Survey of T-Mobile Workers in Seven Countries Confirms Harassment, Bullying, Illegal Actions

Bonn, Germany – At a news conference today, ver.di, the union representing workers at Deutsche Telekom (DT) in Germany, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and UNI Global Union, focused attention on DT’s policy of allowing its subsidiaries outside Germany to intimidate and harass workers.

The unions called on DT to use the change in top leadership as an opportunity to change course and end the “culture of bullying” that DT has allowed to take hold in the United States and other countries where T-Mobile operates.   

The news conference exposed DT as a “Black Book Telecom” and cited its violations of the right to freedom of association, human rights and labor law outside of Germany.

The unions released the results of a survey conducted among 1,800 workers from seven countries outside of the company headquarters in Germany was carried out by affiliates of UNI Global Union. The countries surveyed were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and the United States. All workers were employed in companies with either direct or indirect Deutsche Telekom ownership.  

CWA President Larry Cohen, in Bonn as DT’s Supervisory Board was set to name a new chairman, outlined the campaign of humiliation, fear and illegal actions that T-Mobile US workers face.

“In 2001, CWA supported Deutsche Telekom’s (DT) entrance into the U.S. market on the recommendation of ver.di which cited DT’s respect for workers’ rights. In fact, DT acknowledges the value of its relationship with ver.di and respects workers’ rights in Germany.

“But in the U.S., DT USA management has no tolerance for workers who want to form a union.  DT allows its subsidiary T-Mobile US (TMUS) to attack workers’ rights and create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the workplace,” Cohen said.

“ver.di has been a great partner in this effort to support the rights of T-Mobile workers, in the U.S. and in other countries. ver.di members have taken on the cause of Josh Coleman, a top performing worker who was illegally fired from T-Mobile US’s Wichita, Kan., call center. Thousands of ver.di activists have protested this action and wear t-shirts that say ‘We Are All Josh,’” Cohen said. 

The U.S. government is prosecuting T-Mobile US for illegal firings and disciplinary action taken against union supporters. “This is the only beginning, as the number and intensity of US labor law violations have grown,” he said.     

Lothar Schröder, ver.di Federal Executive Board member, said, “the survey findings confirm our belief that Deutsche Telekom must do more to ensure fair conditions and respect for worker rights in its operations outside Germany. Ver.di is committed to work together with UNI Global Union and the DT Union Alliance to press for the remedies set out in the report.”

Alan Tate, who developed the survey for UNI, outlined some of the results, and said the findings had been provided to DT, but the company has not responded to the call for dialogue.

The survey, developed by the Deutsche Telekom Union Alliance and UNI Global Union affiliates, was conducted from April 10 through May 1, 2013 and distributed through digital communication and one-on-one contact.

The unions are calling on Deutsche Telekom to immediately enter into direct dialogue with to address the issues of working conditions and human and labor rights identified in the report.

Among the key survey findings:

• Forty-six percent of T-Mobile workers have experienced bullying in the form of verbal aggression, denigration of professional abilities or demoralizing jokes. 
• Workers in all survey countries (72% percent of the 1,800 respondents) said the best way for workers to improve their working conditions was through a union and a collective bargaining agreement.
  
  
• In nearly every country, a high proportion of surveyed workers said the employer exerts pressure to prevent employees from participating in the union or to undermine the effectiveness and reputation of the organization.
• Forty-nine percent of workers surveyed said they believe the company trains managers to discourage union activity, and 67 percent said that their employer says negative things about the union or its reputation.

“CWA will continue to work with ver.di and UNI Global Union until Deutsche Telekom accepts its responsibility for the way its subsidiaries in other countries treat their workers," Cohen said. 

Read the full survey at http://www.uniglobalunion.org/de/publications

Contact: Candice Johnson, CWA Communications, 202-434-1168, cjohnson@cwa-union.org