BT telecoms staff join UK strikes over pay

• Communication Workers Union says members will walk out.
• CWU said it would be the first strike.
• BT said it “will work to minimize any disruption”.

Staff at telecoms giant BT will strike for two days in the coming weeks, union bosses announced Friday, joining workers in various UK sectors protesting over pay as decades-high inflation erodes wages.

The Communication Workers Union said members would walk out on July 29 and August 1 after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action.

The CWU said it would be the first strike action at BT Group since 1987 and the first national call center workers’ strike, noting that 40,000 workers were involved in the dispute.

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“The reason for the strike is simple — workers will not accept a massive deterioration in their living standards,” CWU general secretary Dave Ward said in a statement.

BT said it “will work to minimize any disruption” to keep customers connected.

“We have tried and tested processes for large scale colleague absences to minimize any disruption for our customers and these were proved during the pandemic,” it added in a statement.

The group’s share price closed down almost eight percent in London.

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The strike by BT staff comes as railway workers prepare for further stoppages having last month carried out their biggest walkout in decades.

Postal staff and state-employed lawyers are also striking, while teachers and workers for the National Health Service are mulling action.