doWorkers at centers at some of the world’s largest tech companies, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Netflix, are all accusing their employer of retaliating against union organizers, constantly surveilling staff and even refusing to go to the bathroom.
In the United States or Europe, if you call for technical or customer support from a large technology company, you may be speaking to a worker at one of Teleperformance’s call centers in Greece.
Tele Performance, the world’s largest call center operator, employs about 12,000 workers in Greece, serving more than 140 markets worldwide in 43 different languages and dialects. the company has seven multilingual centers in Greece: in Athens, Chania and Thessaloniki.
Workers who have been pushing for a collective bargaining agreement with Teleperformance in Greece say the company recently retaliated with selective dismissals of union leaders.
They say that salaries have remained unchanged since 2010, when Greece was hit by austerity measures by creditors, despite high inflation in recent years and increases in the cost of living.
Nikos Spyrelis, Teleperformance call center worker and president of Setep, The union representing Teleperformance workers in Greece explained that the union effort began in early 2024 in response to the lack of wage increases for years and the increasing production pressure that workers are under.
“They have dozens of productivity indicators by which they judge you and, depending on the project, you have to answer a series of calls. If you want to go to the bathroom, there are many cases where they don’t allow you to go to the bathroom,” Spyrelis said. “If you are sick or absent for any reason, it is considered counterproductive and is a reason to renew or not renew an employee’s contract.”
He explained that the workers have short-term contracts and during work hours they are constantly monitored, recorded and sent messages to increase production because the company receives bonuses from customers depending on how many calls they receive.
“You may work for years, and if you’re not productive for two or three months, you’re treated like you’re just starting out,” Spyrelis said.
About half of the call center workers are from outside Greece and face problems getting their salaries deducted for housing and utilities.
“It’s a social problem they’ve created,” said Giorgos Krasadakis, a Teleperformance call center worker in Chania, Greece, and president of the local Setep branch that represents the workers.
“The normal salary (per month) would be about 1,329 euros ($1,376), but with housing it is 1,029 euros ($1,065), and they also charge four times more for electricity than a local company would charge,” Krasadakis said. . “This is a tool they use to put more pressure on them, because if they fire someone, or if they don’t renew their contract, on day one, they can just say, ‘Okay, now you have to be homeless.’
He also stated that workers are not allowed to receive visitors in their apartments, where they are monitored for security.
“They have security that goes by the apartments two or three times a day to make sure they don’t have visitors,” Krasadakis added.
Migrant workers have reported facing harassment, intimidation and intense productivity pressures at Teleperformance in Greece.
“Stress becomes a part of your life,” said Rania, a migrant worker at Teleperformance. Rest of the world in 2021. “You are at risk even when you have a six-month contract, because you can be fired in the middle of that contract. Nothing is granted, nothing is guaranteed.”
The union has been pushing for permanent labor contracts, higher wages, job security measures for visa workers and a decrease in working hours. But they say Teleperformance has opposed the unionization effort from the beginning.
“They showed their intentions from the beginning. They will do anything not to sign the collective agreement,” Spyrelis added. “They are trying to deal a blow to the union, silence us and prevent us from defending our colleagues in general and signing the contract with salaries and our fair demands.”
The union has celebrated 10 strikeswith most recent in December 2024, to pressure Teleperformance to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the union, which stated that the company had participated in retaliatory firings aimed at union leaders and supporters.
They said Teleacting argument before a court in Greece that they were not a communications company, claiming that the union was not applicable to their sector.
Ghassen Ben Jannet, a Tunisian Teleperformance worker in Greece and vice president of the union, told Le Monde last month that he was one of the union leaders fired.
“My superior justified this decision due to my behavior. But I have worked for Teleperformance since 2018, I have never had a series of absences, my clients and my superiors have always given me positive feedback,” he told Le Monde, adding that he feels that the company is trying to pressure other workers not to give up. reverse. on the union demand.
Teleperformance did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
Netflix, Google and Apple also did not respond to requests for comment.