Telstra tells ACTU and unions to back-off

Darren Fewster, Telstra's director of Workplace Relations, dismissed the ACTU's latest claims and discredited lines about profiling as an absurd stunt, after the Workplace Ombudsman cleared Telstra of any wrongdoing in relation – on the 18 July - to its AWA re-offer to employees last year.

"The document that the ACTU is shopping around to media today is nothing new. In fact Telstra provided it to the Ombudsman as part of the investigation, he said. "The Workplace Ombudsman considered this document - and many others - and cleared Telstra of any wrongdoing.”

According to Fewster, the Ombudsman has confirmed again that they assessed this document and that their findings stand. "It's time for the ACTU and unions to respect the umpire's decision and move on," he said.

Fewster said the ACTU's claims that Telstra had psychologically profiled its workforce were a gross distortion. According to Fewster the telco surveys its workforce regularly to understand their employment needs.

The Workplace Ombudsman's investigation was the extensive, took around six months and involved 15,000 employees and 3000 Telstra managers, said Fewster.