Telus something we don't know

There was a rightful firestorm last week when Telus was found to be blocking access to union websites during their lockout. According to the a Telecommunications Workers Union press release, Telus didn't stop there:

"Telus is now refusing to let locked out employees make changes to their Telus Mobility or wireline accounts. Some of these people are attempting to reduce their monthly expenses during the lockout. Others are moving. Still others want to boycott the company. Regardless of the reason, Telus's refusal to honour their requests is outrageous...
"Telus has actually told some of our people that they cannot cancel their service and that if they refuse to pay for the services they have but want cancelled, they will be taken to a collection agency."

Now, I'm sure Telus thought ahead far enough to have some provisions in the service contracts that allow it to delay processing requests. And even if the action is judged in the proper context of the labour dispute rather than as an individual contract issue, there probably won't be any meaningful chance for enforcement.

As another point of interest, note the rationale for the blocked websites: supposedly Telus was concerned that photos of replacement workers on those sites would lead to violence. The company then went out of its way to parade replacements past a worker picket line and to film them for TV exposure.

Ultimately, Telus holds an awful lot of cards in this one, and seems to be pulling more out of its sleeve at every turn. All the workers have is public pressure. Drop Telus and and the CRTC a line - again, if necessary.