The Royal Bank of Canada will make a public apology to the workers affected by the bank’s outsourcing arrangement with a foreign company.

The apology comes at the end of a week of drubbing from RBC customers and labour critics after the bank’s outsourcing plans were disclosed in media reports.

RBC should have been more sensitive and helpful to the affected employees, chief executive officer Gord Nixon says in a letter to be published in newspapers Friday.

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“RBC has been in the news this week in a way no company ever wants to be,” the letter begins.

The employees – about 45 people by most reports—will be offered comparable job opportunities within the bank, the letter says.

Nixon says Royal is also reviewing its supplier arrangements and policies to balance RBC’s desire to be a successful business and a “leading corporate citizen.”

“The recent debate about an outsourcing arrangement for some technology services has raised important questions,” Nixon writes. “While we are compliant with the regulations, the debate has been about something else. The question for many people is not about doing only what the rules require - it’s about doing what employees, clients, shareholders and Canadians expect of RBC. And that’s something we take very much to heart.

“Despite our best efforts, we don’t always meet everyone’s expectations, and when we get it wrong you are quick to tell us. You have my assurance that I’m listening,” the letter says.

Outsourcing of high-tech services is not unusual, but the amount going to offshore firms is increasing, raising public concern about the loss of good-paying Canadian jobs to lower cost countries.

Bank employee Dave Moreau told reporters that, in addition to losing their jobs, they were being asked to train temporary foreign workers from India who would be taking over the work.

The supplier, iGate Corp., has said it complied with all Canadian laws.

In Ottawa, federal human resources minister Diane Finley has ordered a review of the temporary foreign worker program, which is meant to be used only when there are no available Canadian workers.

The use of foreign temporary workers has been on the rise. Last year, Ottawa amended the program to allow employers to pay workers brought in through the program 15 per cent less than the prevailing Canadian wage.

For the affected RBC employees, the story has had a happy ending, said Daniel Lublin, a Toronto employment lawyer who had been contacted by some of them to review their termination notices.

“It’s a David and Goliath story. It proves sometimes the little guy can make a difference,” Lublin said.

The employees believe it took a public shaming to get action, he added.

“They felt the bank wasn’t going to do anything about their concerns until the story went public,” Lublin said in an interview. “Now they’re being treated like celebrities.”

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While RBC’s apology is unlikely to change other employers’ use of outsourcing firms, Lublin said, it may make them more careful how they treat the affected employees.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that his government is troubled by the growing use of temporary foreign workers.

“We have been concerned about the growth,” Harper said, adding that temporary help should only be used in situations of “absolute and acute labour shortages.

“We will make sure it is not used for purposes beyond that,” the prime minister said during a stop in Calgary.

Harper said the government has been concerned by “some stories that have surfaced” though he declined to comment on the specific cases.

“I can tell you we have certainly been looking into those and other cases like them,” Harper said. “We will be in very short order bringing forward a series of reforms that we have been developing to make sure this program is serving its purpose.”

In an unrelated announcement, iGate told investors Friday it planned to boost its local hiring in Canada by 400 to 500 jobs over the next 18 months

The Fremont, Calif.-based firm said the controversy in Canada had not hurt its business.

The company, which counts General Electric, Honda Europe, and Time Warner, among its customers, had $1 billion (U.S.) in revenue last year.

iGate, which specializes in technology services, is one of a growing number of firms that provide the services offshore, usually in India.

RBC is one of its biggest customers, accounting for 11 per cent of its $1.1 billion in revenue last year, according to company reports.