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CALL centre workers have launched a fight to save their jobs.

August 26, 2010 -- The 52 members of the Communication Workers Union who work at the Barrow 118 500 directory inquiries call centre were shocked when BT suddenly announced it would close in January.

The centre, next to Barrow train station, had escaped two previous closure plans because of the staff’s high performance and intense lobbying by local development agency Furness Enterprise and Barrow’s former MP, John Hutton.

At a union meeting last night, members expressed their determination to stand united as a team.

Discussing the meetings employees had been engaged in with management since the announcement two weeks ago, one member said: "I noticed they were trying to get us to think of ourselves as individuals."

Another member added: "We have to stick together because they will try and get us to accept deals individually."

The campaign has been strongly backed by the CWU. Regional official, Joyce Stevenson, said the union had given BT bosses six weeks to come up with a "total solution".

She said: "If they haven’t come up with a solution to keep all of the team together, our general secretary will come on board."

Other members said management had encouraged them to look for other jobs.

One said: "They keep mentioning Kimberly-Clark and saying they would give us a day off to go for an interview. We won’t let them separate us."

Labour MP John Woodcock has joined the fight to get BT to change its mind and will meet with management next month.

Furness Enterprise, which was not warned about the closure, has also offered its support.

The campaign includes a Facebook page aimed at encouraging people in Barrow to join forces. Karen Capovila, union representative at the Barrow call centre, said: "We are trying to get the community behind us as well as the workers because once the jobs have gone they have gone. We are a deprived area and 50 jobs represent 50 families having an income. It is essential that we try and keep these jobs for the people and for the future.

"We would urge everyone in the community to join our Facebook page to let BT see that the community is behind us."

A spokesperson for BT said: "We appreciate that people wish to campaign to bring work into the Barrow centre and we have made it clear throughout discussions that our plan is and always has been to find all BT staff wishing to stay with the company alternative roles and where appropriate we will provide re-skilling and re-training to find staff suitable roles. We did not consult with Furness Enterprise for this reason."

To join the campaign on Facebook, search for "CWU – BT jobs for Barrow".

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: http://www.nwemail.co.uk

About BT:
BT is provider of communications services and solutions for everybody in the UK and for corporate customers in the rest of Europe, with global reach through partnerships. BT provides services for all UK customers, network services and solutions for communication companies, worldwide business solutions, internet services, and advanced research and technology.