Bell, a Canadian telecommunications giant, laid off about 400 workers in brief virtual organizational meetings, according to a report from Unifor, the union representing workers.
Unifor called the impersonal attitude “beyond shameful” in a press release. According to Uniform, the laid-off workers had been with the company for years and were told they would be declared “surplus” in 10-minute video calls.
Unifor claimed that a manager read a termination letter informing that workers would get “termination notes. “
In a letter to the Canadian online news site Toronto Star, Bell communications director Ellen Murphy reportedly disputed some of Unifor’s claims.
He said the company “has been working with Unifor and other unions on the effects on our unionized workforce. Bell has been very transparent with Unifor’s leadership about the procedure in which those discussions would take place, having begun discussions more than five weeks ago, and has complied with all of our obligations in the respective collective bargaining agreements.
Murphy added that workers “had one-on-one meetings with an HR representative to talk about their individual packages and ask questions. “
Murphy said the layoffs came after Bell announced in February that it plans to cut about nine of its workforce, or about 4,800 positions.
As reported by the Toronto Star, CEO Mirko Bibic announced the layoff to “streamline our organization and drive our transformation. “
However, it appears that the resolution has drawn criticism, as Bell has increased dividend payouts to its shareholders.
Unifor, which represents more than 19,000 people at Bell and its subsidiaries, also said its members have dreaded meeting invitations since the February announcement.
“The fact is that Bell chose to get rid of a number of heads so that it could simply increase its dividends without a genuine plan for which jobs and staff would be cut, so the layoffs are cruelly prolonged,” Unifor national president Lana Payne said in the union’s statement.
Unifor has launched a “Shame on Bell” crusade in reaction to the layoffs. Unifor members reportedly protested the layoffs in Ottawa and criticized Bell for postponing parliamentary hearings where he would be questioned about the layoffs.
Unifor pledges to continue its crusade against the company’s handling of layoffs. Bell, according to the report, reported a profit of $2. 3 billion at the end of 2022.
Len Poirier, national secretary of Unifor-Treacertainr, said in the press release: “Our committed and unwavering workers, who are mostly women, will have to tell their families tonight that they are being fired from Bell without any intelligent explanation as to why other than to be sure that their shareholders and board of directors come first when they are paid. It’s surely disgusting.