OUTSOURCING - A WORD that often strikes fear among those in the workplace.
It can mean the loss of jobs through the transfer of a departmental operation from an organisation to an outside contractor.
Trade unions discourage the practice. They regard it in the same light as privatisation. But this outlook, and the fears that ride along with it, are all unnecessary if the process is handled in the proper manner, says Spoornet's chief executive officer Zandile Jakavula.
In huge government parastatals such as that which he heads, outsourcing is a means to slash the deficit budget while maintaining a high standard of operation, he says.
There is no satisfaction to be gained from merely dumping people into the unemployment heap, he says. That isn't our aim at all. It seldom serves the purpose of cost cutting. People have a value if they are the right ones in the right job, and that is to be respected.
When you outsource an element of your operation, the ideal situation is for the existing staff to go along with the contract. You can't force that issue, of course, but they are, after all, the staff who represent the qualified personnel needed to continue with the operation. It stands to reason that their skills are the best available for the function we are outsourcing.
Spoornet, in the current restructuring process, is planning to outsource its security system and concessioning some of its lines.
Many of the sections of rail lines now under its control are considered unprofitable in the overall financial set-up of Spoornet, but can be put to valuable use by an independent authority, says Jakavula.
There is talk of us having to lose 27 000 personnel in our restructuring. But many will be absorbed by the new concessionaires, and we will be there behind them to ensure they get the right treatment, he says.
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