Does Globalisation Take British Jobs?
Neal Gandhi suggests that the globalisation debate in Britain should be framed differently. We must accept globalisation and seek out ways so that the next global leaders such as Google emerge in the UK. The offshore outsourcing industry is often accused of damaging the prospects of British workers and of taking abroad jobs that should be done in Britain, sometimes to lower standards than if the job was carried out locally. The poster child of such comments is the now ubiquitous offshore call centre with calls being answered by “Sandra” in Bangalore who just needs to check how to spell M A N C H E S T E R. Further fuel is added by banks and insurance companies that proudly proclaim on TV adverts that their call centres are in the UK, not India. The inference is clear, offshoring was a poorly conceived idea and the rapid move to embrace such activities by companies is now reversing with many jobs being repatriated to the UK. “Hooray”, shout the unions, “British jobs for British people!”
