Telstra-contracted telemarketer faces court over work contracts

I've worked for TSA as a rep for four years..I've seen thousands of rep's come and go. As far as I'm concerned everybody I know at TSA are happy to work there. We are family and that is going to show in the near future! Yes It's not a job for the faint hearted and our customers are very much looked after drug dealer or not?

reply to Dean,

My girlfriend liked the people she worked with in Sydney too. Until she lost her job just before christmas without any reason. she was told the company had closed down the mobiles telemarketing team. she had been there 3 years. if she was an employee then she would of had some basic rights. We ended up losing our apartment. The only thing we got from it was a headset that she was made to pay for so that the company could make even more money out of the staff. They also took 5% of her pay as an administration fee for the entire time she was there. The company is disgraceful!!! We know so many people who feel the same way. Some of our friends still work there as they can't do anything as the company has sponsored them and told them if they leave they'll be deported if they don't pay the company $400 for the cost of the sponsorship.

I hope and pray that the Ombusman closes them down. It seems that Telstra are happy to turn a blind eye to the way they operate. In a perfect world the people who are forced to work there will get an oppertunity to work in another call center for a different Telstra partner who give them the basic work rights that everyone should have in Australia.

What does this mean if your ex TSA/TGA?

Tsa dosent force anyone to work you choose to turn up at the time offered, the reason why you turn up is because you could make as much money as you desire, you turn up at set time because you dont log onto the dialer as team it runs very slow, people were getting paid minimum $1000 per week, now you could always go get phone book and line and try but you know it will go no where, everyone as I know was happy to use a $1000000 dialing system and the leads given, so for the people wanting it shut down your just pissed your not there

mark
I worked at tsa a few years ago and heard about a team getting fired, mate im not to sure if u are aware but the reason why they lost there jobs was because some contractors were doing frawed (it may have been your gf).
as for the contractors you tell me any legal job out there where you need no qualifications and have the opportunity to make as much as you can.
5% fees that is nothing unless you want to pay for a pc, pay for the phone calls, pay for the rent, and what ever else when starting a business.
i learnt so many skills at TSA that has set me up for life.
thank you tsa and to all of the managers

I currently work at TSA. We were warned not to talk to anyone two weeks ago regarding the workplace ombusman. some of the managers have said that TSA are trying to cover up the fact that everyone is a contractor. The truth is if you don't turn up on time you won't be there long. When we're on the phone we intoduce ourselves as Telstra so i'm not sure how this works. We've been told that we're all going to be moved across to employees once this has settled. so everything should be fine then

Reply to Craig

If your hoping for a payout your dreaming. TSA are to big for this! They'll be a fine and they'll move there workforce to an employee model. The trouble with them is the baggage they carry. I'm sure they must be very close to Telstra if Telstra are supporting them, although there are rumours that if you go for diner with the senior management you wake up with a pocket full of $500 crown casino chips. Only joking.

We worked in Melbourne for nearly two years when we backpacker Oz. The money at TSA was great as we didn't have to pay any tax. You had to work from 12 - 8 and saturdays or you were fired. I was told the state manager got sent to prison for importing drugs which didn't surprise me. Most of the guys we worked with were good people and liked to have lots of fun. Telstra would always come into the centre and they knew how the company operated. They should take some responsibility, rather than hide behind TSA

if you think there strait players u r sadly misinformed...
you mean nothing to them... they just churn and burn frign criminals and you know it.... founded by criminals run by criminals and favoured by criminals.. clearly you been sold by the cathcart that is tsa....the most talented whylie scammer of the lot....wake up people and smell the criminals...
We are getting what were owed and tsa will never be able to conduct themselves so dubiously again...
sign my petition i have 2360 names of ex staff already....

Josh - where is your petition - I would like to sign it. I worked for them for 3 years over different periods and the "catchcart" you mention is indeed a tool.

Ive worked for Tsa for some time and I must say the time and effort us residential reps had put in is crazy! I was fired for a reason that didn't have a valid point. Worked 50 hrs a week n if I didn't I was threatened with my job after being employed as a sub contractor not an employee payed only commission. Treated like a slave when I was making many solid sales in fact one of the companies top reps for consecutive months.

A company as big as that should not be able to treat workers like that.

Reply to haters and ex contractors of Tsa

I've worked there for the last year and got a job at BMW with my selling skills I learnt at Tsa . Now for all those people that use to work and people complaint about 5% admin fee you are a idiot think of it this way if your mrs didn't work at TSS you wouldn't be able to afford the apt in the first place if it wasn't for them and let's be honest your mrs knows why she got fired . Now for the ex Tsa concractors if Tsa rang u up tomorrow and said you can have your job back I guarantee you will be back there cause by the way you are talking about the place you surely don't have any qualifications and if you did or didn't Miss the money you made there you wouldn't be bitching about it.

So finally any one that has a problem with the place you choose that job to start with they didn't tie to the desk to keep you there all I can say I hope your happy getting paid $17 a hour now

Response to The One

Two of our friends that were being sponsored have just been told the sponsorship has now been cancelled. They both worked like slaves for the last three years and now they've got 28 days to leave Australia. TSA promise the world when really they just use people and then toss them to the side and replace them. My girlfriend did nothing wrong, despite whatever spin TSA manages told you. We've both built good careers since, and not by selling used cars or drugs

I still currently work at tsa at the moment and yes it is a great place to earn cash but how they make you earn is not the greatest way. Yea at least its not selling drugs your right there but only to those that know half the workers are probably on drugs. TSA is not a top choice for a career as there are no things like courses or apprenteships the only qualification you would get out of tsa is a complete mental breakdown after a year. and the factor of no sick pay or annual leave makes things worse. now i did say the money was great but all in all after the fines that get taken out for any small breach you get. Now if i did get sick at some stage and need to take time off or needed to pay bills to bad like i said no sick pay. no minutes no pay the more contacts the less pay more sales more pay.
Its a job for those whos last career was drug dealer and cant get a job any where else. you want a hell tsa is there.

R u serious whining because of no sick or entitlements are you morons you are a contractor correct you earn commission correct you are provided with all the equipment and leads and product to make a good living you need to provision your pay to cover for sick days like any other self employed contractor do you see a self employed electrician getting supplied a van and materials and leads no self employed means you budget in the sick and holidays and annual perhaps school would be a place for you to learn really I can't believe some people

Noelene,
You are right, you dont see a self employed electrician getting supplied a van etc etc, but you don't see a self employed electrician being forced to work 8 hours a day, then threatened with your job if you dont work saturday, like an employee. Contractors are not supposed to be set work hours. They can set their own.

Hence why TSA was bailed up on this.

Love all the idiots defending TSA. The most dodgy company I have ever worked for. I used to work for them back when they were good and you got $30 for win backs plus product points. Good were the days we got 10k in a fortnight. Then the "Cathkarnt" came into play.

I currently work at TSA. It's horrible. I work 10 hours a day 6 days a week & if i'm sick & can provide a doctors certificate, too bad because I then get told I will lose my job if I don't come in. I have qualifications in the beauty industry & am looking for a new job as of now. I've been told we'll all go onto employees in a couple of months, are you serious? people got told this months ago?! When you make a sale some people aren't aware what's going on & I regularily lose sales because i am very upfront with my customers. I get told by my manager to not tell them certain things. It's so SHADY! & the pay is only good if you're a good scam artist. Oh & TODAY I saw some guys dealing drugs in our TSA car parking lot. Great workplace guys! :) jokes, it's terrible.

Sales Teams are only good so long if they reach sales goals. Well, even if they do. They can still get terminated if the company finds a more cost effective alternative elsewhere,. they will fire people.

Why you got fired from TSA? My answer is because someone from another country in Asia fits the job better at half the cost. This is the ugly face of outsourcing - it robs legit people of jobs. It is an effective tool allowing companies to expand beyond local labor markets (contracts) not that they willfully disregard individual labor rights but that you all got deceived into signing up for something you all thought was regular employment. Blinded incentives and rapid growth of company You all thought you were a part of. TSA had been setting up several Telco sales teams in Manila, on your backs.

..you can say that the more the world transact business online,.. the more jobs become "unreal" and your labor rights..PFFT....think about that...

People hate me for being blunt... I don't know if i made you feel better or anything,. but that is the truth.

I work in a team in perth , They rip everyone off , I constantly get my pay "adjusted" to a lesser amount so they can reduce what they pay me. Its a shame as I have a huge sales experience but due to poor leads and shoddy work practices I am currently looking for a new job