Telus Troops Brave the Cold to March

Saturday, November 05, 2005 10:42 AM

Members of the Telecommunications Workers Union rally in front of Telus building

Dressed mainly in black , carrying black balloons, and placards that read, "Telus jobs -
Rest in Peace", approximately 200 members of the Telecommunications Workers Union and their supporters gathered in front of the Telus office on 6th avenue this morning.

The employees have been off the job since the middle of July, and last week, narrowly rejected a tentative agreement to end the dispute.

T.W.U. spokesperson, Rod William, says the workers have been given numbered cards to wear -- from 1 to 160 -- on a march across the Yellowhead Bridge. "What we are symbolically doing is marching 160 jobs out of town. Telus has threatened at the bargaining table to close down both operator services and the customer service centre in Prince George." Williams says, "We want to show what that's going to look like in very real numbers.

Ella Borzel is an operator and says her job is directly related to the jobs going out of the country, "they're gone to the Philippines and India right now.

Borzel says today's rally is an important way to boost awareness, once again. "Definitely, definitely, these are good paying jobs for women that are leaving this town and that's important."

Janice Stratton is also an operator who's been off the job for three-and-a-half months, she attended the rally with her husband and two children.

She says with Christmas fast-approaching, "You do change your focus, that Christmas is not about the money."

The T.W.U. is hoping the federal government or Industrial Relations Board will step in and order Telus back to the bargaining table. Rod Williams says, "I believe to get this resolved, we're going to have to get some help from outside sources."

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Saturday, November 05, 2005 10:42 AM in News by 250 News

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: Chester on November 5 2005 4:09 PM

I sympathize with the Telus workers. I also sympathize with the company. It's to bad negotiations are left up to the hard heads. One pushes, the other resists. One demands, the other threatens. One threatens job action, the other locks them out.

Kind of a no-win situation. I don't know how these two parties can be expected to work out a deal.

Maybe a fresh set of eyes would be appropriate at this time. Ones that are not so emotionally involved in the situation. In fact, an arbitrator might be the only solution. Chester

Posted by: Tracy on November 5 2005 5:36 PM

I don't sympathise with a company that treats it employees and customers they way Telus does. I put myself through university by working as a summer/Christmas temp with BCTel and then Telus. There is a marked difference between BCTel and Telus. Although I understand the need to compete in a changing market, Telus needs a lesson on how it should treat its employees and customers. The last time I went to work for Telus, the customer was not valued for anything beyond their money. Making people happy was unimportant as long as they were willing to pay. Gone were the days when we were encouraged to bend over backwards to keep customers loyal - it became a race to get the cash and move on to the next customer. If you couldn't speed services along, then along came a manager to spout statistics and threaten you with letters of reprimand. Calls that used to take 40 seconds were now to only take 15 seconds, or even less. It is not like the job became more efficient, the difference is that customers are rushed through and recordings are used that cannot repeat information or answer questions. And what does the customer get? Your phone bill certainly isn't getting any smaller. Check out the various charges (administration fees) that are added to your bill. Customer service is not a goal for Telus. It is something that employees, who are proud of their jobs, were trying to sustain while the company watched contrived statistics and harassed those who dared to spend extra time with their customers. The CEO and executives of Telus are making multi-million dollar bonuses while customers and employees are losing.

Posted by: Chester on November 5 2005 10:30 PM

I understand how you must feel Tracy. I would expect you wouldn't be interested in working for a company like the company Telus has become.

I think everyone who is equally frustrated should refuse to work for them and quit. There are many other employers out their who value employees who care about their customers. Chester