Cambridge BT and Openreach workers strike over ‘Swiss banks for them, food banks for us’ pay divide
BT and Openreach promised to “minimise the disruption” on the 100,000 homes in Cambridgeshire waiting for their broadband upgrade as strike action was taken in Cambridge this week by CWU, the Communications Workers Union.
The two-day strike – Tuesday and Wednesday (August 31/September 1) – was the first in 35 years and was organised to protest the imposition of an “incredibly low” flat-rate pay rise of £1,500.
The CWU said 40,000 of its members at BT Group are showing “serious determination” to get a decent wage rise, following previous action earlier this month.
“In the context of RPI inflation levels already hitting 11.7 per cent this year, this is a dramatic real-terms pay cut,” said the union.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “These are the same workers who kept the country connected during the pandemic. Without CWU members, there would have been no home-working revolution, and vital technical infrastructure may have malfunctioned or been broken when our country most needed it.
“These people have performed phenomenally under great strain and have been given a real-terms pay cut for a reward.
“The reason for the strike is simple: workers will not accept a massive deterioration in their living standards.
“We won’t have bosses using Swiss banks while workers are using food banks.
“BT Group workers are saying enough is enough. They have serious determination to win, and are not going to stop until they are listened to.”
BT Group has – for public consumption at least – made every effort to avoid a confrontational approach.
A BT Group spokesperson said: “In the context of RPI inflation levels already hitting 11.7 per cent this year, this is a dramatic real-terms pay cut,” said the union.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “These are the same workers who kept the country connected during the pandemic. Without CWU members, there would have been no home-working revolution, and vital technical infrastructure may have malfunctioned or been broken when our country most needed it.
“These people have performed phenomenally under great strain and have been given a real-terms pay cut for a reward.
“The reason for the strike is simple: workers will not accept a massive deterioration in their living standards.
“We won’t have bosses using Swiss banks while workers are using food banks.
“BT Group workers are saying enough is enough. They have serious determination to win, and are not going to stop until they are listened to.”
Chris Jones, head of external comms (Midlands and East), added: “We respect the choice of our colleagues who are members of the union to strike and we’ll do everything we can to minimise any disruption and keep our customers and the UK connected during any industrial action. We have tried and tested processes to help us manage impacts of reductions in available workforce, as we proved during the pandemic and we’ll continue to focus on keeping our network running, safely and effectively as we do every day.”
