Teleperformance employees at the Enniskillen based call centre RMG45
ENNISKILLEN has been branded “the new India” by some social media commentators after it was revealed the 800 call centre jobs due to be created in the town over the next three years would have an average salary of less than £15,000.
While news of the investment was widely welcomed last week, once the dust settled many on social media began expressing concerns regarding the low average wage of the positions. The roles, which will be created by customer service giant Teleperformance at their Carran Business Park site, will pay an average of £14,700 – a figure which works out £2,000 less than the living wage and £1,000 more than the minimum wage .
The average salary for a call centre in the UK is £19,000, with the top end in London coming in at £32,500. The lower end of the UK-wide average scale is £16,622. However, here in the North, the average call centre salary is £17,000, with the low end of this scale estimated at £14,665.
Formally announcing the Teleperfomance jobs last week, Finance Minister Arlene Foster said: “We hope these roles will appeal to those wanting to progress their career, or those who have left the job market and who want to come back in to work again, and also for young people just starting out in the working world.” CEO of Teleperformance UK and Ireland, Alistair Niederer, added the roles would be tailored to people’s skills and there would be an opportunity for career development at the company.
However, following the announcement many took to social media to express unhappiness regarding the wages, with some branding the salaries “disgusting” and “ridiculous.” Fermanagh Green Party Assembly candidate Tanya Jones also expressed concerns. Cautiously welcoming the jobs news, Ms Jones said the average salary “will do little to help Fermanagh’s low-pay problem.”
“While these wages may be sufficient for single people starting out in life, they represent less than the living wage, and will not be enough to support a family,” she continued. “If we want young couples to stay in Fermanagh and to bring up their children here, we need to ensure that they can earn enough to make ends meet.
“In a week during which MLAs from the DUP and Sinn Fein voted against a salary cap for their own special advisors, whose packages are estimate to cost us around £100,000 each, I find it disappointing that they think ordinary people here are worth so little.
“Call centres are an important part of our economy and daily life, but they are not the height of Fermanagh’s hopes and aspirations. There have been concerns about working conditions in call centres, and I would like to see assurances and evidence that best practice will be followed here in Enniskillen.”
Ms Jones called for greater investment in small and medium sized businesses, and in the renewable energy sector. She concluded: “We don’t need to be part of a race to the bottom. With fair treatment, we have all we need to reach the top.”
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