Stop shipping Canadian jobs overseas, says alliance of telecom workers

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OTTAWA — A new alliance of telecommunications workers is denouncing the offshoring of thousands of Canadian jobs by major telecommuncations corporations, to the detriment of the Canadian economy, as well as Canadians’ privacy, security and sovereignty.

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The Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance – a coalition of Unifor, the United Steelworkers of Canada and CUPE, three of Canada’s largest unions – is sounding the alarm about this growing crisis and demanding legislation from the federal government to protect Canadians’ jobs, privacy, and the security of Canada’s telecommunications infrastructure.

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Over the last ten years, almost 20,000 jobs in the telecommunications sector have been outsourced abroad to the United States, India, the Philippines, Egypt, and others.

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Canada is not only losing thousands of jobs, but the offshoring of services is putting Canadians’ data in danger, as large telecommunications companies use subcontractors abroad who aren’t subject to Canada’s rules and protections, and entrust them with instant access to Canadians’ personal data.

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The telecommunications sector is an essential sector for Canada’s security and sovereignty, and a vital component of our national infrastructure. Canada, simply put, would not function without it. We cannot allow it to be compromised by increasing foreign operational control.

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“We cannot build a resilient economy while shipping essential work overseas. Offshoring telecommunications jobs isn’t just a blow to workers, it undermines our digital sovereignty. We are standing together to demand the federal government protect Canadian jobs and ensure our critical infrastructure is operated and secured by Canadian workers,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.

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“In this moment where our economy and our sovereignty are facing real threats, we should be doing everything possible to protect good jobs in Canada, rather than rolling over and letting big telcos hollow out our communities and ship livelihoods overseas,” said Mark Hancock, National President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

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“Telecommunications is critical national infrastructure. When jobs in this sector are offshored, it doesn’t just hurt workers – it weakens accountability and puts Canadians’ privacy at risk. Protecting good telecom jobs in Canada is inseparable from protecting our data, our security, and our digital sovereignty,” said United Steelworkers (USW) National Director Marty Warren.

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Together, the Alliance represents more than 1.3 million workers, including 32,000 workers in the telecommunications sector.

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