The union representing those workers,
The move is part of a larger reorganization announced internally on Wednesday. It will require around 1,000 call centre employees across the country, who have been working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic began, to return to the office three days a week starting in September.
But customer service agents in
"We’ve been on a journey to evolve our customer service, increasingly offering digital and self-serve options that continue to decrease call volumes," she said in an emailed statement.
"As part of this evolution, we’re investing in our frontline team members with training, reskilling and new tools that modernize our capabilities so that when customers do need to call us for more complex situations, their issue is resolved the first time, every time."
Merker said those who accept relocation will receive financial support, while the voluntary separation package being offered exceeds the requirements of the Canada Labour Code.
"While we hope our team is excited to evolve and grow with us, we know this is a change to the way we work today, and in particular, represents a significant personal decision for our
The financial package includes 18 months of wages, plus possible bonuses based on seniority, said
But he called Telus' offer to its
"I mean, it's a national telecom that can afford to provide an office for their employees in
"They're just deciding not to. It's essentially a backdoor termination."
He added the union is looking into its legal options, saying there was "virtually no notice" that the work-from-home model in place since 2020 would change.
"Suddenly, they're doing this about face and disrupting the lives of at least 1,000 of their employees," said Phillips.
In a unionized work environment, the rules surrounding relocation of employees is determined by the collective agreement in place, said employment lawyer
That differs from a non-unionized environment, where forcing employees to move to another province or risk being laid off would constitute "constructive dismissal."
"If, ultimately, an employer can force a move like this and if there are legitimate business reasons for the move, then quite frankly there would be nothing stopping an employer from doing so," he said.
"But it's a question then of what is the legal recourse as a result of that decision."
Lucifero said if there are no rules about relocation set out in the collective agreement, it's up to the union to fight to ensure employees are taken care of. That could include advocating for workers to have a fair chance of continuing their employment in another department.
"If the company is committed to placing employees in other positions to try and ensure that they keep their jobs with Telus, I think that's the right thing to do," he said.
"If that's just placating employees and telling them what they want to hear when really there's no chance of that of that happening ... that's a bad look for the employer."
Lucifero added there are obligations surrounding moving costs and the amount of notice companies must give when imposing a relocation on its employees.
He said reasonable notice depends "on the degree of change," noting the affected Telus employees have just three months to move to another province.
"It'll be case by case and context specific, but I think at first glance, this is a major relocation and that kind of notice isn't enough," said Lucifero.
"I don't think that's enough time for any employee to really get their affairs in order properly and implement a move like that."
The
The reduction included 4,000 workers at its main Telus business, along with 2,000 cuts at
Telus has said it is increasingly relying on technological advancements at its call centres, which includes integrating artificial intelligence into customer service operations.
"It will capture what the customer needs, will find the next best action, will inform the customer, and over time it will be able to resolve things for the customer," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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