The CWU is “surprised and dismayed” at the press speculation over up to 6,000 job losses at NTL and Telewest in advance of members finding out first hand from the company, says Brian Healy CWU Assistant Secretary.

 

“We are disappointed and concerned that our members had to learn about potential job losses through the newspapers” said Brian.

 

“We have raised concerns with the company and are seeking assurance that there will be no compulsory redundancies.

 

“We are also lobbying hard for the retention of customer contact centre jobs in the UK. There has been talk of outsourcing these jobs and if this is the case the CWU wants reassurances that outsourcing will be limited to within the UK allowing the transfer of workers and their terms and conditions of employment through the TUPE regulations and minimising UK redundancies.”

 

In a communication to Telewest, the union has sought a response seeking clarification and giving assurances that if the speculation is correct, that the job losses are voluntary and that there should be the maximum opportunity for redeployment to other functions not affected.  Additionally, the union has sought assurances that customer contact functions should be retained in the UK.

Reacting to today’s announcement from NTL/Telewest, Brian Healy, CWU Assistant Secretary, said: “We are pleased to see that in response to our lobbying NTL/Telewest has decided to keep the first wave of 1,500 outsourced customer contact centre operations within the UK, and not to off-shore these jobs. This means that employees will retain their current terms and conditions and customers can expect continued high standards of customer service.”

 

“We are now awaiting a formal response from the company finalising locations that will be affected and the details of transfer agreements. We will then be seeking discussions with the company to ensure that the interests of our NTL and Telewest members are fully protected.”

 

 “We also look forward to developing a positive working relationship with IBM as we have substantial numbers of members in certain areas affected by the transfer of jobs.”

 

The union also welcomes NTL/Telewest’s decision to first seek any job reductions through natural attrition, voluntary redundancies and reduction of contractors and only pursuing compulsory redundancies as a last resort. CWU will be closely following the transfer process to ensure that all workers are treated fairly and within set guidelines.