COMPANIES will be challenged by a union leader today to make the business case for exporting jobs overseas.

Roger Lyons, president of the TUC, will tell a conference that companies including Legal and General, Alliance and Leicester and the Co-op had conducted studies into "offshoring" and had decided to remain in the UK.

Research has produced evidence of hidden costs caused by problems such as high staff turnover and power problems in overseas call centres, said Mr Lyons.

He said: "The business case for offshoring has not been made. Companies that offshore in pursuit of immediate cost savings without thought to how the economy will look in ten years time are threatening their own ability to trade successfully.

"Companies are already offshoring from India to China in a race to the bottom.

"Every decision we make must be based on the best interest of both the UK and Indian economies, and not in the bank balance of rapacious offshore providers."