NO EVIDENCE has been found to support claims of Telstra pressuring its employees to sign Australian Workplace Agreements, according to an investigation.
The Workplace Ombudsman last week completed a six-month investigation, involving about 15,300 Telstra employees across Australia.
The investigation was launched at Telstra's request in December after comments "considerable pressure" was being applied to staff to accept AWAs being re-offered by Telstra, before their abolition by the new Federal Government.
Ballarat's Telstra office was last year hit hard by job cuts, with 82 employees and 87 labour-hire workers out of work as part of a nationwide redundancy program.
The Gillies St site was automated.
In November, three full-time field officers were also made redundant when 285 jobs were lost across Australia.
In January this year, staff levels in Ballarat were about 100, with 11 believed to be on AWAs.
But the independent investigation found no evidence to support allegations that Telstra "applied systemic duress or duress to any individual employee or groups of employees who were offered AWAs".
Telstra has called on the Australian Council of Trade Unions and unions to respect the Ombudsman's verdict.