A Telstra consultant has documented more than 100 cases of acoustic shock among the company s call centre workers, boosting compensation claims and backing ASU members reports being compiled for a national register of sufferers. We have to fight on the issues that will protect and strengthen us and our families. More than 200 Phone TAB operators have won redundancy payments after a mass walkout.
Call centres are a diverse and growing industry especially in New South Wales.
The industry has taken off and grown at an incredible rate since the mid-1990s. The tasks undertaken by call centre workers have also changed radically with new technologies and new types of work. Some of this has been good - new call centres have improved telephone and computer equipment and interesting work. However, there has also been a big downside. Technology has increased employers' control over employees and created a dangerous focus on statistics.