Call Centers on strike tomorrow, "Serious crisis and risks from AI"

Tomorrow general strike in the CRM/BPO Call Center sector. Slc Cgil, Fistel Cisl, Uilfpc have proclaimed the day of protest to draw the attention of the institutions and the government to the serious crisis that is affecting the sector, which in Sicily has particularly worrying consequences, with thousands of jobs at risk. A sit-in will take place in Palermo starting at 9.30 in the Prefecture.

A crisis that has been going on for years, with cost compression, wage dumping, low-cost tenders and the total absence of an industrial strategy. What makes this scenario even more worrying for trade unions is the impact of the digital transition and Artificial Intelligence.

"Innovations which - say Slc Cgil, Fistel Cisl, Uilfpc - could represent an opportunity for development but which risk, in the absence of rules and shared governance, turning into tools for reducing staff, without adequate training, retraining and employment protection paths. We cannot accept that the cost of technological transformation is passed on exclusively to workers".

The territorial secretariats of Slc Cgil, Fistel Cisl, Uilfpc believe that the crisis in the sector cannot be addressed through emergency interventions or with temporary social safety nets. "An overall industrial strategy is needed - they argue - which recognizes the value of the sector, which protects employment and wage levels and which guarantees concrete prospects for thousands of families of honest workers".

The unions ask the government to immediately convene a national crisis table in the CRM/BPO Call Center sector, "so that structural measures are identified and implemented to govern the technological transition, combat contractual dumping and safeguard the employment future of the entire sector".

To the prefect of Palermo, who was asked for a meeting, the trade union organizations will represent the risks of the serious crisis of the sector in Sicily, with its possible employment and economic repercussions. "We ask the prefect to interpret the concerns of the thousands of workers involved and to represent to the national government the urgency of a concrete intervention, through the convening of a national crisis table that can identify solutions to guarantee jobs".