GO planning layoffs, GWU promises strikes

The GWU’s reaction comes in the wake of a letter by the telecoms company, informing the union that it intends to lay off more workers. The GWU reacted by registering an industrial dispute and promising the telecoms company that it will not hold back from resorting to immediate industrial action “to defend the jobs of workers.”

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, GO said that due to “ongoing regulatory pressure across the EU to reduce tariffs and with technology changing the way in which people use telephones, mobiles, television and broadband, the company anticipates considerable pressure to reduce costs even further if it is to remain competitive.”

This is especially since the company plans to spend €100 million over the coming six years in order to be able to offer its hundreds of thousands of customers the innovation and efficiency that they expect from the company, GO had said.

Yesterday, GO p.l.c., which is owned by Dubai firm Tecom, said that talks with the GWU were ongoing and represented an effort to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the telecommunications company.

“Go went through a complete restructuring a few years ago, which streamlined a number of processes and meant that there were excess staff. These were offered various generous early retirement schemes, which brought the headcount down and had a considerable (or the anticipated) impact on the company’s costs,” chief executive David Kay had said.

“However, with ongoing regulatory pressure across the EU to reduce tariffs and with technology changing the way in which people use telephones, mobiles, television and broadband, the company anticipates considerable pressure to reduce costs even further if it is to remain competitive, especially since it plans to spend €100 million over the coming six years in order to be able to offer its hundreds of thousands of customers the innovation and efficiency that they expect from the company.”

“Any changes will be made in a way to ensure that they have no impact on the high levels of service that GO customers expect,” Kay said.

Kay added that Go “fully appreciated that any reduction in headcount affected entire households” and that a team had been set up to work with every person that leaves the company to ease the transition.