Last call

NEW GLASGOW - ICT group's New Glasgow call centre closes its doors today, putting the last of its 191 employees out of work.
On Monday afternoon, moving trucks were busy removing files and equipment, and the closing process is all but complete.
An employee of the company spoke to The News on condition of anonymity, which is reasonable in this case. Call centres, generally speaking, employ rigid security policies to protect the information of their clients, and few employees will speak about their jobs to the media, even off the record.
The company held a farewell barbecue for the staff on Friday. By then only a portion of ICT's employees were left on shift.
In a field where a certain level of employee turnover is expected, ICT had a dedicated group of staff that remained in their jobs for the company's tenure in Pictou County. And, the unfortunate part of this is that these employees are the ones who may have the hardest time starting all over again.
"We had a great group of people working there over the years. People came and went, but really there's a large group of the staff still there - probably a third that have been there seven or nine years," the employee said.
Several employees now have picked up jobs at Convergys, while others have gone to Sobeys head office in Stellarton. The rest, those who can claim they've made a career at ICT, aren't necessarily looking to get back in front of a monitor right away.
They're the ones at a crossroads.
"At this point, most of them are feeling, 'what can we do?' Nobody seems really angry about it anymore. But a lot of us, easily a third of us, are 50 and older, and we're kind of wondering 'where do we go from here,' the employee said.
It goes to show something about the work ethic of Maritimers and the importance they place in finding long-term employment.
"I don't think a big company like ICT realizes the mentality of people here, that when you get a job, you hang on to it. It paid decently - it wasn't major bucks, but it paid half decent. You're not going to go out and find a job too easily like that around here."
Up until last fall, new employees were coming into the job with the notion that if they didn't like the work, they could always leave. The ICT call centre was, until then, an outbound call centre, primarily dealing with credit card companies. With the switch to inbound calls, the work hours increased and so did the pay scale.
It isn't hard to believe that employees were surprised by the announcement in April to close ICT. Without the switch to inbound calls, that announcement would have made sense late last year.
In November, a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruling found third-party do-not call lists could be added to the national do not call list, which would have cut down the number of people in this country that an outbound call centre could contact.
"Everybody was kind of walking around a month and a month and a half after wondering what's going to happen," the employee said.
But the employees were retrained for the inbound calls, with a final group beginning its training in the days leading up to the announcement of the closure.
Now they wait for records of employment documents that they've been told will be available early next week. Those who haven't found jobs have been working with Career Connections in New Glasgow, with job counsellors there. More still will pick up the document and make their way to the unemployment office.
There have been calls, by local politicians, to develop transitional services for the employees. Pictou East MLA Clarrie MacKinnon said it didn't happen, largely due to the provincial election. But he said his office has been directing people to job resources, and he said if his constituents need a place to fax a resume, his office doors are open.
Pictou Centre MLA Ross Landry said he acknowledges that this is a difficult time for employees of the company and said his office is also able to accommodate some of the needs of ICT employees who now find themselves without work.
"We're deeply saddened by the loss of jobs and the impact that will have on individuals and families. And so I want to extend to anyone who has questions or concerns and requires some assistance to touch base with our office and we'll see what we can do.
"The big thing is, whatever we can do to help within reason, that's what we're going to do," he said.