Networks Delivery redundancies: Telstra gets its 120 volunteers
Telstra has now moved to implement the 120 voluntary redundancies which it offered in Networks Delivery.
The CWU met with Telstra on 5 October in relation to the redundancies.
As we had expected, Telstra had no difficulty in finding its volunteers.
While this no doubt in part reflects the age profile of this section of the workforce, it is also a sad reflection of the outlook of many Telstra employees, many of whom now have little confidence in their future with the company.
Of equal concern to the union is the fact that around 75% of those seeking redundancy are from Band 7 and above. These employees take their roles with them. So what we are seeing is a further loss of higher level skills from the company.
Telstra says that trend reflects changes in technology that mean that roles have changed and require less operator knowledge and skill.
We have heard all that before. The challenge now will be to make sure that jobs aren’t being simply downgraded by Telstra as part of a cost cutting exercise. Members are asked to report any instances of jobs being backfilled by staff at a lower banding level to the union.
Members who have accepted offers of voluntary redundancy are reminded that they are still entitled to 4 weeks in the Placement Period and cannot be made to leave the company earlier without their consent.
