BT strike negotiations ended by new pay deal
BT awards staff annual three per cent pay rise for next three years
Strike negotiations between BT and the Commercial Workers Union
(CWU) have ended following BT's offer of an annual pay rise.
The telecoms giant will award 55,000 staff represented by the
union a three per cent pay rise in each of the next three
years.
It follows months of union bargaining as CWU initially demanded
a five per cent salary increase, while BT was only willing to pay
two per cent plus a one-off cash payment.
Members of the union then planned to hold a strike ballot,
although this was called off last week after doubts were raised
over the legality of the vote.
BT chief executive Ian Livingston said in a statement: "This
agreement is good for BT, its employees, shareholders and
customers.
"BT will benefit from a long period of certainty whilst our
employees will have financial stability during uncertain economic
times. Industrial action would have been in no-one's interest."
BT has cut 35,000 jobs over the past two years, although the CWC
has helped ensure none of these were compulsory redundancies.