Bevis Slams Telstra Discrimination

Date: 14 March 2000

Labor Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Arch Bevis, today slammed Telstra's decision to punish workers who had not signed individual contracts by targeting them in the 10,000 jobs which are to be lost over the next two years.

"The leaked e-mail to Managers and Team Leaders clearly indicates that those employees who had signed individual contracts had shown 'trust' in the company and the company's 'preferred model of individual employment'. Managers were instructed not to:

'compromise these important values in the way they implement cost reduction initiatives which lead to staff reductions'.

"In the event that they did - it was clear that the manager was to be held accountable", said Mr Bevis.

"There can be no doubt that Telstra intends to discriminate between employees on the basis of the type of industrial instrument entered into. This directly attacks workers' freedom of choice. If an employee chooses to enter into a collective agreement, they are not going to be offered the same immunity from redundancy as an individual contract employee.

"The Government's own industrial laws provide for protection from such discrimination and this memo from Telstra should be fully investigated. This exposes the double standards of Workplace Relations Minister Reith when he claimed:

'... this bill is about providing employers and employees with much greater choice about how to regulate their relationships...'

"I call on Telstra and the Minister to immediately withdraw these instructions and treat all employees fairly", said Mr Bevis.

14 March 2000

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For further information

Contact:	David Tansey
Union:	Labor Council of NSW
Phone:	(02) 6277 4505
Fax:	(02) 6277 8534
Email:	david.tansey@aph.gov.au
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