The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) is saddened by today’s closure of yet another two TELUS contact centres – the Competitive Operator Services (COS) offices in Edmonton and Calgary.

On September 10, 2009, TELUS announced that the closures would occur in two phases. Approximately 65 operator positions were terminated on September 25, 2009, with today marking the final day of work for the majority of the remaining 36 operators. The Union was told the work will be moved to the New Westminster office, to TELUS international and to the Rimouski and Montreal offices which are represented by a different union.

The TWU filed a policy grievance because it believes that TELUS has failed to comply with various sections of the Collective Agreement and the Canada Labour Code. The TWU applied to the Minister of Labour for the appointment of an arbitrator. The arbitrator held a hearing on October 23 to evaluate the TWU’s request for an interim injunction to stop the planned closures on October 26. Both TELUS and the TWU had one witness testify. The TWU testified that considerable harm would be done to the members in the COS office if the injunction was not granted. Unfortunately, the TWU learned this morning that we were not successful in obtaining the injunction. The matter will now proceed to a full hearing where the TWU will argue the merits of the full case rather than the interim argument only.

TWU National President, George Doubt, questions TELUS’ continuing effort to offshore work to the detriment of Canadian communities. He says, “In these times of high unemployment, TELUS continues to act like a rogue corporate citizen. While they claim to be committed to Canada, the TWU believes that their actions reflect a company that cares more about its bottom line than the economic health of the communities it reaps its massive profits from.”

The Union’s goal is to see affected employees treated in a just and reasonable fashion and for the terms outlined in the Collective Agreement to be respected. The TWU will provide updates regarding this situation as more information becomes available.