Inside job gives call centres a pool of cheap labour - Times Online
Britons have grown accustomed to dialling call centres in Bangalore to check their bank details. But what if your banks back office was in an Indian prison and was manned by criminals?
In what has been billed as a unique public-private experiment, an Indian outsourcing company that claims Royal Bank of Scotland and Goldman Sachs as clients is to employ inmates at Cherlapally Central Jail in Hyderabad to help to process bank paperwork.
About 250 prisoners both convicts and those awaiting trial will carry out work for Indian banks and insurance companies after receiving training in basic tasks such as typing application form details into computers.
They will also help to process insurance claims, said C. Narayanacharyulu, a director of Radiant Info Systems, the outsourcing company involved.
He could see no reason why inmates should not carry out work for British banks. Why not? he asked. We believe that about 200 prisoners at Cherlapally are already computer-literate.
Security has been an important issue for Indias outsourcing sector, which is often entrusted with highly sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or details of company payrolls. P. Narasimha Reddy, the Additional Inspector General of Prisons for Hyderabad who is helping to create the prison-based business process outsourcing (BPO) unit, said that felons did not deserve undue prejudice. We will select only those who are trustworthy. Not every criminal is very bad, he said.
Mr Narayanacharyulu added that the prisoners would not be allowed to interact with bank customers or answer phone calls. We will be taking the issue of security extremely seriously.
The prison project is perhaps the most radical attempt yet by Indias BPO sector an industry built on its ability to cut clients overheads by farming out work to cheap employees to control its own costs. The prisoners of Cherlapally are currently employed making soap and furniture and are paid 15 rupees (22p) a day. No final decision has been made on what their outsourcing wages will be but Mr Narayanacharyulu said that they were likely to be paid between 100 and 140 rupees a day, much less than other BPO workers.
In Bangalore and Mumbai BPO wages are rising sharply a result of increased demand for outsourced services from Western companies thanks to the credit crisis. To try to tap into a cheaper pool of labour, BPO companies have started setting up offices in rural areas, where they can pay lower wages.
Practical ways to pass the time
At Bullingdon Prison in Oxfordshire inmates are learning to sew. The prison, near Bicester, is one of 26 running classes by the charity Fine Cell Work, teaching male prisoners how to embroider and make soft furnishings, right
Inmates at the maximum security Philippines prison in Cebu broke the world record for the largest group to perform Michael Jacksons Thriller
At Chiang Mai Womens Prison in Thailand a small spa offers traditional Thai full body massage, foot massage, herbal massage and sauna
The Clink, Britains first inmate-run restaurant housed within the walls of High Down Prison, Surrey, opened last year. Diners must hand over valuables, undergo a body search and pass through several reinforced steel doors
Source: Times database
Britons have grown accustomed to dialling call centres in Bangalore to check their bank details. But what if your banks back office was in an Indian prison and was manned by criminals?
In what has been billed as a unique public-private experiment, an Indian outsourcing company that claims Royal Bank of Scotland and Goldman Sachs as clients is to employ inmates at Cherlapally Central Jail in Hyderabad to help to process bank paperwork.
About 250 prisoners both convicts and those awaiting trial will carry out work for Indian banks and insurance companies after receiving training in basic tasks such as typing application form details into computers.
They will also help to process insurance claims, said C. Narayanacharyulu, a director of Radiant Info Systems, the outsourcing company involved.
He could see no reason why inmates should not carry out work for British banks. Why not? he asked. We believe that about 200 prisoners at Cherlapally are already computer-literate.
Security has been an important issue for Indias outsourcing sector, which is often entrusted with highly sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or details of company payrolls. P. Narasimha Reddy, the Additional Inspector General of Prisons for Hyderabad who is helping to create the prison-based business process outsourcing (BPO) unit, said that felons did not deserve undue prejudice. We will select only those who are trustworthy. Not every criminal is very bad, he said.
Mr Narayanacharyulu added that the prisoners would not be allowed to interact with bank customers or answer phone calls. We will be taking the issue of security extremely seriously.
The prison project is perhaps the most radical attempt yet by Indias BPO sector an industry built on its ability to cut clients overheads by farming out work to cheap employees to control its own costs. The prisoners of Cherlapally are currently employed making soap and furniture and are paid 15 rupees (22p) a day. No final decision has been made on what their outsourcing wages will be but Mr Narayanacharyulu said that they were likely to be paid between 100 and 140 rupees a day, much less than other BPO workers.
In Bangalore and Mumbai BPO wages are rising sharply a result of increased demand for outsourced services from Western companies thanks to the credit crisis. To try to tap into a cheaper pool of labour, BPO companies have started setting up offices in rural areas, where they can pay lower wages.
Practical ways to pass the time
At Bullingdon Prison in Oxfordshire inmates are learning to sew. The prison, near Bicester, is one of 26 running classes by the charity Fine Cell Work, teaching male prisoners how to embroider and make soft furnishings, right
Inmates at the maximum security Philippines prison in Cebu broke the world record for the largest group to perform Michael Jacksons Thriller
At Chiang Mai Womens Prison in Thailand a small spa offers traditional Thai full body massage, foot massage, herbal massage and sauna
The Clink, Britains first inmate-run restaurant housed within the walls of High Down Prison, Surrey, opened last year. Diners must hand over valuables, undergo a body search and pass through several reinforced steel doors
Source: Times database
