CONTROVERSIAL moves to privatise all local government IT in Glasgow face a decisive political vote as a new row brews over claims staff are being offered inducements to sign up to the plans.
The council's decision-making executive committee will vote on Thursday on whether to progress with a £400million plan to outsource control of its computer networks to Canadian multi-national CGI Group and spending £750,000 on a business case.
But, with staff already being balloted for strike action and protests planned for this week, the Labour-run authority faces fresh turbulence after both CGI and the council's chief executive contacted all affected staff this week.
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On top of promises over job security and maintaining terms and conditions, CGI has told IT staff they can become shareholders of the Montreal-based firm if the deal goes through.
Unions have written to political leaders on the council, claiming the decision "to allow CGI to directly communicate with our members" was "outrageous" and amounted to attempts to instigate the transfer of staff.
The council has said the letters were about given assurances to workers about the terms of CGI taking on the contract.
One senior Labour source said: "I'd expect this to go through but the deal is that this is far from over. There's very strong feeling in the group about this, along with real concern that not enough work has been done on other options.
"On a personal level, if an offer seems to good to be true, that's probably because it is."
The Herald revealed the proposals for the first wholesale privatisation of a public service in Glasgow in August and the ramifications for outsourcing nationwide.
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If approved, CGI would have a have input on everything from school lessons, monitor information on children in care, social work caseloads, payroll and even the sex offenders’ register.
The firm, which also provides IT to Edinburgh and Borders Councils and has several Scottish Government contracts, has in the recent past been under fire for its part in several crises, including Obamacare and the EU subsidy payments to Scots farmers.
The council's jointly-run deal with services giant Serco, which operates as Access, comes to an end in just over a year's time.
Unison, which has complained that the plan is being progressed as "the only show in town" and a fait accompli, has written to all councillors ahead of the vote.
In the letter, branch secretary Brian Smith said: "How can it be detailed that one option is more expensive/less expensive than another when there is no detail or figures to be scrutinised, for elected members to draw their own conclusions? It would be a very costly guess at the council taxpayers expense."
Mr Smith added: "This promise that if public sector workers move over to a private multinational they can join take a share in its profits is something we'd question."
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CGI said that on top of protecting terms and conditions, there would be no compulsory redundancies if it won the contract.
It added: "Our employees are called Members because everyone who joins CGI has the opportunity to become a shareholder. This provides all Members with a sense of ‘ownership’ and at the time of writing more than 80 per cent of UK Members hold shares."
Council leader Frank McAveety said: “Councillors are being asked to give officers permission to look at the existing external contract arrangement with CGI in more detail to see if it would meet the council’s requirements, including protecting jobs, terms and conditions, and pensions.
“These are guarantees that most ordinary workers could only dream of. The union leaders are scaremongering and misleading their members."
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