CWU Strike: Portadown 999 call handlers, who took emergency calls from Grenfell fire and Manchester bomb, earn less than £11 per hour

Erin Massey of the Communication Workers Union says they are struggling to survive on a low wage despite dealing with major traumatic events and life-threatening emergencies.

The CWU predicted ‘serious disruption to emergency services’ today as the emergency call workers walk out on strike for the first time with colleagues in the BT Group.

Members of the Communication Workers Union – the union for BT Group workers – will be walking out on Thursday 6th October, with further strikes planned for Monday 10th , Thursday 20th and Monday 24th October.

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It is understood the 999 centres will be manned by a small number of staff who are not on strike and managers who have been trained to take calls. “We will do whatever it takes to protect 999 services – redeploying our people to the most important priority is a normal part of BT Group operations,” said BT.

These strikes include the 30,000 Openreach engineers and 10,000 BT call centre workers across the UK who have taken action in previous months in opposition to BT Group management’s imposition of an flat-rate pay rise of just £1,500.

What the Communications Workers Union said

A spokesperson for the CWU said: “In the context of RPI inflation levels already hitting 11.7% this year, this is a dramatic real-terms pay cut.

"It is also in the context of BT making £1.3 billion in annual profit, with CEO Philip Jansen gaining a £3.5 million pay package – a 32% wage increase."

Also on strike is a large number of those working on Britain’s telecoms infrastructure, from mobile phone connection, broadband internet and back-up generators to national health systems, cyber security and data centres.

The CWU said that in previous strikes, it was agreed between the union and the company that 999 call handler workers would be exempt from the strike, and that a certain number of workers would be available to work at any given time.

A spokesperson said: “But after widespread outrage at the company’s refusal to negotiate with union representatives, these workers will now be joining their company colleagues.”

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “This dispute is modern Britain in a nutshell: lives are at risk because a company’s top brass won’t listen to workers. This decision was not taken lightly, but our union’s repeated attempts to initiate discussions was declined by a management who clearly believe they are above negotiating a fair deal for people who make massive profits for them.

“999 operators are using foodbanks, they’re worried about the cost of living and are being stretched to the limit. Good will won’t pay the bills, and vital services are now being hampered because of corporate greed. BT management clearly has no appreciation of its workforce, or their social value.

“But this union does, and we will keep on fighting this company’s attempt to plunge its workers into even further hardship.”

CWU Deputy General Secretary Andy Kerr said: “It is downright disgraceful that BT Group’s refusal to treat its members with an ounce of dignity has come to this. Time and time again, we have asked for negotiations to resolve what may well be a dangerous dispute for many, only to be ignored by a senior management that could not be less interested in addressing the anger that exists in their workplaces.