BT workers will hold further strikes over real-terms pay cuts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

BT Group workers are showing “serious determination” as they hold further strikes against imposed real-term pay cuts.A total of 30,000 Openreach engineers and 10,000 BT call centre workers in the Communication Workers Union (CWU) – which represents BT Group workers – will be taking strike action on Tuesday, August 30 and Wednesday, August 31.It follows previous strikes which took place earlier this month and late July where Paisley workers picketed Paisley TEC on Clark Street for better pay. Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire.

Sign up to our newsletters here. The strikes also saw visits by senior Labour MPs such as Lisa Nandy and deputy leader Angela Rayner writing to company CEO Philip Jansen.The dispute centres on workers claiming they have been hit with an incredibly low flat-rate pay rise.Earlier this year, BT offered and implemented a £1,500 per year pay increase for employees.A BT Group spokesperson said: “We know that our colleagues are dealing with the impacts of high inflation and, although we’re disappointed, we respect their decision to strike."We have made the best pay award we could and we are in constant discussions with the CWU to find a way forward from here.

In the meantime, we will continue to work to minimise any disruption and keep our customers and the country connected."In the context of RPI inflation levels already hitting 11.7 per cent this year, this is a dramatic real-terms pay cut.It comes at a difficult time where some Paisley families are turning to food banks and having