|
Issue No. 281 | 16 September 2005 |
Marked Territory
Interview: Polar Eclipse Industrial: Wrong Turn Unions: Star Support Workplace: Checked Out Economics: Sold Out Politics: Green Banned History: Potted History International: Curtain Call Review: Little Fish Poetry: Slug A Worker
Flexibility - Bush Rates Slashed Families Win Refuge in Tamworth Catholics Nail Andrews' Heresy
The Soapbox The Locker Room Parliament Postcard
Killer Culture Who Cares? Do the Bus Stop A Touch of Honesty Boss Made Me Sick
Labor Council of NSW |
News Job Vandals Cash In
Donald McGauchie, Prime Minister John Howard's hand-picked non-executive chairman, had his package tripled to $497,000. Telstra's senior executives snared $25.2 million in the last financial year, compared with $13.2 million in the year to June, 2004. Former chief executive, Ziggy Switkowski, led the pack with $6.7 million, including retirement benefits. The company's largesse was revealed in its annual report, delivered at 5pm, last Friday. Analysts say the timing was used to defeat most media deadlines and ensure minimum public scrutiny. It came as CPSU official, Stephen Jones, accused the telco and the federal government of sitting on plans to rip 14,000 jobs out of Australia. Many, Jones said, would go from regional centres. He named Toowoomba, Cairns, Maroochydore, Townsville, Moe, Bendigo, Geelong, Woolongong, Grafton Bathurst, Murray Bridge and Belmont as centres in the firing line. Telstra sources say the 14,000 figure was specifically mentioned at a meeting of senior managers. However, the company and Canberra, have denied all knowledge of the plan. Jones challenged them to release a 104-page cost reduction document, authored by new chief operations officer, Greg Winn. Winn is one of three new American bosses imported by compatriot, Sol Trujillo, to shake the telco up. The chief executive developed a reputation for job shedding and aggressive opposition to regulation at stints with US and French telecommunications companies. "Trujillo has got form," Jones said. Last week, the government blocked Senate debate to force through legislation allowing it to fully privatise Australia's biggest company. "The real shareholders in Telstra are the men and women of Australia and they have a right to know what the real cost of privatisation will be to their communities," Jones said. "The government acted with unholy haste in denying them access to that information."
|
Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue |
© 1999-2002 Workers Online |
|