‘Disgraceful’ Telstra in pure cost cutting exercise at expense of employee livelihoods

Following Telstra’s appalling surprise job cuts announcement on Tuesday morning, the CWU has demanded for Telstra to commence meaningful consultation in an effort to examine ways to minimise the impact on employee livelihoods.

At a time when most can least afford it, Telstra has placed its employees’ families ability to meet their financial obligations in the firing line as a result of what is essentially poor executive decisions.

In our first meeting with Telstra since the announcement, we pressed the company on the basis for the numbers announced, as well as the disgraceful timing of their announcement – smack bang in the middle of negotiating new enterprise agreements across the Telstra Group of businesses.

This is what we know so far:

• We are told that the 2800 job cuts announced are reflective of the “upper threshold” as 90% of these are yet to even be identified.
• The 377 jobs which have been identified for redundancy across Telstra Enterprise (including Telstra Purple), Product & Technology, InfraCo & Global Business Services, will be discussed in more detail in the coming days – with Telstra confirming its intention to remove these positions immediately.
• A further tranche is expected to be identified by July 2024, with the bulk to be finalised by the end of this calendar year.

The Union is in communication with Telstra and seeking first and foremost to take all necessary steps to save as many jobs as possible, and ensure all affected employees receive adequate support through counselling services, access to job swaps, and a volunteer first approach.

Members have the right to appeal any decision in respect of the above, and to seek Union representation during this process.

Telstra’s decision to once again prioritise its profits over its people is disgraceful, with members now faced with a challenging and uncertain future.

We will keep members updated as the consultation process progresses.

Members requiring assistance in the meantime should contact Branch Assistant Secretaries Cameron Bird, Peter Chaloner or Nick Townsend or Branch Officials Cade Anderson, Lisa Bahls, Peter O’Connell or Brett O’Neill on (02) 9893 7822 when calling from within NSW or the ACT, (07) 3255 0440 from QLD or (08) 8443 7389 from SA or the NT.