TO ALL BRANCHES WITH BT MEMBERS

Dear Colleague

As we have received some enquiries from members with regard to this year’s pay award, we felt it right to issue this briefing. The CWU negotiating team, led by Andy Kerr, Deputy General Secretary, met with BT last week to open talks on this year’s annual pay review for all NewGrid Team Member grades in advance of the 1 April 2020 pay review date.

The CWU presented its case for a fully consolidated pay settlement which is above RPI inflation for all grades and flows through to all allowances including pensions.

The CWU argued that BT remains in a good market position, with reported profit before tax at £1,333m at the last quarter. In addition, Openreach has grown by 2% over the last year.The CWU believe that the company’s long term prospects are good and our members should be rewarded for their hard work over the past year, particularly as the cost of living continues to rise. BT was less optimistic of its projected outlook and stated that there were significant headwinds to deal with as well as investment spends.

The CWU will continue to try and negotiate with BT, during the month of March, to try and secure a decent cost of living pay rise for our members. We believe they can afford it. It’s clear that the current climate in relation to the coronavirus pandemic will not make the situation any easier, particularly being able to physically meet.

The CWU will keep our members informed of any progress. Please send your views to BTpay@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Andy Kerr

Deputy General Secretary

Telecoms and Financial Services