The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has called off potential strike action by staff at UK incumbent BT because of fears over the legality of balloting. A vote by some 50,000 of the operator’s circa 100,000 employees as to whether they should strike…
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has called off potential strike action by staff at UK incumbent BT because of fears over the legality of balloting. A vote by some 50,000 of the operator’s circa 100,000 employees as to whether they should strike was due to close yesterday afternoon.
According to the union, its legal advisers had “clearly outlined that under the notoriously restrictive trade union laws in the UK, certain technical breaches would potentially invalidate the ballot”. These breaches could have resulted in BT potentially overturning any ballot result in the courts, the CWU’s lawyers warned.
Andy Kerr, deputy secretary of the CWU, said his group was “bitterly disappointed”.
“It is devastating for our members and for trade union rights in the UK and of course it doesn’t help to resolve the outstanding issues over pay which we have with BT.”
A spokesperson from BT told TelecomFinance that the operator was pleased with the CWU’s decision. “There were procedural issues regarding the ballot that we raised from the start and the union have now accepted this to be the case. Our door remains fully open to the union and so we hope we can sit down and resolve this matter. An amicable agreement is in everyone’s interest and the withdrawal of the ballot provides both sides with a window of opportunity in which to reach such an agreement”.
The spokesperson specified that BT’s employee relations team – rather than lawyers – had raised the concerns.
