Difficult conversations are being had around kitchen tables in County Fermanagh as BT workers consider their financial future.

One worker, Tom*, who lives in rural west Fermanagh, said he and his family will be considering cutting down to one car if his job at BT is axed.

“I am thinking of things [financially] that I have never thought about before. Where we are going to be next year? Are we going to cut down to one car?

“That might be a small thing for some, but bearing in mind where we live, we need two cars.

“The children are starting to grow up as well - they need clothes, food, you need to live, you need some sort of outings.”

Speaking about how rural nature of his home, and indeed the county as a whole, Tom continued: “It is very rurall there is nothing, there are no jobs that would be equal to what I do.

"The skills I have are not transferrable. I can’t take the skills I have to another job.

“I can’t go and do an apprenticeship. I couldn’t sustain a mortgage and a family at my stage in life with an apprentice wage.”

Tom says jobs are limited in Fermanagh. He claimed: “I heard of one job in the manufacturing sector, a well-paid job, and there were 85 applicants for the job.”

He is worried about the knock-on impact that the loss of BT jobs will have, if such fears are realised.

“There is nothing [there to replace those jobs]. If BT take these jobs, it will rip the soul out of Enniskillen.

"The knock-on effect in the county will be catastrophic.

"We would all be up the town on our dinner break, grabbing a coffee or a sandwich every other day.

"Every fifth or sixth person you meet has a BT badge on them, or an EE hoodie on them.

"They are the people in the town every day of the week," he added.

Tom spoke of his pride in getting a job at BT. He said: “ I remember the day we got our BT contracts. You had job security, and you had a BT email address, which carried a lot of weight with it.

“After I got it, people said, ‘You’re set - great job, great conditions, you’re warm and you’re dry.’

"You weren’t on a building site, you had a canteen, you had a great group of people around you, and support mechanisms.”

Tom described the ‘savage’ shock of the announcement. He claimed: “The way it was done was cold and callous - it was done from the back of a laptop.

"To treat people like that who have been there the best part of their lives - I felt betrayed.

"I thought we were worth a face-to-face conversation, but that’s the method of delivery that they chose to send out that message.”

Tom is calling on everyone in Fermanagh to get behind the Communications Workers Union (CWU) campaign.

He said: “One of the politicians noted last week that this has united politicians. This is not an 'Orange' or 'Green' issue - this is going to affect everyone.

"People need to write to their MLAs, their MP, and together we can send a message to BT about how valuable and critical these jobs are.”

Tom's fears were echoed by another long-term BT employee, who learned of the fears for jobs - including her own - as she picked up her children from school.

Linda* said she was waiting outside the school gates when a colleague rang to tell her of the shock announcement regarding the future of BT's Enniskillen site.

"My children had to watch me cry," she said. "It was beyond difficult."

Linda's story mirrors that of hundreds of local BT employees, who have been left in the dark about their futures.

"It's like a grieving process," Linda continued. "First you are in denial - I thought it was a joke at first - and then you become angry at the situation."

However, Linda admits that she is still far away from the fifth stage of grief - acceptance - regarding the ongoing situation.

A voluntary paid leavers package has been offered, with employees given until March 8 to accept - but Linda says she won't take the package, and is prepared to "fight until the end".

"I am willing to take the risk and see what happens," she said. "I would rather stay and fight for my job than say I gave up and signed the package.

"For those that do, they are offering full pay until December, even if the centre closes. I feel it is very unlikely that BT will follow through with this."

Linda added: "It's hard to know what the future holds for workers, and that's where the frustration lies."

The local employee also warned of a "major skills shortage" within BT if some 300 workers, many of whom are highly-skilled, are let go.

"The work we do on-site constitutes a massive workload, with a specialised workforce with decades of experience.

"It will be hard to replicate that knowledge and experience elsewhere. To be honest, I don't know where they are going to find it."

Another local mother has said she is constantly thinking about the future of her job, from when she wakes up in the morning to the last thing at night, when she's unable to sleep with worry.

Beth*, another of several local workers with many years of service to the company, described the announcement as "a bombshell”.

She said: “It was so hard to take in because of the way it was done - an online Zoom call with 15 minutes' notice.

"I wasn’t even on the call, and I was sitting outside the school gates, and looked at my phone and saw [the news] on a Facebook page. That’s how I learned about it, after 30 years’ service.

“There are other people off on holidays, off on maternity, off sick, on bereavement leave at the moment.

"I was hurt by the company, as I have given them so much of my life - and they have been a great company to work for - [for them] to pull the rug from under you.”

She described her shock as she said the news came out of nowhere.

“We had no warning - the call centre is continually winning awards across the UK. We have one of the best stats and results figures; the workers are well-qualified and experienced."

Beth is one of many workers who want to know what the alternative is to the voluntary exit scheme being offered by BT.

She said: “To disregard us at a moment's notice, and to give us a four-week deadline package as an 'Option A' - but what is 'Option B'? No-one will tell us.”

Beth summing up the uncertainty felt by her and hundreds of colleagues, saying simply: "I don’t know.”

Another local employee's initial reaction to BT closure threats was one of "shock, hurt, and worry".

This newspaper spoke with another BT employee - who did not wish to be named - and said the announcement of the potential BT Enniskillen closure came with "ten minutes' notice", and immediately plunged him and hundreds of colleagues into a state of profound uncertainty.

"It's very, very sad and it has created a lot of worry," he said. "I have been here [for many years], a huge chunk of my life.

"It's a daunting thought, having to do a C. V. and apply for new jobs, for the first time in decades. Hundreds will be in the same position."

He added: "My initial reaction was shock, hurt, and worry. There was no sign of this coming at all.

"It came at ten minutes' notice and before we knew it, we were being told that Enniskillen was no longer a strategic site."

Amid the uncertainty, the worker called on BT to give its Enniskillen workforce - which totals around 300 employees - clarity on the future.

"The thing we want at present is some sense of clarity on what's happening," he continued. "Is it a forgone conclusion? No-one knows. I don't know.

"Nonetheless, employees are continuing to support each other during this period of uncertainty."

The worker agreed that a "best -case scenario" is that the site remains open as it stands, thus securing local jobs.

However, he feels that intervention from the likes of Invest NI may be needed to see a positive outcome at BT.

"Securing the site is going to take investment from Invest NI. They say there have been investments at the Belfast centre - how much have Invest NI put into that?

"Invest NI say they are interested in investing in the West. There is a disparity between the West and the East.

"Are those at Invest NI going to put money where their mouth is?"

*Names have been changed for this article.