Tuanz: Chorus is taking one for the team
Yesterday, Telecom announced owner/operator staff working for its new contractor, Visionstream, would start work up to three weeks earlier than their original October 1 deadline.
Concurrently, field technicians employed by Telecom’s previous Auckland contractors, Downer EDi and Transfield, received notice that their last working days would be September 6 and 13.
But the Downer and Transfield staff will still be paid salaries through to September 27. Chorus says it does not want them to be disadvantaged by the earlier transition.
The EPMU has said a “panicked” Telecom is rushing Visionstream staff into North and West Auckland early in an effort to plug phone and broadband service backlogs it says now stretch to three weeks, due to strikes and go-slows.
Telecom says it is because Visionstream (which now says it has 70% of required field staff) is running ahead of schedule - and that the backlog is only one to four days on top of the usual 24-hour turnaround.
Tuanz: Chorus doing the right thing by customers
Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman - recently one of Telecom (and Vodafone's) fiercest critics by dint of his organisation's founding role in the Drop the Rate, Mate campaign - says the company's networking division is doing the right thing by customers as it grapples with industrial action.
The Tuanz boss is full of praise for Chorus’ move to support Visionstream’s early roll-out this month, while at the same time keeping Downer and Transfield engineers on salary until the 27th.
“I guess this means for a period Chorus are paying twice over for the same work,” wrote Mr Newman. “If so, it’s a good sign of commitment to customers, which both Telecom retail and all the industry customers should appreciate and welcome.
“Tuanz doesn't have a view on the industrial issue - this is not our turf. But we do most certainly have a view on customer service. On that basis we give Chorus credit for being proactive in minimising disruption to customers. Well done.”
Certainly, through the series of disruptions, Chorus seems to have maintained its good rep with its ISP customers.
CallPlus/Slingshot GM Mark Callander told NBR that his company is experiencing delays, but that they were minor: “It's pretty much business as usual."
Back to home
Back to top
Print
Latest
NBR SERVICES
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Sign up for NBR subscriber content or email alerts
Comments and questions19
what a load of rubbish!
chorus are NOT TEAM PLAYERS at all. just self serving b arstards with another ploy to fool all involved.
they wont admit we are beating them with our numbers so they try and not lose face by "taking 1 for the team" after they begged us to stay on a little longer because nobody is signing on even with total job loss staring us in the face!
msg to telecom from the workers:
Telecom clearly doesn’t have the people it needs to maintain the network and this last-minute raising of the stakes is a desperate attempt to compel our members into signing a viciously one-sided contracting arrangement they have overwhelmingly rejected.
“There’s no need for Telecom to continue putting the network at risk like this. We maintain there is an alternative model that can meet both our members’ needs and Telecom’s, but first Telecom needs to show it is willing to sit down and talk to us.
“Telecom talks about the need to have a world-class telecommunications network but that can’t be done without a secure and engaged workforce. We’re calling on them to stop trying to compel our members into a model they’ve rejected and start negotiating with the union in good faith.”
THAT IS TEAM WORK CHORUS!
Ernie, I remember when you used to stand up for ... the users! What's happened? Why are you so fond of the taste of Paul Reynolds' boot polish?
Last week you were telling us that Telecom acting in an anti-competitive manner was OK by you... this week you're saying it's OK for Telecom to fire all its engineers and re-hire them as low-paid contractors, forced to work for what, $12 an hour?
What's next week going to bring? Will you be alerting us to Telecom's great new offers in the market? Will you appear on the next round of Telecom ads, perhaps replacing the Hamster? Will you be giving Telecom an award for being just the nicest people possible at the TUANZ awards?
Put the U back in TUANZ, Ernie. I'll help you out a bit - it stands for "users". Leave Telecom's marketing to Telecom.
Ernie giving credit to Telecom! Minimising disruption to customers! Telecom invited Visionstream from Australia to NZ and over one thousand engineers across NZ are saying NO to becoming "dependent contractors".
If Telecom thought about customer satisfaction instead of big bonuses they would have started talking to the engineers and their unions. Visionstream have not yet said how many have signed their contracts and purchased thier vans etc. The staff that are starting early are waged employees working for small contractors who in turn got contracts from VS. You have just said goodbye to all your experienced techs who have had to have min level 3 to work on Telecoms network. Have the new guys?
Ernie you seem to be in Telecoms back pocket!
If you are indeed concerned for the "Users" try imagining what the state of the Network will be in after most of the experienced techs leave the industry!
This new business model drives down the already pawltry wages of existing techs. It does not encourage young people to enter this industry because of the expectation of these low wages. It will also completely destroy whatever training there is that is currently limping along since after the breakup years ago. The last truly trained and qualified techs are now being forced out of their chosen field!
Imagine it Newman, an already aging dinosaur of a network crawling into oblivion.
Got yer hopes on the Fibre roll-out? Think again.Fibre Techs will be starved of work to force them into doing copper cable faults because all of the cable jointers are no longer working in telecommunications in NZ. The backlog of OP faults is already blown-out, regardless of the lies Chorus would have you believe!
No new techs, no experienced techs no happy Users,mate.
if Telecom drives all the techs to Australia?
I know a handful of guys faced with the prospect of either shelling out to set up a "business" which has only one customer (telecom) or moving to Aus. The young, up and coming lads are already on the plane. The only ones considering staying are those that have family commitments or no drive and frankly there's a lot of the latter.
So come on, Ernie. How is this really going to benefit the people you represent? You remember them - the customers?
Ernie dense or out of the loop?
They are keeping us paid until the 27th to call on us if necessary. This is no sign of goodwill. Chorus havent shown any goodwill to us or its customers. The techs that have already gone are getting calls asking them back, sign with Vs.
Chorus and VS need to sit and talk to us and our unions.
I for one, along with hundreds of my mates are not becoming "dependent contractors" so Ernie we will see how the customers and your 'users' cope with this new working model.
You can pat Chorus on the back once more for screwing their workforce over.
We were once the loyal workforce that kept the customers happy, the smiling face of Chorus, get used to it mate that smiling face is now gone.
Funny how you think Ernie, that Chorus has handled the current industrial action well. The majority of the workforce that customers relay on have been given notice.
This has nothing to do with the customers, despite Paul Reynolds' glib half page ad today... this is all about the shareholder. He's reducing cost as he sees it. It's that simple.
Nothing wrong with that, but don't call a spade a carbon credit enhancing device and expect to get away with it.
poor old vs.pushing a system that is so patently flawed and stacked against the guys that know wots needed and that wots needed takes time.vs,youve been sold a pup,but it seems you've had experience in the 'cheap and quick ,who cares a fig for quality 'system in oz.are you amazed that we have so many people with integrity here that want the satisfaction of an honest days work.theres no honesty in the crap you are peddling.telecoms servicemen continue to be amazed at just how little telecom value their huge money magnet of a network.this is the last slap in the face for me and a lot of colleagues.service company,haha quality,haha.take your millions mark.a proper company would have shored up their foundations .
agree 100% with you anoldgit.
It totaly amazes me too how telecom just dont care about there own network but they boast about customer satisfaction etc etc and that this new model is in alignment with customer need .
the vs contract makes it very obvious telecom want us to put our money as contractors where their mouth is and be happy about it.
We will be expected to fix network problems that is essentially their responsibility and they save dollars in the process. Thats why the kpi's clause is so vague and manouverable in VS favour
how stupid do they think we are??
Looks like any Techs who signed up and were hoping to sit out this industrial turmoil are gonna be thrown straight into the cauldron.
That's what you get from secretly sitting on the VS fence.
Ok for the managers to cower in their guarded offices.
These Owner Operators are now sitting ducks and have to take the frontline heat by themselves( What's new?).
It was probably part of the Chorus/VS master plan from the start.
If and when VS win the war against the EPMU their 10 year war campaign against these same Owner Operators will commence.
Spoke to a couple of guys from Downer in Patch 8 who have signed with VS. They`ve been asked to start with VS on Monday. They told VS when they signed up, that they weren`t starting until after there final day. VS were going to supply vans and gear temp to get them going. They miss out on 3 weeks pay with Downer. Those managers who jumped ship early are ringing around also.
No rush. Still got 2 weeks fishing to do after my last day.
TUANZ top dog Ernie Newman really does have his head buried somewhere(ill leave where to speculation.) Chorus arent taking anything for the team, all they are doing is sending people already on their payroll into the affected Northland area, Our local Chorus rep got flown up North yesterday so his assertion that they are paying for things to be done twice is another load telecom propaganda!!! Come on Ernie dont become another Paul Reynolds puppet
Ernie Newman cares about service.
Just for the record, the consistently best performing patch, Wellington was given to Downer EDI offering the people that do the work a contract that would if signed in a 15 to 28 percent reduction in income.
That is the big Thank You from Telecom/Chorus.
Well Ernie, the service is already going down and may i say, you ain't seen nothing yet.
That is only Wellington.
If VS succeeds up north you can expect the network degrading to
4th world status.
ahhh,statistics.yes welly was a top performing patch in those warped stats that somehow failed to recognise that codies,mostly new to the industry were going hell for leather on up to 18 lovely install jobs a day.what a high class job they made ,what a fortune they tucked into their wallets every week.for years!we tidied after them where we could but we couldnt find every splitter in the ceiling or dodgy join under the house.we didnt know when they'd changed a pair and not done the records.i know this all happened well below the radar of messers/mesdames reynolds, gatting etc,but someone,somewhere on the gravy train should have tipped them off.welly isn't the worst basket case i've seen either.good luck vs guys and us that have to grovel after downers scraps.in the meantime brothers stay strong,and stick together
Yes, you are right.
The waged techs cleaned up the mess the codies made.
Chorus has a vision and that means that there will be no more techs that care. All on codes rushing around taking shortcuts....
The ones that sign up to the scheme, many will just walk away from the industry.
And yes, Welly was the best performing patch, but that doesn't mean a thing now.
It's about the shareholders and maximizing profit.
The network can go to hell, since when the s** hits the fan the taxpayer will foot the bill.
See, NZ Railways.
Telecom NZ has become a corporate greedy monster. Look no further then how if treats its field force workers. People BEFORE profits Telecom.
They have well and truly wrecked their reputation here in Northland. Go to the link below featuring a parody on one of Telecom's Ads a couple of years ago.
If it wasn't so true it would be funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGrKLNnGfZY
I really like this ad , here was someone with great foresight to make this add back then...lol... pity we cant cut and paste this into the NZ Herald next to reynolds latest ad...
Good one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGrKLNnGfZY
Its really hard to counter the propaganda put out by Telecom NZ spin doctors. They have buckets of money at their disposal to put across their messages. For instance, Mr Reynolds, CEO of Telecom NZ recent appearance in most of the country's main newspapers must have cost a pretty penny.
He was trying to convince the NZ public that what they are going with VisionStream is a good thing. He is off course correct in only one aspect- Its an excellent way to improve the bottom line. Otherwise its going to be an absolute disaster for Telecom's network and all networks that link with it.. Joe Public may sit up and pay attention when things stop working and service levels sinkl. However it will be far too late for the Telecommunications worker.
I wonder if TUANZ will be so happy with Telecom then? :
Here are some youtube videos that feature ordinary
guys from the work face.
Hope it explains THEIR story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLD3rYvjtgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntbwbLWDugA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dthOB3wzMsI