Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Calls for Tesco and Lloyds tohave talks
CALLS were today made for Tesco and Lloyds to work together to get Dundonians back into work.
A day after it was announced by the banking group that 252 call centre jobs would be cut in the city by Christmas, the supermarket giant revealed it plans to create 250 new contract centre roles in Dundee.
This follows the announcement that its customer service operations in Cardiff will close, impacting 1,100 jobs in the Welsh capital.
Speaking to the Tele today, Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said he would be doing everything he could to help the 252 call centre workers — including his wife Sarah — who are due to lose their jobs by Christmas.
Mr Alexander said he had already begun talks to help all those affected.
He said: “It’s been a strange week in Dundee with the Lloyds and Tesco announcements.
“I’m waiting to find out the detail of the Tesco jobs but I would hope there is scope for some of those Lloyd employees to get work with Tesco.
“I will be sitting down with Tesco, who I hope will be able to have a look at matching up some of their jobs with those who are to be made redundant.”
Mr Alexander said he was already working with local SNP MSP Joe Fitzpatrick to do what they could for the Lloyds workers.
He added: “The people who have lost their jobs are full-time skilled workers and the city council and I will doing everything we can to get them back into work or education, if that’s what they want.”
Meanwhile, representatives of the banking union Accord confirmed that they had already begun talks with USDAW, the union that represents many Tesco workers.
Assistant general secretary Jim Fielding said: “We met with workers yesterday and this proved to be very cathartic for many of them.
“It gave them a chance to vent their spleen.
“We have also been promised the support of Lloyds who are looking at ways to continue to provide work for some of their Dundee employees.
“This could involve looking at different shift patterns that will allow them to move to the Dunfermline premises with pay that would compensate them for the travel and new hours.”