Representatives from the Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance (CTWA) — a newly formed coalition of Unifor, the United Steelworkers of Canada (USW), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) — held a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday to denounce what they call the “growing crisis” of offshoring of thousands of Canadian jobs by major telecom companies.
Together, the alliance represents approximately 32,000 workers in the telecom sector.
The CTWA is calling for legislation from the federal government to protect Canadians’ jobs and privacy and the security of Canada’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Over the last 10 years, according to the coalition of unions, nearly 20,000 jobs in the telecom sector have been outsourced to the United States, India, the Philippines, Egypt and other territories.
“Canada is not only losing thousands of jobs, but the offshoring of services is putting Canadians’ data in danger, as large telecommunications companies use subcontractors abroad who aren’t subject to Canada’s rules and protections, and entrust them with instant access to Canadians’ personal data,” reads a joint press release from the coalition.
The telecom sector is a vital component of Canada’s national infrastructure and an essential sector for the country’s security and sovereignty, the joint statement says, adding Canada cannot allow it to be compromised by increasing foreign operational control.
“We cannot build a resilient economy while shipping essential work overseas. Offshoring telecommunications jobs isn’t just a blow to workers, it undermines our digital sovereignty,” Lana Payne, Unifor national president, said in a statement. “We are standing together to demand the federal government protect Canadian jobs and ensure our critical infrastructure is operated and secured by Canadian workers.”
“Telecommunications is critical national infrastructure. When jobs in this sector are offshored, it doesn’t just hurt workers — it weakens accountability and puts Canadians’ privacy at risk,” said Marty Warren, United Steelworkers national director. “Protecting good telecom jobs in Canada is inseparable from protecting our data, our security, and our digital sovereignty.”
The USW had recently expressed concern about the outsourcing of Ericsson jobs.
