Unifor, the union representing over 19,000 telecom workers, recently criticized Bell for terminating hundreds of its members through virtual meetings. This decision came just a day after the union protested in Ottawa against the company’s job cuts.

Bell’s move to eliminate jobs follows an announcement made nearly six weeks ago to cut thousands of positions, despite consistently reporting significant profits and increasing shareholder payouts. The layoffs have left many employees anxious about receiving meeting invites that could potentially lead to losing their jobs.

According to Lana Payne, Unifor National President, Bell’s actions seem to aim at increasing dividend payouts without a clear plan on which jobs and workers would be affected. The termination process has been drawn out and appears to lack transparency.

The initial wave of layoffs targeted over 400 members of the Bell Clerical Bargaining Unit, labeling them as ‘surplus’ and possibly eligible for retirement incentives. One particular incident involved a brief virtual meeting led by Christopher Corsi from Bell’s Human Resources and Labour Relations department, where participants were not allowed to ask questions or unmute themselves.

After facing criticism from the union, Bell stated that it would adjust its approach in future virtual meetings to allow for questions from affected employees. Unifor launched a “Shame on Bell” campaign following the company’s announcement of cutting 4,800 jobs last month, including 800 Unifor members in both telecom and media sectors. This recent round of layoffs adds up to over 6,000 job cuts within the past eight months despite Bell reporting profits of $2.3 billion at the end of the previous year.

Unifor officials expressed their disappointment with how dedicated workers, many of whom are women, are being let go without valid reasons other than prioritizing shareholders and board members’ interests. The union finds this situation appalling and believes that employees deserve better treatment from such a prominent telecoms and media giant like Bell.