Union demands assurances over O2 jobs

The man from Telefonica, he say...

The union representing some 3,000 staff at O2 has called on the cellco to give written assurances that jobs will not be axed following the take-over by Telefonica.

Yesterday, the Spanish telco confirmed plans to blow £18bn to acquire O2, the former mobile division of BT.

While Telefonica is keen to expand its operations into the UK and Germany, where O2 is particularly strong, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) wants assurances that no jobs would be lost as part of the tie-up.

Said the CWU's Jeannie Drake: "We have received assurances that there will be no changes to the business, including no sell-off of the O2 companies Manx Telecom and Airwave.

"While we are hopeful no jobs will be lost through this take-over, we are seeking written assurances to that effect.

"The union has received preliminary assurances that the company's pension schemes will be honoured, however, once again, we will be seeking written confirmation from O2 that our members' pensions are secure," she said.

El Reg managed to track down an O2 press hombre just before he disappeared for his siesta.

"There will be no compulsory redundancies as part of the deal," he told us, "we're keeping things as they are." ®