As the deadline approaches for EE staff in Enniskillen to sign up for a voluntary severance scheme in Enniskillen, a public meeting will be held next week as the Communications Workers Union (CWU) says they are doing everything they can to fight the closure of the EE office.

It was announced last month that BT Group may close its EE (formally BT) office site that employs hundreds of people across the local community.

However, BT Group said no decision was made on the future of Enniskillen, and staff are being offered a voluntary leavers package.

Erin Massey, CWU NI Regional Secretary, said: "The CWU are still doing everything we can to mitigate this threat to our members' jobs in Enniskillen.

"We have spoken to most political parties, some of whom have in turn met with the EE in person. 

"Unfortunately, EE are not giving any further information to them or us, as to what lies behind their 'final' signing date of March 8.

"This, to us, is petty and unfair to those people whose jobs are hanging in the balance.

"No company big or small would try and tell you that they do not know what their next step will be, or what they have in mind.

"This approach is just ridiculous, and insulting to our members' intelligence."

Discussing work undertaken by the union, Ms. Massey said: "The CWU’s aim as always is to fight this action and keep these jobs local.

"We have meetings this week with major government bodies from different Departments, and hope to get even more support from them."

Over the weekend, CWU staff and volunteer members took to the streets of Enniskillen, reaching out to all the local businesses within the town, where they handed out posters to be hung in shop windows, public notice boards and more, encouraging their patrons to sign up to support a campaign to 'Save Our Site'. 

Ms. Massey said: "The response from all the owners and staff everywhere was very welcoming and supportive.

"The majority of those were in full favour and totally against the closure of EE Enniskillen, because they are frightened of what could lie ahead, and the aftershock that will undoubtedly impact the entire town economically, and that impact will, unfortunately, be quite severe and will ripple across Fermanagh."

She added: "We plan to target surrounding towns and villages in our campaign efforts."

Solidarity is also coming from other Unions, she said. "The NI Congress of Trade Unions, led by Gerry Murphy, Assistant Secretary of the ICTU [Irish Congress of Trade Unions] are fully behind our plight.

"They have written to all affiliates and sister Unions across asking them to get behind this campaign, to lobby their MLAs and politicians, again adding pressure not only to the local government but more importantly to EE, showing them Enniskillen is not alone, and they are prepared to support us at every turn."

Referencing the voluntary exit scheme offered to staff, Ms. Massey said: "We in turn fully support our members no matter what.

"This really is such a personal choice, but as the announced 'cut-off date' imposed on our members so unfairly is fast approaching, people are still feeling the pressure from the company to jump on board and sign without actually knowing the alternative. 

"We feel EE are hedging their bets, so they can implement the next stage of these ‘unknown’ plans, which is not right or fair on any of our members."

Encouraging attendance at the public meeting which will be held next Monday, March 4 at 7pm in the Westville Hotel, Ms. Massey said: "Everyone is welcome to attend; bring your friends and families.

 "Local businesses are also encouraged to attend and put their opinions over as to how they fear this will hurt their livelihood.

"This invite also goes out to politicians and MLAs. The more voices we have locally, the stronger the fight will be."

Calling on the community to stand with the workers, Ms. Craig said: "We ask our community to stand with us to fight this closure, and we ask our members who work in the centre to stay strong and support our campaign."

More details on The Save Our Site (SOS) campaign details can be found at https://cwunitb.org/hero/save-our-site/.