Telstra Digs In For 3 Months Strike Action

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23rd December 2009, 02:12pm - Views: 921





People Feature CEPU (T&S) Vic 1 image


Ref: SLD 09/473


23 December 2009


CEPU (Communications Electrical Plumbing Union)

Communications Division representing Telstra,

Australia Post, Optus and other communications

sector employees.


CEPU Communications Division, Telecommunications and Services Branch, Victoria, 1st Floor,

139 Queensberry Street, Carlton South VIC 3053 Ph: 03 9349 4411 Fax: 03 9349 3488




TELSTRA DIGS IN FOR THREE MONTHS STRIKE ACTION

CLAIMED CONCERNS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE TRASHED


Telstra's union agreement based workers are being forced to continue their strikes

and other industrial action to try to secure an acceptable wages and conditions

agreement for Telstra employees. A major contention between the Communications

Union (CEPU) and Telstra is the discrimination in pay rates between what is on offer

to the union members, on the one hand and Telstra's workers on non-union contracts

on the other.


Telstra is offering its unionised workers a pay rate 2.5% less and thousands of

dollars short of the amount being paid to their non-union contract workers who

perform similar work. "This is blatant anti-union discrimination," says Len Cooper, the

Victorian Secretary of the Communications Union (CEPU).


Among the workers on strike are key technical workers who maintain and provide the

IP networks of the large corporate customers and large government departments,

key technical workers who maintain the national EFTPOS networks and other private

bank communication systems, and key technical workers who maintain the telephone

and data networks throughout Australia. In addition, the Technical workers who

design and install the high speed data networks for the rollout of the Federal

Government's so-called education revolution and other key workers performing

installation and maintenance on Australia's telecommunications system are also

taking strike and other industrial action.


"Telstra managers are telling their employees that the management is preparing for

at least 3 months of strikes and other industrial action. This demonstrates that

management don't give a damn about customer service and are preparing for a long

war with it's unionised workers to try to retain it's discriminatory anti-union pay rates.

This gives the lie to its claim to be concerned about good customer service," says

Len Cooper. The disruption to customer communications systems could be major

over the Christmas/new year period and beyond.


"Why not simply pay the same rate of pay for the same work, whether it's performed

by labour on union-negotiated or non-union contracts? This is not beyond one of the

biggest and most profitable corporations in Australia and in this way would solve the

dispute and prevent any further disruption to customer service.” says Len Cooper.


Authorised by and further enquiries to: 

MEDIA RELEASE

People Feature CEPU (T&S) Vic 2 image

LEN COOPER

Branch Secretary

Communications Union (CEPU)

M. 0438 389 302 

Ahs: 9330 2668






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