CLAIMS of imminent strike action at the Pembroke Dock call centre have been dismissed as inaccurate by its managers.

The claims were made in a story in last weeks Western Telegraph which quoted call centre staff who had telephoned the newspaper to protest at a new policy on staff absences.

But centre director Cathy Corboy and Manpower contract manager Deborah Rainbow say industrial action is not threatened over the new sick leave code of conduct.

Employees who are absent twice within a 12-week period do not face disciplinary action, they insist.

In these cases we run a return-to-work interview to check everything is okay with the individual concerned and see if they need help, they say in a joint statement to the Western Telegraph.

They say the ITV Digital Contact Centre has a happy working environment with a successful team.

Their statement continues: Like all companies we have issues but - at the request of our staff - have set up an employee consultative group to resolve these. This system works well.

Pembrokeshire has suffered high unemployment over the last few years. There is still a shortage of work so we think that creating a new industry, which has generated jobs with good prospects and helps people learn new skills, is important and will over time make a significant contribution to the community.