Telus’s Ontario call centre to remain open as union fights office mandate

Some 150 Ontario call centre workers will remain in the province for the time being as their union battles Telus on its return-to-office plan.

Those workers, who are represented by United Steelworkers Local 1944, were told in July they had to either relocate to Montreal by October, apply for another role or agree to be laid off as the company mandated in-office work this month.

Unlike other Telus employees, their main location of work in Barrie, Ont., was slated to be shut down by the company this fall – that is until last month, a court ordered a pause on its plans while it hears arguments from the union.

“Our members are under extreme stress at this time, especially those in Ontario being offered the choice of losing their communities or losing their jobs,” said Michael Phillips, president of United Steelworkers National Local 1944.

“We are assisting our members with workplace accommodation requests related to the mandates, and we’re generally trying to draw the public’s attention to the fact that there is a contradiction between how Telus markets itself as an ethical employer versus how they treat their employees.”

In the summer, Telus said it would require roughly 1,000 call centre employees across Canada, who have been working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic began, to return to the office three days a week starting in September.

However, Telus Ontario call centre workers wouldn’t have an office to return to because the company said it would be shutting down its Barrie site following a “thoughtful review of our real estate,” spokesperson Brandi Merker told The Canadian Press in July.

At the time, the union said it was looking into its legal options given there was “virtually no notice” about the changes.

On Aug. 8, the British Columbia Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction against Telus’s return-to-office mandate. It will remain in place until two months after an arbitrator is selected, and may be extended by agreement or further order of the court.

Phillips told Global News that most of the affected Ontario employees have been working from home for years, and while the majority live in the Greater Toronto Area, the union doesn’t know of any who have expressed a desire to move to Montreal for in-office work.

He also said the union is unaware of how many members may have applied for other roles at Telus, but added the company has not stated if it would open additional postings for affected employees, or if it would give preference to affected employees in hiring for any existing postings.

Aside from offering financial support for those willing to make the move, Merker told Global News that Telus has offered “financially generous” voluntary separation packages that “exceed the requirements of the Canada Labour Code.”

“Although the majority of this team worked in an office prior to the pandemic, we know this represents an evolution to the way we’ve worked over the last few years,” Merker said.

“We feel strongly that our evolved style of serving our customers and investment in our valued team members will secure a strong future for our customers, team, and business. We are currently awaiting arbitration, and continue to operate business as usual and deliver outstanding service to our customers.”

Phillips added that arbitration regarding the union’s grievances against Telus’s office mandate is occurring this week.

Last August, Telus announced it was cutting 6,000 jobs in order to adapt to a “rapidly transforming industry,” saying issues such as regulation and competition had prompted the need to reduce its payroll.

Alex Lucifero, a partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, told The Canadian Press in July that rules around relocation differ in unionized and non-unionized environments.

In the former, the rules around relocation of employees are determined by the collective agreement in place, while in the latter forcing employees to move 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.”

However, 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.”

— with files from The Canadian Press

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