Telus tells Ontario call centre workers to relocate or risk losing their job

Telus Corp. has informed astir 150 telephone centre labor based successful Ontario they must relocate by October, use for different domiciled aliases work together to beryllium laid off.

The national representing those workers, United Steelworkers Local 1944, said it was informed Tuesday that affected labor would person nan action of moving successful Montreal, calling it a “backdoor termination” by Telus successful an effort to trim nan company’s caput count.

The move is portion of a larger reorganization announced internally connected Wednesday. It will require astir 1,000 telephone centre labor crossed nan country, who person been moving remotely since nan COVID-19 pandemic began, to return to nan agency 3 days a week starting successful September.

But customer work agents successful Ontario won’t person a section agency to return to because Telus is closing its Barrie location, which housed its Ontario interaction centre, “following a thoughtful reappraisal of our existent estate,” said spokeswoman Brandi Merker.

“We’ve been connected a travel to germinate our customer service, progressively offering integer and self-serve options that proceed to alteration telephone volumes,” she said successful an emailed statement.

“As portion of this evolution, we’re investing successful our frontline squad members pinch training, reskilling and caller devices that modernize our capabilities truthful that erstwhile customers do request to telephone america for much analyzable situations, their rumor is resolved nan first time, each time.”

Merker said those who judge relocation will person financial support, while nan voluntary separation package being offered exceeds nan requirements of nan Canada Labour Code.

“While we dream our squad is excited to germinate and turn pinch us, we cognize this is simply a alteration to nan measurement we activity today, and successful particular, represents a important individual determination for our Ontario-based squad members,” she said.

The financial package includes 18 months of wages, positive imaginable bonuses based connected seniority, said United Steelworkers Local 1944 president Michael Phillips.

But he called Telus’ connection to its Ontario workers “disingenuous.”

“I mean, it’s a nationalist telecom that tin spend to supply an agency for their labor successful Ontario,” said Phillips.

“They’re conscionable deciding not to. It’s fundamentally a backdoor termination.”

He added nan national is looking into its ineligible options, saying location was “virtually nary notice” that nan work-from-home exemplary successful spot since 2020 would change.

“Suddenly, they’re doing this astir look and disrupting nan lives of astatine slightest 1,000 of their employees,” said Phillips.

In a unionized activity environment, nan rules surrounding relocation of labor is wished by nan corporate statement successful place, said employment lawyer Alex Lucifero, a partner astatine Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

That differs from a non-unionized environment, wherever forcing labor to move to different state aliases consequence being laid disconnected would represent “constructive dismissal.”

“If, ultimately, an employer tin unit a move for illustration this and if location are morganatic business reasons for nan move, past rather frankly location would beryllium thing stopping an employer from doing so,” he said.

“But it’s a mobility past of what is nan ineligible recourse arsenic a consequence of that decision.”

Lucifero said if location are nary rules astir relocation group retired successful nan corporate agreement, it’s up to nan national to conflict to guarantee labor are taken attraction of. That could see advocating for workers to person a adjacent chance of continuing their employment successful different department.

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“If nan institution is committed to placing labor successful different positions to effort and guarantee that they support their jobs pinch Telus, I deliberation that’s nan correct point to do,” he said.

“If that’s conscionable placating labor and telling them what they want to perceive erstwhile really there’s nary chance of that of that happening … that’s a bad look for nan employer.”

Lucifero added location are obligations surrounding moving costs and nan magnitude of announcement companies must springiness erstwhile imposing a relocation connected its employees.

He said reasonable announcement depends “on nan grade of change,” noting nan affected Telus labor person conscionable 3 months to move to different province.

“It’ll beryllium lawsuit by lawsuit and discourse specific, but I deliberation astatine first glance, this is simply a awesome relocation and that benignant of announcement isn’t enough,” said Lucifero.

“I don’t deliberation that’s capable clip for immoderate worker to really get their affairs successful bid decently and instrumentality a move for illustration that.”

The Vancouver-based telecommunications institution announced past August it was cutting 6,000 jobs successful bid to accommodate to a “rapidly transforming industry,” saying issues specified arsenic regularisation and title had prompted nan request to trim its payroll.

The simplification included 4,000 workers astatine its main Telus business, on pinch 2,000 cuts astatine Telus International, which provides IT services and customer work to world clients.

Telus has said it is progressively relying connected technological advancements astatine its telephone centres, which includes integrating artificial intelligence into customer work operations.

Nazim Benhadid, main exertion serviceman for Telus, said astatine a Toronto conference past period that a troubleshooting instrumentality disposable for customers connected nan company’s website is now “completely gen AI.”

“It will seizure what nan customer needs, will find nan adjacent champion action, will pass nan customer, and complete clip it will beryllium capable to resoluteness things for nan customer,” he said.