Chapter 2: Telecommunications Deregulation and Privatization in the Czech Republic and Australia: A Comparative Study of Česky Telecom and Telstra

Česky Telecom (ČT)¹ and Telstra² provide excellent settings to compare employment relations (ER)³ in former government-owned telecommunications monopolies. Both had formerly been wholly stateowned enterprises (SOEs) that were induced to compete in more deregulated operating environments as their respective governments opened up their telecommunications sectors to competition. With total populations of approximately 10 million and 20 million people respectively, the Czech Republic and Australia also have relatively small populations, although Australia is far larger in terms of its physical size. Despite these apparent similarities the two countries have very different historical, political and economic backgrounds. Being located in the Czech Republic, ČT was formerly linked to a socialist political and economic system. Telstra in contrast is located in Australia, which has a long liberal democratic tradition. Comparing management strategies at the two firms therefore gives some insights into the extent to which the Czech Republic’s former socialist past appears to have influenced ČT’s strategies vis-à-vis Telstra. If major differences can be sheeted home to vestiges of this earlier socialist system, then telecommunications firms entering the Czech market need to be fully cognizant of this heritage. But if similar “Western style” strategies are being successfully introduced into both firms then it suggests that telecommunications sector specific factors—including new products, services, technologies and increasingly competitive markets—rather than historical factors are the main driving forces influencing ČT’s ER strategies.