Patch-up Job
Central Coast Herald
Saturday May 24, 2003
HUNDREDS of partly repaired telephone cables were being held together by plastic bags as technicians struggled to keep the Central Coast's phone network operating, the Communication, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) said yesterday.
Emergency crews working on the Coast's ailing network had dubbed it ``Bag-dad", CEPU organiser Steve Dodd said.
``I've had blokes with 25 years' experience tell me that they have never seen a network in such a mess," he said.
Mr Dodd estimated that plastic bags were being used in 1000 cable repairs on the Coast.
A Telstra spokeswoman denied the figure, saying problems existed at 430 sites.
The Herald photographed one such repair in a suburban street in Chittaway Bay on Tuesday afternoon. The highly sensitive wiring was protected only by a temporary maintenance fence.
Telstra brought about 30 emergency service technicians to the Coast last week to do repairs after recent heavy rain.
Mr Dodd said yesterday that the crews were struggling to get through the enormous backlog of work.
``They simply don't have enough time to fix these things properly," he said.
``These joints should be sealed with gel. Instead they are putting plastic bags over
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them and leaving them for someone else to fix while they move to the next job.
``This has been a disaster waiting to happen.
``They should have been sealed properly in the first place, but because of the dry weather they [Telstra] have been getting away with it."
The Telstra spokeswoman said the situation was a result of its efforts to create short-term repairs for customers.
``Obviously our intention is to go back and properly seal those joints," the spokeswoman said.
``Some of our technicians use unorthodox methods, but if a plastic bag keeps the joint waterproof, then that's the main thing in the short term.
``The most important thing is for our customers to have a phone service that works."
The CEPU is fighting Telstra's decision to axe six technician jobs from its Central Coast operations.
Telstra said the technicians had been working on the installation and expansion of its narrowband network and were no longer needed.
A further eight technician positions are earmarked to go in Newcastle over the next few months.
The Telstra spokeswoman denied a union claim that the men had been sent home on compulsory ``gardening leave" while redundancies were processed.
``Staff are given the option of either coming to work or reducing their annual leave," she said.
© 2003 Central Coast Herald
