55 NBN lineworkers given the boot

A labour hire company with contracts to connect Telstra's copper to the NBN has let 55 workers go, according to the communications workers union.

The CEPU today said the linesworkers - from across NSW and the ACT - had been "sacked on the spot" from Trilogie Resourcing, a labour hire company that appears to be owned by consulting services company Celemetrix.

The company has been contacted for comment.

The union claims the workers fell victim to a "sham pyramid contracting scheme". Trilogie Resourcing started life in August last year and is headquartered in Victoria.

"The federal government and NBN Co are turning a blind eye to these dodgy employment set-ups," CEPU branch secretary Shane Murphy said in a statement.

"This company has been the subject of a number of worker complaints including the failure to provide adequate training, unlawful withholding of overtime payments and unfair dismissals.

"NBN Co and the federal government know the way their contractors are operating, but they don’t seem to care. They’ve got a lot to answer for."

The CEPU pledged to help the affected workers get their entitlements, and to hopefully find them new jobs.

“These workers were called to a meeting, told they no longer have a job, then ushered over to a storage facility where they had to hand over their phones, car keys and other items and then shoved into taxis and sent home," Murphy said.

"This company has turfed them out with no regard for their future."

More to come