Viterra eliminates local IT jobs, outsources to India 

REGINA, July 16, 2009 – On July 15, 2009, Grain Services Union (ILWU • Canada) was informed by Viterra Inc. that the Regina based agri-business is outsourcing its information technology service delivery to EDS, an HP company, and to Infosys Technologies based in Bangalore, India.  The result is the elimination of nearly 50 jobs in the Regina Head Office. 

    According to the notice provided to GSU by Viterra the outsourcing decision, “…will result in the elimination of all of the IT positions in the bargaining unit.”

    “The immediate impact will result in the elimination of 30 jobs in Regina by December 30 of this year with another estimated 16  jobs eliminated by August 2010, according to the company’s notice,” said GSU General Secretary Hugh Wagner.

    “In addition, Viterra is unilaterally moving the work of 10 or so union members’ jobs to identified by the company as newly created management positions,” a move that Wagner said will certainly be contested by the union.

     GSU members affected by Viterra’s decision are covered by the worker adjustment provisions of the collective agreement between the union and the employer. The worker adjustment provisions require a minimum of 120 calendar days’ paid notice of job elimination in addition to severance pay, re-employment entitlements and supplementary unemployment benefits. Representatives of the company and the union will meet within the next 30 days to review the options available to employees.

     “Three months ago when Viterra announced it was undertaking an information technology review, the union asked for an opportunity to make a business case for alternatives to outsourcing,” Wagner said. “Unfortunately, the union’s offer was declined and it is evident that Viterra was predisposed towards outsourcing despite the ongoing contributions employees have made to Viterra’s success.“  

     “Viterra is clearly running a very profitable business; it is well positioned for growth and has recently been expanding its global reach.  This has all been achieved from its base in Saskatchewan,” Wagner said.  This outsourcing announcement means job losses for our city and province, and it takes these valuable knowledge based jobs out of our economy

     “It just doesn’t do anything for the economy in Saskatchewan and it further limits opportunities for our youth.  When companies take out good union jobs and replace them with cheaper labour here or elsewhere, what does this mean for our province in terms of bolstering our society and economy?” Wagner asked. “It seems to me that we are being restricted by the moveable benchmarks of corporate success in order to perpetuate our traditional role of producing and handling commodities for transnational corporations, even when they are home grown, while shipping the next level of knowledge jobs elsewhere.”

     “Maybe it is only me, but I don’t think this kind of development is what the founders of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool had in mind when they and so many working people sacrificed to build their own cooperative alternative to corporate dominance 85 years ago,” Wagner said.
 

For further information please contact GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner in Regina at 522.6686, ext. 229.