Telecom’s little dictator

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, April 16th, 2013 - 23 comments
Categories: capitalism, class war, jobs, wages - Tags:

Telecom’s $1.3 million a year CEO has announced a pay freeze and told workers who don’t like it to “talk to the human resources team about your options” – ie fuck off and quit. Course, he won’t notice a year’s pay freeze –  real workers will though. The rich fuck’s already sacked a thousand workers, now he thinks he can dictate the terms of employment contracts. I’ve got news for you, arsehole. Employment contracts are bargains between worker and employer, not diktats from rich dickheads.

This, of course, is National’s vision of a brighter future. They want a world where employers tell you how much you’re paid and can refuse to negotiate with you and your union.

23 comments on “Telecom’s little dictator ”

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  1. Sanctuary 1
    16 April 2013 at 10:48 am

    Jesus. Imagine how poisonous it must be to go to work at Telecom HQ right now. From the nature of his email, it is pretty clear there is significant internal morale issues in TCNZ occurring over these latest cut backs. The aggressive authoritarian bullying of the senior managements response – and that has to be about the most aggressive email I have ever seen sent out to staff – shows how out of control and intolerant of dissent our management elites have become in this country. And remember, these intolerant authoritarians are the ones who most have the prime ministers ear. But the staff are unorganised, they will grumble a lot more quietly, a few will leave, an example or two will be made, and the rest will be cowed into submission. And if they see themselves as far to white collar and aspirational to organise, and join a union then the staff have only got themselves to blame when they are treated this way.

    • Colonial Viper 1.1
      16 April 2013 at 10:55 am

      It’d be a real shame if the billing system got fucked up. Or customer account details were lost, including backups. Or critical network nodes unexpectedly failed. Or key business documents got broadcast emailed.

      Geeeee that would be a real problem.

  2. freedom 2
    16 April 2013 at 11:11 am

    Dear CEO of Telecom and every other parasite you call a peer.

    Workers are not serfs. They are human beings with abilities and families and lives that contribute to this world in ways that are obviously not understood by your obsolete mantras of profit focused mismanagement. You sit in your fake ivory towers and declare edicts of austerity and offer veiled threats to the stability and security of your employees and contractors, why? To create a sustainable company delivering real service, or just to increase the bottom line? Don’t bs that kiwis matter to Telecom. Recent escalation of overseas call centres show otherwise. Not using kiwi tech when you can is even more obvious. You froze your pay, big deal, did you also freeze your bonuses which are what?- 75% of your ridiculous pay packet? I wonder if you would last ten minutes in a real job, on real wages amongst real people. You and your ilk are pushing people too far and sooner rather than later the people will push back. Who knows what it will look like but kiwis remember those that hurt us and those that helped us. Telecom is not a favourite child in NZ but that animosity only goes so far. Kiwis understand that the workers are not the ones to blame. Will the workers now face a cover-up apology and management double-speak to divert the truth of your intentions? New Zealanders deserve better.

    • fender 2.1
      16 April 2013 at 12:03 pm

      +1

      Simon Moutter needs to understand there are customers who get turned off by this kind of bullying and are willing to change providers in protest.

      Hope Moutter can survive the year ok on his 1.35 million salary with bonus’s up to 3.35 million on top.

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.1
        16 April 2013 at 12:09 pm

        I hope all the 2nd and 3rd tier Telecom managers on $100K to $200K pa realise that they are going to get screwed. Union membership don’t look so bad now eh fellas.

    • geoff 2.2
      16 April 2013 at 3:08 pm

      They can so they do. Nothing else matters (to the parasites).

  3. prism 3
    16 April 2013 at 11:46 am

    The current mindset of the government has gone viral – to repress the earnings of the masses and enrich the top managers with largesse for holding tight budgets – to increase productivity and squeeze out the extra 0.5% net profit. F..k you workers if you don’t like it there are plenty more who want a job.

    Doesn’t matter if management demands 150% work from each worker to keep staff numbers down. As efficiency kicks in a worker may raise performance to say 105%, and after that its just trying to manage an out-of-control worklist and psychopathic demands from the top.

    There was the promise in the near past of good jobs and pay for the people who trained for the new technology. That was the new future to be. But the habits of the old past, to grind the workers down with the wish to discard them at will, returns or even remains in the background.. We really need to learn the human mentality as part of our early schooling, none of this nobility and wonder about the world bewitching children learning about the adult world.

    Shaken and stirred by Shakespeare!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_piece_of_work_is_a_man

    What a piece of work is a man! How noble in
    reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving
    how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel!
    in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the
    world! The paragon of animals! And yet to me, what is
    this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no,
    nor Woman neither;
    though by your smiling you seem[1] to say so

  4. Polish Pride 4
    16 April 2013 at 1:02 pm

    You all sound surprised. This is by and Large the role of the CEO. Maximise the profit to shareholders. To do this they will do the following. Restructure, streamline, automate and offshore. This is also why they are paid such big sums so they don’t get a conscience and deviate from the plan. First to go are middle management roles if they haven’t already gone.

  5. vto 5
    16 April 2013 at 1:08 pm

    The issue of course is that the modern industrial world doesn’t need workers as much. So all the workers should just piss off and leave work.

    As for the pay for food and homes – that’s easy. There is more than enough wealth in NZ to provide for everyone, it is just a matter of a different form of distribution. Then the entire situation wold be turned on its head as those with work in the top jobs like cock-Moutter get screwed.

    • The Murphey 5.1
      16 April 2013 at 2:19 pm

      Q:Where was Moutter CEO in his previous role?

      A:______________________________

      Q: Who is the current CEO, where Moutter vacated, and where did that same new CEO work in his previous role?

      A:_____________________ _______________________

      • prism 5.1.1
        17 April 2013 at 10:49 am

        The Murphey
        What are you on about? Revolving doors?
        I looked up Moutter’s bio – Master of Engineering Canterbury. After being at New Plymouth Power Station then established his own energy business, then Powerco, then Telecom, CeO Auckland Airport then back to Telecom.in 2012. A man taking the opportunities that present as government gives up its functions to private interests.

        As for the past. Yes I see a glimmer. Adrian Littlewood was appointed Airport CEO in November 2012. “He joined us in February 2009 from Telecom,”

        What a happy coincidence. The way to get on in NZ today apparently is to pick where the next government food bowl is to be put down to feed the appetites of hungry aspiring high business people. Reminds me of a card I gave to dog lovers showing a slavering dog watching a sausage on a barbecue, it’s thoughts translated as “Drop it…”repeated continuously.

        • The Murphey 5.1.1.1
          17 April 2013 at 12:56 pm

          Prism – Yes, revolving doors.

          No coincidence, your comments reflect NZ reality!

  6. JonL 6
    16 April 2013 at 3:49 pm

    The sort of authoritarian responses we expect from the sociopaths who have risen to the top of the corporate pecking order – and I include politicians in this! The way corporates’ operate, these psychopaths are ideally suited to run them – they have no empathy, no feelings about anyone else, so why should they care about what “the minions” think.
    And society has only itself to blame…….

  7. joe90 7
    16 April 2013 at 5:57 pm

    I’ve experienced Moutter first hand where he sold himself as a change manager asking for a frank and open exchange of ideas and lubricated the discussions with alcohol.
    The prick then used the results as ammunition to oust union reps, accident victims and anybody else he didn’t think sang from his song sheet. He even labelled the workplace grub a threat to site health and safety and sacked him too.
    A truly horrible man.

  9. georgecom 9
    16 April 2013 at 10:46 pm

    -Short-term incentives – or bonuses – were likely to be “significantly lower than you have seen in recent years

    -Moutter is on an annual package of up to $4.7 million, comprising a $1.35m salary and maximum $3.35m in incentive payments

    So Moutter will be getting a ‘significantly lower’ bonus than his $3.35m.

    Also, if Telecom splits in 2 I guess the CEOs pay packet should split in 2 – $670 k per CEO.

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