NZ Transfield redundancies not on due to Telecom deal

The engineering company said last month 170 jobs had to go now and up to 1400 jobs were threatened because it couldn't turn a profit on its Telecom contract.

Monday Transfield told staff their jobs were safe because it has reached a new "arrangement" with Telecom, which provides about 90 per cent of its telecommunication work in New Zealand.

The move was welcomed by the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU).

Ross Lockwood, general manager of Transfield's telecommunications business, said a new arrangement for the existing contract was satisfactory to both parties but he declined to go into details.

The contract expires at the end of January 2009 and a new one still has to be negotiated.

Lockwood said Transfield would become a fully fledged partner to Telecom, rather than just a contractor.

Transfield now had the confidence to invest in the business it did with Telecom.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said there would have been 1400 redundancies in the new year if the new deal had not gone through.

EPMU members faced moving to a different contractor or taking their skills overseas.

EPMU members protested outside talks last week.