FMG to hire more staff

FMG is rallying call centres to hire staff locally by offering several vacancies in Palmerston North, with potential for more.

The rural services company initially planned to hire later in the year, but recent Sitel call-centre redundancies and rising unemployment prompted the firm to act sooner.

FMG inbound services manager Sean Beattie said he hoped to encourage other businesses to keep jobs local, saying it was not charity but good business sense.

Last week Sitel announced 32 Palmerston North call-centre redundancies after Telecom cancelled the emergency call contract, in a move to centralise operations in Wellington.

Unemployment in Manawatu has also hit a 16-year high of 8.1 per cent.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union lead organiser Wayne Ruscoe said he was not surprised by FMG's job offer as Sitel staff were highly sought.

"They're the All Blacks of call centres ... it's life-and-death calls."

Sitel would find it tough to retain the staff till the contract ends unless there were financial incentives, Mr Ruscoe said.

Sitel staff are not entitled to redundancy packages. The contract ends June 30.

The FMG positions in the sales and service centre will be advertised on the company's website and open to anybody with relevant experience.