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2nd September 2006
Dear Mr Le Sueur,
As a current employee of Jersey Telecom, I wish, having read the consultation paper, to raise a number of points in regard to the proposed sale of Jersey Telecom.
Whilst I understand your position as Treasurer of the States of Jersey and your proposal to re- invest the monies from a potential sale of Jersey Telecom, my concern as an employee would have to be over my current job status and the terms and conditions I have at present, with my current PECRS pension being at the forefront. With that in mind I feel that this potential sale is being rushed through before any employee protection for example T.U.P.E. (Transfer of Undertakings (protection of Employment) law is in place in Jersey, almost as if the implementation of this law will result in a lesser value gained from the sale of Jersey Telecom. Any potential new owner of Jersey Telecom would more than likely be an established Telecom operator and would already have departments such as a Network Operation Centre, Accounts Department, Marketing and Communications, to name just a few, in place; these would be duplicated under new ownership and the people in these positions would be under instant threat of losing their jobs under new ownership. The TUPE type law would ensure that they receive their same terms and conditions as at present for severance pay should the need arise.
With the introduction of competition within the local telecom market, the survival of Jersey Telecom under its current States ownership could be questioned with the likes of Jersey Telenet (a subsidiary of Bharti Global Limited), C&W (Cable and Wireless) and Colt Telecom having much larger budgets to invest. With that in mind, the right owner of Jersey Telecom could ensure its continual success, though I feel that there is only room for two large operators within such a small market place, and I would hope this would not end up being that JT are pushed out of the market and becoming just a memory in Jersey's history. I would also hope that the States would ensure that JT is sold as a whole package and not broken up. I know that the success of JT in the past has been down to the wonderful morale and team spirit felt amongst my colleagues across all departments. Following a suggestion in the local press that the company might be split up, this would have a very negative effect on that morale and cohesion. I would also hope that C&W were not considered as purchasers of Jersey Telecom, as ironically this would only result in us being back in a monopoly situation, not only in Jersey but across the whole of the Channel Islands, putting my colleagues at Wave Telecom in Guernsey under threat.
I would also like to take this opportunity to point out my views of the questionable decisions the J.C.R.A. have made since their incorporation. I feel they have only looked at the potential income on each and every licence they issue, without any due regard to the result of their decisions for the local economy. As I mentioned earlier, the Island, in my view, can only support two Telecom operators. Any more than that will result in one operator becoming a victor in obtaining the whole market share, then we will back to a monopoly position again and this time, all profits made would leave the Island. We have already seen this in a much smaller scale when the introduction of competition was forced on the Jersey to Saint-Malo route for cars, this resulted in Emeraude Ferriespulling out of the route and now we are having to pay excessively for the crossing. Without careful consideration this could happen in the local telecoms industry. It is a common joke amongst the local I.T./Telecom workforce that a licence can be obtained by sending a self stamped address envelope to the J.C.R.A. This backs up my view in the lack of thought given to each application; to this end I would hope an inquiry is instigated by the Council of Ministers into the decisions the J.C.R.A. appear to make. I feel we only have to look to our neighbours in Guernsey and the O.U.R for a successful model.
I know I am only a small voice an Island of around 90,000 and do not have any political power, but I trust you take on my comments in your decisions you make over the sale of Jersey Telecom, after all, my and family future is in your hands. I also wish to thanks you for taking the time to read this letter.
Yours sincerely
Richard Jackson .