Redundancies 'slap in face' for BT workers and Derry and the North West
'Moving 50 jobs to Belfast flies in face of efforts to undo decades of corporate and government disinvestment in Derry'
"A clear message rejecting BT Group's proposal to close its Derry office and wipeout 140 jobs has been sent by workers, the CWU, Derry City and Strabane District Council, political representatives and many others", according to Derry City and Strabane District councillor Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit).
Cllr Harkin added: "BT corporate management has faced a wall of criticism and anger since they announced the consultation on these proposals, and rightly so. Moving almost 100 jobs overseas simply to maximise profits is reprehensible.
"BT Group profits are in the hundreds of millions every year, it's just wrong for BT bosses to use weaker labour protections elsewhere to pay workers a pittance. They are pitting workers against each other to drive down conditions for both.
"Moving almost 50 jobs to Belfast from Derry flies in the face of efforts to undo decades of corporate and government disinvestment in Derry. Company bosses haven't given any of this or the impact on communities here a single moment of thought. BT Group has been handed millions in taxpayer money by the Stormont Executive over many years and this is how they are repaying that support.
"The proposal is a slap in the face to BT workers and to Derry and the North West. The Economy Minister, the Executive Office, Invest NI and all those with the ability to intervene should make it clear to BT bosses that a decision to move ahead with this proposal will have serious repercussions for the company. Workers lives and their families are more important than BT bosses further enriching themselves," said Cllr Harkin, who added: "The Derry facility should remain open with as many jobs there as possible, and the company should make a clear committment to invest in developing the site further into the future."