Call Center Workers of Greece prepare new Strike Action on February 19

Strike Action at the biggest Call Center Companies

Teleperformance, Webhelp, TTEC, Foundever, e-Value

Send your messages and actions of Solidarity to

PAME [email protected]

SETIP (Telecom, IT, Call Centers Union of Athens) [email protected]

Tweeter @PAME_Greece

Press Release on the new Strike

Dear Colleagues,

We salute the massive and historic strike in TP, Webhelp, TTEC and Foundever with a joint participation of about 3,000 people which was organized in 2 days time in a sector of 20,000 employees with 70% of them being working from home. In TP Chania, despite the official 4hour strike, the colleagues continued on a 24hour strike with a mass participation of 95%. Language departments shut down in many projects. In Webhelp, despite the spread of fake news, hundreds of colleagues went on strike.

We managed to break the lies, the intimidation; we learned our rights and how to organize ourselves. We welcome all those who came for the first time to our assembly at the Piraeus Labor Center. Those who have been pioneer in their departments, talking to as many colleagues as they can, in order to raise awareness and mobilize people. Those of us who stood in front of the company entrances with our union’s announcement, to help our colleagues break through fear and doubt. The hundreds of new registrations of union members, the excitement of everyone, the anxiety of “what to do next”. But most of all, we open our arms to the colleagues who have been coming non-stop all week, telling us “next strike I will join you!”. On top of that colleagues from the Greek Call Centers Cosmote E-Value declared that they will join our struggle and coordinate their voice with ours.

On the next day of the strike, a new invitation for negotiations was served to each company individually, based on our demands, which we have decided today to enrich according to the needs of each workplace. We received no response!!! Instead of pay raises and collective agreement, they brought pizzas and cookies, “better bonus schemes”, pats on the back, and lines of “good on you for striking, it’s your right”.

In about two weeks, through our own organizing, and our collective response, we have won a lot. Thousands of us said enough is enough! We want dignity, wages that are enough for the month, better working conditions with respect for our basic rights, coverage of teleworking expenses, visas for all colleagues so that they don’t live in slavery in 2024. And we won’t stop until we get it!

After open and democratic deliberation in the Open Meeting in the Piraeus Regional Union Center, Zoom Meetings held with colleagues from other cities, wide discussions with colleagues from many departments, we declare a new 24-hour strike on Monday 19/2 at Teleperformance, Webhelp, TTEC, and Foundever, demanding them to sit down at the negotiation table and talk seriously!

Let’s not let a single minute go to waste, everyone in the struggle for dignity, they see only numbers in front of them, let’s show them that they are dealing with people, with needs, families, health problems, dreams, desires. Who will no longer tolerate working for a piece of bread, being thrown like garbage from project to project, being threatened, and having their contracts terminated for nothing.

They will find us standing tall against them every day from now on until our demands are met.

We call for:

• 24-hour strike from Monday 19/2 07.00am to Tuesday 20/2 07.00am at Teleperformance, Webhelp, TTEC, Foundever, e-Value.
• Rallies outside of the HQs of the Companies, on the strike day Monday 19/2 at 08:00. We then meet at 12pm at the Ministry of Labor to demand a meeting and solve our demands.
• Friday 16/2 rally at the Ministry of Immigration (Avenue Thivon 196-198, Agios Ioannis Rentis) to present our demands on the visa (the time will be announced shortly).
• Solidarity Actions to raise money for the Strike Fund to support the strikers in need.
• We email the management of each project about our participation to the strike the day after the strike, we do not inform anyone in advance, so that they do not cover the shifts, it is our right to inform when we want. We don’t answer any personal phone and don’t connect at all, on the day of the strike.

 Joint demands:

• Permanent contracts for all employees where there are none. Stop outsourcing.
• 5 days-7 hours a day-35 hours a week.
• 20% Increase in the monthly wage for all workers immediately.
• Automatic adjustment of wages based on the growth rate in consumer staples.
• Unhealthy hearing aid allowance 15%.
• Foreign language allowance 10% for each language with recognition of the diplomas of all languages held by the employee, including the mother tongue, if different from Greek.
• Work visa for all non-EU colleagues. Immediate abolition of the modern slavery regime.
• One-hour break based on the prescribed regulation for working with monitors. Excluding breaks for personal needs (toilet).
• Timely notification before any movement from one project to another.
• Full payment of work-from-home expenses (internet, electricity, heating or cooling and office equipment, including but not limited to computer, desk, anatomical chair, footstool, headphones). Disconnection from all systems at the end of working hours.
• Protection of young mothers and persons with health problems.
• Abolition of the “clean desk policy” (where it applies) which violates fundamental human rights, causing health and hygiene problems (e.g. prohibiting workers from carrying medicines or personal hygiene items with them at work).

Our demands will be enriched with specific issues in each Company. Contact SETIP ([email protected])  directly for any issues arising.

We all join the fight! No one is alone!