ANGRY workers today accused Norwich Union bosses of “lying” to their employees after consistently reassuring them there would be no job losses.

Staff at the Monks Cross office said they believed management should have been more open and kept workers informed about the situation.

They said that with the announcement of 500 job losses, morale in the building had plummeted, with people wondering where they were going to find other jobs at a time of economic turmoil.

Dale Thomas, who works in the collective investment department, said: “It makes me so angry that they have lied to us for months, saying that we would not be losing our jobs.

“We’ve been told that we could be relocated to Essex, but we can’t go there – everyone has got houses and friends and family here. We’re all feeling pretty upset.”

David Rahaman, who has worked at Norwich Union for nearly 12 years, said: “I don’t understand why something couldn’t have been said to us to let us know what was going on – they should have kept us in the loop. I’ve worked my back off for this company and now I can only wait and see if I’m made redundant.

“After 12 years here, it has come as a bit of a shock and I’m feeling quite downhearted. I have got a 12-year pension here and I want to stay. Staff here are very down – some people have been in tears.”

One member of staff from the Lifetime department, who did not wish to be named, said they had been told they would be going in six months.

She said: “We’re completely gutted. We’ve all got mortgages to pay and some people have families to support – we can’t leave without a job.

“Our department is moving to Glasgow, but apparently there are only 50 jobs available there and most of us don’t want to go there anywhere – our lives are in York. Everyone is really miffed.”

Dale Hayes, a team leader in collective investment, said they had been told they had the choice to move to Basildon, in Essex.

He said: “Why would we want to go to Basildon? We want to be in York – nobody wants to be uprooted.”

An employee from the Joint Venture department, who did not want to be named, said they had been told some of the work would also be off-shored to India.

She said: “We feel really angry and we also feel lied to. There have been rumours about this for a while, but then there was that story in The Press where management denied them all.

“They said we won’t be losing our jobs and now look what we’ve been told. We’ve got until March to find another job, but where is everybody in this building going to find work in York?

“I’ve got a little boy and I need to look after him.”

Jason Flanagan, who has not been affected by the job cuts, said there was a lot of confusion among staff.

He said: “A lot of people didn’t see this coming and I think it came as a shock. Everybody seems to be very confused and I even saw one girl crying and saying that she didn’t want to leave.”


Union concern at ‘blow to morale of workers’

A UNION leader has spoken of the blow to staff morale caused by the second batch of job losses in two months at Norwich Union.

Norwich Union’s parent company, Aviva, announced massive job cuts at numerous insurance offices across the country last month, but workers in York were unaffected, as they dealt with life assurance matters.

Andy Case, national secretary of the Unite union, said of the announcement: “As this comes so soon after the previous job losses, there’s a feeling of: where is the axe going to fall next?

“Once again, Norwich Union are cutting jobs. It’s clearly a blow for the morale of staff at Norwich Union.”

He also criticised the way Norwich Union had handled the decision to outsource work, claiming: “In other European countries – at least in old Europe – there would be consultation with staff before final decisions were made on outsourcing. There is a complete lack of social responsibility. Norwich Union don’t seem to care for the community.”

He thought the announcement would have a big impact on the city. “It will be a major blow to York,” he said.

He said he had been keeping a close eye on Norwich Union since being informed by The Press last month about claims that 400 jobs were at risk.

That news led him to seek urgent talks with the insurance giant, and he said later after holding two meetings: “We think there’s something going on. We will be keeping a watching brief.”