The NSW government wants to sack electricity workers at Endeavour Energy to make its poles and wires sell-off more appealing to investors, a union official has said.
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The claim comes after the Fair Work Commission disallowed a planned four-hour stoppage by workers on Tuesday.
The commission ruled the stoppage would threaten public safety, even though the Electrical Trades Union said staff would supply the same level of emergency response as on weekends and public holidays.
ETU secretary Steve Butler said workers at Endeavour, Ausgrid and Essential Energy were looking for some job security with the planned poles and wires sale looming.
However, electricity providers and the NSW government have said they are waiting for the April determination of revenue by the Australian Energy Regulator and cannot commit to anything until then.
"The NSW government has been clear that the Australian Energy Regulator [AER] is in the process of making a final determination on the expenditure allowed on the NSW electricity networks, and this will impact on what offers are made in enterprise bargaining agreements," NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance said.
"The unions also know a final AER price determination is not due until April, so any strike action is not only premature, it's political."
Mr Butler refuted that claim, suggesting the government was waiting for the AER announcement to use it as a "cover" to cut the workforce, reducing costs to make the partial sale more appealing.
"The government can come out and say that there will be no forced redundancies in relation to employees at Ausgrid and Endeavour and Essential Energy as a result of any AER determination," Mr Butler said.
"They can come out and say that but they are not because all they are seeking to do is allow the AER determination to reduce the number of staff significantly, prior to any attempted sale. They want that to happen."
ghumphries@fairfaxmedia.com.au