Commission decision in moving to slash workers' hours.

And now it is up to Telecommunications' Minister Renee Webb to flex the Government muscle in sorting out the worsening wrangle.

Commission chair Ellen Lim said under the Telecommunications' Act BTC had only two options, to obey the Commission's decision or to appeal it to the Minister. And any other avenue of action should see the dispute fought out in court with the telephone company facing the threat of having their licence revoked.

BIU leader Derrick Burgess agreed: "BTC can not just ignore the Commission and this move is flagrantly dishonouring it.'' "BTC don't have the legal latitude to ignore the whole spirit of the Commission decision.'' BTC last month proposed drastic hikes in monthly line rental fees to offset the $1 million a month loss caused by a Government order for them to reduce the fees they charged international carriers. The company proposed the monthly fee for homes jump from $16 to $34 and for businesses from $22 to $37 in a controversial plan which sparked community outrage.

On Wednesday the Commission ruled that hikes -- of just $2 per month for homes and $10 for businesses -- were only permitted if BTC kept current staffing levels unless it first proved that cuts would not affect service.

But BTC yesterday fired off hundreds of letters to staff warning of drastic cut-backs.

It is understood the 420 members of staff have been told they can only work nine days a fortnight, instead of the usual ten -- in effect slashing all salaries by 10 percent.

Mr. Burgess said the BIU had earlier this month shown only hesitant support for that plan as the better of two evils, when the only other choice was for BTC to lay off 35 workers if no hike of fees was allowed.

But he said no concrete decision was reached because of the pending ruling from the Commission which he said in effect now dissolved any earlier talks.

Mr. Burgess asked: "How can they say they are maintaining staffing and keeping service up when this letter forces every staff member to work only nine out of the usual ten days in a working fortnight? "Obviously if everyone is only working ninety percent of the hours they used to work then service will only be ninety percent of what it was.'' BTC bosses wrote a letter to all staff yesterday which said the "current crisis'' meant the company was losing $33,000 daily as a direct result of the Government's order for BTC to reduce its fees to international carriers.

"To date a total of $891,000 has been lost and is not recoverable. By the end of this month this figure will have exceeded $1 million,'' it said. "The company can not allow this exodus of cash flow to continue.'' BTC works cut contrary to ruling "Each and every employee without exception'' would share in the "cost saving endeavour'' which was expected to be temporary. The measure would be "revisited as events unfold'', the letter read.

And it warned BTC was taking this "necessary action to safeguard the viability of the company during this period.'' Mr. Burgess said several members of BTC staff had contacted him worried about their future and confused how BTC could "ignore'' the Commission's orders.

"What the company is doing is certainly contrary to the Commission. The ruling said they can't do this and now to go ahead and do it is a clear breach of the law.'' He said the only way BTC could go ahead with the work-hour cut was if they did not put the permitted hike in line rentals into place which he estimated could make the company $340,000 a month.

A spokesperson for BTC said the company was taking the time to review the Commission's decision in its entirety and its impact on the company.