“The ink isn’t dry on the pay deal and BT management are already trying to tear up our contracts by changing the working week to 7am-11pm, Monday to Sunday. This will put a lot more pressure on staff already finding it difficult to cope. It also means the end of flexible working hours which many workers depend on to be able to take care of children. A consultative ballot delayed due to the pay talks is to resume over BT’s proposals.”
BT pay deal – “We still feel like we deserve more”
TheSocialist spoke to a worker in BT’s Customer Service contact centre after the recent 9.3% pay deal over three and half years – the equivalent to nearly 3% each year.
“With inflation in August running at 4.7% and VAT set to hit 20% in January, this pay deal will not match inflation and is in effect a pay cut. We still feel like we deserve more. For someone on A1 (the lowest pay band in BT) who earns £14,197 a year before any deductions, it is getting very difficult to pay the bills. The new pay deal isn’t going to cover it. Yet BT has reported massive pre-tax profits of £1billion so far this year!
Considering that the so-called “green shots of recovery” have failed to appear in the economy and with major questions marks over the European and world economy, the decision of the Assembly to make £4billion cuts is economic madness. Even before the Assembly Executive begins to carry out these cuts, the scale of actual unemployment is truly shocking. The number of unemployed persons in December 2010 was 68,000 (8%), up 18,000 over the year. Nearly 50% have been unemployed for a year or more. The unemployment rate for 18-24 year olds is at 22.5% – up 10.5% over the past year.
The blatant way in which young people were singled out as easy targets in the recent budget was a draconian and discriminatory attack by the government.