Latest news with #French-owned
The National
6 days ago
- Business
- The National
ScotRail slammed for plans to outsource complaints team to French firm
The train operator is reportedly set to outsource its complaints team to French-owned Teleperformance, according to the Daily Record. Passengers looking for a refund for a late or cancelled service must speak with a call centre in Glasgow which is run separately from the railway. The customer services team, which handles complaints and personal injury claims, was previously operated by Dutch transport giant Abellio under a contract agreed before Scottish ministers took charge of ScotRail in 2022. But it is set to be run by Teleperformance going forward after a deal was announced to employees last week. READ MORE: Richard Murphy in huge spat with BBC presenter over 'pro-Union bias' The company runs call centres in 34 countries and has previously been accused of using "union busting" tactics against workers. Simon Barrow, national secretary of the SNP Trade Union Group, said outsourcing the complaints team to Teleperformance would be a "bad move" as he pushed for an end to "private profiteering". He told The National: 'ScotRail's current intention to switch to a new French-owned outsource contractor for its complaints service is a really bad move at a time when building confidence in publicly owned services, and making them genuinely public, is vital. 'But this is only part of the problem. A significant portion of the maintenance and operation of ScotRail stations and depots is already outsourced, and a facilities management services review may well push further in this direction. 'What Scotland needs instead is a reliable, high quality public service that brings jobs and opportunities to Scotland by ending private profiteering. 'As with opposing ticket office closures, which are a serious disservice to customers and staff alike, we will be supporting the campaigns of our rail union colleagues to bring back real public control and benefit in Scotland's rail network.' READ MORE: Keir Starmer fails to rule out bringing in tax on pension contributions ScotRail has said no contracts have been awarded and the company said it would not comment while it is in the "final stages" of a competitive procurement process. Gordon Martin, the RMT union's Scottish organiser, said: "We oppose all outsourcing on the railway and want to see all rail workers insourced in Scotland. "Our insourcing campaign will continue across Britain until we achieve justice for all our outsourced members." An insider told the Record "most people don't know" the customer experience operation is still outsourced despite the train operator having been brought under public control. "We expected, rightly, that a nationalised railway would bring us in-house," they said. A ScotRail spokesperson said: "No contracts have been awarded. We are in the final stages of a competitive procurement exercise for our customer contact centre services, and wouldn't comment on this process while it is live and ongoing."
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
ScotRail outsources complaints team to French firm despite being publicly owned by SNP Government
EXCLUSIVE: Employees at ScotRail's customer services team have claimed they are being treated like "second-class rail staff". ScotRail is set to outsource its complaints team to a French-owned conglomerate despite the train operator being brought back under public control. Passengers chasing a refund for a late or cancelled service must speak with a call centre in Glasgow which is run separately from the railway. The customer services team, which handles complaints and personal injury claims, was previously operated by Dutch transport giant Abellio under a contract agreed before SNP ministers took charge of ScotRail in 2022. But it will be run by Teleperformance going forward after a deal was announced to employees last week. The multinational firm runs call centres in 34 countries and has previously been accused of using "union busting" tactics against workers. Employees at the ScotRail customer services team have now claimed they are being treated as "second-class rail staff". An insider told the Record: "Despite ScotRail being publicly owned since 2022, its entire Customer Experience operation, the call centre that handles refunds, complaints, personal injury claims, and vulnerable passenger issues, is still outsourced. "Worse, we've just been told that this vital function is now being handed to Teleperformance. It's a cost-cutting move that puts quality of service, staff welfare, and the principle of nationalisation itself in jeopardy. "This operation has been running from Glasgow under Abellio since 2015, then continued under Transport UK Group through its subsidiary Solvd. Most people don't even know this is still outsourced. "We expected, rightly, that a nationalised railway would bring us in-house. Instead, we've lost travel perks, been treated as second-class rail staff, and are now being dumped into a high-turnover, high-pressure private firm with no railway experience. "Make no mistake, this affects millions of ScotRail passengers and dozens of experienced Glasgow-based staff who are passionate about rail and proud of the work we do. The Scottish Government has outsourced ScotRail's voice, and no one's talking about it." The Record understands ScotRail's pay roll services are also outsourced to a third party provider. Gordon Martin, the RMT union's Scottish organiser, said: "We oppose all outsourcing on the railway and want to see all rail workers insourced in Scotland. "ScotRail is under the control of the Scottish Government so we would expect these workers who provide essential payroll services, to be directly employed by the company, under a collective bargaining agreement like all the other staff. Our insourcing campaign will continue across Britain until we achieve justice for all our outsourced members." Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labour Net Zero spokesperson, said "The SNP has failed to deliver on the promises of public ownership and ScotRail workers and passengers are paying the price. "On the SNP's watch, ScotRail services are plagued by cancellations and delays and workers' contracts are being handed off to private companies. "The SNP cannot dodge responsibility for the treatment of these workers - Ministers must ensure all ScotRail workers have the fair and decent terms and conditions we would expect." A ScotRail spokesman said: "No contracts have been awarded. We are in the final stages of a competitive procurement exercise for our customer contact centre services, and wouldn't comment on this process while it is live and ongoing." The Record asked Teleperformance for comment.
Sydney Morning Herald
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Find the sweet spot this weekend at these 10 top cake shops and hole-in-the-wall bakeries
Sweet dreams and insulin spikes are made of these. A pastry arms race kicked off five-ish years ago, and it continues to rage in the proving trays of Melbourne's best bakeries. Recently, however, it's the sweet developments in the no-dough venues that have blown the category wide open (see: ice imported from Japan, shaved to order and topped with the likes of rare cheese and berry compote). This list is part of Good Food's Essential Melbourne Cafes and Bakeries of 2025. Presented by T2, the guide celebrates the people and places that shape our excellent cafe and bakery scenes and includes more than 100 venues reviewed anonymously across 10 categories, including icons, those best for food, tea, coffee and matcha, and where to get the city's best sandwiches and baked goods. (These reviews also live on the Good Food app, and are discoverable on the map.). Amann Patisserie This French-owned hole-in-the-wall patisserie has injected new life into Nicholson Street, with a constant but quick-moving queue of those in the know. Since it opened in 2024, its small but expertly executed selection of mostly sweet, buttery treats – along with creative cold brews – has only gained traction. Maple-bacon Danish, almond croissant or kouign-amann? It's difficult to choose, so don't. Make a beeline early and load up with everything.
Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Sodexo's Irish arm records pre-tax profit increase of 44pc
Sodexo provides on-site services to clients in business, industry, education, financial, pharma, healthcare and government services. Stock image Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of services firm Sodexo, which counts the Central Bank as one of its clients, last year increased by 44pc to €4.94m. New accounts filed by the French-owned Sodexo Ireland show the company increased profits as revenues rose by 9pc from €141.4m to €154.7m in the 12 months to the end of August last. Numbers employed by the business last year increased by 127 from 2,205 to 2,332 as staff costs increased by just under 10pc from €74.22m to €81.52m. The principal activities of Sodexo Ireland is the provision of a wide range of on-site support services to both private and public sector organisations in business, industry, education, pharma and healthcare. These include food services, infrastructure, facilities and estate management and optimising the workplace experience. The company recorded an after-tax profit of €4.16m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €778,000. The company paid out a dividend of €2.9m last November. Sodexo Ireland MD David Fox said: 'We have experienced a very positive few years in Ireland, driven by a combination of strong new business wins and key client retentions across both the public and private sectors. 'We continue to see good momentum this year, with organisations increasingly recognising the value of high-quality workplace food and facilities services to support employee experience and operational efficiency. 'Our industry, like others, has challenges such as cost inflation and talent attraction, but our focus every day is on delivering great service to our clients and supporting our people to thrive.' Quarterly purchase orders published by the Central Bank show that it paid out €2.76m, including Vat, to Sodexo Ireland in 2024. On future developments, the Sodexo directors state that 'the stability of the current portfolio enhances the capacity of the company to further grow the business by acquiring new contracts during the next financial year'. The profit last year takes account of €853,000 in non-cash depreciation and non-cash amortisation costs of €126,000. The firm had accumulated profits of €17.55m. Cash funds decreased from €15.09m to €11.83m. Shareholder funds totalled €14.04m. Sodexo Group operates in 45 countries, employing over 423,000. Led by CEO Sophie Bellon, the group recorded revenues of €23.79bn and operating profits of €1bn last year.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Competition watchdog to investigate Evri merger with DHL's UK parcel arm
The UK's competition watchdog has announced an investigation into the proposed merger of the delivery company Evri with DHL's UK e-commerce business, a deal set to create one of the biggest parcel couriers in Britain. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday it was investigating Evri's purchase of DHL eCommerce UK, as well as the parent company DHL Group's acquisition of a minority stake in Evri. The UK is the world's third-largest market for online commerce, behind only the US and China, according to US government figures. That enormous demand has prompted a scramble by delivery companies to meet it. The CMA said it would decide whether the Evri deal will result in a substantial lessening of competition. It said it would gather comments from interested parties for two weeks, until the 25 June, before starting the first phase of its investigation. The merger could bring together more than 30,000 couriers and van drivers, and 12,000 further workers. The combined company would deliver more than 1bn parcels and 1bn letters each year, the companies said. Germany's DHL is the world's third-biggest delivery company by market value, behind only the US's United Parcel Service and FedEx. DHL owns Deutsche Post, Germany's privatised postal service. Evri was bought last year for £2.7bn by Apollo Capital Management, a US private equity company, from Advent International, another US private equity firm. It was rebranded in 2022 from Hermes, after starting out as part of the German mail order group Otto. DHL Group will acquire a 'significant minority stake' in Evri as part of the merger. Other delivery companies are racing to win market share in parcels. The Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský's EP Group won approval in December for the takeover of Royal Mail, with a plan to push further into parcels to make up for the decline in letters. The Polish parcel locker company InPost agreed a deal to take over the British delivery firm Yodel for £106m in April, although it is on hold pending legal action. Delivery companies have struggled to retain customer trust through the boom in online shopping, with polling regularly pointing to people experiencing delivery problems. Evri and Yodel have consistently been the worst-rated companies for delivery problems, customer service and trust by customers of the five big firms tracked by Citizens Advice in annual polling. Royal Mail and the US online retail company Amazon were the best rated overall by customers, with the French-owned DPD in the middle. DHL was not tracked in the polling.
