Singapore government ministry transfers staff to HP in
outsourcing deal
SINGAPORE (AFP) Sep 15, 2004
In a unique twist to the global outsourcing trend, a Singapore
government ministry has transferred the staff of its technology
department to Hewlett Packard under an outsourcing contract.
Singapore's ministry of manpower said in a statement on its website
on Wednesday that it stands to save close to two million Singapore
dollarsmillion US) a year for the move.
The ministry said 23 staffers, comprising 60 percent of its
technology department, have joined Hewlett Packard as private
employees under the arrangement which went into effect on September
1.
The staff, who will cease to be civil servants, will receive
salaries in line with Hewlett Packard's pay scales.
Eleven staff also joined the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA),
which regulates the information and communications industry.
Under the three-year contract, the ministry will outsource its
information technology (IT) application, hardware, software and
services to Hewlett Packard and the IDA.
Staff were given an option to stay on, join the IDA or Hewlett
Packard or to resign under civil service regulations.
The contract can be renewed for another four years after the
three-year period is over.
It was the first time in technology-savvy Singapore that a
government ministry has awarded an outsourcing contract to the
private sector that includes transferring staff as well.
Manpower ministry permanent secretary Yong Ying-I said the
outsourcing and transfer of staff was carried out so that they can
keep pace with rapid changes in technology.
"With a stand-alone IT team at (the ministry of manpower), it was
becoming an increasing challenge to keep up with businesses and
technological changes," Yong said in a statement.
"So we decided that we could better realise the strategic benefits
of IT going forward by bringing in specialist external parties to
take charge of certain aspects of the role for us.