ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 6, 1993                   TAG: 9310060086
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

SIGNET SURPRISED BY SALARY CHARGE

Signet Bank is examining its use of temporary computer programmers in response to a news report that it was one of several companies using underpaid foreign programmers, bank officials said.

The CBS news show "60 Minutes" said Signet and other companies were going through what it called "body shops" to get the services of foreign programmers.

"We were as surprised as anyone else by it," said Teri A. Temples of Richmond-based Signet Banking Corp., which has operations in Western Virginia.

The "60 Minutes" story Sunday included an interview with an unidentified man from India who said he had been sent by a temporary service firm to software-writing jobs at Signet in Richmond, Whirlpool Corp. in Michigan and Merrill Lynch in New York.

Temples said Signet uses temporary programmers for special projects and gets their services through two software vendors. The workers are not on Signet's payroll; they work for the vendors.

Signet officials were upset by the "60 Minutes" findings and will review the banking company's temporary-hiring practices, she said. - Associated Press 


 by CNB