Company’s move to gag unions backfires

September 12, 2008

Telstra’s industrial relations boss has admitted that workers rely on their union for advice and information.

That has come direct from Telstra’s workplace relations director, Darren Fewster, the architect of the company’s industrial strategy.

So why does Telstra management continue to seek to exclude your unions from being involved in negotiating a new pay deal?

Well, this week we found out: unions will blow the whistle on pay, terms and conditions that may be inferior - something the company doesn’t want its members to know.

That can be the only conclusion from management’s extraordinary decision this week to take legal action to restrain unions from commenting on the Wholesale and Service Advantage pay offers.

Telstra took the action in the Federal Court, alleging that unions had circulated misleading statements about the deal.

But the unions stood firm, maintaining that they had a right to provide timely and accurate information and advice to their members - and Telstra’s case was thrown out.

It was the second legal defeat in a week for Telstra’s industrial relations strategy.

The strategy is taking on water, and surely the penny must drop soon.

Following the legal defeat, unions have urged management to back down on its failed Work Choices strategy, sit down with unions and discuss a better pay offer to staff.

Telstra took the legal action just days before the vote over the Wholesale and Service Advantage offers.

The company is highly sensitive to union assertions that the pay offer will turn new employees into second class workers reduced entitlements to paid overtime, no guarantees of annual pay rises and reduced redundancy. The non-negotiable pay offer would also severely curtail employees’ rights to meet with union representatives.

The unions’ court victory follows a previous rebuff for Telstra earlier this week in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, ruling that the Commission had power to act as a “circuit-breaker” in the dispute.

And it comes after Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a critical assessment of the pay offers.

Evidence given on Telstra’s behalf in the Federal Court confirmed that the company intended to roll out to other employees similar offers to the ones Wholesale and Service Advantage will vote on next week.

Speaking after the court decision, ACTU Assistant Secretary Chris Walton said unions had been vindicated by Federal Court Justice Sundberg’s decision.

“Telstra’s move to gag unions just days ahead of a vote by staff on a non-union pay offer has backfired,” Mr Walton said.

“Telstra workers have a right to be represented and a right to bargain collectively, including the critical right to be informed by their union about their employment conditions.

“It was bad enough for Telstra to deny thousands of its workers their right to be represented by their union in current negotiations. It was even worse for Telstra to try to prevent their staff getting independent advice and information from their union with this Federal Court action.

“Unions have been advising their members honestly and openly, and the Court has found in our favour.

“It’s time management listened to their employees and began co-operating with unions.”

After all, even Telstra’s workplace relations director, Darren Fewster, has acknowledged the important role unions play in representing the interests of workers.

In his own sworn court statement, Mr Fewster said that workers are reliant on unions for advice.

So come on Mr Fewster: abandon the Work Choices tactics and sit down with the unions to negotiate a proper agreement.

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What can you do?

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Written by TelstraUnions · Filed Under News 

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