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Telecom executives have taken a leaf out of the book of Members of Parliament and decided to forgo a pay rise this year as the company cuts costs amid a slowing economy.
Telecom, which saw first half-profit slide 59 per cent, was seeing generally modest signs of the economic recession, although there had been a slowdown in its customer businesses, chief executive Paul Reynolds said.
"This salary freeze complements our other initiatives to control costs, such as a significant reduction in consultant and contractor spend, the closure of Ferrit and the recently-announced proposal to increase off-shoring," Mr Reynolds said.
The telco's executives had unanimously agreed to a pay freeze for themselves and most senior managers in New Zealand and Australia.
Other staff would receive much lower pay rises this year than in previous years, he said.
Pay increases would be focused on front line and customer delivery staff, and lower paid staff.
- NZPA
