Sheffield home workers using the internet could be affected as BT workers look set to strike over pay

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) – which represents engineers at Openreach and call centre workers at BT – will take strike action on Friday, August 26th as well as Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

There will be picket lines in Sheffield on the days of action.

Earlier this year, BT implemented a £1,500 per year pay increase for employees but workers say that with inflation levels rising, it is a real-terms pay cut.

They also point out that BT also made a £1.3 billion in annual profit, with CEO Philip Jansen rewarded with a £3.5 million pay package – a 32 per cent wage increase – while BT offices have had to establish food banks to assist employees.

MORE: Sheffield BT Strikes: Striking workers will collect food bank donations on picket lines

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “The disruption caused by this strike is entirely down to Philip Jansen and his ridiculous refusal to speak to his workers about a fair pay deal.

“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.

“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.

“We won’t have bosses using Swiss banks while workers are using food banks.”

It is the first strike action at BT Group since 1987, and the first national call centre workers’ strike.

Senior Labour MPs such as Lisa Nandy, as well as deputy leader Angela Rayner, have supported the strikes even writing to company CEO Philip Jansen in protest at his refusal to engage with employees.

Those striking look after the vast majority of Britain’s telecoms infrastructure, from mobile phone connection, broadband internet and backup generators to national health systems, cyber security and data centres.

The strike action is also likely to have a serious effect on the delivery of ultra-fast broadband and may cause significant issues for those working from home.