Leader hopeful raps call centres
THE man bidding to become leader of Britain’s biggest trade union has attacked call centres as “the new Victorian mills”, with working conditions that are “often shocking”.
Gerard Coyne, who is challenging Len McCluskey in the election to be general secretary of Unite the Union, spoke out during a visit to Wales.
Mr Coyne said: “Call centres are the new Victorian mills. They may not employ children these days but many have the same scandalous practices of zerohours, performance-related pay, constant pressure and few workers’ rights that we associate with the dark Satanic factories of the 19th century.
“In schools today, we teach children about the horrors of the Victorian mills. But similar practices are now becoming far too common place across Britain. There are huge health issues around manning computers and phones for many hours without proper breaks, with overbearing performance management.”
Mr Coyne also referred to a situation of four men regularly travelling long distances to a factory in the hope of securing casual work on a zero-hours contract basis. To save money, they shared a car.
“When they get to the factory they line up with other workers,” said Mr Coyne. “Sometimes only two of them are picked by the boss and they get a shift. The other two sleep on the factory floor and get no pay.
“These issues need to be tackled so that bad working practices in call centres are the exception not the norm.
“As we head towards Brexit and deepening job insecurity, it is vital that we as a nation say enough is enough.
“On becoming general secretary of Unite, I pledge to focus the union’s activities and resources on tackling the appalling treatment of call centre workers and bringing an end to these shocking practices.”