The Communications Workers Union (CWU) is planning more BT and Openreach strikes in the coming months.
Around 40,000 Openreach engineers and BT call center staff went on strike last month over “weak and insulting” below-inflation pay rises.
“Workers will not accept a massive deterioration in their living standards,” CWU general secretary Dave Ward said last month.
“The serious disruption this strike can cause is entirely due [BT CEO] Philip Jansen and friends, who have chosen to stick two fingers into their own workforce.”
Last month’s two-day strike, BT’s first since 1987, failed to bring the company to the table. Meanwhile, some BT staff are struggling to put food on the table.
In an interview with TalkTV, CWU deputy general secretary Andy Kerr highlighted the existence of a food bank for employees at a call center in the North East. The same interviewer pointed out that BT is increasing some customers’ prices by 23 per cent in a year.
“We are still waiting for BT to come back to the table for serious negotiations,” Kerr commented.
“As things stand, it’s become sadly clear that it’s simply not going to happen unless we take further action… so that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
BT, for its part, continues to maintain the position that it has “made the award the best pay we could” and will not renegotiate.
The next strikes by BT and Openreach staff are scheduled for July 29 and August 1.
“We will continue to work to minimize any disruption and keep our customers and the country connected,” BT said.
UK inflation was 9.4 percent in the year to June, a 40-year high, and is set to rise further later in the year.
BT acknowledges that its employees “are dealing with the impacts of high inflation and, while we are disappointed, we respect their decision to strike”.
(Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash)
Do you want to renew your digital transformation strategy? Learn more about Digital Transformation Week taking place in Amsterdam, California and London and discover key strategies to make your digital efforts a success.
Last weekend, I wrote about Warren Mosler's argument that the Fed's rate hikes could be…
Last weekend, I he wrote on Warren Mosler's argument that the Fed's rate hikes could…
Last week, the chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell said, "the disinflationary process has begun".…
Earlier this week, I joined Romaine Bostick and Scarlet Fu Bloomberg TV. The Congressional Budget…
Tomorrow morning, I'll be joining CNBC's Squawk Box to talk about a new effort tax…
Former Vice President Mike Pence talks about privatizing Social Security. The remarks came Thursday before…