Talk Talk at "Talk Talk"

Sully

Mod Note

I removed an offending post for a reason. I don't think the poster, or his colleagues, would like the connection be made as to what I deleted. Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of removing it.

Apply common sense when posting. That goes for you also Mitch, you have shot yourself twice (at least) in the foot already and I hate having to come in here and clean up a mess which shouldn't have been created.

Please lads, there is more than the few who post here who would be dramatically effected by what people may or may not say or do here.

Finnbar01

Ok, that's fine so.

J0hnick

Does anybody have any links to podcasts for any radio stations that have covered the story since Wednesday ?

chelloveks

J0hnick wrote: »

Does anybody have any links to podcasts for any radio stations that have covered the story since Wednesday ?

Liveline with Joe Duffy did a bit on Thursday on RTE1

Sully

WLRFM on the day, TodayFM the next day at least.

Bens

I cant stress enough.

If you get redundancy, use it straight away to set yourself up where you can have a better chance to get a job than in Waterford.

Go to Oz, Canada, London, even Dublin.

But I bet that you have people on here in 6 months or a year, still in Waterford, with no jobs, complaining that there are no jobs in Waterford and that they havent the money to move (because they waited until their redundancy was gone before acting.)

puppetmaster

Agreed with above, If you have no ties and cant get a job immediatley get out. Its a tough choice to make. but Redundancy money will burn away so so quickly if you get caught not being able to afford to make a move then your stuck. I know that advice is useless to people with familys and commitments. But i know many who have upped roots. and done well for them selves.

I really feel for yee all and talk talk are a disgrace for the way they handled this. But on an expectation note. Please dont put yourself under further stress thinking you might get 8weeks Redundancy, Ive worked with many corporate moves and if their profitable they will pay 2x the stat to get out cleanly. But even the labour court would be skittish about giving six weeks.

Dell in limerick when they let go their staff offered 6 weeks basic pay, Capped at 52 weeks. (so if you were there ten years, you wouldn't get 60). Dell Had billions in cash flow at the time. I hope you all get the best deal possible. But dont be counting on 8 weeks as someone said earlier.

comeraghs

far away hills & all that Ben!

The streets of London, Dublin or anyother place aren't paved with gold!

when it comes down to looking at things in a realistic way .. Waterford is one of the best places anybody could hope to live in.

a positive attitude & this could be a blessing in disguise for many of the people in TT. Best of luck to all who have lost their jobs there

merlante

Wouldn't it great if some of the people getting redundancy would create their own job by starting a business? That's what I'd do if I got a bit of money.

Sure it ain't easy out there, but there are a lot of people getting by in small businesses around Waterford. Funnily enough, though, a lot of Irish people wouldn't even think of starting a business or opening a shop of some kind if it hasn't been in the family...

puppetmaster

merlante wrote: »

Wouldn't it great if some of the people getting redundancy would create their own job by starting a business? That's what I'd do if I got a bit of money.

Sure it ain't easy out there, but there are a lot of people getting by in small businesses around Waterford. Funnily enough, though, a lot of Irish people wouldn't even think of starting a business or opening a shop of some kind if it hasn't been in the family...

It certainly would be good, Its possibly the only idea that will get us out of this, If there were changes to the rent and rate laws it would help immensley.

Thats how the Americans survive (not that their doin great) but their population is huge and much greater education problems than us. They live local and buy local. If locals were willing to spend the extra ten euro in lets say a cycleshop in Waterford rather than buying online. It might keep that cycle shop open and its 5-8 people employed. Those 5-8 spending their wages also locally. Unfortunatley there is the idea in many people's heads that local shops rip you off. (and they made hay in the good times) But where there is value locally people should buy locally. At least giving some backup for a reason to be positive.

Dont get me wrong, im not an Ireland basher telling everyone to get out. But if there isnt an oppertunity to be had locally, Sitting round watching your redundancy dwindle will only lead to hardship in the longrun. imo.

Bens

comeraghs wrote: »

far away hills & all that Ben!

The streets of London, Dublin or anyother place aren't paved with gold!

when it comes down to looking at things in a realistic way .. Waterford is one of the best places anybody could hope to live in.

a positive attitude & this could be a blessing in disguise for many of the people in TT. Best of luck to all who have lost their jobs there

At least the streets arent paved with ****e though, which is all there will be to pave the streets in Waterford.

I moved to London, not because I was being made redundant, but to protect my pension and savings form the Irish government. I didnt even know it when I started looking in London but I get paid double the amount for the same job now. Other people I know are moving over too and everybody I know who has moved to London has a job. In fairness though I dont know too many people at home who dont have a job either though. But the ones I do know have just sat there and rotted, instead of going somewhere thats better for them. Now they are in a rut. And they just complain all the time instead of acting.

rasper

Bards wrote: »

One of the common things that Both Limerick and Waterford have in common is a large Social Housing & Working Class population vis a vis Galway.

The Large parties of FF & FG know this and realise that this demographic generally do not vote FG or FG so have no interest in throwing money at either City, but rather just get the crumbs from what ever is left over after the other 3 (Dublin, Cork, Galway) have had their feast.

How many more reports do we need to tell us what we already know?

What do our waste of space governments do for Galway, how have they pefected it up there, granted University (since the mid 19th century) and the reopening of the rail between Limerick and Galway. but doubt very much they are favoured seems to be a case of grass is greener or sour grapes

wmpdd3

Sorry if this was posted.

Daily Mail covered the party Talk Talk held in England for their staff:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036093/TalkTalk-lay-575-Irish-workers--bosses-hold-giant-party-free-beer-clay-pigeon-shooting-food-music.html

Smiley Burnett

John Halligan propsed increasing Corporation Tax prior to the last election. It is one of his policies. How many thousands of extra jobs would be lost if halligan, boyd-barrett and joe higgins had their way???
But of course Halligan is now advertising the fact that his assistant is an expert on social welfare!! If had his way we would ALL be experts in social welfare!!!

Tis time people copped the fuk on !!!

rasper

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Sorry if this was posted.

Daily Mail covered the party Talk Talk held in England for their staff:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036093/TalkTalk-lay-575-Irish-workers--bosses-hold-giant-party-free-beer-clay-pigeon-shooting-food-music.html

A tad bit insensitive considering their Irish counterparts will be facing unemployment, repossessions and emigration, but in two years time they'll probably be having the same hooley in Bangalore.

J0hnick

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036093/TalkTalk-lay-575-Irish-workers--bosses-hold-giant-party-free-beer-clay-pigeon-shooting-food-music.html#comments

Says it all really

abouttobebanned

One of the comments complaining of €6 pints in ireland. He obviously didnt visit waterford. (or leave his fancy hotel for that matter)

J0hnick

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/talk-talk-rebuffs-state-request-for-time-2873150.html

AdMMM

Ciara Conway is all smiles after hearing the news.

fuzzy dunlop

hardybuck wrote: »

To be honest I couldn't be bothered spending time checking exact dates of when the various industrial parks were founded, but in Clonmel's case - who I made no reference to - their expansion has been far more recent. I might give you the precious detail you crave in the near future if I get the time. ...

Too bad your laziness doesn't apply to your Bullsh1t statements. The point about "various industrual parks" is that they are a dime a dozen and not some piece of political favouritism as you have suggested.The fact that I have to spell that out for you says a lot.

hardybuck wrote: »

Waterford got the regional third level college and hospitals when Kilkenny and Wexford received smaller hospitals and satellite college campuses which are about the size of primary schools. So I presume the evidence I'd back it up with is located in bricks and morter on both the Cork and Dunmore Roads respectively if you want to go check out my facts there...

Seriously where else were they going to put the regional facilities? They put them in the only place they logically could put them.The largest urban centre in the region where all the regional transport links are concentrated. But don't worry we get it! You're from Kilkenny or Wexford and probably think "Waterford gets everything":rolleyes:

Smiley Burnett

AdMMM wrote: »

Ciara Conway is all smiles after hearing the news.

She is smiling because she had her photo taken with her esteemed leader. This will appear in next week's paper accompanied by a silly press release, which will express sympathy for the talktalk workers etc etc etc. This will help boost her profile. End of story.

J0hnick

Richard Bruton just walked in the door

Max Powers

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

She is smiling because she had her photo taken with her esteemed leader. This will appear in next week's paper accompanied by a silly press release, which will express sympathy for the talktalk workers etc etc etc. This will help boost her profile. End of story.

This photo is not the time or place for smiling, shes in her own lil world, not a clue

Sully

I think you probably need to smile a little. She just looked a tad excited and a bit to happy.

letsbet

Whoever said that governments don't create jobs:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/employment?fsrc=scn/tw/te/dc/defendingjobs

BlaasForRafa

The Chinese peoples liberation army - A great bunch of lads!

Wouldn't want to hint at any comparison between them and talktalk though....

KevIRL

Fair play Fintan O Toole

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0913/1224304020095.html

Reckless, feckless and feral employer is all talk, talk


FINTAN O'TOOLE

The British broadband company’s ‘Brighter Basics’ values is in stark contrast with its treatment of workers

WHOSE PARTICULAR splodge of corporate bull**** is this?

“Our people are central to the success of [the company] and we have embarked on a program to make the business ‘A Brighter Place for Everyone’. We want our people to feel included, respected and most importantly enjoy their jobs and be passionate about the great culture we share within our work environment. We want to recognise our people for doing great work and helping to drive our business forward.”

Have you guessed already? No? Here’s another hint: “Successful delivery of our strategy is not just about what we plan to do, it’s also about how we do it. The way people work together and the culture we develop is a crucial element to our success. Through the course of this year, we have developed our Brighter Basics – five core values that define what kind of team we aspire to be. They define our aspirations as a way of daily life, they capture what makes [the company] unique, and will guide us in implementing our plans to make [us] a brighter place for everyone.”

You surely recognise this wonderful company by now, but here’s one last hint. The Brighter Basics number four is “People: We encourage honesty, ideas and action.”

Number five is “Community: We believe that our people and our products can make our community a better place.” The company expands on this latter principle: “We aim to use our position to engage, empower and support the communities around us”.

You’ve got it now. It’s TalkTalk, the delightful British broadband company that made Waterford a better place last week by dropping a large bomb on it in the shape of a redundancy notice for 575 workers. It didn’t have the courtesy to give the Government any notice of its intentions. It didn’t try to soften the blow by pulling out over a reasonable period of time, so that workers could try to make plans and State agencies could try to come up with alternatives. It just curtly announced that it’s shutting up shop in four weeks. Some workers learned of their fate on Facebook, others on the radio. As Barry O’Leary of the IDA put it, it was “as bad as it gets in terms of company behaviour”.

But there must be some mistake here. TalkTalk is all about engagement and communication. Its corporate and social responsibility review tells us that “employee engagement, the extent to which employees are psychologically and emotionally attached to their work, positively influences customer satisfaction and productivity. Our last survey results registered an engagement score of 74 per cent.” Furthermore, “keeping our people informed of developments and the company’s progress, whilst enabling them to engage in two-way communication, has been a strong feature this year at TalkTalk.

‘Dido’s Blog’ [Dido is the chief executive, Dido Harding] has become a weekly personalised account of the chief executive officer’s experiences, with key messages to the workers. Employees are free to post comments on the blog anonymously should they prefer not to include their details. This is reinforced by ‘Team Talk’, a weekly set of messages designed to enable managers to share information with their teams in a consistent manner.”

We now know that behind this nauseating bilge, TalkTalk didn’t give a fiddler’s fart for the workers who, as it acknowledged, had “shown huge dedication and care in serving our customers over the years”. It couldn’t care less if Waterford and its “community” crumbles into the sea. Even if it decided that its bottom line was better served by closing the Waterford call centre, it could have made some effort to work with its employees, the Government and the city to mitigate the damage – but it simply couldn’t be bothered. It is reckless, feckless and feral.

Yet this epitome of irresponsibility is also a paragon of “corporate social responsibility” (CSR). Suppose you are an investor with a conscience and you want to put your money into a company that behaves decently towards the environment, employees and the community – one of the main ways of doing this is the FTSE4Good Index, a version of the FTSE that focuses specifically on the most “socially responsible companies”.

Guess who has all the merit badges of this scout troop? TalkTalk proudly proclaims itself a “valued member of . . . the leading global responsible investment index”. This company may be “as bad as it gets” but it has managed to convince investors it’s as sweet as Little Orphan Annie.

This is why bull**** isn’t harmless. It’s evil. There are companies who really do try to behave responsibly. Why should they bother, though, when, as our aptly named friends have shown, TalkTalk is so cheap? There’s a whole industry in the corporate newspeak of CSR: people, empowerment, community, inclusion, team, communication. Its sole point is to dress up disempowerment. It is not accidental that it often functions as a substitute for trade unions: who needs a union when you can play for the team and read Dido’s Blog? It’s all perfectly lovely until it suits them to WalkWalk.

jayboi

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

She is smiling because she had her photo taken with her esteemed leader. This will appear in next week's paper accompanied by a silly press release, which will express sympathy for the talktalk workers etc etc etc. This will help boost her profile. End of story.

Max Powers wrote: »

This photo is not the time or place for smiling, shes in her own lil world, not a clue

Sully wrote: »

I think you probably need to smile a little. She just looked a tad excited and a bit to happy.

Id hate to see her at a funeral.

abouttobebanned

There's something about this whole thing that reminds me of Thierry Henry.

When Ireland were denied a chance at World Cup Qualification cause of that infamous handball...the whole country was up in arms. Politicians demanded retribution. But it was never going to happen and we all ended up looking like babies throwing our bottle out of the pram. Waterford has never looked so small and insignificant as in the aftermath of the talk talk affair. The bosses of that company really don't care about waterford, but of course they will pretend they will for the media, before the move on like they always intended on doing. Local politicians can give scream and complain all they want but it's going to get talk talk and its employees nowhere.

fricatus

abouttobebanned wrote: »

There's something about this whole thing that reminds me of Thierry Henry.

When Ireland were denied a chance at World Cup Qualification cause of that infamous handball...the whole country was up in arms. Politicians demanded retribution. But it was never going to happen and we all ended up looking like babies throwing our bottle out of the pram. Waterford has never looked so small and insignificant as in the aftermath of the talk talk affair. The bosses of that company really don't care about waterford, but of course they will pretend they will for the media, before the move on like they always intended on doing. Local politicians can give scream and complain all they want but it's going to get talk talk and its employees nowhere.

Very true. In olden times of course, small countries and small cities alike just got invaded and pillaged by their neighbours, and thankfully that era is past (well at least in the sense that actual physical war and destruction doesn't take place any more).

However while there might be political and military protection for small states now, there is no such economic protection. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. Having a level of protection for employees in somewhere like TalkTalk is a difficult balancing act. Too much, and employers flee the country, with unions protecting the incompetent and their mates; too little and workers' futures hang on the balance of boardroom outcomes far away.

We might not have Cromwell coming in and slaughtering our people these days, but we are as defenceless in the face of economic power as we ever were. :mad: