As we continue to see far too many of our members going through redundancy consultations due to their roles being ceased, moved offshore or to other UK sites, we are concerned that BT Business along with other CFUs, has effectively implemented a recruitment freeze on both external and internal hires. This means there are a significant lack of vacancies for those currently being displaced and those vacancies that did exist are now subject to review, making it very difficult for members to stay employed with BT. Members do receive Priority Candidate status once they are deemed at risk of redundancy, but this is meaningless if there are no vacancies they can apply for! We have therefore written to BT to ask them to suspend all Collective and Individual Consultations, including those scheduled to take place, until the vacancy review is complete and Priority Candidate status becomes meaningful again.
Shorter Working Week – A necessity we are obligated to fight for
In our last briefing, we reported the CWU Business National Team’s conclusion that one way to stop job losses, and in-time grow them, is a shorter working week without loss of pay. The introduction of AI and automation is likely to impact workers hugely in the coming years and a shorter working week could be one way to mitigate the effect on job security that this technology may bring. A recent successful Shorter Working Week trial in the UK identified numerous benefits, including increased productivity, more time to retrain and reskill as well as improvements in staff retention and wellbeing, resulting in less time off sick.
The view of the team is quite clear; redundancies driven by off-shoring and short-term demand stats coupled with a freeze on vacancies, leaves us with no alternative but to start fighting back with a campaign for shorter hours. Measured by the response to our last briefing, this is something you support.
So, thank you to those members who gave us their ideas on how we can protect jobs in light of the upcoming changes and their support for a Shorter Working Week campaign. We’re still keen to hear what our members think, so if you haven’t contacted us already, please let us have your views by emailing this address.
Site Visit to Endeavour, Sheffield
In our last members’ update we reported that the BT Business National Team would be visiting Endeavour in Sheffield, one of BT’s new flagship buildings, on 21st and 22nd August, to meet with Managed Services Director Gary Jupp, and speak to members and non-members. The local branch was also on site with a stand in the foyer and spoke to lots of members who dropped by to meet their local reps and discuss the issues currently affecting them and provide feedback on their move to the new building. It was really good to meet so many of our existing members and also welcome a few new ones too!
We had planned to hold more face-to-face meetings with BT Business Senior Leaders in other sites around the country, with Glasgow being the next site planned to visit in October. Unfortunately, BT Business have since told us they are reducing their travel due to the current economic climate, so these meetings will be held virtually for the time being. We hope to recommence face-to-face meetings as soon as possible.
Grading Disputes
We are aware of a number of long-standing grading disputes across BT Business and have been dealing with these on a case-by-case basis. Site visits to complete grading assessments are currently being carried out by the BT Business CWU National Team in a number of locations. We will continue to press BT to ensure we resolve these disputes as soon as possible.
Workplace Reps
The CWU is always looking for workplace reps to become more involved in our union. Reps carry out a variety of important roles and are vital to ensure we have a strong and successful union. We need good links with our workplaces to ensure members’ issues and concerns are identified, worked through and resolved together, and to ensure important information is accessible to everyone quickly and easily. Ideally, we would have a rep in every single team, so if you are interested in finding out more about what a workplace rep’s role entails, please contact us via this address
Joining CWU Capital has never been more important. In a time of restructures, redundancies, changing technology and growing workplace pressures, being part of a strong union gives you protection, advice and a collective voice. Membership means access to experienced representatives who can support you with workplace issues, challenge unfair treatment and fight for better pay, terms and conditions. It also strengthens our branch when negotiating with employers, because the more members we have, the stronger our influence becomes. If you want security, support and a real say in your working future, now is the time to join CWU Capital.