Mr. Vincent Jennings:

Under the transfer of undertakings, people have the right to move over to the new company. A number of people chose not to, as was their right. Some positions have not been filled while others have been reduced. That may have been all right on paper when one was doing a seamless transition but it caused enormous difficulties when problems arose because there were not enough people to answer telephones and there were not enough representatives out on the road. I might add that the national lottery has an incredibly good sales force but I refer to a time when one has fewer people and encounters a real problem, when every call is now taking twice and thrice as long as it had previously and one has people frustrated because no answers are forthcoming. As a representative association, the CSNA sent out text messages and e-zines to contact our members. We had no difficulty with doing the work that perhaps was a shared job or a job of the lottery. However, it is very difficult when one cannot get information in those crucial times and when one knows that somebody else who should be there is being paid to do it. Yes, there have been fewer people on the ground in certain areas and this has been crucial. I reiterate that in a seamless transition, it may not have been as noticeable but certainly when a problem at that level arises, it certainly is frustrating when people do not answer telephones.