
Issue No 64		28 July 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Viva Eavesdropping Jonesy

Dear Sir

What a Gem!

Jones is all Ears!

Can I make a trunk call?

Mr. Stephen Jones, National Assistant Secretary, of the Communications and Public Sector Union, is asking the public to make known their opinion to Telstra re:

The service provided to all stakeholders from it Call Center Staff, through the monitoring of the sometimes mediocre customer service. *(aap)

Well Mr. Jones! I am communicating! Are you Listening?

Your fears could and should be well founded. If complaints are made about the usual, and at best indifferent service, what better method of investigation than, "Check The Tapes", and if the "Customer Service Representative ", is not capable of performing the function they are being paid for, or more probably unwilling to provide - Should they not be dismissed?

This ridiculous "Red Herring", of privacy is just another soggy straw onto which Incompetent Unions desperately claw , as they sink into the "Sea of Industrial Irrelevance."

To answer your Question, Mr. Jones, I am delighted that Telstra has decided to monitor all customer calls. Perhaps now, our level on service won't depend on a bad hair day, and Telstra will find it unnecessary to re-locate these call Centers to New Delhi, Bombay, or perhaps even Fiji to obtain a reasonable level of customer service.

This "Customer Service" is something Australians appear unwilling to provide at any price.

It would appear the only qualifications needed for Australian Style Customer Service being a degree in proctology.

Tom Collins

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Issue 64 contents

Interview: Greg Sword Unsheathed
The NUW national secretary is set to be endorsed as ALP Federal president next week. He talks about the relationship between the two wings of the labour movement.

Unions: Phone Rage, Headaches and Stress
A comprehensive survey of the call centre industry conducted by the ASU has revealed an industry workplace culture dominated by excessive monitoring and stress.

Economics: And the Winner Is .... Sydney?
Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt looks at the export impact of the Sydney Olympics and asks if we'll win gold.

International: Western Sahara: Referendum Or War?
A June UN referendum in Western Sahara could have provided the people of Western Sahara a chance to exercise their right to self-determination and independence. It didn't.

History: The Union's Roots in Song
We look at some of the songs that kept working people going through their darkest hours.

Media: Unchaining the ABC
The ALP needs to rethink our public institutions to determine how they might better deliver the ends for which they were originally established.

Environment: Motorways Fail the Pollie Test
Our daily grind of congested roads, polluted air, and frustrated motorists is putting all and sundry to the test, and not least Liberal and Labor politicians.

Satire: Murdoch Launches Bid for Under-9s Netball Team
Sydney's lucrative junior league netball broadcasting market has been shaken by a bid by one of the world's most predatory entrepreneurs, Rupert Murdoch, to secure ownership of the most successful team in the league.

Review: Espionage a Trois
The Whitlams' brass section his teamed with some of the hippest cats in Sydney to make the sort of music you'll want to shoot baddies to.

» McMeanies Skimp on Olympics Pay

» Lawyers Pose as Students to Nail Workers

» Fiji Union Protests on Wednesday

» Casino Plumps for Penalty Rates

» AWU�s Push For The Bush

» Inquiry Lifts Lid on "SweetShops on Wheels"

» Fair Traders Call for World Where People Matter

» Accor Makes 'Cheeky' Olympics Offer

» Sacking Threat Was �Group Therapy�

» Doing It For The Love Of It

» Deadline to Vote in ARM Poll Approaches

» Grief Support for Workplace Tragedies

» Workers Invited to Mark Federation