Dear Members,

Following an excellent forum with our Branches we are now in a position to formally announce that we have agreed to extend the period of negotiations with BT Group and in turn, the company has extended the moratorium on any further announcements.

We are pleased to inform you that we have made progress in all the areas we are negotiating. To remind you, these are;

Redundancy ProcessStrategic ResourcingBetter WorkplaceTerms and ConditionsJob Evaluation and GradingPay and Reward

At this juncture, we are not in a position to reveal the full details of the discussions but both the company and the CWU are committed to working towards a resolution over the coming week or so.

We ask members to take this as a positive development but also to remain vigilant and ready to respond, should negotiations break down. It is absolutely clear to us that your support has got the company back in the room and talking to us seriously.

It is our duty to try and reach agreement by every means possible but BT Group are fully aware that if we cannot, there will be a national industrial action ballot.

If we have to ballot then we, as a union, will be able to say to every single member, the company and the media that we have tried by every means possible to avoid that path.

All of the pressure is now on the company.

I want to thank you for your continued support and ask that we continue to stand together. I totally understand how frustrating the lack of information has been but these are extremely complex negotiations. Rest assured, your union has your back and we know you have ours.

We will be holding a further branch forum within two weeks where it’s our intention to present an agreement or call the ballot.

Together we will win this dispute.

Thank you.

Mark Feehily - Acting Branch Secretary