More than 40,000 workers at telecoms giant BT are to take part in two consecutive 24-hour pay strikes, their union has announced.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents BT employees, said company bosses “held up two fingers” at key workers.
The strikes take place on July 29th and August 1st.
The strikers are mostly Openreach engineers and call center workers.
When the union voted to go on strike last month, BT said they were disappointed and “would work to keep our customers and the country connected” if staff left.
The company has offered staff a pay increase of £1,500 a year, which the union says is effectively a pay cut amid rampant inflation.
CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “For the first time since 1987, a strike will begin at BT Group.”
“This is not a case of an employer refusing to accommodate a union’s demands – this is an employer refusing to accommodate us at all,” he said. “The serious disruption this strike may cause is entirely thanks to Philip Jansen and his friends who have decided to point two fingers at their own workforce.”
The union said the strike action could likely hamper the rollout of ultra-fast broadband and cause significant problems for those working from home.
“These are the same workers who have kept the country connected during the pandemic. Without CWU members in the BT Group, there would not have been a home working revolution and key technical infrastructure may have failed or broken when our country needed it most.”
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