MULTI-NATIONAL office firm IWG has defended its decision to keep staffing centres after employees called on them to close.
Formerly known as Regus, IWG – founded by billionaire Mark Dixon – is made up of brands including Spaces and HQ and operates 16 sites across Scotland, offering serviced offices and meeting rooms.
The Scots centres are part of a network spanning several countries. The firm is headquartered in Switzerland and incorporated in Jersey. Clients include lawyers, doctors and business people.
More than 600 people have now signed a petition on the website coworker.org calling on all of the sites to be closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
It states that IWG staff “are not key workers” and should be at home.
Critics adding their names accused the company of failing to prioritise the health of its workforce.
The petition states that IWG should “close their front helpdesk and centres” but still allow access to any clients working in essential roles. In a statement to The National, IWG said it is supporting “millions of workers” and those remaining at their desks have chosen to do so.
A company spokesperson said: “We provide many services to help our customers work efficiently and we are keeping these running using small groups of dedicated volunteers from our team members.
“We have a large number of customers that are providing numerous critical services during the current crisis, including the ambulance service, doctors and medical research companies, along with more than 250,000 people that we are supporting working at home.
“We have seen enormous growth in support needed in recent weeks, particularly for our mail handling, internet, and technology services with so many people working remotely.
“This is new territory for all of us and we want to help.
“If any of our customers are experiencing financial difficulties, we are working with them to provide assistance where we can.”
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