While jobs will be moved from the public sector to companies Infosys and Unisys, 70 percent of those will remain in the state, rather than being outsourced abroad.
This is a direct result of the campaign against the offshore ousourcing.
A new services delivery centre is planned for western Sydney.
Whilst not the win we hoped for, keeping most of the jobs local will mean public sector workers will also be able to apply for the positions in the private companies.
The PSA fought a long campaign to keep outsourced jobs from being sent abroad.
Following media coverage of the issue, including an article in The Sydney Morning Herald on 13 March, PSA General Secretary Anne Gardiner and PSA members ofServiceFirst at Parramatta presented a community-run petition containing 1136 signatures to the Opposition spokesperson for Finance and Service, Peter Primrose. Several Labor MPs from the local area also attended the presentation.
More than 30 members at Parramatta stopped work to attend the handover, along with their families and local business owners.
On 26 March, more than 150 members from ServiceFirst walked off the job in Parramatta and at the McKell Building in Sydney to protest against the plans to privatise and offshore their jobs.
In Parramatta, 100 ServiceFirst members were joined by 50 members from Community Services, along with other concerned members. Another 50 ServiceFirst workers also took a stand at the McKell Building.
Members in Parramatta marched through the streets to the office of Liberal MP Geoff Lee, chanting slogans such as; “ServiceFirst is not for sale, keep our jobs in NSW!”
On 6 March 2015 a story ran in The Sydney Morning Herald, with extensive comment from PSA General Secretary Anne Gardiner highlighting the loss of jobs and potential risk of outsourcing data.
ServiceFirst, which employs more than 300 staff in Parramatta, the CBD, and across regional NSW, is an award-winning shared service provider.
The organisation manages IT, HR, payroll and finance for the Department of Premier and Cabinet, NSW Treasury, Office of Finance and Services (OFS), Service NSW and the Public Service Commission.
Infosys and Unisys will take over the roles in November and December this year.
Announcing the move, chief executive of the OFS, Simon Smith, acknowledged the changes have caused “personal pressure and stress” for many workers, and said the department’s “executive are committed to supporting affected employees”.
The PSA estimates more than 30,000 people within the NSW public sector perform jobs similar to those carried out by ServiceFirst – all of whom could be the Baird Government’s next outsourcing targets.