Union considering grievance after Telus shutters Ontario call centre

Telus Corp. is reversing its policy of having call centre employees work from home. It told roughly 1,000 workers across the country Wednesday that they must be in the office three days per week. Since 2020, the call centre staff had been working remotely, mostly as a consequence of the COVID pandemic. But, despite the back-to-office order, 150 workers at the Barrie, Ont. bureau were informed that their site was not reopening, as first reported by The Canadian Press. Instead, they have the option of moving to Montreal by October to work, or taking a buyout package from the telecom. The head of the employee’s union is upset by the move. “We really can’t help but perceive this as an attempt to reduce their headcount and offshore more of our work, and to do so by making requirements of their employees that they likely don’t even think that their employees will be okay with,” Michael Phillips, president of the telecommunications workers union in the United Steelworkers National Local 1944, said in a telephone interview with The Wire Report Thursday. The union was only informed Tuesday afternoon about Telus’s plans and has not ruled out filing a grievance. It is investigating whether or not the layoffs in Barrie could constitute constructive dismissal. “We’re reaching out to our membership and communicating with them, trying to support them in any way possible, but we’re definitely going to be reviewing all legal options,” he stated. Phillips surmises that Telus instituted the work from home project to save on real estate costs but has now changed its mind. “We want to let as many Canadians as possible know how immoral Telus’s actions are with regards to their own employees,” he added. “They’re constantly changing their work life situation.” In an emailed statement, a Telus spokesperson told the Wire Report that call volumes are decreasing and the company is retraining workers to be able to handle more complex problems. “We know this is a change to the way we work today, and while we hope our team is excited to evolve and grow with us, we continue to offer financially generous voluntary separation packages that exceed the requirements of the Canada Labour Code for anyone who makes the personal decision not to continue this journey,” Brandi Merker wrote. The firm announced layoffs earlier this year and last year, but Phillips suspects it did not achieve its numbers, leading to the current situation in Ontario. Phillips says the Barrie workers are being offered 18 months’ salary as a layoff package. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Union considering grievance after Telus shutters Ontario call centre

News | | July 11, 2024

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Union considering grievance after Telus shutters Ontario call centre

News | | July 11, 2024

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