Talk Talk at "Talk Talk"

fricatus

Nolanger wrote: »

I've met people from Kilkenny/Mayo/Cork/Kerry/Donegal who brag where they're from and say great things about their county. Never met anyone from Waterford who does that.

Yeah, I think we must be the only county in Ireland that doesn't brag all the time about how brilliant we are... :rolleyes:

And while I'd hate us to be making the ridiculous claims of other places (real capital, rugby capital, kingdom, biggest inland county, party capital of the Universe, capital of the Lakeland region, etc. etc.) I would like us to stand up and claim what's ours.

It always surprises me when Waterford people don't see the need for us to be resourced the same as say Limerick and Galway. Whatever about fcukers from elsewhere telling us we should "know our place", it really depresses me to see our own crowd doing that! :mad:

KevIRL

LOL. The idiots from the Socialist Worker Party were outside the Talk Talk office today handing out leaflets for a meeting that barely any Talk Talk workers want.

They also set up a Facebook page for it and after getting a barrage of critisim from Talk Talk workers the SWP organiser posted up an article about a Talk Talk worker being sacked for making a joke but forgetting to put LOL at the end as a reason why workers needed to go to them and not to their own employee reps (who are doing sterling work)...The 'story' is a Waterford Whispers News story from last year that the SWP tried to pass off as real!

Once this was highlighted the mighty SWP removed all the posts from the wall of the event of Facebook. So much for free speech which they allegedly preach

K-9

So if it isn't the pro West Brit outlook it must be the pro Union one!

Any other bases to cover?

dashboard_hula

Does anyone know who this "Joan Kwirk" wan is who is posting such shíte on that "Public Meeting for TalkTalk" page? From the looks of it, she seems to be about 27, a bit thick, and totally unable to get the hint that the TT lads would prefer to work things out between the staff and management first before resorting to the socialists for help, if ever.
The bull that she has written on FB would be hilarious if she wasn't so serious, but all it takes is for one national media source to pick it up, even as speculation, for the redundancy negotiations to be seriously put at risk.
Also I don't think Richard Boyd Barrett would appreciate his name being tossed around so cavalierly and being used to promote a politically stupid stunt like this.


Rant over. I'd have posted it on the relevant FB page itself if I didn't think it would get deleted.

honeybadger

link

abouttobebanned

dashboard_hula wrote: »

Does anyone know who this "Joan Kwirk" wan is who is posting such shíte on that "Public Meeting for TalkTalk" page? From the looks of it, she seems to be about 27, a bit thick, and totally unable to get the hint that the TT lads would prefer to work things out between the staff and management first before resorting to the socialists for help, if ever.
The bull that she has written on FB would be hilarious if she wasn't so serious, but all it takes is for one national media source to pick it up, even as speculation, for the redundancy negotiations to be seriously put at risk.
Also I don't think Richard Boyd Barrett would appreciate his name being tossed around so cavalierly and being used to promote a politically stupid stunt like this.


Rant over. I'd have posted it on the relevant FB page itself if I didn't think it would get deleted.

Joan Kwirk
workers of the world unite you have nothing to loose but your chains

Is the word lose that difficult to spell?

Anyway...

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176185909123020

fricatus

abouttobebanned wrote: »

Is the word lose that difficult to spell?

I should really save the link to that Captain Picard facepalm for occasions like that!

Nolanger

honeybadger wrote: »

link

http://www.tv3.ie/shows.php?request=themorningshow&tv3_preview=&video=40028

chelloveks

Has this been posted yet? It's a blog from Robert Butler in the Cork University Economics Dept. It is pretty interesting.



Since January 2009 Waterford and the South-East region have be dealt some shattering employment blows. The disastrous closure of Waterford Crystal, following the sale of Waterford Wedgewood, was the final chapter in the long story of crystal manufacturing in the city. Despite the gradual winding down of crystal manufacturing in Waterford since the mid-1980s, the tale of crystal production in Waterford is laden with stories of success. The Time Square Millennium celebrations and the factories continued presence among the top tourists attraction in Ireland until its closure, rank among the top achievements for a brand that had incredible prestige attached to it both nationally and internationally. These successes make its closure even harder to swallow, not to mention the critical economic blow that the plant’s cessation caused to the city and region. 670 direct jobs were lost when the factory finally shut in early 2009.

The closure of Talk Talk last week saw another 575 jobs leave the city. This can be added to the Waterford Crystal job losses and those announced by Teva Pharmaceutical (315) and ABB Transformer (178) in the last two years. Another 130 redundancies are being made in Glaxo-Smith-Kline in Dungarvan. Since the turn of 2009 1,868 people have become directly unemployed in Waterford city and county. Countless other people had been made unemployed, and sadly due to the nature of their work, be it through self-employment or with SMEs, nobody will report on their termination of employment.

While it is unquestionable that all parts of the country have suffered due to the prolonged recession that Ireland is enduring, it is hard to think of a region or city that has had to bear the burden placed on Waterford. The most recent figures from the CSO’s National Quarterly Household Survey (NHQS) indicate that the South-East region has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 17.2%. This is more than 3% higher than the national average. Labour force participation in the South-East is the third lowest in the country at just 57.6%. Sadly, with the recent news of further job losses to the region is likely the unemployment rate will climb, while continued structural unemployment could cause the participation rate to fall further, as people simply give up and stop looking for work they believe is not out there.

The 1,868 job losses need to be put into a national context to gain a perspective on just how damaging the Talk Talk announcement and others has been to the local economy. The NHQS reports that since 2008 the Dublin region has employed on average 542,800 people. This is compared to 196,133 people in the South-East. Not surprising given the large population differences. However, following this logic, 1,868 job losses to the South-East region is the equivalent of more than 5,150 in the Dublin region. That’s more than 20% of the entire employment currently supported by the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Can you imagine the outcry if one-fifth of the IFSC shut-up shop over a two year period and was not replaced. It’s time for something to be done. Education is the way forward – we all know what that means for Waterford and the South-East.

mufcboy1999

anyone staying in waterford looking for work might as well apply for college now as a back up, chances are you wont find a job its a joke here.

nice_very

Flyer1 wrote: »

We all saw it coming.

Anyone with half a brain could.

yeah, especially after the email a few months ago telling all at talk talk Waterford their jobs were safe..?

Finnbar01

chelloveks wrote: »

Has this been posted yet? It's a blog from Robert Butler in the Cork University Economics Dept. It is pretty interesting.



Since January 2009 Waterford and the South-East region have be dealt some shattering employment blows. The disastrous closure of Waterford Crystal, following the sale of Waterford Wedgewood, was the final chapter in the long story of crystal manufacturing in the city. Despite the gradual winding down of crystal manufacturing in Waterford since the mid-1980s, the tale of crystal production in Waterford is laden with stories of success. The Time Square Millennium celebrations and the factories continued presence among the top tourists attraction in Ireland until its closure, rank among the top achievements for a brand that had incredible prestige attached to it both nationally and internationally. These successes make its closure even harder to swallow, not to mention the critical economic blow that the plant’s cessation caused to the city and region. 670 direct jobs were lost when the factory finally shut in early 2009.

The closure of Talk Talk last week saw another 575 jobs leave the city. This can be added to the Waterford Crystal job losses and those announced by Teva Pharmaceutical (315) and ABB Transformer (178) in the last two years. Another 130 redundancies are being made in Glaxo-Smith-Kline in Dungarvan. Since the turn of 2009 1,868 people have become directly unemployed in Waterford city and county. Countless other people had been made unemployed, and sadly due to the nature of their work, be it through self-employment or with SMEs, nobody will report on their termination of employment.

The problem with the South East is that we are too farctured. We need to bind together and sell ourselves as a region rather than on a county to county basis.

dazftw

Well lads

I'm looking to put together a short documentary with video/images on some of the families who have been hit hard with these recent job losses.

Maybe 5 or so families to answer 2 - 3 questions. If you know of anyone or you've affected yourself and wouldn't mind answering a few questions send me a pm on here or you can get my contact details from my website in my signature.

Finnbar01

dazftw wrote: »

Well lads

I'm looking to put together a short documentary with video/images on some of the families who have been hit hard with these recent job losses.

Maybe 5 or so families to answer 2 - 3 questions. If you know of anyone or you've affected yourself and wouldn't mind answering a few questions send me a pm on here or you can get my contact details from my website in my signature.

Don't mean to be rude but I've had enough of these sob and whinge stories to last me a lifetime.

Minstrel27

Finnbar01 wrote: »

Don't mean to be rude but I've had enough of these sob and whinge stories to last me a lifetime.

Don't watch it so.

dazftw

You're not being rude at all. That's just your opinion which is fine. Doesn't have to be a sob story though, these people could have also got opportunities to work elsewhere which is always good. What I meant by hardest hit families were people who have more than 1 child or a single parent. I could have worded it much better. As much as it's a ****ty situation it should be brought up. It's still important you know.

J0hnick

dazftw wrote: »

You're not being rude at all. That's just your opinion which is fine. Doesn't have to be a sob story though, these people could have also got opportunities to work elsewhere which is always good. What I meant by hardest hit families were people who have more than 1 child or a single parent. I could have worded it much better. As much as it's a ****ty situation it should be brought up. It's still important you know.

I dont fit that bill, I have a mortgage but no kids, there is one person I know of who works/worked here and supported 2 kids and her husband who went back to college. I just hope she gets a decent redundancy.

Finnbar01

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Don't watch it so.

I won't.. .doh!

Buford T Justice

Only getting a chance to chip in here now, but I was part of the group that got the shove in May 2010 in Sligo from Talk Talk.

I feel for everyone affected, I really do as I know exactly what its like. However, my heart goes out to the people who transferred there from Sligo. The conditions were that they would have had to take a new contract in Waterford. Therefore, a few people who had 4 or so years service moved, and now they will get nothing from them. They are the ones who have been royally shafted. Its not a pleasant experience, and I will share some of my insight with you.

MitchKoobski wrote: »

We all got an email at 12 o' clock saying one of the directors will be presenting us with "an update on strategy to all employees" at half 3.
Getting a bit frantic but depressing in here. Some are ready to let rip, some are upset, most sensed something like this was coming for a while.

One of the lads found the report on RTE, WLR then pasted it out again.

Still no full confirmation on whats going on, but word going around is that its the exact same email Sligo got before they shut them down.

We got no email. We were just all taken off the phones and gathered up immediately. The senior managers were taken for lunch, and when they came back they were not allowed leave the boardroom until the staff were gathered. Phones were just abandoned with no heads answering calls. It was a complete shock. We didn't even know they were coming, never mind that we were getting a briefing.

MitchKoobski wrote: »

They have projects lined up here too, and theres a huge company party in england on saturday just as an extra kick in the stones.

Just doesn't add up that they would announce job losses now, but tbh its not as if boards of directors care.

They did that with us too. They were just moving to a new building and were having staff fun days when they made our announcement

.

MitchKoobski wrote: »

Gone by October.

"We propose the closure of Waterford with all roles being moved to the UK"

"There will be 30 days for consultation and transition starting tomorrow"

Option to move your role to england IF it is a required role

He seems to be doding around actually saying "We are closing Waterford"

Just keeps saying support is available

Sending us all home for the day.

Wouldn't answer questions. Any questions will be dealt with within the next 30 days.

As above, anyone be warned about moving to the UK. I rekon they will do similar again in another 12 months. They will shift all calls to South Africa or Pune, and written correspondence to Transcom in Manila

MitchKoobski wrote: »

They had to have had this planned for at least a month. Pisses me off that even at 11:55 today we, including managers, had no idea anything was happening.

Nither did we.

As a manager, be aware. Communication with you're counterparts in the UK will slow down and eventually drop off the face of the planet. They will ignore you like you have the plague. They will agree the terms of the redundancy and that will most likely be the last you'll hear of them except from a HR perspective

They gave us statutory, which they had to. They also decided to give the staff with less than 2 years the same, based on length of service which they didn't have to, not that that makes up for anything.
We asked for a month plus statutory as was the norm in the area but they wouldn't give it. We hired legal representation and had lodged it with the labour court, then they decided to give us a month.

They will tell you that they'll do everything they can and blah blah.... arrange a recruitment agency to come in for sessions to help people apply for jobs etc... but anything other than that will be the most feeble attempt at simply satisfying criteria they need to with no effort at all.

All in all, they are a shower of evil bastards. The only happy note I have from this is the Centre Manager in waterford, can't think of her name (She was off on maternity leave not long after we got the news) is also getting shafted I hope. That stone faced heartless bitch is now getting a first hand taste of what its like on the other end of her podium.

EDIT: Its Heather Roache.... Thanks for the PM.....


If anyone wants to know any information about what happened with us, please ask and I'll share.

KevIRL

This crowd would seriously want to get a grip and deserve every piece of negative publicity they've gotten and will hopefully still get. The nerve of them to accuse the MEP of negligence considering the way they went about the closure of Waterford (not to mention the derisory redundancy package from a company making a fortune.

They are exploiting the bounds of the law by terming the shutdown a 'proposed closure' and claiming everyone is only 'at risk' of redundancy. Absolute bull$hit of the highest order, the decision was made to close the site a few years ago, they've made 3 rounds of redundacies in 2 years (approx 120 people) and there was nothing 'proposed' about the site closure announced on 7th Sept.


http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0923/talktalk.html

Talk Talk criticises Irish MEP's statement

The telecom company Talk Talk has written to an Irish MEP accusing her of "negligent misstatement" after she raised the company's plan to close its Waterford call centre in the European Parliament, which will result in the loss of 575 jobs there.

Earlier this month Labour MEP Phil Prendergast asked EU Employment Commissioner Lazlo Andor to consider if the closure of the facility at one month's notice was in breach of any EU directives.

She also asked if sanctions could be taken under EU rules against companies behaving in such a manner.

Talk Talk has written to the Ireland South MEP to ask her to immediately retract her statement. She has accused them of double-talk and says the letter amounts to a "thinly veiled threat" of legal action.

The letter says employees had not yet been given notice, and that this would not happen until a 30 day consultation process had concluded, or until 30 days after the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation was notified of the proposed redundancies.

It added that if the closure goes ahead employees would receive their full legal entitlements.

KevIRL

An excellent reply from Phil Prendergast

http://www.philprendergast.ie/2011/double-talk-and-double-standards-from-talk-talk-boss/

Two weeks’ ago, I raised the issue of Talk Talk’s plan to close its call centre in Waterford with loss of up to 575 jobs in the European Parliament. Because of this, the company’s head of human resources Nigel Sullivan saw fit to write to me demanding a retraction of what I said in the Parliament. His letter contained a thinly veiled threat of legal action against me if I did not jump to his tune. He also demanded that I retract what I said in parliament and copied his letter to the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Laszlo Andor. I expect he will be disappointed by my response.

I was furious at such arrogance and such ignorance. Public representatives have a duty to raise issues of public concern. Forums such as council chambers and parliaments are places where the representatives of the people can say things in the public interest that might otherwise be subject to defamation action without fear of legal reprisal. This means that big money cannot be used to buy big lawyers as means of stifling debate and consideration of matters of public concern. Representatives, of course, have a duty to use this privilege responsibly and almost always do.

What I said in the parliament was not remotely close to defamation. In fact, I made no accusation, just a normal inquiry to the appropriate Commissioner – another day at the office, you could say. Much worse has been said about Talk Talk in the media, yet I get a letter accusing me of “negligent misstatement” and a demand for a retraction.

Through this letter, Talk Talk has exposed itself as a corporate bully hostile to democracy. Trying to prevent a public representative from raising an issue of widespread concern in parliament is another low for a company that has treated its loyal Waterford workforce in an appalling way.

It’s all the more astonishing, considering the husband of the company’s CEO is a minister in the UK government.

There has been widespread shock and condemnation at the speed with which the company is trying to close its call centre. I simply asked Commissioner Andor to examine whether the company’s actions are in line with EU law. For this, I get thinly veiled threats just for doing my job and using the Parliament for its intended purpose.

Talk Talk has shown itself to be not just a corporate bully but a corporate hypocrite too. Just last May, the company baldly stated that the British High Court and the British Government were wrong in its interpretation of EU law. By Talk Talk’s reckoning, it is entitled to make this type of statement about a High Court judge but when I simply raise a question over its compliance with an EU directive, making no accusation, it sees fit to threaten me.

The Irish public knows Talk Talk stands for double talk but now we know it stands for double standards too. They should have the courage to stand over their position in public rather than try to hide behind thinly veiled threats.

If the company is to salvage something from the wreckage of this corporate image car crash, it must offer its Waterford workforce exceptional and unprecedented redundancy terms and make a considerable contribution to the community.

She also includes a link to a pdf of her mailed reply to TT

http://www.philprendergast.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Response-to-Mr-Nigel-Sullivan.pdf

Kotek Besar

KevIRL wrote: »

This crowd would seriously want to get a grip and deserve every piece of negative publicity they've gotten and will hopefully still get.

The thing is, the negative publicity is in the Irish press, and TalkTalk no longer operate in Ireland.

The UK media had virtually no mention of the proposed closure of Waterford, apart from perhaps a single Daily Mail article.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, this isn't a UK issue for the British public to be too concerned about.

KevIRL

Kotek Besar wrote: »

The thing is, the negative publicity is in the Irish press, and TalkTalk no longer operate in Ireland.

The UK media had virtually no mention of the proposed closure of Waterford, apart from perhaps a single Daily Mail article.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, this isn't a UK issue for the British public to be too concerned about.

Agreed. They do get plenty of negative publicity in the UK press though as well, not about the situation in Waterford granted but rather their overall shoddy operation.

Buford T Justice

Kotek Besar wrote: »

The thing is, the negative publicity is in the Irish press, and TalkTalk no longer operate in Ireland.

The UK media had virtually no mention of the proposed closure of Waterford, apart from perhaps a single Daily Mail article.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, this isn't a UK issue for the British public to be too concerned about.

When their calls are answered in Manila or Pune instead of Ireland, they'll not be long complaining about how the service level has changed...... It'll cause a certain amount of churn anyway.

Reminds me of a chart I saw in there once of how they graded their calls. Billing enquiries and the simple pish was all sent out to Manila and Pune, and the complicated stuff was sent to us. They knew the value of having native speakers handling complaints..... They're changing all that again. It'll give rise to more complaints mark my words.... Good enough for them

Mitch, If you've had any dealings with the Staff in Manila you'll know what i mean. The team leaders and sme's were shall we say, challenged in taking up tasks we handled on a daily basis.

blaa85

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Mitch, If you've had any dealings with the Staff in Manila you'll know what i mean. The team leaders and sme's were shall we say, challenged in taking up tasks we handled on a daily basis.

I agree

Media999

Any more news on the redundancy after the meeting on Wednesday/Thursday?

BlaasForRafa

Kotek Besar wrote: »

The thing is, the negative publicity is in the Irish press, and TalkTalk no longer operate in Ireland.

The UK media had virtually no mention of the proposed closure of Waterford, apart from perhaps a single Daily Mail article.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, this isn't a UK issue for the British public to be too concerned about.

It will be when they start closing down its UK call centres.

BlaasForRafa

KevIRL wrote: »

Agreed. They do get plenty of negative publicity in the UK press though as well, not about the situation in Waterford granted but rather their overall shoddy operation.

When the redundancy money is safely in peoples accounts they will be able to tell all as regards all the stuff that talktalk gets up to.

KevIRL

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

When the redundancy money is safely in peoples accounts they will be able to tell all as regards all the stuff that talktalk gets up to.

There will be all form of clauses around non discclosure for them to sign as part of the redudancy,

KevIRL

Media999 wrote: »

Any more news on the redundancy after the meeting on Wednesday/Thursday?

A shocking offer from a rich and highly profitable company who have handled this whole situation terribly from the outset. And far removed from what Phil Prendergast correctly requested ....... "If the company is to salvage something from the wreckage of this corporate image car crash, it must offer its Waterford workforce exceptional and unprecedented redundancy terms and make a considerable contribution to the community."

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/talk-talk-wont-budge-on-staff-redundancy-offers-2886391.html

Talk Talk won't budge on staff redundancy offers

TALK TALK is refusing to budge on a redundancy package for 575 staff that is almost half what was offered in a voluntary scheme last year.

Employee representatives at the call-centre firm had been pushing for seven weeks pay per year of service -- the amount offered to 50 employees as part of a package last year.

However, the company has insisted that its final offer will be just four-and-a-half weeks per year of service, including statutory redundancy.

Those with less than two years' service had previously been offered a three-week flat rate. But they will now get the same terms as other workers.

All staff will get a €1,600 ex-gratia payment while team leaders will get another €500.

The company, which came in for criticism for announcing it was pulling out of Waterford with just 30 days' notice, said it would pay staff their notice periods in lieu of actual notice.

There are no union members at the firm but representatives are being advised by UNITE.

Employee representative Tom Phelan said staff handling the negotiations had told management they were disappointed, but it was now up to workers to decide if they would accept the offer or not.

Meanwhile, Talk Talk has come under fire from Labour MEP Phil Prendergast who accused the company of trying to "gag" her.

A row erupted after she claimed the company may not have followed legal procedures in consulting and serving notice on the workers.

However, the company has written to her requesting that she retract her "negligent misstatement".

Ms Prendergast said yesterday that, through its letter, Talk Talk had exposed itself as a "corporate bully hostile to democracy".