Earlier this year, The Gazette laid off dozens of workers in its Reader Sales and Service department and outsourced customer service to a centralized Canwest call centre in Winnipeg.

This was done primarily to save costs by replacing qualified, unionized professionals with minimum-wage workers who are unfamiliar with Montreal and The Gazette.

One of the main reasons cited by readers in their decision to unsubscribe from The Gazette is the declining quality that has resulted from continued cuts to staff in editorial and service departments. And yet, The Gazette continues to cut staff (even though it is making a hefty profit), and has moved its customer service to a cheap-labour call centre that couldn’t care less about readers.

If you have recently noticed a reduction in the quality of customer service, this is the reason. The Gazette does not consider dealing with subscribers as a “core activity,” and has instead outsourced it to the lowest bidder.

The Montreal Newspaper Guild believes strongly that customer service is an important part of The Gazette and should be done by Gazette workers based in Montreal. If you believe the same way, we encourage you to voice your opinion.