Out of touch

1 July 2010 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

Workers want a bigger slice of the telco s recovery. Yet at a time of pay freezes elsewhere, demands for a 5 pct pay rise against BT s offer of 2 pct plus benefits look punchy. BT s revenues remain in decline and its pension deficit huge. A strike may not even be so harmful.

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British telecoms provider BT could suffer its first national strike action in two decades over a pay dispute with its workers.

The Communication Workers Union, which represents around 55,000 BT employees or roughly half the telecom operator's permanent staff, is holding a ballot to decide whether to proceed with industrial action.

The CWU is demanding a 5 percent pay increase in 2010, against BT's offer of a 2 percent increase for the year. The increase is part of a broader twoyear pay deal which includes an additional 3 percent pay rise for workers in 2011, a bonus payment of 250 pounds per employee in 2010 and 2011 and a guarantee against compulsory redundancies until the end of 2011.

If BT does not improve its 2 percent oneyear offer by noon on July 4, the CWU will proceed with the ballot and announce the result on July 5.

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