Communication Workers Union Northern Ireland Clerical Branch

CWU NORTHERN IRELAND CLERICAL BRANCH
t:02890 247444 e:branch@cwuni.org
Unit 2, 7 North Street, Belfast, BT1 2NA

Following the collapse of BT pay talks last night, we served formal notice to BT of our intention to ballot at 1pm today.

The attached letter is being posted on the CWU website and will be sent to all CWU email addresses and added to Facebook. Branches are asked to circulate it to all known private email addresses. Below for your information is the press release sent out today.

The Communication Workers Union is today (Thursday) pressing ahead with a nationwide industrial action ballot after five hours of talks yesterday with BT broke down. CWU has made it clear that only a significant improvement on the original pay offer of 2 per cent for 2010 will bring this dispute to a close but BT has refused to budge despite soaring profits, huge bonuses for senior executives and a 6 per cent payout for shareholders.

The CWU has issued notice to BT that ballot papers will be sent out on Friday 18^th June.

Andy Kerr, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “Things have undoubtedly got worse since our meeting with BT yesterday. The company is now showing complete contempt for staff and for the reasonable pay rise we are seeking for our members in the company.

“BT’s revised offer failed to make any material improvement in pay for 2010 which we have made crystal clear is the key to resolving this dispute. While we are happy to consider a two-year deal, there must be an improvement in pay for this year.

“BT has been misleading in the way it has presented other elements of the revised offer. For example, the union has always worked with BT to avoid compulsory redundancies so the inclusion of this in any deal appears to be more of a threat than an offer. Also, in regard to repatriating work from India, we have been in a separate set of negotiations with the company for over a year regarding resourcing arrangements for this so it is disingenuous to claim this is a new offer.

“If BT is willing to make a genuine improved offer we will of course meet them to try to find an end to this dispute. In the meantime we have no option than to press ahead with balloting our members for strike action. Our members are amazed at the aggressive attitude of the company and the contempt with which they are being treated. The victimisation of many of our members and reps – which has included direct communications from the company threatening that staff will get a pay freeze if they take industrial action - is adding to the anger and outrage at blatant double standards when it comes to remuneration for those at the top of the company. We want a fair and affordable rise and we will not stop until BT understands this.”

· BT made in excess of £1 billion profit last year and exceeded forecasts by doubling free cash flow to £1.9bn while making £1.75bn in cost savings – partly delivered through a pay freeze, 30,000 redundancies and changes to its pension schemes which CWU helped the company with.

· A pay deal of 5% for CWU grades would cost the company 3.6% of free cash flow.

· CWU rejected BT’s original offer of 2% plus £250 and a possible additional £250 based on meeting undisclosed targets next year. BT has claimed that the total payments would be equivalent to a 5.4% pay rise, however this would only be true for seven people in the company who earn a salary of just over £14,000 and the final £250 would not be paid – if at all – until June 2011. The revised offer makes no material improvement in the pay offer for 2010.

· CWU represents over 50,000 people in BT in the UK who work in call centre, engineering and retail roles.

!!!!!!!! IF YOU ARE ON FACEBOOK GO TO THE BT PAY CAMPAIGN PAGES, IT HAS LOADS OF INFORMATION AND YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR OWN COMMENTS ON THE SITE. JUST REMEMBER THIS IS AN OPEN SITE AND ANYONE CAN ACCESS IT SO BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU WRITE. !!!!!!!!!

Sent: 04 June 2010 14:31
Subject: BT Pay Campaign Letter to Members - 4 June 2010

Please find attached a letter to members regarding the current situation on BT pay. This will be sent to members via their CWU email address and their private email addresses where known, and it will also be available from the BT pay campaign page on the CWU website, as well as from the BT Pay Campaign Facebook group.

The CWU’s annual conference last week carried a motion stating that if BT do not revise their final pay offer by noon on

That deadline has now passed and we have received no revised offer from the company. We are therefore left with no alternative

The union will serve BT with a formal notice of our intention to ballot within a matter of days, once we are absolutely certain that

Once we have served notice to the company, the law says we must then wait seven days before we can launch the ballot.

The union does not enter into industrial action lightly and this is the first time in more than 20 years that we have faced a dispute

This year the company is taking a particularly intransigent approach which is unwarranted given its strong performance. It is vital

we stand up and resist BT’s attempts to cut your pay in real terms at a time when you have been central to delivering the targets

that have brought generous pay rises and bonus payments for executive directors.

Yesterday the CWU held a national forum of CWU branch officers, where the message came through loud and clear that

members right across the country are angry about the blatant double standards shown by BT over pay this year.

We recognise these are worrying times for members and we will be issuing some information and guidance in the coming days

to address your concerns. Please also stay in close contact with your local CWU branch for advice, and read the Q&As we have

created on some of the more frequently asked questions, available from the BT pay campaign page on the CWU’s website.

We will be holding a series of meetings in major locations across the country shortly, and you will find details of these from your

local branch. I would strongly urge you to attend a meeting near you to hear more about the union’s approach and what the

It is essential that we win this ballot with a big turnout and a big majority to demonstrate to BT the strength of feeling amongst

their employees on pay this year. If we fail, it will be extremely difficult to secure fair pay awards in future years, and we can

expect BT to take it as an invitation to undermine your terms and conditions in other areas.

Thank you for all your support and feedback, and please continue to communicate and engage with us as we take the

Most importantly, please vote in the forthcoming ballot, and please vote YES for industrial action as recommended by your

Election Address
I am standing for the C.O.O.C as I believe in Trade Unionism and I believe in this Union.

Rule 2.1.1 To unite and organise all those entitled to be members. To protect and promote member’s interests and maintain and improve their working lives.

To be honest I do not believe the CWU has delivered this for the past number of years and in consequence our Terms & Conditions have been extremely eroded and at such a pace that we are now in a worse position than prior to the Industrial Action in BT in 1999. NEWGRID has practically been eliminated, working conditions are exasperating, and our members are at the end of their tether.

The CWU as a national organisation has disremembered, I believe, that the MEMBERS ARE THE UNION and National Representatives are in a privileged position to work on our members behalf not in spite of the objectives of National rule 2.1.1.

If you vote for me I will endeavour to live the Rules of the Union and to continue to work towards regaining all our hard fought terms & conditions which quite frankly is a fight we should not have to engage in.

I am not prepared to sit back and watch this Union continue on the path it is on – there are sheer drops on all sides.

DON’T WHINGE – ORGANISE!
Patricia Feenan
__________________________________________________________________

RING THE CHANGES
I am a candidate in this election to offer you an alternative to the current clerical incumbents who appear to be bankrupt of ideas and to have taken up residence in the orifices of management given their collaborative assent to the sell out of the Monday to Friday Flexible Working Hours contract in the context of Project Holborn on the empty promise of maintaining BT job security in the UK.

It is unacceptable to me that a Union’s Executive should seek to contrive a voting constituency to unfairly advance BT’s demands by allowing those voluntarily working to the Customer Driven Contract type the ability to vote and thereby effect change to LONG STANDING MEMBERS’ FWH Contract against their individual wishes. Surely immoral if not illegal!

Arguably, prior to the OPENREACH Agreement endorsed by the same Executive Members’, this immoral vote rigging methodology had never been deployed to railroad through variations in contract by one group against another. The union principles of protecting and promoting terms and conditions by seeking contract change in genuine agreement by balloting only those directly affected must remain sacrosanct. The vote on Customer Driven Attendance Contract should be segregated by contract type and separately accounted for to where a member’s contract would be varied. Only the “Together we can make a Difference” fairy tale should be subject to a common consultative ballot.

It is time to elect those who are prepared to expose corruption and greed in the Telecoms Industry and to fight for its return to public ownership amidst the death throes of Global Capitalism.

RING THE CHANGES AND VOTE FOR BELL TOGETHER WITH OTHER CANDIDATES WHO WILL TAKE A STAND AGAINST AN INCOMPETENT FAT CAT REGIME DOMINATING THE INDUSTRY!

BUT FIRST, THE EASY BIT VOTE TO RECLAIM YOUR UNION.
DAVID BELL

NEW WAY TO UPDATE YOU MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Please log onto www.cwu.org and go to View Your Membership details here! on the top left hand side.

You will be able to update your own details - please provide a non work email address as well.

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PLEASE NOTE THE BALLOT ON THE CUSTOMER DRIVEN ATTENDANCE CONTRACT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE BT PAY DISPUTE. PLEASE RETURN TO THIS PAGE FOR UPDATES IN THE COMING WEEKS.

Legal Services Department : Two New Benefits For Members - Free Will Writing Service

To : All Branches (excluding Isle of Man & Channel Islands) - Display on all Notice Boards

We are pleased to report that the CWU, in partnership with its authorised Panel Solicitors, is offering two new benefits to members. These services will be available week commencing Monday 12^th February 2007.

Detailed information will be published in the February issue of the Voice Magazine.

The CWU’s Legal Services Department is now able to offer a free standard will writing service for members and their partners. Will packs are available from CWU Headquarters, on request. The pack will contain guidance notes and an information questionnaire, which when completed by the member, can be forwarded to our Panel Solicitors for professional legal drafting. To take advantage of this service, members should contact the Legal Services Department on 0208 971 7444 or via email freewills@cwu.org or by completing the tear off application form attached to the insert in the Voice Magazine.

more information can be found at www.cwu.org

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