BT and Openreach members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will leave on July 29 and August 1 after an overwhelming majority for union action. The CWU wanted a “substantial” pay rise, especially given rising inflation, arguing BT could afford it. The workers on strike oversee most of Britain’s telecom infrastructure, from mobile phone connections, broadband internet and backup generators to national health systems, cybersecurity and data centres.
This strike is the first since 1987 to affect BT Group and will also be the first national strike by call center workers, according to the CWU.
Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU said: “For the first time since 1987, strikes will begin at BT Group.
“This is not a case of an employer refusing to comply with a union’s demands – this is about an employer refusing to meet with us.
“The serious disruption this strike may cause is entirely due to Philip Jansen (BT chief) and his friends, who have chosen to raise two fingers at their own staff.
“These are the same workers who kept the country united during the pandemic.
“Without CWU members in the BT Group, there would have been no work-from-home revolution and vital technical infrastructure would have failed or broken down when our country needed it most.”
Ward said the striking members “worked under great difficulty and received a real pay cut as a reward.”
He insisted that the union and its members “will not stop until we win”.
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The general secretary of the CWU said: “Our members worked under great difficulty and received a real wage cut as a reward.
“The reason for the strike is simple: workers will not accept a massive deterioration in their standard of living.
“We won’t have bosses using Swiss banks while workers use food banks. We won’t stop until we win.”
The bomb announcement follows a strike vote that took place last month, in which 30,000 Openreach engineers voted 95.8 percent for action on a 74.8 percent turnout.
The workers, about 9,000 of whom work in call centers, voted for a 91.5 percent strike on a 58.2 percent turnout.
A spokesperson for BT Group said: “Early this year we were in extensive discussions with the CWU that lasted two months, trying hard to reach an agreement on the reward.
“When it became clear that we would not reach an agreement, we decided to award our team member and frontline colleagues, effective April 1, the highest pay in more than 20 years.
“We have confirmed to the CWU that we will not reopen the 2022 salary review as we have already awarded the best award we could.
“We are balancing the complex and competitive demands of our stakeholders and that includes making one-off investments to upgrade the country’s broadband and mobile networks, vital to the UK economy and to the future of BT Group – including our people .
“While we respect the choice of our colleagues who are members of the CWU to strike, we will work to minimize any disruptions and keep our customers and the country connected.
“We have tried and tested processes for mass absences from colleagues to minimize any inconvenience to our customers and these have been proven during the pandemic.”
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