Optus workers strike too

update A number of Optus sub-contractors have been on strike since Friday last week and are refusing to carry out the installation and technical maintenance work they normally undertake for the telco.

(Credit: ZDNet.com.au)

"There is some industrial discussion occurring at the moment with the Optus sub-contractors," Mark Foley, managing director of BSA limited, which employs some Optus contractors, confirmed to ZDNet.com.au today.

Optus confirmed that a strike was going on, although it said the scope was limited to NSW. It said that its technicians were still working and were treating faults as a priority. "We will get in contact with customers to reschedule any other work," a spokesperson said.

Foley could not specify how many of his sub-contractors had gone off the job but said it would be around 75 per cent of them. He was talking to the contractors and Optus about the matter, he said. "I think we'll resolve it this week," he said.

According to Foley, the object of the strike was not an increase in pay, but to change the way things were processed and the scope of the work. He would not elaborate further on what that meant.

Foley said he didn't believe Optus' in-house team was still handling faults from Friday when the strike began. Other Optus sub-contractors working for Stream Communications were also on strike, he said. Stream Communications and Optus could not provide comment at the time of writing.

The news came as Telstra workers strike this morning after discussions between the company and its unions broke down.