Call centre move prompts strike action

A council strike is looming in Hammersmith and Fulham because of a controversial move of the council's call centre to Rochdale.

Unison, the union which is representing the call centre workers, says the council has reneged on a promise to find alternative jobs for staff and that they have 'bullied' employees into taking leave before they are made redundant.

Union members voted unanimously to back the workers over strike action, who are set to be made redundant this Sunday (15 March).

A spokesman for Hammersmith and Fulham council said: "At a time of great economic uncertainty residents are rightly demanding more efficient, value for money, services.

"By moving to a larger contact centre in Rochdale, we have gained some significant economic and technical advantages.

"This is improving the quality of our service to residents through our ability to deal more efficiently with peaks in demand, as well as saving taxpayers £150,000 a year in operating costs."

The move will create up to 20 new jobs in Rochdale and save taxpayers in the London borough around £150,000 a year according to Rochdale Council's IT services contractor.

Nigel Muirhead, the Impact Partnership's Customer and Business Services Director said: "This is great news for the region as well as for tax payers as not only are jobs being created but the economic and technical advantages that this move will create will mean efficiency savings of around £150,000 per year. Residents in Hammersmith will also continue to benefit from a top quality contact centre service."