Quebec union wants more Telus jobs at home

A workers’ union in Quebec claims Telus Corp. has broken a “moral contract” with the people of the province by opting to hire more outside of Canada, rather than at home. In a release Thursday, a regional council of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) said Telus’ workforce, which it claims has grown to more than 70,000 employees in 2020 from over 40,000 in 2014, includes 50,000 international jobs. The FTQ said it has seen the number and quality of jobs for its members across Quebec -- affiliated with CUPE and the Steelworkers union -- deteriorate over the past few years, which it attributed to the company looking to increase profits and share values. The group said it believes Telus has a moral obligation to create jobs in Quebec and maintain wealth generated there. It also said political intervention at multiple levels may be necessary, perhaps by requiring local jobs in return for government funding. Last week, the Quebec Union of Telus Employees and CUPE reported they believe there were 29,000 Telus jobs in Canada in 2014, including 12,245 union members, compared to 28,000 people working in Canada, 8,675 being union members, in 2020. During that same time, they claim international jobs with Telus grew to around 50,200 positions, up from 14,500 in 2014. In an email to The Wire Report Thursday, a Telus representative said the company is “proud to count on the commitment and talent of our 6,000 team members across Quebec,” with plans to add more. “Over the past century, we have grown from a small Eastern Quebec telecommunications company to a large Quebec entity with a strong regional presence that offers a wide range of innovative products and services in communications, technology, healthcare, and agriculture,” the company said. “We have invested more than $30 billion in infrastructure and operations in Quebec since 2000, and we plan on investing an additional $9 billion through 2024, while creating 8,000 job opportunities for Quebecers at TELUS and across our partner ecosystem.” The FTQ regional council includes the unionized Telus employees in its territory, CUPE, and the Steelworkers, according to the release. It said it represents more than 12,000 members from all industries in the region.

Quebec union wants more Telus jobs at home

Brief | June 24, 2021

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Quebec union wants more Telus jobs at home

Brief | June 24, 2021

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