Joburg call centre accused of barring workers from voting
Employees say they are being forced to work double shifts on May 8, but call centre says they volunteered to earn extra cash
Disgruntled employees have accused a call centre agency of compelling them to campaign for the DA, while denying them the right to vote on May 8. Employees of Icontact, a subsidiary of a Johannesburg debt collection firm, Shapiro Shaik Defries and Associates (SSDA), said they had been forced to work double shifts on Wednesday, between 7am and 8.30pm. They claimed that the same workshift arrangement was implemented during the watershed local government elections in 2016. A source who spoke on behalf of the group said: “The employees are very scared to speak to the media and having their identities revealed. They could easily lose their jobs because they are not guaranteed. That’s their main concern.”
Call centre officials on Thursday admitted to doing work for the DA but denied the allegations levelled against the agency. Icontact MD Clinton Cohen said the contract with the DA was to call the party’s database to “remind voters to go and vote” on the election day. This was ...
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