Qantas reveals call centre jobs woe as voluntary redundancies loom
PENNY MCLEOD, Mercury
March 26, 2019 8:44pm
Subscriber only
QANTAS is expected to offer 20 to 30 voluntary redundancies to workers at its Hobart call centre within coming weeks.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said the company had assured him that there would be no involuntary redundancies.
“I pressed them, I said ‘What if you don’t have 30 people put their hand up?’ and they’ve assured me that there won’t be involuntary redundancies, but we will have to wait and see,” he said.
“Any involuntary redundancies here would be a terrible move by Qantas.”
Staff numbers at the Glenorchy call centre, which has been operating for close to 20 years, have fallen from a high of 540 staff to 221. It is Qantas’ only Australian call centre.
In recent years, the airline has outsourced operations to Cape Town, Auckland and Manila where wages are lower.
UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDS QANTAS CALL CENTRE JOBS
The union representing staff at the centre expects more than 30 workers will put their hand up for a redundancy when the offer comes through.
“A lot of people are ready to move on,” Australian Services Union organiser Aaron De La Torre said.
“Staff are looking for a change or retiring. A lot of staff have been there a long time, the majority well over 10 years.
“There are some genuine issues with management processes. The call volumes are really high and there’s a lot of overtime on offer — they are overworked. Our concern is there are still jobs there for people who want to stay.”
The call centre staff deal primarily with the airline’s platinum members, as well as complaints and lost baggage inquiries.
Its future was thought to be secured with around $8 million in government funding in 2014.
A Qantas spokesman said the airline remains committed to the Hobart call centre “for the long haul”. “We expect about 30 people to express an interest in taking a voluntary redundancy,” he said.
The spokesman said many customers had moved away from voice calls to other channels such as social media, text message and web chat to have their queries answered.
“Why can’t our guys do that [social media] work?” Mr De La Torre said. “All of the social media, web chat work, it’s all being done offshore.”
Mr Wilkie said the reduction in the workforce would hurt the local community.
“That’s 30 pay packets. The impact of [losing] 30 reasonably well paid jobs on the economy is significant,” he said.
The union will meet to consult further with Qantas on April 4.