Telstra to move 400 jobs offshore

Telstra says it will wait to comment on the union's claims. Source: Herald Sun

TELSTRA will shift 400 jobs to Asia because the company believes offshore call centres can deliver superior customer service, a union claims.

The company announced yesterday it would slash 648 jobs from its struggling Sensis division.

Community and Public Sectors Union national secretary Nadine Flood said one of the explanations the telco gave for the offshore move was it believed customers could get "better service in the Philippines or India".

Ms Flood said that Telstra officials said during union discussions that "better technology and innovation" in Asia was also a factor in moving the jobs.

"Telstra has done well out of Australia, its profits have risen off the back of hard-working staff and loyal customers, and this is how it repays them – by sending almost 400 jobs offshore," Ms Flood said.

"And to add insult to injury we have been told one of the reasons why they are doing so is because they think Australian consumers can get better customer service in the Philippines or India."

A Telstra spokesman said the offshore jobs were still in the proposal stage, and the company would not comment on the union's claims about customer service until it held further discussions.

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Telstra sacks hundreds of Sensis staff

Telstra will shed hundreds of jobs in Melbourne and Sydney. Picture: Bob Finlayson Source: The Australian

TELSTRA has confirmed this morning it is sacking one in five staff at its struggling Sensis business.

The company announced it would slash 648 staff at the group that produces the Yellow Pages, White Pages and the Trading Post..

The communications giant is cutting staff in Melbourne and Sydney, in the latest Australian jobs blow.

Community and Public Sector Union national president Michael Tull said the job losses were deeply distressing.

"Sensis staff have been crushed by the scale of these cuts for a company that is part of Telstra which earlier this month posted record half year profits of $1.6 billion," he said.

"The numbers are substantial job cuts.

"They are call centre staff, back of office staff, design work for the ads and printing work."

Mr Tull said that there had been rumours of changes for weeks, but the scale of the job cuts had shocked him.

The company is blaming the rise of online searches for the decline in its print publications, that have landed on doorsteps for decades.

Staff had meetings with managers at 10am today to discuss their future.

The head managers will meet with unions at 3pm today, in a summit that was called after unions heard rumblings about the cuts.

CPSU spokeswoman Teresa Davison said the union would reserve the right to take the cuts to Fair Work Australia if Telstra acted unfairly.

"We're talking to members at the moment and we will be meeting with Sensis at 3pm," she said.

"We have been calling for weeks to discuss this; they were claiming they had not made a decision as recently as Tuesday."

Ms Davison said Telstra was making a short-sighted call.

"Like all large businesses they look at their massive profits dropping,” she said.

"If a $1 billion profit drops to $900 million their response is to sack staff, even though they are still making a huge profit.”

The Sensis business includes Yellow Pages, White Pages and the Trading Post.

The traditional print advertising publications have been struggling with competition from online advertising.

Sensis Australia managing director John Allan said the business model was unsustainable.

"Until now we have been operating with an outdated print-based model – this is no longer sustainable for us," he said in a statement.

"Already, more than 60 per cent of our customers now are advertising online and in mobile apps, while our White and Yellow Pages digital services received 18.4m visits in January 2013.

"We need to simplify our operation and invest in areas that make us more efficient, and meet our customers’ growing demand for online and mobile services."

Stephen.drill@news.com.au

View the original article here

Telstra sacks hundreds of staff

Telstra will shed hundreds of jobs in Melbourne and Sydney. Picture: Bob Finlayson Source: The Australian

TELSTRA has confirmed this morning it is sacking one in five staff at its struggling Sensis business.

The company announced it would slash 648 staff at the group that produces the Yellow Pages, White Pages and the Trading Post..

The communications giant is cutting staff in Melbourne and Sydney, in the latest Australian jobs blow.

Community and Public Sector Union national president Michael Tull said the job losses were deeply distressing.

"Sensis staff have been crushed by the scale of these cuts for a company that is part of Telstra which earlier this month posted record half year profits of $1.6 billion," he said.

"The numbers are substantial job cuts.

"They are call centre staff, back of office staff, design work for the ads and printing work."

Mr Tull said that there had been rumours of changes for weeks, but the scale of the job cuts had shocked him.

The company is blaming the rise of online searches for the decline in its print publications, that have landed on doorsteps for decades.

Staff had meetings with managers at 10am today to discuss their future.

The head managers will meet with unions at 3pm today, in a summit that was called after unions heard rumblings about the cuts.

CPSU spokeswoman Teresa Davison said the union would reserve the right to take the cuts to Fair Work Australia if Telstra acted unfairly.

"We're talking to members at the moment and we will be meeting with Sensis at 3pm," she said.

"We have been calling for weeks to discuss this; they were claiming they had not made a decision as recently as Tuesday."

Ms Davison said Telstra was making a short-sighted call.

"Like all large businesses they look at their massive profits dropping,” she said.

"If a $1 billion profit drops to $900 million their response is to sack staff, even though they are still making a huge profit.”

The Sensis business includes Yellow Pages, White Pages and the Trading Post.

The traditional print advertising publications have been struggling with competition from online advertising.

Sensis Australia managing director John Allan said the business model was unsustainable.

"Until now we have been operating with an outdated print-based model – this is no longer sustainable for us," he said in a statement.

"Already, more than 60 per cent of our customers now are advertising online and in mobile apps, while our White and Yellow Pages digital services received 18.4m visits in January 2013.

"We need to simplify our operation and invest in areas that make us more efficient, and meet our customers’ growing demand for online and mobile services."

Stephen.drill@news.com.au

View the original article here