Lining up at the Trough
Businesses such as Connect North America do not come to places such as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia out of the goodness of their hearts: They are here to make a buck, but not only that, they came here because the provincial governments shelled out and continue to shell out copious amounts of money to bring and keep them here. Furthermore, the powers that be don’t seem to be terribly particular to whom they grant this largesse: The late lamented Connect North America alone received $470,000 in the form of grants and wage reimbursements. (Don’t hold your breath waiting for that refund, by the by). Also lining up at the trough are companies like TeleTech, currently under class action lawsuits in three states for unfair labour practices.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that companies like Teletech et al are perhaps not the most worthy investment of taxpayer dollars or for that matter, one that can be trusted to treat their employees in a fair and equitable manner. However, I am not entirely certain whether the latter condition enters into consideration on any level at all.
These companies, of whom I will refer to as “fly by night” call centers in honour of Connect North America that literally disappeared overnight receive copious amounts of money from the provincial governments in the form of tax breaks, wage reimbursements, grants and my all time favourite: training bonuses. It is a little known fact that some companies are paid for the number of people they train, not for the number of people they actually retain for the positions they for which they are trained. That being the case, if an employee quits or is terminated and is consequently rehired, this employee, who is already trained mind you, is trained again, and the government is billed twice. This process has been known to happen 3 and 4 times with the same person. Can you say “double dipping”? I knew you could.
As I have stated previously, one of the main draws touted by the provinces in bringing these call centers here is an educated workforce that will work for relative peanuts. Low wages are one thing, however when the local civic government stabs their citizens in the back it becomes outrageous. Two years ago a call center opened in the town of A______, and held a “hiring fair” to seek out potential employees. The wife of an acquaintance of mine applied for a position and was quoted the starting wages for the position. The lady made it past the hiring fair to an interview, and the starting wage was substantially lower than the original quote. Her question as to how this came to be went unanswered. Her husband came across the local MP, where he was kissing hands and shaking babies at an event in his riding and asked the same question. The MP duly pointed the man in the direction of the office of the local provincial MLA for answers. He called the office, asked his question and this is a verbatim quote of the answer he received: “You can thank your Mayor for that one”. It seems that His Worship in a meeting with the call center minions told them that they didn’t have to pay people in his town the original wage offered because they would work for less.
Bend over; your government is behind you.
It is highly ironic that these same governments have the nerve to wonder why the workforce is leaving their respective provinces in droves for greener pastures in the West. Further, it clearly escapes them as to why these same people are not burning up the TransCanada in their rush to return home, regardless how may the “Come to Life” billboards dot Fort McMurray. Let’s face it, when the labour laws offer less protection than the SPCA, and the local government sells you into indentured servitude at subsistence wages, no one in their right mind would be in a rush to come back. But, I digress.
The days of the “fly by night” call centers owned by are rapidly coming to an end in these provinces. As I write the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar for the first time in decades, and we have gained 8% on the Euro. Therefore, while the wages of the average call center peon have not increased one iota, and the cost of living gone has not gone down, the cost of these paying these wages has risen dramatically. Now, since these call centers are kept here by two things: massive injections of government money in various forms, and the low wages. If either one of these incentives disappears, the center and the jobs it provides will be gone faster than you can say “Hydrabad.” Connect North America, I feel was only the first of what will be many that will pull up stakes and vanish when the gravy train slows down. Incidentally, Connect North America is still very much in business, just off to another place of slave wages with the vague promise of returning at sometime in the future, meaning when the dollar drops. I know I speak for many of us when I say “Don’t let the door hit you on the ass.”
Now, in principle, I think that the government investing money in job creation for is a good thing. However, as a taxpayer and a call center employee, I have to question the wisdom in pumping massive amounts of money into these modern day equivalents of carpet baggers: Call centers run by huge conglomerates with centers anywhere the wages are low, that have never put down roots in the communities in which they reside, have no loyalty to the provinces from whence the handouts flow, and less to the people who work for them. The analogy of call centers being the coalmines of the 21 century is just a bit flawed: in order for a coalmine to exist, it must be near coal. A call center is an ephemeral creation that can exist anywhere that it is deemed to be profitable for it to exist. Quite literally, these centers can be here today and halfway around the world the next.
When Frank McKenna wooed the call centers here, he was banking on New Brunswick remaining the “Mexico of the North”. Without a doubt, his courtship brought in a lot of jobs, however as the dollar has been rising steadily these last few years, it should have been obvious that this was a relationship that could not last. The first of the rats have fled the ship, others will follow, and then we can watch the workforce migrate ever westward. Can we hope that the last person will turn out the lights?
