The company claims it has to adapt with the times, but the CWU union accuses BT of putting « profit before people »
Union members urged to vote on whether a strike ballot should take place at BT, threatening the first such industrial action in the company this century
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) said a consultative poll would take place this month and run through December 10 in response to an « increasingly aggressive » approach from management
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He claimed that a change in the company threatened to alter working conditions and mandatory layoffs, although BT said his modernization program, which he said will lead to job losses, reflected the need to adapt over time
The company announced last week that ‘strong operational performance’ in the first half of the year and savings of £ 352million were supporting investments in its competitiveness
A vote in favor of a protest action ballot would take place if support was obtained through consultation
Its general secretary, Dave Ward, said: « This is the most important vote our members have ever been asked to vote since joining the company
« It is about job security, pay and classification, rights at work and the future direction of the company
« After decades of industrial stability, we now see BT Group embark on a vicious program of mandatory layoffs, site closures and attacks on wages, terms and conditions
« We know that many senior executives say that some members will not be affected by their plans – nothing could be further from the truth
« If we sit back and let the company implement these changes without serious opposition, then the floodgates will open »
A BT spokesperson replied: « BT is going through a period of immense change and investment for the future
« As the market continues to evolve and our customers’ needs change, we will need the right skills and capabilities in the business to adapt and meet them
« We also have a company-wide root and branch modernization program that will generate £ 2 billion in annualized savings by 2025 through the digitization, automation and simplification of many of our systems and processes
« This will translate into a smaller number of people in the business in five years, largely by not filling the positions as they become vacant, but we will prioritize providing opportunities for retraining and re-qualification, unlimited learning and redeployment where can
« If we do not improve our productivity and efficiency, BT Group will fall behind in the highly competitive and highly regulated markets in which we operate »
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BT Group, communication workers union, strike action
Global news – GB – BT says strike vote could be called consecutively on wages and conditions
Source: https://news.sky.com/story/bt-warned-strike-vote-could-be-called-in-row-over-pay-and-conditions-12124264
