News

Germany’s leading news monthly, Der Spiegel, reports that United States call centre workers at T-Mobile owned by Deutsche Telekom are allegedly working in a “climate of tyranny.” The article is based on a dossier researched by UNI affiliates Ver.di and the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

Ver.di National Executive Board member Lothar Shroeder, who is also a member of Telekom’s supervisory board, and Larry Cohen, President of the CWA, researched the dossier for months, carrying out a series of interviews with T-Mobile workers.

Der Spiegel reports that some T-Mobile Telekom workers had been forced to wear a dunce cap or donkey ears and write lines. The dossier also includes reports of wilful dismissals.

The workers' stories will be published regularly on http://www.weexpectbetter.org, where you can already find an introduction by Lothar Schroeder: http://www.weexpectbetter.org/tyranny-is-the-right-expression.html?lang=en

Deutsche Telekom is planning to merge T-Mobile with rival MetroPCS after attempts to sell its US subsidiary to AT&T failed.

The Der Spiegel article has been widely taken up by both the German and the international press including Reuters and the Chicago Tribune.

See press coverage below:

UK/US

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/18/uk-deutschetelekom-workers-idUKBRE8AH0DA20121118

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-deutschetelekom-workersbre8ah0dy-20121118,0,7707976.story



Germany

https://magazin.spiegel.de/reader/index_SP.html#j=2012&h=47&a=89672229

http://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/international/1314083/TMobile-USA_Eselsmuetzen-als-Zeichen-des-Versagens

http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/it/0,2828,867918,00.html

http://www.golem.de/news/gewerkschaft-t-mobile-callcenter-mitarbeiter-muessen-eselsmuetzen-tragen-1211-95778.html

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Gewerkschaften-werfen-Telekom-brutalen-Psychoterror-gegen-US-Angestellte-vor-1752069.html

http://futurezone.at/b2b/12533-verdi-greift-us-telekom-an.php

http://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Harsche-Vorwuerfe-gegen-T-Mobile-USA-article7786256.html