Communications Union wants TSTT to stop private contracts, use staff for call services

TSTT should use trained staff for call services rather than outsource the operations to private companies, Communications Workers Union general secretary Clyde Elder said on Thursday. He was responding to reports that TSTT had not renewed the call services contract with DirecOne and hired another private contractor Call Serv to take over the operations.

Elder pointed out that the 200 workers contracted through DirecOne were not connected with the union, but said any news of any number of people losing their jobs should be a matter of worry for the entire country.

“This service should not have gone outside of the company. These are functions that were, and should still be performed by employees in the company," he said.

Elder said in 2018 the last of TSTT staff trained in call service were retrenched, and DirecOne was sub-contracted to perform the service.

Aside from all of TSTT’s call centre services, DirecOne also performed help desk service for mobile landline and internet services.

On Wednesday, the last day of the financial year for 2020, DirecOne’s contract with TSTT ended. It was not renewed. As a result of the change in service providers the network was unavailable from midnight on Wednesday to 8 am on Thursday.

Instead, the contract was awarded to the Tacarigua-based Call Serv.

Elder said had TSTT retained internal staff that were trained to perform the same services they would have been able to save money.

“This job was being performed by our staff and they contracted it out gradually over time until they retrenched all of the telephone operators. They would have saved time, effort and money by not outsourcing these jobs and keeping it in house,” he said.