to”, revealed Mr Abbott’s lack of concern about Australian workers.
Mr Abbott’s ‘hands-off and hopeful” approach demonstrates a lazy and disinterested policy position, and disappointingly, that there had not been much more detail forthcoming from the Government or the Greens addressing the issue.
The practice of replacing Australian workers in favour of low cost workers in countries like India and the Philippines by banks and finance companies has seen some 5,500 finance jobs lost in Australia in recent years.
The FSU has called for a range of policy measures that politicians should adopt to address off-shoring in the finance and services sector including:
- investigate the full range of impacts off-shoring has on the community,
- better data on the subject of off-shoring,
- legislation requiring customers are told where the staff member they are speaking to is physically located, and
- legislation that ensures customers have given their permission before their personal data is sent for processing offshore.
- genuine industry planning focused on building Australian skills and growing Australian jobs.
We think it’s time all sides of politics recognized the importance of this issue amongst the electorate and started adopting real policy that will deliver for our community.
Tell us what you think. And more importantly, in the forthcoming federal election, tell your local candidate you want a commitment from them to fight for Australian jobs, and the security of your financial data.
Leon Carter, FSU National Secretary
Do you like this article? Share It!
