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Union networks in call centres are key
11 October 2006
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Building union networks at multinational call centre employers was key to global organisation in the industry, concluded delegates at the end of the first day of a global union conference in Switzerland this week.
The conference, organised by Union Network International (UNI), in Nyon, focused on how global standards could help improve conditions in call centres – many of which are unorganised. Participants - including representatives from the ITF, the International Labour Organization and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions - also learned how jobs could easily be switched from an organised site to an unorganised site.
"The solution is union activity at a global level - so unions are there when employers switch work to a new country, or we go with them," said UNI's Neil Anderson. "Capital is highly mobile and it goes where it can get the highest return for the smallest investment. Workers however are generally not mobile."
Problems identified during the session included the downgrading of staff and the dismissal of higher paid older staff in favour of new, young staff in Brazil. French unions outlined the acute difficulties of call centre workers faced by pressures on their conditions or losing work to offshore centres in North Africa, with costs lower by 30 to 40 per cent.
The conference for union organisers builds on the work of the first UNI conference for call centre workers, held in Athens last October.
The ITF, which is cooperating with UNI on call centre organising as a key issue in the transport industry, is inviting affiliates to participate in UNI’s call centre action month this October. More information is available on: http://www.stoptheboss.org.
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