UNI Global Union > ccam

Asim Hussain		Belgium Asim Hussain lives in Blizen, Belgium, has worked for in a call centre for 4 years and is a union member. Asim is happy to have a permanent contract and good opportunities at work. High expectations regarding performance, workplace monitoring and strict regulation of work processes mean that the job can be stressful. Wages are also relatively low, although that is improving, as Asim says “Until recently, we received no additional compensation for working evenings and weekends. Recently this has changed a bit, thanks to the union delegation.”
Anna Blomquist		USA Anna works for a call centre and has been there for a little over a year. Although there are many constraints on how work is performed and high workplace monitoring, Anna says that it helps to be in a union because it gives her a voice in the workplace.
Jim Burdick		USA Jim Burdick has worked for a call centre in the USA for 7 years. Although Jim faces challenges in balancing his work and his home life, and sometimes finds it difficult to deal with internal bureaucracy, he says that being part of his union’s bargaining unit helps him in dealing with these and other issues.
Erica		Mexico Erica lives in Ecatepec, Mexico and has been working in a call centre for 10 years. Erica is a member of STRM (the Mexican union for call centre workers), but also remembers the days before the staff at her workplace had a union. “There is a huge difference in the premises. Let’s say that from an old table where you used to work, to a place where there were even rats, dealings with the boss, the fact that there were unfair dismissals, that only bonuses were given, as it were, through friendship, and the person who got one had to divide it with their boss… And therefore, when the union came along many aspects changed, from the premises, to the treatment of higher ranking staff towards you. I think the environment is much better since the union has been there.”
Haithem Ourghemmi		Tunisia Haithem Ourghemmi lives in Tunisia and has been working at a call centre for 5 years. Haithem’s work can be very stressful, with high pressure to perform and difficult clients on the phone. He says “It is very important to have a trade union presence in call centres. I began to work in this centre at a time where there was no trade-union presence. It was difficult to talk about wage increases or to criticise management decisions. Dismissal was the fate of anyone who complained or asserted their rights. But since the election of our trade-union reps, there has been a marked change. The presence of the union in the centre has helped to minimise power abuses, raise awareness of worker rights and duties, and improve general conditions of work.”
Lukas Cap		Ireland Lukas Cap is 28 years old and is from Prague in the Czech Republic. He lives now in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin in Ireland. He has worked in a complaints department call centre for over 3 years, dealing with customers on the phone and by email and is a member of the Communication Workers’ Union. Lukas finds it easy to balance his work and home life, and says that although work is sometimes stressful, managers in his workplace are flexible and give staff the chance to have a break when pressure gets too high. “[W]e have a good atmosphere within the team … I say that honestly yes we can and if you are not happy with something you can go and talk about it.”
Carolina		Mexico Carolina lives in Mexico. She has been working in a call centre for 3 and a half years and she explains some of the difficulties she faces every day in her work. High sales targets and extensive workplace monitoring make for a high pressure environment: “The stress is terrible because it is … sell, sell, sell …” Carolina also feels that under-valued and that she is not treated with respect “… it is rare for people to admire you for being a telemarketing operator. Just the opposite, they make you feel that you are backward …” “… they treat you like, like a robot …” Employees at Carolina’s workplace have been trying to get a union, but she says “I knew of colleagues who went to ask this union for support, but in fact it backfired on them because they (the employer) only identified them and what they did was sack them.”
Julian Izquierda		Ireland Julian Izquierda lives in Dublin and has worked for seven years for an international call centre, handling a range of travel-related calls. Previously he worked in a bank call centre in Spain. He is 45.
		Brazil Cléia da Silva, 19, lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. She’s worked for three months in a call centre run by an international call centre subsidiary of a major European telecom company.
		Australia Sidney Ribeiro previously worked in a range of jobs including that of a bank clerk. He was unemployed at the time he first took a call centre job and now works in São Paulo for the same global company as Cléia.
		Australia Eileen Redmond works in the call centre for the government-owned electricity utility for Queensland, Australia. She’s worked there seven years and is a team leader. She is in her mid-50s.
		Australia Rainer Hildenbrand is 55. Having taken early retirement from his previous employment, he began six years ago in the call centre of Australia’s largest fresh food suppliers, taking orders from stores.
		Australia Debbie Ellis works in the call centre of a large taxi company in Brisbane (Australia), which operates round-the-clock. Nine years in the industry, she now undertakes staff training but still sometimes takes calls.