NBN subcontractors have joined a nationwide protest over pay and work dispatch system issues.

Subcontractors working on the NBN held a protest this week as part of a larger nationwide action by the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU).

The CEPU has dubbed NBN Co’s management “shambolic”, saying contractors are being engaged under a “pyramid contracting scheme that’s leaving workers struggling to make ends meet.”

CEPU national president Shane Murphy wants a senate inquiry to investigate the issue.

“The mismanagement of Australia’s NBN network continues to be left unaddressed and workers have had enough,” Mr Murphy says. 

“Workers won’t put up with it any longer.”

The union claims contractors aligned with NBN Co’s delivery partners are “being forced to sign new contracts ... which cuts their pay”. 

The dispatch systems contractors rely on have been criticised for being slow and difficult to secure work from.

“Subcontractors are fed up with cuts to their pay and a shambolic booking system which is leaving subcontractors and NBN customers high and dry,” Mr Murphy said.

A spokesperson later said NBN Co is working with the union and contractors to try to resolve the dispute.

“NBN Co engages delivery partners to fulfil many of the company’s construction and maintenance programs on its behalf,” the spokesperson said.

“Our construction and maintenance contracts place responsibility for compliance with the law and relevant legislation on our delivery partners in relation to the contracted services.

“Delivery partners are free to use their own employees or sub-contractors when fulfilling the work and maintenance outlined in our contracts with them.

“We are working constructively with the CEPU and we are seeking to maintain and support strong, productive working relationships with our delivery partners and their respective subcontractors.

“NBN Co appreciates the ongoing dedication and diligence of the thousands of highly qualified field technicians and network engineers who work hard to maintain the reliability and performance of the nbn network across Australia.”

It also said it will fix the much-maligned dispatch app. 

“NBN Co is aware of some issues that our delivery partners and field technicians have experienced with our recently deployed SMAX-Go mobile application for managing and logging work requests,” the company's spokesperson said.

“We have significantly improved the app over the last few weeks to address functionality, system performance and general user experience pain-points, and will continue to modify and enhance the app in the next two weeks.

“We appreciate technicians’ patience while we work to improve the app.”