Sign in / up

back to article Vodafone India appoints SECRET SNITCHES

Vodafone India employees could find themselves kicked out of the company if they break a tough new set of safety laws, with specially-designated members of staff granted police-like powers to check compliance. The firm’s global health and safety goal is to “drive a zero fatalities culture, mindset and behaviour”. Although …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Paul J Turner

    Call-centre English

    'conveying' = 'conferring'

    0 0
    1. LarsG
      Reply Icon

      Have you seen the traffic

      In India, the way they drive?

      They'll struggle to employ anyone.

      4 1
  2. Quinch
    Black Helicopters

    I'm not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, I'm all too happy to see buzzed, cellphone-distracted morons being discouraged by *some*one. On the other hand, quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

    2 0
    1. Arion
      Reply Icon

      I'm pretty clear how I feel about it.

      Vodafone spying on their staff during working hours in distasteful. Doing so outside of working hours is unacceptable.

      If vodafone had a way of detecting whether or not employees were using phones while driving, other than by spying on them, and sanctioning them based on that, then I'd commend them. Anything that violates the employees right to privacy, without probable cause, is unacceptable.

      4 1
    2. MrT
      Reply Icon

      quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

      Send in Dr Manhattan, otherwise known as Dan Gleebitz when he wants to go incognito. That should distract them.

      0 0
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No risk

    The only danger vodafone employees are likely to potentially suffer is DVT from sitting on their butts all day doing sod all. The only way you can get to talk to a real person is to move your number to another provider. Then they'll call you at all hours until they get the message that YOU are not going to talk to them about their sudden concern over their service.

    4 0
  4. MrT

    Level 7, pah...

    What if one of the employees is an eighth-level ogre magi with invisibility, driving around with his friend Randall...?

    0 0
  5. Magister
    Joke

    Uhhh... (Zombie alert)

    >>"I'd rather have a live ex-colleague than a dead current-colleague."<<

    If the colleague is dead, then it would be a dead former-colleague; unless Vodafone India are a bit more relaxed about employing the differently aware!

    5 0
    1. Gunda
      Reply Icon

      Re: Uhhh... (Zombie alert)

      I am sure plenty will apply if Vodafone also employs the differently alive ;-). Certainly will help collecting from defaulters. Their existing tactics aren't working.

      1 0
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Uhhh... (Zombie alert)

      dead ex-collegue. Pining for the fjords.

      2 0
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Go

      Re: Uhhh... (Zombie alert)

      The great thing about employing the dead is that they are compliant with all those safety directives about not drinking or driving while on a mobile phone. Plus in Chicago, they can still vote!!

      0 0
  6. John Tserkezis

    Safe driving and electrical safety.

    In India, two oximorons if I ever heard any.

    Cudos for trying, but I think this is too far engrained in the culture to see any drastic changes - even within a single company. They're going to lose the bulk of their employee base, and most of India before they get the very few who actually care about safety, or in some cases, merely common sense.

    I'm sure they'll get there <u>eventually</u>, just not under the timeframe or terms that Vodafone is expecting.

    2 1
  7. Gunda

    I can understand why they want this

    The rubbish service that Vodafone offers, especially in India, probably means that much of their staff is probably on the phone while driving and drunk or stuck on a high rise ledge without a ladder or harness, or already dead from the issues in question.

    0 0
  8. silent_count

    If it's good enough for the plebs.

    I wonder if it's good enough for the management too. Does anyone wanna give me odds on ever seeing, "CEO of Vodafone sacked after getting a speeding ticket / being caught driving while using his/her Voda-phone" ?

    0 0
    1. Steve Todd
      Reply Icon
      Stop

      Re: If it's good enough for the plebs.

      The CEO will have someone to do the driving for him while he's in the back seat, making calls to his hearts content.

      0 0
  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    health and safety gone sane

    glad to see they are addressing these sort of issues in India. someone probably realised it costs the economy where there is man induced death and carnage on a daily basis.

    0 0
  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rotton

    Vodafone's culture seems rotten - doesn't take long at the headquarters in Newbury to discover this!

    There seems a complete lack of regard for employees. The idea of a "hot-desking" culture with mandatory clear tables seems to treat employees like animals in a zoo. Information seems hidden and not shared. It's just seemingly bleh - so many people start working at Vodafone only to seem to turn around and run as fast as they can as far as they can away.

    1 0
  11. Valeyard

    grievances

    is evidence required? or does it happen because one of the super snitches says they saw it? if that's the case given politics in call centres (used to work in one) and the cliques that form i can see some spite happening

    either way i'd not like to be one of them snitches. anyone's fired and the list of people present will be used to narrow it all down

    0 0
    1. Chris007
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      Re: grievances

      In addition you could also get some sexual exploitation going on.

      "so I see you were driving whilst using your phone, this could disappear if you put on these knee pads..."

      icon: for the failed idea (who watchers the watchers in this one)

      0 0
  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wrong choice of words

    "I'd rather have a live ex-colleague than a dead current-colleague."

    Surely what he meant to say was he'd rather have a dead ex-colleague than a dead-colleague?

    0 0
  13. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    Conflicted...

    On the one hand, it is 100% none of Vodafone's business what people are doing off working hours. If they want to control their employee's 24/7, they can pay them for 168 hours a week.

    On the other hand -- DON'T USE YOUR PHONE WHILE DRIVING! It's seriously stupid.

    Seatbelt? It's stupid not to wear it but it doesn't affect anybody else. Speeding? From what I've seen of India traffic speeding is generally not possible. I would not be happy with my employer worrying about me speeding off-hours here in the states because many many roads have arbitrarily slow speed limits and arbitrarily bored cops (on the other hand, I have a radar detector so I don't get speeding tickets.)

    0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.