News

The UNI Telecom World Committee, representing Telecom workers from around the world, has expressed its support for workers rights at T-Mobile USA by signing a letter to Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann.



Although Deutsche Telekom has a long-standing relationship of collective bargaining and social dialogue with its German trade union counterpart, ver.di, management at DT-owned subsidiaries abroad often abandons the practices of its home country and adopts the worst practices of the host countries. Disrespect for workers, fear and intimidation for workers who speak up, and reprisals when they seek to join a union.



In the United States workers face anti-union behaviour by Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary T-Mobile USA that includes fear and intimidation as well as management surveillance of union activities.



Recently, the USA’s largest telecom operator AT&T has entered into an acquisition agreement to purchase T-Mobile USA’s operations. UNI and its affiliates support the acquisition, hoping that the deal will have a positive impact of workers rights at T-Mobile.



With the letter to the CEO, UNI affiliates ask Deutsche Telekom to concretely demonstrate respect for the rights of its workers in the United States by implementing a policy in which management agrees not to oppose the organizing efforts of T-Mobile USA workers and to allow workers the freedom to participate in union activities without fear of reprisals or job loss.



The letter action is part of the We Expect Better Campaign currently organised by UNI Global Union and its affiliates, ver.di and the Communications Workers of America, in cooperation with the International Trade Union Confederation, the AFL-CIO of the United States, and the DGB of Germany, to support the fundamental labour rights of workers employed at Deutsche Telekom and DT-owned subsidiaries around the world.



More information about the campaign: http://www.weexpectbetter.org/



20110509 - Letter from UNI Telecom to CEO Obermann.pdf