Media Release: Workers slam Government NBN announcement as election spin, after years of refusing to fix the network
The union representing technicians responsible for servicing Australia’s NBN says that today’s announcement by the Federal Government to pour money into regional networks is simply another election promise that will go un-met.
CEPU National President Shane Murphy says “The NBN was set up to fail from the moment this Government chose to replace the fibre to the home roll-out with aging copper wires.
“This Government has had years to fix it. Instead, all they’ve done is allowed the network to be riddled with pyramid sham contracting schemes that have left workers high and dry and customers cringing over endless connectivity and speed issues.
“While executives at NBN Co chew down millions of dollars in tax-payer funded bonuses, frontline technicians are being paid as little as $50 a day, or not at all.
“It’s almost laughable that a few weeks out from an election, the Government suddenly decides that they want to throw money at the NBN. Is this a joke?
“You have senior employees on top salaries and multi-million dollar bonuses while workers are squeezed for pay and conditions at the other end and service suffers.
“If this Government actually wanted to fix the NBN – they would’ve listened to the pleas of thousands of workers who went on nation-wide strikes last year against underpayments, shonky sham contracting and a network held together with plastic bags.
“Throwing cash at the NBN network won’t fix the system. There is a huge leak in the bucket – and that’s coming executive bonuses and from the middle-man companies in the pyramid contracting system who are ripping off workers and profiting off our taxpayer dollars.
“Workers and NBN users don’t need cash splash announcements – they need their NBN to be working. And the NBN won’t work if the Government continues to turn a blind eye to the outrageous employment issues plaguing the network.
“We need a parliamentary Inquiry to take a serious look into the NBN so that we can get these issues fixed for customers and workers once and for all.
Media contact: Amelia Brock, 0430 187 161
