Nortel's CEO Mike Zafirovski has agreed to appear before a parliamentary committee this Thursday.

The finance committee voted on Tuesday to order Zafirovski to appear before the committee after he turned down a similar request last week.

A company spokesperson told CTV Ottawa that the CEO will be there to honour the summons. If he does not show up, he could face charges of contempt of Parliament.

Opposition MPs want to quiz Zafirovski about multi-million dollar bonuses for executives, severance pay that is not being paid out to laid off workers and the status of pensions. The company originally said it would not send anyone because of the bankruptcy protection process.

However, lawyers on the committee dismissed that argument, saying the company has full immunity while testifying.

Some Nortel pensioners and laid off employees, who haven't received their severance pay, are expected to testify on Thursday.

It will be the first time the collapse of Nortel will be discussed on Parliament Hill.

The hearings will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday in room 253-D, located in the Centre Block. The proceedings are expected to be televised.