Unions have called on Birmingham City Council to halt plans to outsource more than 70 IT jobs to India, fearing the move could be 'the tip of the iceberg' for cost-cutting councils nationwide.

Service Birmingham, the joint venture call centre operation run by the council and Capita is 'lifting and shifting' the posts of around 74back office staff. Employees from India are thought to have been already recruited to shadow workers in Birmingham, subject to visa clearance.