Scottish Provident staff must move to Glasgow

Amicus said workers were "having a gun put to their heads".

Abbey said staff would be offered "enhanced packages" to encourage them to relocate or commute to the west.

Employees described the announcement as "a blow" - and warned that people may prefer to find other jobs rather than make the switch.

Abbey announced on Wednesday that it would be concentrating its operations in a smaller number of larger centres.

Abbey workers are having a gun put to their heads in pursuit of cost savings Hugh Scullion Amicus

Tony Wyatt, executive director of customer operations, said Glasgow was among these "core locations".

The closure of the company's offices in St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, will affect 900 staff, primarily working in long-term savings and protection.

More than 700 of those employees work for the company's Scottish Provident arm, which was bought in 2001.

The workers will transfer to Abbey House in Glasgow, which is already the base for 1,200 customer operations workers, by the end of July.

Abbey also plans to close sites in Warrington and Derby as part of moves to shed 400 jobs in England.

Amicus regional officer Hugh Scullion described the Scottish plans as "nothing more than redundancy by another name".

Remuneration package

He said: "Abbey workers are having a gun put to their heads in pursuit of cost savings.

"Our members will wait with interest to see CEO Luqman Arnold's remuneration package over the next year, which will be paid for by people's livelihoods."

Staff learned of the plans at a meeting in Edinburgh's Usher Hall.

It may be easier for people to find alternative work here in Edinburgh rather than moving through to Glasgow Nicola Verth Abbey employee

Nicola Verth, 29, from Edinburgh, said she thought it was unlikely that many people would take up the relocation offer.

"Few people will want to travel in and out from Edinburgh each day, adding another two to three hours on top of the working day," she said.

"It may be easier for people to find alternative work here in Edinburgh rather than moving through to Glasgow."

Chris Cooper, 26, from Edinburgh, said the announcement had not come as a surprise.

"It is a blow, obviously, but a lot of what was said has already come out in the press," he said.

'Major uncertainty'

"It seems they were trying to keep things secret but the rumours leaked out and it seems they were a bit disappointed about that."

Scottish Tory economy spokesman Murdo Fraser claimed that Chancellor Gordon Brown's policies had led to "major uncertainty" in the financial sector.

And he said: "It is also notable that Scotland's enterprise minister (Jim Wallace) is away on yet another foreign trip whilst all this is going on.

"His silence on this issue displays the staggering complacency of the Scottish Executive."

The executive is pleased that Abbey will be encouraging and supporting as many of its Edinburgh staff as possible to stay with the company Scottish Executive spokeswoman

An executive spokeswoman said Mr Wallace was on a promotional visit to the US and had been briefed on the decision by the company.

"The deputy first minister is delighted that Abbey has shown strong commitment to Scotland by choosing Glasgow as one of its five UK customer operation centres," she said.

"Although we recognise that not all staff might greet the news wholeheartedly, the executive is pleased that Abbey will be encouraging and supporting as many of its Edinburgh staff as possible to stay with the company."

Scottish National Party spokesman Jim Mather said Scotland should be given greater tax powers to encourage investment and stability in the economic sector.

He said: "These recent events therefore strengthen the SNP's resolve to see the will of the majority of MSPs prevail by winning more power for the (Scottish Parliament).