Co-op jobs boost praised by union
Plans to create 120 jobs at the Co-op Group call centre in Burslem have been welcomed by a retail union. The news of the expansion has been praised by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) after fears were raised over the possibility of job losses through the Co-op's merger with Thomas Cook.
The Co-op said 80 permanent and 40 temporary jobs will be created at the site to handle enquiries for the group's membership reward scheme.
Sharon Ainsworth, Usdaw national officer, said: "We very much welcome this announcement and the Co-operative Group's ongoing commitment to maintain significant employment at Burslem. It is good news for our members and good news for the local area as a whole."
The new service, which will handle up to 30,000 calls a week, is expected to be running by the end of July, said the Co-op Group.
The call centre, which is based at Hamil Road, is also the head office of The Co-operative Travel. The announcement follows the company's pledge to invest in jobs in Burslem following its proposed merger with holiday company Thomas Cook.
Fears of significant job losses at Burslem were raised in the aftermath of the merger announcement, as new firm's base will be in Peterborough.
Since the proposal was announced in October last year, 20 people have been made redundant from the site in a move which was blamed on "difficult trading conditions".
