OTTAWA, May 31, 2013 /CNW/ - "The government's upcoming wireless spectrum auction should include commitments to Canadian workers", says Dave Coles, President of Canada's largest telecommunications workers' union.
On June 11 Industry Canada will start the bidding process for 700 megahertz spectrum. This bandwidth frequency will allow telecommunications companies to rapidly transmit large amounts of data, which will improve cellphone connections in elevators, tunnels and other places where service is often spotty.
"The sale of this highly coveted spectrum is a prime opportunity to protect Canadian telecommunications jobs from being moved offshore", said Coles. "Industry Canada needs to add job guidelines to its list of non-monetary criteria for telecom companies wanting access to these public airwaves," said Coles.
In recent years, thousands of jobs have been sent offshore and this has contributed to a major decline in Canadian telecom employment. The telecommunications workforce is down 10 per cent since the early-1990s with telecommunications employment accounting for 1.15 per cent of all industrial employment in 1991 and only 0.78 per cent of the workforce in 2009.
"Over the past five years, telecommunication companies have been making $7 billion in profit annually so they have the money to pay Canadian workers a proper wage," said Coles.
"Companies granted access to public airwaves should commit to Canadian workers," said Coles.
SOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY AND PAPERWORKERS UNION OF CANADA
Dave Coles (613) 299-5628
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