The continuing Telus labour dispute is turning into a gold mine for one Vancouver-based telecommunications company.

"Our business has shot up 15- to 20-fold," says Dorian Banks, chief technology officer and co-founder of MetroBridge Networks Corp.

Founded in 1999, Metro'-Bridge is a wireless Internet provider that serves business clients.

Larry MacDougal, Business Edge
The picketing workers outside the Telus Mobility Centre in Calgary do not believe Telus's pledge to keep layoffs to a minimum.

The firm uses microwave technology to connect to Internet nodes rather than underground cables and overhead lines attached to telephone poles.

It also offers voiceover Internet protocol (VoIP) telephone services through Vancouver-based partner Netfone Services Inc.

"It's pretty unique because we're, I believe, the only (telecommunications) provider in the Lower Mainland that doesn't rely on Telus for anything," says Banks.

Approximately 14,000 Telus workers in B.C. and Alberta began picketing July 21, a day before the company planned to impose a new contract.

MetroBridge, a non-union firm, has hired three inside sales reps to deal with the call increase, but has not had to hire more technical personnel.

The company, which has 24 employees, says it can handle the increase through existing technology and no major installations, such as cables and telephone lines, are required.

As a result of the new business, MetroBridge says it will enjoy a record year in revenue as it completes an expansion into the U.S. and looks to the Middle East for future growth.

The private company has also completed a round of venture capital financing of "less than $5 million and over $1 million," Banks says, and will raise another $5-$10 million this fall as it looks to go public in 2006.

He sympathizes with Telus somewhat, saying the company is trying to deal with a "legacy" union contract, but says picketing workers also have a valid case, because they are "having their contract jammed down their throats.”

(Telus has plans to implement a deal unilaterally.)

"(The labour dispute) really just goes to prove what I've been saying for years. That is, (Telus) is an outdated elephant. It's slow to move and can't keep up with the times."

But Bruce Okabe, vice'-president of business solutions for Telus, says MetroBridge is being "opportunistic" by issuing a news release that said it was saving the day for Telus customers affected by the dispute.

Okabe disputes Banks' claims, saying Telus is a world leader in new telecommunications technology.

"We're driving wireless and we're driving (information technology)," says Okabe.

He adds that Telus has cleared up its backlog of repairs and installations stemming from the dispute, and the company continues to have a strong customer service record.

"Customer service is our No. 1 priority," says Okabe. "It's the reason why we exist."

Telus has established a "triage" mode or "command post" that will serve 911 issues and business customers first, says Okabe.

Noting 80 per cent of repairs and installations can be done remotely, he says the biggest challenge will be to send out trucks for jobs on telephone poles and manholes.

Roberta Fox, president of the Fox Group, a Markham, Ont.-based telecommunications analyst and management consultant, says Telus will have to provide the flexibility and adaptability that customers require as new technologies emerge.

"They may lose customers because they can't respond in the timeliness that customers want - and expect," says Fox.

In Western Canada, she says, many customers accept the social issues related to a labour dispute, but Eastern-based Canadians mostly want to know whether products and services can be provided on time and on budget.

The challenge for Telus in Western Canada will be to keep customers, maintain existing customer service levels and install next-generation products on time, says Fox, adding Telus's new products are ahead of those from rivals Bell Canada, Allstream and Sprint Canada. In Eastern Canada, where Telus is trying to grow market share, the job will be to meet new-technology installation deadlines.

Since Telus only offers business telephone services in the east along with cellphone services through Telus Mobility, the dispute has a bigger impact in B.C. and Alberta than it does in Ontario and Quebec.

"In Eastern Canada, we'd have more of an impact if Bell went on strike - not if Telus went on strike," says Fox.

She says Telus president Darren Entwistle is trying to balance intense competition with the needs of customers and employees.

"Customers are in a wonderful situation right now - they have all the leverage," says Fox.

Lawrence Surtees, a telecommunications industry analyst with Toronto-based IDC Canada Ltd., says Telus might feel some short-term financial pain, but should emerge from the dispute unscathed.

"They might get a bit of a bloody nose, but that's about it," Surtees predicts.

He bases his comment on a four-month strike by 1,400 workers at Entourage Technology Solutions, now part of Bell Canada, and a dispute at Aliant Inc. in the second quarter of last year. Neither firm has suffered any major ill effects.

"The Aliant strike was pretty messy, but at the end of the day, Aliant shook itself off and is more or less back to normal," says Surtees.

He says Telus's labour relations strategies make this strike unique from other disputes. The protracted talks between the company and union indicate the dispute has gone "beyond the wallet" to involve personal and corporate egos.

Meanwhile, Telus and the Telecommunications Workers Union are waging public relations and legal battles. Bruce Bell, president of the TWU, recently drew the ire of the company by saying that negotiations could resume soon.

He believes a July 21 ruling confirmed that Telus is required to resume negotiations with the union. But the company says the ruling only applies to 1,500 former Clearnet employees who became part of Telus as a result of an acquisition in 2001.

One company executive has accused union leader Bell of misrepresenting the order. Vice-president Okabe indicates the company has no plans to resume talks covering all employees.

"(The union) knows how to end this - and that is to bring the members back," says Okabe.

Bell says the dispute is about job security, suggesting the proposed deal from Telus could cut more jobs than the company indicates.

"We're looking for wage parity (between provinces)," says Bell. "We're not that far apart on money."

But Okabe calls the union's concerns about job security "a red herring" and says the TWU has refused to budge from its original stance. He says the company has promised to keep all but 375 core jobs in such areas as autobody repair, janitorial services, coin-rolling, metalworking and woodworking.

Employees whose jobs are phased out will have the option of training for an equal or better position, a transfer to another department or a buyout.

Observers suggest the union faces an uphill battle in Alberta, which is Canada's least-unionized province.

Alberta has right-to-work legislation that allows workers to cross a picket line without penalty. In B.C., a ban on replacement workers has been in effect since 1992, requiring the company to use management personnel only. (Quebec is the only other province with similar legislation.)

Okabe says Telus has brought in 7,000 current and retired managers from Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and 50 per cent of employees remain on the job in Alberta.

"We're probably within our rights, as a federally regulated organization, to do what we're doing," says Okabe.

Bell, who was in Calgary recently for a rally at the Telus Mobility centre in the city's northeast, denies suggestions that Alberta employees are less supportive of the union's cause.

The union boss says at least 90 per cent of Telus workers in Alberta have stayed off the job.

"I'm really happy to tell you that solidarity is alive and well in Alberta," says Bell.

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)