114 jobs, many 999 call workers who dealt with Grenfell fire and Manchester Arena bomb, to be moved from Portadown's BT Exchange to Belfast Tower

It is understood management started consultations with staff and unions regarding the closure of the Carrickblacker Road site and relocation of staff recently.

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Fears are that with any compulsory relocation to Belfast staff from the Portadown, Craigavon and Lurgan areas may be unable to get to work, particularly at unsociable hours.

The site houses the 999 call service which dealt with the emergency calls during the Grenfell Tower fire and the Manchester Arena bombing.

A BT Group spokesperson said: “BT Group remains committed to Northern Ireland, employing more than 7,300 people here both directly and indirectly.

“As part of efforts to have world class workspaces for colleagues and to give our customers the best service, we are bringing colleagues together in fewer, better and more modern offices. We are consulting with colleagues and unions on proposals to move 114 desk based BT Group colleagues from our Portadown Telephone Exchange to the newly refurbished and state of the art building at Belfast’s Riverside Tower. Belfast is a strategic long-term location for BT Group and will allow our Portadown colleagues to benefit from the latest modern technology, the fastest connections and flexible workspaces.

“This is no negative impact for our customers and we do not anticipate any redundancies as a result of this proposal. BT Group continues to invest in the rollout of full fibre broadband and 5G connectivity across Northern Ireland.”

It is understood there will be a small number of third party contractors moving to Belfast’s Riverside Tower.

The firm also said it will be ‘fully supporting colleagues through this change, including paying additional travel costs incurred and providing free on-site parking for anyone working outside of standard business hours. Subject to the consultation now under way, we would expect colleagues to be working from the new location in the autumn, with our exit from the Portadown Telephone Exchange at the same time. After colleagues move to Belfast’s Riverside Tower, the building will be repurposed for network infrastructure purposes.’.

Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson called for clarity for the workers. He said: “The British Telecoms Exchange Building, which has been operational since 1959, is set to close its doors in the Autumn with its 999, Directory Enquiries, 195 Blind and Disabled and RUK Deaf and Speech Impaired departments all set to be re-located to BT Riverside Tower in Belfast.

Tennyson said, “This news is a devastating blow for the employees and for the local community. The staff have had their initial consultation but there remain many outstanding questions which need to be addressed. For example, variable start times and twilight shifts will make reliance on public transport to Belfast impossible for some. I am engaging with BT to obtain clarity on outstanding issues for staff and to ensure they will be protected as far as possible in any transition.

“Many of these staff are on the frontline answering 999 calls, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. We owe them huge thanks for their service, and I will continue to support them in these uncertain times.”

Portadown Alliance representative, Emma Hutchinson, has said, “My full solidarity is with the workers affected.”