The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and BT have reached agreement on a new pay package for the operators staff. The deal, which has been agreed by the union’s executive, will now be recommended to union members in a consultative ballot. This ballot will take place within the next few weeks.

Having failed to reach agreement on a one or two year deal, the two sides have instead agreed on a 39 month deal until March 2013. The agreement will see team members receive pensionable pay rises worth 3% each financial year from April 2010 to March 2013 with the rise being backdated to January 2010. The union had previously demanded a 5% rise for 2010/11 alone.


Last week the CWU was forced to cancel the notice for their industrial action ballot against BT after the UK telecoms operator threatened legal action over technical breaches, which could potentially have invalidated the ballot.

The move gave BT some additional breathing space before a strike could be called, which threatened to disrupt and delay the operators crucial £2.5bn roll-out of next generation superfast fibre optic broadband services around the country.