Telstra’s workforce needs a strong industrial umpire with dispute settling powers to break the long-running stalemate over a new collective agreement, unions said today.

Despite overwhelming evidence of persistent breaches of good faith by the company’s senior management, under current WorkChoices laws the Australian Industrial Relations Commission is unable to order management back to the negotiating table.

It is very disappointing that Telstra management is persisting with a strategy of ignoring workers’ democratic rights to be represented by unions despite a non-union deal being rejected by the workers in September.

Today, the two main unions representing Telstra’s 32,000-strong workforce will lodge applications in the AIRC to conduct a ballot of members to authorise protected industrial action at Telstra.

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said the prospect of industrial action could have been avoided if the independent umpire had powers to make binding orders to resolve disputes of this kind.

“Telstra’s employees have been let down by the system,” Mr Lawrence said.

“Management has repeatedly snubbed attempts to negotiate a new enterprise agreement.

“Workers feel they have no choice but to take industrial action in support of a decent agreement and to send a message to management to come back to the negotiating table.

“The Industrial Relations Commission has found that Telstra has not acted in good faith, but it has no power to order the company to negotiate with unions.

“This is a clear cut example of why we need an independent umpire with teeth under Labor’s new IR system. Fair Work Australia must be able to make a binding determination as a last resort after serious and persistent breaches of good faith orders.”

Mr Lawrence said the ACTU would be putting the case to the Rudd Government that the independent umpire should be able to arbitrate in limited circumstances.

He said this was vital to deliver on Labor’s election promise of a fair and balanced industrial relations system that scraps WorkChoices and restores workers’ rights.

There are 32,000 staff at Telstra. The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA) in conjunction with the ACTU are calling on Telstra management re-enter negotiations over a new collective agreement and transition arrangements for staff on AWAs.

Australian Council of Trade Unions