RBS plan to move jobs abroad a “national scandal”

Amid the angry reaction to the move, the still more than 70 per cent state-owned bank has been accused of turning its back on British taxpayers who footed the £45 billion bill for its bailout in 2008.

The Commons Treasury Select Committee is now set to question RBS executives over the decision.

Labour MP John Mann, and former Treasury Select Committee member, said: “It is appalling that they are repaying the taxpayer by shifting jobs abroad. People will be angry. Workers here are perfectly capable of doing these roles.

“We will end up with a bank employing more people in India than in the UK. It will backfire.”

He was joined by Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser who said: “RBS was bailed out by the very taxpayers it now seems to be turning its back on. Moving operations to the other side of the world where wages are a fraction of what they are here is inexcusable.

“Jobs right across the UK will be lost as a result of this move and RBS should think again. It needs to remember who came to the rescue when times were tough.”

And Rob MacGregor, Unite’s national officer, said: “The expansion in India has been achieved accumulatively over the past decade, and we believe it will continue aggressively and by stealth.

“It is a national scandal, and we have made it clear to the bank, but there is no end in sight. If there is an opportunity to offshore work, RBS will do it with determination — and they are unapologetic about this. They are moving work that can be done in the UK overseas at a time when we need to keep jobs in this country. It is difficult for us to reconcile this with their stated ambition, which is to be the number one bank for trust, service and advocacy.”

However, RBS insists it now employs more people in the UK than it did before the bailout, and the majority of the advertised jobs are largely to replace former employees that have left the business in India.

A spokesman for the lender said: “As RBS moves towards becoming a simpler, smaller, Uk-focussed bank, we continue to look at our structures to ensure they are a good fit for our businesses and that we have the right activity in the right locations.

“This has led to a small number of roles moving away from the UK to our hubs in Poland and India.”

Meanwhile, RBS is also facing the prospect of a fresh legal challenge from shareholders which could reopen the floodgates to thousands more compensation claims relating to itsdisastrous 2008 rights issue.

Back in June RBoS Shareholders Action Group representing 9,000 investors voted to accept a 82p a share offer to finally settle its legal case with RBS over the issue at a total cost £200 million.

However, it has now emerged that a further 1,300 members of the shareholder action group – including 800 current and former RBS staff members – were time-barred from taking part in the legal bid because they signed up after the June 2014 cut-off date and could now take up their own case.