Optus heading to India

Looks like Optus are ramping up their Indian call centre operations.

From the Hindu News:

The inkling of Optus India move has reportedly come from briefing by the management of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed company to thousands of its call centre staff about increasing the numbers in India from 500 to 800 on immediate basis.

"On Thursday we reported to staff on the progress of our programme to grow offshore call-centre operations capability to supplement our domestic call centres," Optus spokeswoman Melissa Favero told reporters.

Lufthansa individual contacts

From ABC News on Wednesday:

ACTU welcomes investigation of call centre contracts
Victoria's Workplace Rights Advocate is investigating plans by an airline call centre operator to offer individual contracts.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says about 80 staff at the Melbourne centre, operated by a subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa, will see their take-home pay cut by $80 per week under the contracts.

The ACTU says the contracts cut evening and weekend penalty rates and penalise staff for taking sick or care leave.

ACTU secretary Greg Combet has welcomed the investigation.

"I hope that they just thoroughly go through all of this, lay out for all to see the true discrimination and unfairness of this type of conduct," he said.

"This is the mandated conduct that John Howard has brought in under the new industrial relations laws."

The telephone sales company was unavailable for comment.

Individual contracts are becoming more and more common in call centres. We may well end up going down the path that some call centres have already headed down (hint, hint), where staff are contractors rather than employees, complete with their own ABNs, with none of the rules that regulate traditional workplace arrangements, like break times and superannuation.

We're not in Kansas any more, Toto.