Vodafone plans to cut jobs 'callous'

THE CWU, the Communications Workers Union, has described Vodafone’s plans to cut 184 jobs here and outsource functions to Egypt and India as “callous and insensitive”. It also called on the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte to intervene.

“The entire focus of the Government’s economic recovery policy is on job creation and retention,” said Terry Delany, deputy general secretary of the CWU. “The quid pro quo must be a commitment from large companies to support jobs in Ireland on the back of the large profits and favourable tax rates they enjoy.”

On Friday, it emerged that Vodafone Ireland had decided to move two call centre operations from Ireland to Egypt and India respectively, and to outsource its debt collection function to SouthWestern, a specialist group based in Clonakilty, Co Cork. These moves will affect 45 staff at Vodafone and 139 employees of Rigney Dolphin, an outsourcing company that runs call centre activities for the group.

The CWU said Vodafone was “seeking to deny all obligations” to the customer care team employed at Rigney Dolphin. Mr Delany described the jobs as “moderately paid”, with workers at Rigney Dolphin, who are represented by the CWU, earning “in the late €20,000s”, he said.

Mr Delany also claimed that the staff at Rigney Dolphin were given a presentation by Vodafone management in recent weeks, which stated that they were on track to meet customer care goals set out in a plan for the period up to 2013.

The presentation outlined improvements in productivity that had been achieved. “What has changed in a few weeks?” Mr Delany asked.

Vodafone declined to comment.

The CWU cited the substantial profits that Vodafone had made in Ireland since its acquisition of Eircell more than a decade ago – €120 million last year and €2.2 billion since it entered the Irish market. Vodafone will have more than 400 staff involved in other call centre activities in Ireland after the cuts are made. It employs about 1,200 in Ireland.

No comment was available yesterday from Rigney Dolphin.