Unions wage war against Telstra over outsourcing

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will conduct a concerted campaign against Telstra and the federal government to stop the national carrier from sending jobs offshore, according to ACTU president Sharan Burrow.

Addressing Telstra workers at a rally in Melbourne yesterday to protest against the telco's outsourcing plans, Burrows said it was not in Australia's interest to send jobs abroad and workers would fight any moves to do so.

"Some of the highest-skilled jobs in the community, in the 'knowledge economy' we've been told about endlessly, are being should sent offshore. It's ludicrous," she said.

She warned of more rallies unless Telstra reconsiders its plans and the federal government stands up to the company's board.

Burrow's comments follow recent criticism of the telco over its plans to outsource 450 IT jobs to India.

But Telstra maintains it has no more plans to outsource jobs overseas.

The company said software development work was already being outsourced, but HR, payroll and accounting work would continue being done by Australian employees.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the telco announced it would create 65 new jobs in Ballarat, in regional Victoria, to meet demand from broadband customers.

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