Sheffield BT staff walk out over 'unfairly imposed' pay rise in first national telecoms strike in 30 years

Engineers and call centre staff have declared a strike over what they call an ‘unfairly imposed’ £1,500 per year pay rise that they say was tabled “without negotiating” with unions.

Today (July 29), dozens of boots-on-ground workers from two Sheffield offices held a picket line outside their workplaces.

Several members wore bright pink T-shirts that read: “BT bosses use Swiss bank, BT staff use food banks”.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) says the action is the first national telecoms strike since 1987.

BT repeatedly says it will not be re-opening the 2022 pay review.

Branch secretary of the CWU for South Yorkshire, Jas Singh, said the £1,500 was less than a five per cent pay rise for many and not in line with 10 per cent inflation seen nationwide.

“There are BT offices in the country operating food banks for staff,” said Mr Singh.

"They tell us they can’t afford a higher pay rise, when the CEO, Philip Johnson, gave himself a 32 per cent pay rise taking him up to £3.7m a year. How can you justify that?

“BT staff kept this country running during the pandemic. I think people should appreciate that they needed the internet more than ever so they could work from home or home school and we made that happen.

“They have imposed a £1,500 pay rise without consulting the union.

“The company is refusing to come to the table to negotiate, so this will continue until we get a realistic pay rise.”

The CWU – supported by Unite, the GMB and Unison – held picket lines at six BT sites across South Yorkshire on Friday, July 29.

More than 40,000 staff at the telecom giant are believed to have walked out, with a second strike planned for Monday.

It comes as BT announced profits of over £400m in their first quarter on Thursday, July 28, representing its first sales growth in five years.

One of the picket lines, on Bowden Street, was joined by Sheffield Labour councillors Jayne Dunn and Mahzer Iqbal.

Councillor Dunn, for Southey, said: “This is about supporting the workers of Sheffield who got us through the pandemic.

“BT announced huge profits on Thursday and they are not passing that down to their workers.”

The second picket line was outside offices in Parkway.

In a statement, BT said it engaged in “exhaustive discussions” with the union, before finally deciding on a £1,500 payment which is said is its “highest pay award in more than 20 years” for workers.

“We have confirmed to the CWU that we won't be reopening the 2022 pay review, having already made the best award we could,” a statement said.

“While we respect the choice of our colleagues who are CWU members to strike, we will work to minimise any disruption and keep our customers and the country connected.”

It comes as prices are rising at the fastest rate in the UK for 40 years.

Following a strike by the railway workers union RWB in June, train drivers from nine companies are due to strike starting this weekend. Barristers are taking industrial action and teachers’ unions are also being balloted.