999 operators to strike

Critical-services staff such as 999 operators will be joining 40,000 telecoms engineers, call-centre staff and others going on strike in October, the CWU communications union has announced.

“We intend to serve notice on BT Group today for four days of strike action during October,” CWU deputy general secretary Andy Kerr explained. “And we intend to up the ante – so we’ll remove all emergency cover and pull out 999 operators.”

Four national strikes took place in July and August in response to the company’s imposition of a flat-rate £1,500 pay deal, and the union says there is now a need to increase the impact of the action on the business.

Meanwhile, the union’s general secretary Dave Ward reported that Keir Starmer had asked to meet with him to discuss the BT, Royal Mail and Post Office disputes.

In other industrial action news, civil service union the PCS has begun a ballot of more than 150,000 civil servants in 214 government departments. The union is urging them to vote for strike action over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The government has ignored our demands for a fair pay rise, so we have no choice other than to launch what is the most significant ballot for strike action in our history.”

The ballot closes on 7 November, with the result expected to be announced on 10 November.

https://www.cwu.org/news/999-strike-emergency-call-operators-to-walk-out-with-their-bt-openreach-colleagues

https://www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/news/pcs-launches-strike-ballot-150000-civil-servants