Kate Howard, Newcastle
Labour-hire staff working at the Telstra call centre in Newcastle gained a significant victory over their employer, Choice HR, at the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on January 21.
Last August, Choice HR reduced the classification of its staff from level 2 to level 1, without their prior knowledge or consent, one month before level 2 employees were due for a pay rise. Choice HR claimed that the original classification was an error and that the work the staff actually performed was "basic" and "entry level", requiring no judgement, skill or knowledge.
The workers appealed to their union, the Community and Public Sector Union, and the case was heard at the commission in December.
Christine Carey, a former consultant and now Choice HR site manager at Wollongong, testified to the commission that "a consultant is not required to exercise discretion and judgment in that they perform their work by following a script and taking set procedural steps with the assistance of a computer program that guides them along the way" and that all the consultants are required to do is "follow set routine and procedure".
Four Choice HR workers appeared as witnesses for the CPSU and demolished this claim. The testimony of the witnesses who appeared for Choice HR, however, was riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions.
After a month of deliberation, senior deputy president Hamberger handed down his decision in the commission that the union members working in the Telstra call centre in Newcastle will be classified as level 2 customer contact officers, as per the award.
Hamberger noted the "rather sorry way in which the employees in question have had their work classified and the poor and inconsistent way in which this has been communicated to the employees". He also noted that "Choice HR does not appear to have done a particularly good job in outlining its expectations to its own employees, or giving them performance feedback" and that it was "guilty of poor management — particularly poor internal communication" and "lack of care". Hamberger also "found it surprising that Choice HR did not choose to present evidence from anyone who actually had direct work experience at Newcastle".
From Green Left Weekly, February 2, 2005.
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