For several laid off workers of NPI Communications Incor-porated, the focus is now on finding a new job and several have spoken about the conditions of work.
“It was real horrible. The management they don’t know how to speak to people,” says Denise Andrews. “It was stressful to do these (voice mail) messages…,” adds Kesha Wilkinson.
Andrews and Wilkinson have been working at the call centre located at 86 Section A Block X, Diamond, East Bank Demerara for a combined total of three and a half years. Two Saturdays ago, they were among the 55 persons who were abruptly put out of work after the parent company for NPIC in Europe ordered layoffs. NPIC is expected to close its operations in March.
However, Wilkinson said they were informed by a labour officer in the Ministry of Labour that Director of the Company Naryan Prashad had told the ministry that he was not closing the company.
Andrews, a 19-year-old student, and Wilkinson, a single mother, both worked on the Canadian queue at the call centre. This newspaper was made to understand that the queue was where agents converted recorded voicemail messages to text messages. There were Canadian, Austra-lian and American queues.
According to Andrews, the management of the company dictated what staff had to do and did not care for personal schedules. “Whatever they give you on the rota is that. They say you can’t do nothing about it.”
According to an agent who was on the same queue as Andrews and Wilkinson but asked not to be named until the situation is resolved, the company began cutting back on hours last November. The agent’s lunch break was completely cut out.
The agent worked the 5 pm to 11 pm shift and was only granted two 15 minutes break. The cut back in hours were the same for Andrews and Wilkinson who worked the day shifts. Wilkinson said that a week before the layoff her lunch was cut down to 15 minutes. Added to the 15 minutes break she was allotted a total of half an hour lunch.
Workers at the call centre had gone from an eight-hour work day to five hours a day. They earned $215 an hour the first three months and this was supposed to increase after three months. “And they taxing bonuses but every time it’s taxed at a different amount,” the agent said.
The workers pointed out that when it comes to payment, the company never produced pay slips. According to the agent, the company would publish payslips on the internal website at the company.
“You can’t walk with paper, nor cell phone in the building. You can be suspended for that. You can even be suspended for chewing Chico [gum],” Wilkinson pointed out.
Meanwhile the women pointed out that the washroom facilities were messy. While Wilkinson admits that the females themselves had a part to play in its condition, Andrews said on the day shift, they were expected to make one roll of toilet paper last all day. The doors to the toilets she said were not secured with a bolt and whenever one needed to use the toilet, one had to learn the trick of standing on one leg, using the toilet and holding the door closed with the other leg all in one.
They also noted that the company did not pay women for maternity leave. And the agent noted that although the company had a canteen, it was contracted out to an operator who closed early forcing persons on the late shift to take along their meals.
Meanwhile, according to 19-year-old Mohamed Cubra who worked on the Australian queue, “My experience there was great; the only problem was the salary sometimes they don’t calculate it right.” Cubra said he worked with the company for just over a year.
Another agent on the same queue as Cubra said that in December they were told the queue was closing. They were told that the queue was no longer required, he explained.
The man, who declined to be named, said persons on the Australian queue were then sent on annual leave. Shortly after, they were told that they were being laid off and were paid a severance pay of two weeks.
The young man however said that he took his leave time to find another job. But for Cubra, “We were not given notice and I am very put out because now I have to depend on my mother and I don’t like to depend on anyone.”
“To be honest if I get a $40,000 that will hold me good until I get a next job… It kinda rough right now though because it sound like it [the money to be paid last Thursday] won’t reach $30,000… We really hoping fuh the goodness of his heart he throw in $10,000 more,” said Wilkinson whose daughter is attending school and has rent to pay.
As for Andrews, who attends the University of Guyana, the money she made at the call centre came in handy for whatever expenses she had at UG.
Two Saturdays ago, the director of NPIC Prashad explained that the parent company had recently introduced new technology that reduced the need for agents at all of its call centres globally. He added that he only received notice from the European company to terminate services last Wednesday.
NPIC has been in existence for three years.
