PCCW said yesterday it would make an announcement on Monday about a plan to subcontract work, but promised there were no plans for pay cuts or lay-offs in the near future.
After a 90-minute meeting with PCCW chief operating officer Mike Butcher, PCCW Employees General Union chairman Cheng Chun-man said the company had given an assurance on pay and jobs for the short term.
Mr Cheng said Mr Butcher told him that the company, which employs 13,000 people, planned to introduce subcontracting. But no details were revealed in the meeting.
Staff in the departments concerned would have meetings with their superiors on Monday to discuss the changes, Mr Cheng said.
Representatives of Mr Cheng's union, the Cable & Wireless Staff Association and the PCCW Staff Association, yesterday met PCCW heads to discuss rumours circulating in the company that mass lay-offs would be announced before the company's interim reports next Thursday.
Before yesterday's meeting, the three unions had collected 4,808 signatures from workers calling for the company to issue a statement.