KEY POINTS:
A group of Transfield workers picketed Telecom's annual meeting in Wellington today, claiming the telecommunications giant is underfunding the contractor.
Transfield, an Australian based engineering company, recently announced 170 redundancies and said it was losing money on the work it did for Telecom.
The company employs 1400 staff on telecommunications work in New Zealand, most of which is for Telecom, and staff say their future is uncertain because of the funding issue.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little spoke at the picket, urging Telecom and Transfield to sort their contract deal out.
"Telecom is reliant on only two contractors to look after its network and if it forces one out the result will be instability for 1400 workers and their families, a loss of crucial skills overseas and a loss of certainty for the future of high-speed broadband in New Zealand," Mr Little said.
He said that was a high price to pay for trying to squeeze a bit more profit from their operation.
More protest action was planned in Hamilton tomorrow.
- NZPA
