Call centre workers 'run risk of new industrial disease'
Call centre workers are suffering from a new industrial disease that is putting their livelihoods at risk, Britain’s biggest union warned today.
Voice loss among the UK’s 860,000 call centre workers costs the country £200m (€300m) a year with that figure set to double in the next decade, said Unison general secretary Dave Prentis.
The union demanded regular breaks for workers, easy access to fresh drinking water and rest for staff with a cold or sore throat.
“Call centres are a voice-driven industry and employers need to protect that most precious asset now, or face the human and legal consequences later.
“Call centre managers have been warned – they cannot feign ignorance of the problem – and they cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand.
“We are demanding urgent action before the problem spirals out of control.”
Unison said voice loss threatened the livelihood of one in 50 call centre workers.
Officials said workers were unable to carry on for fear of losing their voice altogether so quit to find other jobs.
The problem was highlighted by delegates at Unison’s energy conference in Glasgow today.
Unison steward Shane Ollivro, who works for EDF Energy in Exeter, told the conference: “Members come to me with voice loss problems who have been told by their consultants to rest their voice, but when you have 4,000 customers a day who need talking to, that’s a real problem.
“Voice loss is a regular item on our health and safety agenda and we are working with management to find solutions to stop the problem happening in the first place.
“I would like to see voice coaches on every staff induction course to give advice and guidance to new staff on how to protect their voices from long term medial damage. This is a serious problem and needs to be dealt with before it gets out of control.”
