The Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has questioned Telstra's decision to pull out of EA talks with the unions - and also questioned Telstra's claim that their tender for the NBN project might be affected by a collective agreement.
 

"The National Code and Guidelines for the Construction Industry do not in any way prevent a company subject to their operation from negotiating a collective agreement with their employees or their employees' representatives," Ms Gillard said in a statement.

"Any claims to the contrary are incorrect."

One has to question the validity of the Telstra HR claims - and the impressions they are designed to create.

The Deputy PM has been a great supporter of getting the parties together to come up with an enterprise agreement at Telstra:

"It's the Government's view that cooperative workplace relations drive productivity, employee engagement and satisfaction... I hope that by working together the union movement and Telstra can develop outcomes which are in the best interests of Telstra employees," Ms Gillard said in a letter to the ACTU on 20 June, 2008.

Here's one article that extensively quotes the Deputy PM comments in the last 24 hours:

The Age "Gillard slams Telstra for ending EBA talks" (17 July, 2008)