Secret Telstra plan to cut pay and conditions of workers
A newspaper report has revealed a secret agenda by Telstra management to use Work Choices to sideline unions and cut the pay and conditions of its workers. The deliberate strategy by management to rip off technicians, call centre workers and other staff at Telstra has been exposed at the same time CEO Sol Trujillo has been rewarded with a pay rise of more than $1.5 million, lifting his overall package to $13.4 million in 2007-08.
The leaked Telstra management documents show that the company is determined to defy the Rudd Government on its industrial relations policy and to ignore the decision of the Australian people to reject Work Choices at the last election, said ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence.
“In a classic business strategy of divide-and-conquer, the documents show Telstra management intends to pick off workers section by section to impose a non-negotiable company pay offer,” Mr Lawrence said. "Workers that do not accept the company’s offer could be punished by a 12 month wages freeze. This plan by Telstra human resources to deceive and trick workers has been in operation since February. The documents show that Telstra’s human resources managers have had no intention of genuinely consulting with staff or taking into account their concerns over pay and conditions. Telstra management has already determined what it will offer staff when their current enterprise agreement expires next month. It is clear proof that Telstra management never intended to follow through with discussions it started in May with unions over a new collective agreement for its workers. It also shows Telstra management misled its 32,000 staff and the Australian public about the reasons it broke off talks with unions in July."
"Telstra management has no respect for the rights of its workers to be represented by their union. It is appalling that one of Australia’s largest and most profitable companies can engage in this sort of dishonest and unethical business behaviour under our current IR laws. Australian workers urgently need the rest of Work Choices to be scrapped and to have their rights to collectively bargain restored.”