ITNet nicks £32m Coventry outsourcing deal off Siemens

ITNet has won a £32m outsourcing deal with Coventry City Council but concerns have been raised by a union that it could lead to "significant" IT job losses.

ITNet will take over in April from incumbent Siemens Business Services, which has handled the council's IT for seven years.

The five-year contract will see ITNet work with the council to improve its IT services and provide support to its e-government and Freedom of Information Act strategies.

Trade union Unison said it has serious concerns about the deal and is seeking talks as soon as possible with both ITNet and the council. Thirteen staff are being made redundant initially but David Kersey, communications officer for Unison, said internal discussions have already taken place indicating that there will be a significant number of job losses to follow.

"The initial plan was for the redundancies immediately but now that has been delayed and there is concern that significant numbers of staff could lose their jobs," he said.

Other Unison concerns include the council's agreement to pay for the redundancy packages rather than ITNet paying, and the possibility that staff will now have to work from Birmingham rather than Coventry.

Kersey said that the council should have considered bringing the service back in-house, which was the preferred option of many of the staff. In the meantime, he said the union will seek talks with ITNet and the council over coming weeks and also seek assurances that union members will be consulted on any course of action.

No one at Coventry City Council was available for comment.

Union opposition to the increasing number of council IT outsourcing deals is becoming a familiar tale, with both Swansea and Rochdale facing staff unrest over proposed deals, while Bradford council narrowly averted an all-out strike over a £100m contract.