News

Telstra employees have delivered a stunning rebuff to management by rejecting the two non-union negotiated agreements voted on this week. By voting “NO” they have said that they simply don’t trust Telstra to do the right thing by them and offer them a fair deal. And they are asking why their unions have been cut out of the negotiating process.

The NO vote should also tell Telstra that it’s not just union members covered by the existing union-negotiated Enterprise Agreement who feel this way. Clearly non-members and employees coming off AWAs are equally suspicious about the deal they were offered and about the real intentions of management.

That’s hardly surprising when everyone from the deputy Prime Minister down has criticized the agreement’s contents, especially the Part B offer which severely cut entitlements for new employees and those coming off AWAs. Employees sent exactly the same message to Telstra last year when they overwhelmingly rejected a similar non-union negotiated agreement put to call centre employees.

But Telstra has chosen to turn a deaf ear to that message. So it has only itself to blame for this further defeat.

It’s time management listened to its employees and returned to the bargaining table to forge an agreement which offers a fair wage rise, protects conditions AND provides the protections of union involvement in all phases of the agreement process, from negotiation to enforcement through the AIRC.

The CEPU stands ready to resume talks now. Where’s Telstra?