You want to work in customer service at Hydro-Québec? It’s possible… but you’ll have to apply to a private company, NQX / NORDIA INC., owned by a numbered corporation on Bay Street, in Toronto, Ontario.
“It’s completely unacceptable for Hydro-Québec to contract out jobs in customer service and support, in conjunction with a move to smart meters, and that these tasks will now be done by ‘cheap’ labour. As a union, we are fundamentally opposed to this move! Even more shocking, our state-owned corporation, which is supposed to be a source of pride for Quebeckers, will use public funds to enrich a private company in Ontario,” said Dominic Champagne, president of the Syndicat des employés de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec (SETPBHQ – CUPE 2000).
CUPE 2000, representing more than 2,600 office workers, more than a third of whom work in customer relations, has filed a legal challenge over this situation, and union representatives will soon meet with Hydro-Québec management to state their case.
“There is no doubt Hydro-Québec’s primary mission is to produce, transport and distribute electricity to Quebeckers, but, as a state-owned corporation, it must also contribute to the economic development of Québec. Sending public funds to an Ontario corporation goes against that principle,” concluded the union representative.
