Unions oppose Telstra’s plan to outsource 170 jobs

Telstra is considering plans to cut about 170 full-time jobs from its Network Applications and Services (NAS) division in Australia and outsource them to India. Workers’ unions have said they will try to prevent the job cuts.

The company also plans on cutting about 90 contractors from the department.

NAS covers managed data networks, unified communications and cloud services.

David Burns, head of the NAS division at Telstra, said the job cuts will come from all Australian capital cities. No regional positions will be affected.

Fairfax reported that, if the plan went ahead, some of the job cuts would come from teams assigned to look after the computer networks of National Australia Bank, Qantas and Westpac.

According to the ABC, the 170 jobs would be outsourced if a plan to build new ‘delivery centres’ in India went ahead.

“Part of the NAS growth strategy is to expand into international markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region,” a Telstra spokeswoman said.

“Discussions are currently underway regarding the establishment of delivery centres in conjunction with industry partners located in India. This proposal, if implemented, would involve outsourcing of non-customer facing functions and services to industry partners - resulting in the reduction of around 170 existing roles.”

Telstra said 350 new positions would be added this year in other parts of the team.

Telstra initially indicated that the cuts would begin in October this year, assuming trade unions didn’t cause complications.

But the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) decried the plan, with Teresa Davison, spokeswoman for CPSU, calling it “another slap in the face for hard-working Telstra staff and their customers”.

“We have sought more information from management and are urging the company to do everything they can to hang on to talented and dedicated staff,” Davison said.

Len Cooper, CEPU communications divisional president, said he would talk to union officials about what action could be taken to stop the job cuts.

Image courtesy of Bidgee