The Communications Workers Union is asking its members working with Telstra to vote on whether to engage in industrial action in response to the previously announced job cuts and pay increases.
The postal vote will be held between 21 January to 25 February and will be conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission. Votes can only be cast by union members, with the roll of eligible voters to close on 18 January 2019.
CWU divisional secretary Greg Rayner said while the union’s bargaining talks with Telstra has made great progress in some key areas, the telco is standing by its decision to increase wages by 1.5 percent. Some 81 percent of CWU Telstra union-members voted against the increase in August.
“CWU members need a wage rise, not a pay cut. CWU members deserve a fair wage rise that allows you and your family to continue to meet your financial obligations and put food on the table,” Rayner said in the announcement.
“Your YES vote is an opportunity for members to step up and show Telstra that you deserve to be treated fairly – that you deserve to be able to meet the rising cost of living to provide for your family.”
“Show them – it’s not acceptable to sack 9000 of your colleagues and make you take a pay cut while the executive group pays themselves 200 times more than you earn in a year.”
Following its announcement in June to cut 8000 staff as part of a restructure, Telstra proposed that the remaining employees classified under Job Family and Workstream would get a 1.5 percent increase in wages, which CWU said is below the annual cost of living increase of 2 percent and the average wage rise of 2.7 percent.
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