Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The National Savings Agency in Blackpool, Durham and Glasgow plans to send 250 government jobs to India. This is a result of the changes since 1999 where the National Savings and Investments (NS&I) - the Government-backed savings outfit - and Siemens agreed a ten-year contract for business process outsourcing with the option to extend the contact until 2014. As part of the deal, 4,000 civil servants were transferred to Siemens but only after having won Government assurances that such a move would not lead to a change in terms and conditions for staff. However last month, Siemens Business Services announced that it wanted to transfer a ‘small number of routine administrative tasks to Siemens in India'. The Public & Commercial Services (PCS) union is vigorously opposing the move and calling on the government to take a longer perspective on cost savings.
Eurofound (2004), National Savings Agency, Offshoring/Delocalisation in United Kingdom, factsheet number 60519, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/60519.