BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) will face “tremendous disruption” to its operations unless it improves a pay offer to staff, said the Communication Workers Union (CWU) as it began a strike ballot today.
A strike would add to hiring problems that infrastructure arm Openreach said this week was holding back the roll-out of its full fibre broadband network.
Forms on whether to vote for industrial action were being sent out on Wednesday to members of the union, after workers rejected what they said was an “incredibly low” £1,500 flat-rate pay rise, as UK inflation hovers close to 10%.
“As ballots begin dropping through the doors of CWU members, thousands will be thinking of the soaring cost of living, and the insulting treatment they’ve received at the hands of employers,” said CWU General Secretary Dave Ward.
Noting that BT made £1.3bn of profit after tax in the past year, he said “many workers who made that profit rely on food banks and don’t know how they will pay their bills”.
“Now, as inflation soars and the bills spiral out of control, the people who generated unexpected profits for BT Group are being hung out to dry.”
He added: “If BT Group want to avoid tremendous disruption this summer, they need to pursue a path that involves treating their workers with real respect.”
It is expected that the ballot result will be announced before the end of June.