Video from Union Members in Vodacom South Africa

Outsourcing In Vodafone Technology Teams

Vodafone has this morning announced its intention to enter into a 'Request for Proposal' (RFP) process.

The outcome of this process may be that Vodafone decides to outsource some of its functions to an outside company or vendor.

At this stage there are members potentially in scope in parts of Regional Operations and Service Operations in Technology and also within the Property function. However it appears that no firm decision has been made and that it will be some months before Vodafone reaches a decision to outsource or not.

As the recognised union for a significant number of members in scope Connect has been informed of the proposals and has already started to make recommendations on how consultation will look over the coming months and what the critical issues are for members. Your union has extensive experience in dealing with outsourcing and TUPE and will ensure that members concerns on thee impact on them as employees are expressed in a strong and independent way.

In addition to 'strategic and long-term benefits', Vodafone has explained that the key drivers behind this process are focus, quality and cost. Over the coming months we will ensure that these drivers are challenged robustly. Through this process we believe that Vodafone will want to demonstrate the sustainability of any proposals going forward. Without this sustainability it will be impossible for Connect and our members to be confident that employees' terms and conditions and job security can be safeguarded after any transfer.

We will of course be requiring Vodafone to enter into meaningful consultation with Connect with a view to reaching agreement on these and other critical issues, such as TUPE terms and conditions, pension rights, at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the views of our members are given appropriate weight by Vodafone and by any potential new employer as part of the RFP process.

It is vital at this time that you and your colleagues are members of Connect. Keep your eye out for future updates and if you have any queries please contact your Connect Representative or our Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060.

If you have colleagues who are not yet members they need to join us now. We can accept members from both within where we have union recognition and where we do not at this moment. Joining is easy and can be done by visiting www.connectuk.org/join or contacting our membership department on 020 8971 6000.

Did you get a pay cut this year?

Over the past few weeks everyone in Vodafone should have sat down with their line manager and been given a letter explaining what you will earn next year. If you don’t like it in most cases it’s tough luck because there is no room for negotiating on pay in Vodafone, you get what your given.

The government says that inflation is currently running at 4.3%, but the price of essentials including food, heating and petrol is going through the roof. The cost of living for most of us is increasing at the fastest rate in decades. It is clear that anyone who received a pay rise was less than 4.3% will find their salary won’t go as far this year as it did last.

But many in Vodafone are finding that their pay is now frozen due to the “global banding” system introduced a couple of years ago. When it was introduced workers were explicitly told that it was not a pay cap, but now they are told that due to global banding their pay rise this year is zero.

Connect members have told us that few of those who were lucky enough to get a pay rise got more than 3%.

For one group of Vodafone workers this year’s pay round was different. In Regional Operations more than 50% of staff have joined the union, so they now have the benefit of collective bargaining. For the first time in the UK Vodafone had to negotiate with a union on pay. This puts Connect members in this area in a far stronger position. The union negotiated an acceptable proposal with the company and members had the final say in a ballot. This only applies to one area of the business at the moment but with your support Connect intends to extend this for next year’s pay round.

This won’t happen unless you do something about it. To form a collective bargaining unit 50% of workers in the area of the business need to be members. We have strong membership in all areas of Technology, Customer Services and Retail, but we need more. If you’re not already a member then join today, if you are then talk to your colleagues and make sure they’re aware of the benefits of joining Connect. You can join online or by calling the membership hotline on 020 8971 6000. There is a special reduced rate for Vodafone members in areas where Connect isn’t yet a recognised union. So make your voice heard in Vodafone and join your union today.

BT Members Vote For Industrial Action

Delegates at Connect's Conference have voted overwhelmingly to reject the company's proposals for an agreement designed to avert an industrial dispute. Following that the union's leadership has given notice that industrial action will start on 24 June.

Following a comprehensive debate at Connect's Conference, with elected delegates from all parts of BT, delegates voted overwhelmingly to reject BT's proposals. The union's BT Committee then decided to end the suspension of industrial action and to start industrial action short of a strike in BT on 24 June. This decision builds on a strong vote in favour of industrial action which you delivered in the postal ballot. We have now served BT with formal notice of industrial action.

The Pay Fair! campaign supports Connect’s objective of securing a better pay deal in BT:-

• A fair pay increase for all A fair deal should cover everyone. So far, BT has not made an offer which would cover people in RF Bands 2 and 3. And the proposed matrix for Band 1 will not distribute the available budget fairly.
• Equal pay We’ve made some progress with BT on this – but not enough. BT needs to do more to eliminate pay discrimination from the Reward Framework structure.
• Differentials How does it make sense to have managers paid less than the people they manage?
• Increases to pay ranges BT hasn’t increased some pay ranges for years. This has affected – ie reduced – the pay increases people have had from the agreed pay reviews. And it has caused some acute business problems, such as not being able to recruit into certain jobs.
• Pay progression A salary structure doesn’t work properly, and can’t deliver fair pay, if people can’t move up their pay ranges.

If this sounds like a lot to ask – it’s not. Much of it is not even about the amount of money this year, it’s about putting a workable structure in place for the future. The fact is that these are reasonable, affordable aims, and that BT can’t claim to run a world-class company without addressing them.

This industrial action will mean that Connect members in BT will only their contractual hours, which for some members would be a significant cut in the working week. We would also expect members not on formal call-out rotas to turn off their mobiles and BlackBerries and not check emails other than during within the 36 hour (pro rata for part-time workers) week.

If members take action together and really stick to contracted hours, BT will feel the effects. Many members have got into the habit of going the extra mile for the company, taking calls and doing work out of hours, staying late in the office, starting early to travel long distances to meetings, that some parts of the company will struggle to function effectively and meet crucial milestones on projects.

Connect don’t think the company, which is very aware of its public image and its reputation in the City, wants want this to happen. But right now, it’s trading on the goodwill of members – but not rewarding and respecting them accordingly.

Connect members in Vodafone fully support the action that our colleagues in BT are taking, they are in our thoughts during what is a difficult time. To find out more visit the Connect-BT PayFair website.

Driving Licence Verification for vehicle users in Vodafone Regional Operations

Vodafone has responded to concerns raised by Connect on behalf of members about the introduction of the new driving license checking process for drivers of company vehicles.
Following discussions over several months with members your Connect representatives identified a number of key issues that we felt that Vodafone needed to address in their approach to introducing the new system.

We stressed that members required assurances that the new process was necessary and reasonable. Given concerns and previous experiences we also asked that consideration was given to ensure that personal information would be managed appropriately and confidentially.
To make those assurances and take this change forward constructively we suggested that Vodafone needed to:

• Recognise that employees concerns were genuine and required consideration and a measured response.
• Ensure that it was clear to those being asked to complete the mandate that these changes were, in part, necessary due to legal obligations stemming from the Vodafone's 'duty of care' to employees and other road users.
• Give assurance of safeguards around storage of information and usage by third parties.
• Understand that issuing blanket threats and deadlines without responding to concerns is not the most effective way of managing change.
• Extend the period of mandate signing to enable employees to consider the points above.
  

Vodafone has now provided a document to managers and team leaders that gives a fuller explanation of the background to the new system.

We believe that the document and revised approach that Vodafone has adopted is reasonable and addresses the key concerns that raised by Connect and our members. We will, of course, be monitoring this process and welcome feedback from members going forward.

The Vodafone Performance Dialogue

It’s the time of the year again where most Vodafone employees sit down with their line manager for the annual performance dialogue. Connect receives a large number of queries from members about the process, and how it should be applied.

Connect encourages all members to have a PD, and SMART objectives. These should have been agreed this time last year and should be Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realist and Time-bound. We find that many members are given objectives that do not conform to these criteria. These should be challenged.

Throughout the year you should have a one-to-one with your line manager every month. Use this to ask for your anticipated PD grade. If you are told there are weaknesses ask for evidence and your manager should provide support in improving these.

If you are marked down and there is no evidence challenge this. There should be no surprises and weaknesses should have been identified long before your PD.

If you have had sick leave this needs to be taken into account and objectives should be adjusted to reflect this. No one should be marked down because they were ill. Similarly maternity leave should in no way impact a PD grade.

Levelling or calibration should ensure there is consistency across the business, but forced distributions or quotas should not be applied as every team is different.

If you are in any doubt members should speak to a Connect rep.

Connect and UNI meet Vodacom South Africa

UNI's affiliates with members in the Vodafone group of companies, met together in Johannesburg, South Africa and discussed the progress they had made in organising and developing union structures in the Vodafone Group of companies. They celebrated the recognition of unions in both Vodacom in South Africa and Vodafone in the United Kingdom and committed to work together to build stronger unions in those countries and to support union organising efforts in other parts of the global operations of Vodafone. Unions came from the UK, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Spain and the United States to plan and discuss how they could help the UNI Vodafone Union Alliance to gain union rights and workers rights wherever in the world that Vodafone operates.

The international colleagues also met with a number of the shop stewards for the CWU South Africa who are working to make Vodacom South Africa a better place to work. The CWU and the it's Vodacom members have been through a long struggle including a 5 week strike to gain union recognition at Vodacom and the international delegation heard about their struggles and the work they are now doing to gain proper bargaining with the company. This despite the intimidation and harassment that seem to be a daily concern for these workers. The UNI delegation was very happy to strengthen the relations between these workers and other Vodafone and Vodacom workers world wide so that there is a strong UNI family of workers in the Vodafone Group globally.

The international delegation also met with the CEO of Vodacom, Allan Knott-Craig and discussed the need for respect between workers and management if Vodacom was to become a truly good and socially responsible employer in the African continent. Mr Knott-Craig told the delegation that he personally respected union rights and workers rights and welcomed a union into Vodacom where he hoped that workers issues cold be dealt with in a respectful and honest manner by the company's management. He said that he would welcome a proposal from UNI Global Union to try and develop a global agreement and understanding on proper labour rights and standards for workers participation in the company. A number of issues of concern to the South-African colleagues were also discussed with Mr Knott-Craig and he said his door was always open to the unions to ensure the company ran in a respectful and socially responsible manner. He urged the CWU to raise issues of concern directly with him.

Connect meet Vodafone to Discuss Dismissals in Regional Ops

Connect has met with Vodafone to raise our members concerns about the recent dismissals in Regional Operations

Members will recall from earlier communications that these were done on the same day as notices of redundancy although the same terms were not, we understand, offered. Dismissals such as these occurred across the business; however we were able to raise this formally with the company in Regional Operations as the recognised union.

We have reminded the company that these dismissals fall outside of employment law and are not in keeping with Vodafone's own policies. Through these discussions we have ensured the company understands that this situation is entirely unacceptable to Connect and our members. It is important that decision-makers in the company appreciate that dismissing people outside of due process has a serious and negative impact. This impact is felt more widely than the individuals dismissed. Where an employer picks and chooses whether or not it follows its own policies it needs to understand that this will hurt trust and confidence in the relationship with its employees.

We have made it clear that shabby behaviour such as this has no place in a modern, successful company, particularly one that commits resource and publicity to presenting a positive image of employee engagement and 'passion' for its people.

The company has now sent a letter to Connect to respond to those concerns expressed on behalf of members. It is disappointing that they have declined our request to reinstate those individuals dismissed should that be what those individuals wish. Where those dismissed are union members we will, when requested, provide full support and assistance up to and including legal advice and this may include exploring the option of reinstatement. Unfortunately we are unable to extend this help to people who are not members of the union, or to provide full membership benefits to those not members when they were dismissed. The message loud and clear to non-members is that it is now time to join!

If any member is asked to attend a meeting such as this in the future please do not hesitate to call a halt to the conversation before contacting the union immediately.

To prevent issues like this in the future Vodafone needs to recognise why Connect and our members will not agree to the company acting in an arbitrary way. On that basis we note the company's written response that stresses the specific and individual nature of this situation and its statement that this is not a change in the normal approach to performance management within Vodafone generally and within Regional Operations specifically.

The company has agreed to work with Connect in Regional Operations to move forwards and put this 'one off' situation in a clearer context. In doing so we will needs to see the development of a workplace in which trust and respect between employer and employee is obligatory and genuine. Clearly there is much work to do on this, but we believe it is something that members will support their union in achieving.

Vodafone "Brand" Hammered on Redundancy News

The following is abridged from mad.co.uk, a website for those working in marketing and the media. It shows the impact of Vodafone's new employee relations policy on the value of the company's brand. This is also likely to have an effect on the summer's EPP bonus...

Vodafone might be in pole position in terms of Formula One sponsorship thanks to its relationship with Lewis Hamilton but its Brand Buzz is taking a battering on the back of a major redundancy programme, according to YouGov’s BrandIndex.

The mobile operator has just unleashed the “Make the most of now” television campaign featuring the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver and is hoping to capitalise on his “golden boy” status in the UK as a brand ambassador.

However, the best-laid marketing plans can always be overshadowed by other news and the fact Vodafone announced on 18 March that it is to make 450 job cuts at is Berkshire head office has probably led to the slip in the brand’s Buzz. It fell from 4 at the beginning of the racing season to -1 by the middle of last week.

The Buzz is a measure of whether people have heard positive or negative statements about a brand. Despite a barrage of recent activity and initiatives aimed at a variety of demographics Vodafone has not really seen its Buzz climb higher than 4 in the past six months.

It cannot have helped that the opening of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow was meant to be the centrepiece of Vodafone’s outdoor campaign with backlit billboards in the baggage reclaim halls.
The huge negative media coverage surrounding the T5 farrago will not have helped brands associated with it, although on the plus side waiting passengers will have had plenty of time to see the messages.

It’s a shame that news of another high profile initiative, the global deal with Warner Music International to help promote the new Madonna album, broke the same day as the redundancy revelations . The singer’s new album arrives on 28 April and Vodafone will offer tracks for download from 21st. Hopefully, the company’s PR machine will step up activity and help the brand recover momentum.

Looking at other BrandIndex markers it’s no surprise that the Corporate rating, which measures if people would want to work for the company, has slipped dramatically from a high of 17 at the end of December to 9 by last Friday (28 March).

The Vodafone UK marketing team is still a process of flux and axed the chief marketing officer position in February. Head of brand and marketing communications Dominic Chambers also chose this juncture to leave and UK consumer director Ian Shepherd is yet to unveil a new head of brand. The department is going to have to work hard to get the brand back on track.

Hundreds Unfairly Dismissed in Vodafone’s Secret Sackings

The dust is settling on last Tuesdays announcement by Vodafone that 450 Newbury based staff would be made redundant. In a feat of news management that Alastair Campbell would have been proud of the company took the opportunity to further reduce staffing levels by summarily dismissing hundreds throughout the UK in secret.

Employees were dragged into offices and told their employment had been terminated before been stripped of their mobile phone, company badge, and were then escorted from the premises.

Many of those who were targeted were the kind of people who lived and breathed Vodafone. Cut them in half and they would bleed red. But this would be far too humane for the company.

This was not part of any disciplinary process, no right of appeal or accompaniment was granted and no redundancy payment was forthcoming. Not only is this action contrary to Vodafone’s own documented policy, it is against UK employment law. This is acknowledged by the company as they offered small cash incentives to the individuals in return for signing an agreement not to take the company to an employment tribunal, or speak out about the way they have been treated.

Vodafone have demonstrated that they do not think that employment law applies to them. They also think they can get away with acting in this way without people finding out. There has been no communications to staff suggesting an explanation of this behaviour. Workers do speak each other and it was inevitable that it would only take a short time before it became clear that these sacking were systematic.

A culture of fear has been created.

Reorganisation and Job Losses in Regional Operations

Following Vodafone’s communication yesterday about job cuts in “Head Office”, Connect has learned that a reorganisation is also proposed in Regional Operations and we will be se
seeking an early meeting with the company to understand the implications of this.

At the same time we are aware that a number of individuals have been impacted directly in Regional Operations. Those 'at risk' of redundancy will have now been individually informed.

Members may also be aware that across the business there appear to have been a number of dismissals not for the purposes of redundancy timed to coincide with these 'at risk' announcements. Connect has made it clear to the company that this is completely unacceptable and will be raising this in the strongest terms in the discussions within the RO bargaining unit.

As the recognised union for Regional Ops Connect will meet to kick off a meaningful consultation process with the company at the earliest opportunity. In doing so we will need to represent the views of our members. If you are member in RO please contact one of your Connect representatives with your comments.

For a communications company Vodafone's reputation and record in situations such as these has in the past not been good. Connect and our members in Regional Operations will be working together to ensure that meaningful consultation with the aim of reaching agreement between the union and the company is at the heart of what we do over the coming weeks. In doing so we will challenge Vodafone to listen, engage and deliver a favorable employee experience even in a difficult situation such as this.

If you have any queries or comments please contact one of your Connect representatives or email union@connectuk.org or call our Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060.

We have received a number of applications for union membership around these announcements, so you may wish to share this with a colleague and suggest that they visit www.connectuk.org/join if they are not yet a member.

Vodafone Hit Staff with Massive Round of Redundancies and Sackings

The company have announced today that 450 people, mainly in Newbury based “back office” roles will be made redundant. More sinisterly a number of people have been told that due to “performance issues” their employment has been terminated. Given the timing this is clearly a cheaper way reducing both head count and reducing the headline figure.

Connect members in Vodafone are disgusted with the way in which the company is now treating its staff. Sadly we realised a few years ago that the company now sees its workers as little more than a commodity. For all the lip service given to “employee experience” actions prove that this is not a company that cares. Today we see a new low with the company treating staff with contempt.

Whilst the company have also announced that they will be recruiting for new retail stores and a call centre in Stoke, these new roles will be lower paid. With 10% of the already overstretched support staff axed who will support the shiny new data services that the company will sell, who will design the next Vodafone Live or 3G broadband?

Vodafone’s actions today demonstrate why we need to be part of a strong union. Individually Vodafone workers are an easy target, when we stand collectively we are stronger.

Any Connect member involved should contact their rep or the Connect helpdesk for advice as soon as possible. If you haven’t yet joined Connect stand together with us and join today.

Click here to join online or Call 020 8971 6000

Connect and Vodafone open pay talks in Regional Operations North and South

We have met with the company to kick off pay negotiations for 2008.

These talks will cover all employees who are covered by Connect and Vodafone's Recognition Agreement in Regional Operations North and South.

Your Connect reps have scheduled a series of meetings with the company to work towards negotiating an acceptable offer. As you would expect in doing so we clearly need to be confident that any proposals deliver on the issues of importance to our members in the unit. Subject to how negotiations develop our intention is to work towards the usual timescales for pay review implementation (effective from 1 July 2008).

Thank you to the many members who took part in the recent Connect pay survey and contacted us to express your opinions and expectations. The views expressed on the shortcomings of the 2007 pay review will inform our approach in seeking to negotiate an increase in the pay bill for 2008 that enables members to see the company address the key concerns around the negative impact of Global Banding, for example.

We will keep members up to date with developments and give members the final say on negotiations through a ballot.

Please note that we will be unable to ballot people who are not Connect members on any proposals. If you have any colleagues who are not yet members it would be a good time for them to join to have a say in their pay review. Please ask them to visit www.connectuk.org/join

Read All About It...Vodafone Come Clean....

Vodafone have now come clean and published a note to workers accepting the accuracy of yesterday’s Guardian article. The JV with Orange looks like it’s dead in the water, for the moment at least. Co-operation between the 2 companies will go no further than site sharing.

However, there is still a commitment from both Vodafone and Orange to outsource Field Operations and Maintenance. This is subject to current negotiations with potential suppliers and is likely to me in place within the next 6 months. So after over a year where many Connect members have felt no long term job security the waiting continues.

There is also a caveat that in the long term full network sharing is still desirable. Many people would suggest that this is something that OFCOM should look at very closely as it is essentially reducing competition.

Staff working on the joint venture will be returning to their parent companies, but what happens to those who’s former jobs have been filled? Paul Whybrow isn’t the only person in this position.
Yet again we have seen announcements critical to the lives of Vodafone employees in the media before we have been informed. Large amounts of hot air are generated by the company’s employee communications team, but for any remotely relevant to workers the newspapers are the first to know. Here’s an idea to cut global warming – scrap the glossy magazines and snazzy email bulletins and issue a copy of the Guardian on every desk daily.

Network sharing deal in Vodafone

Connect has spoken to Vodafone in respect to this mornings press speculation on the status of Vodafone and Orange network-sharing deal.

As part of our ongoing dialogue with the company we have pushed for a response, but at this stage Vodafone are unable to confirm or deny the story published in the Guardian today.

Members in Regional Operations will be aware that conference calls scheduled for earlier today were cancelled by the company. Our understanding is that this was because formal announcements could not be made in the timescale originally anticipated. Whilst Connect appreciates that discussions on the network-sharing programme are at a critical point, we do believe that setting up and cancelling the call at late notice has added to the sense of uncertainty and frustration felt by our members.

Your union expects there to be further announcements on the future of the network-sharing deal later this week. At this uncertain time we would like to reassure our members that we are engaged in consultation with the company and that we will continue to assess the impact of announcements on our members in Vodafone. We will look to agree the way forward with the company where possible to deliver the best possible outcome for the members on the key issues and will keep members up to date with that work.

If you have any colleagues who are not members of Connect please pass this email on to them. They can take this opportunity to join the recognised union by going to www.connectuk.org/join or calling our membership department on 020 8971 6000.

Project Churchill update from Vodafone

We have received a response from the company to our letter about Project Churchill (Orange RAN share) dated 21 January 2008.

Our letter followed discussions between your Connect representatives and Vodafone and reflected queries that had been raised by members.

It is disappointing that the company is not yet able to make firmer commitments on the key people issues that we have taken up. These are issues that we believe need to be looked at in principle as early as possible in the consultation process with Connect. However we believe it is encouraging that there is a clear sympathy for the strength of feeling of Vodafone employees and that the company has committed to address those concerns in an open and honest way. Connect looks forward to working with Vodafone to establish a way forward that ensures that these sentiments benefit our members in Regional Operations North and South.

In line with our members' wishes and commitments that the company has made, we will engage with Vodafone constructively over the coming weeks up to meeting formally with the company on 5 March to provide more detail on the 'people issues.' We will, of course, update members on progress.

Vodafone’s letter is available to members on the main website.

More Job Cuts at Alcatel-Lucent

Last week Alcatel-Lucent announced 400 job cuts in France as part of their current round of 4000 redundancies globally before the end of next year. This is on top of 12,500 cuts announced in February last year.

This is hardly comforting for the Vodafone employees in the Technology Business Unit who are currently been outsourced to a clearly troubled company. The wisdom of transferring responsibility for systems at the core of a mobile network into the hands of an operation who’s own house is not in order is also questionable.

Alcatel-Lucent are desperate for the business and this would have been reflected in the price they quoted. But long term they are unlikely to be providing services to Vodafone out of charity and will expect to take a profit on the contract. They will only be able to do this by cutting costs.

This highlights why it is essential to fully understand the rights that employment law provides to those individuals affected. TUPE is highly complicated area of law which would be impossible to properly explain in this space. Fortunately our union are experts in employment law and provide members with independent advice so that their rights can be fully exercised.

It is certain that other Vodafone teams will be outsourced during 2008. Unions are unable to support new members in pre existing processes so anyone who has yet to sign up to Connect should do so without delay.

Vodafone Q3 results

The company today announced their quarterly results for the 3 months ending 31st December. On the face of it this looks like good news for the company, and for workers who should expect to benefit from the success generated by their hard work.

Total revenue is up 15.8% to £9.2 billion and the company now has 250 million customers worldwide.

Vodafone UK took £1.2 Billion from 18.4 million customers in the 3 months, that’s up 5.9% on the same period last year.

So why the gloomy message today from UK CEO Nick Read, talking of recession in the USA and a slowdown in the UK? It would appear the Nick is very selective about the commentary that he reads as the consensus is that these are far from certain. The results prove that he is running a very successful operation and the hard work of his staff is paying off.

The message goes on to talk of “cost reduction”, making “key deals” and “simplifying the business”. Connect members fully support initiatives that benefit both the company’s bottom line and the environment. The company has made good progress in these areas and we would be interested to know if Nick has picked up his Toyota Prius.

But this seems to be a message aimed at softening workers up for yet more outsourcing, offshoring and redundancies.

We have already seen in the last few months that marketing has been moved to Ireland, Regional Ops is in the process of a cut and shut with Orange and parts of Network operation and development are been outsourced to Alcatel-Lucent.

If Nick isn’t careful his organisation will be very simple, as he will be the only person left on the payroll.

RAN Sharing proposals in Vodafone update

Connect has written formally to Vodafone Regional Operations North and South.

Following the discussions about RAN Sharing/Project Churchill with the company last month we have stressed to Vodafone that consideration needs to be given to lessen the negative impact that extensions beyond the original timescales have on our members' engagement in that process and perception of the project. Clearly our members expect due diligence to be followed and proper consideration given to retaining work in house, for example and it would not be appropriate to attempt to hurry the process up.

However where there are continued delays it is quite right that Connect stresses the need for greater clarity on issues of key importance to our members as a way of rebuilding confidence in the process.

While the detailed consultation is still to come on detailed proposals around TUPE, for example, we have proposed that Vodafone takes the opportunity to remind its employees of its full commitment to meaningfully consult and to give reassurance on specific issues such as pensions, job security and union recognition to Connect and our members. Moving forward Connect and Vodafone will be engaged in consultation to ensure that any commitments made are robust and protect our members impacted by RAN sharing.