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Don't Stand for Discrimination
British Telecom's treatment of its staff in the Republic of Ireland is a form of discrimination. Its workers there are being denied their basic right to collective bargaining, while those in Northern Ireland are free to exercise that right. Tell the CEO of BT Ireland that he must change this policy immediately.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , I was recently made aware of the discriminatory policy your company holds regarding the right of your staff in the Republic of Ireland to collectively bargain. I am writing to you today because I cannot sit idly while discrimination takes place. Your staff in Northern Ireland is allowed to benefit from collective union representation, but their neighbors to the South are refused that right. This is true despite your business decision to treat all of Ireland as one business environment for financial reasons. I cannot understand how you continue to justify this double standard. What I see is blatant anti-union discrimination and a series of excuses trying to justify it. The same kind of discrimination that you would not stand for if it existed in a marketplace. I strongly urge you to change this policy and allow your staff in the Republic of Ireland the right to organize and engage in discussion with the Communication Workers Union regarding collective bargaining. It is unacceptable to have such a discriminatory business policy in today's world, and I call on you to act immediately.
Sincerely, |
Campaign Launched: |
| Background Information |
American workers at Verizon Business and Irish workers at British Telecom have more in common than they may realize.
Verizon has long discriminated against its employees at Verizon Business – refusing to allow them to join a union while their colleagues in other branches enjoy the benefits collective bargaining.
Now, British Telecom is taking a page from Verizon's playbook. While their employees in Northern Ireland are unionized, their neighbors to the south in the Republic of Ireland are not. This is, in effect, a form of discrimination against those working in the Republic of Ireland simply because they are Irish.
Recently, British Telecom announced that it was going to treat Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as one single business environment in order to run its operations more smoothly.
However, when the staff in the Republic of Ireland asked the union to represent them in collective bargaining, they were turned down. Meanwhile, their neighbors to the North were enjoying the same privilege that those in the Republic were not allowed.
It is unthinkable that multi-national corporations like British Telecom and Verizon can treat such a large group of its employees this way.
Write to the CEO to tell him to stop this injustice.
Discrimination in any form cannot be tolerated. Thank you for helping make British Telecom change its policy and respect its entire staff's basic rights.
