Thousands of BT staff walk out in strike over pay.<br /><br />Thousands of workers at telecoms giant BT are walking out on Friday in the first of two strikes in a row over pay.<br /><br />Engineers and call centre staff voted in favour of industrial action after BT offered a £1,500 per year pay rise.<br /><br />The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the action was the first national telecoms strike since 1987.<br /><br />It has warned the strikes could affect the rollout of ultra-fast broadband, and could cause issues for people working from home.<br /><br />But BT has said it had "tried and tested processes for large-scale colleague absences" to minimise disruption.<br /><br />More than 40,000 workers were expected to walk out with picket lines planned across the country on Friday, with a second strike planned for Monday.<br /><br />BT has repeatedly said it made its best pay offer and would not be re-opening the 2022 pay review.<br /><br />The CWU has previously criticised the deal saying company bosses had "stuck two fingers up" to workers.<br /><br />CWU general secretary Dave Ward said ahead of the strikes there would be "hundreds of picket lines" arranged across the UK on Friday.<br /><br />"Our members kept the country connected during the pandemic. They deserve a proper pay rise, and that's what they're going to get," he said.<br /><br />"Workers at BT Group will never accept their bosses using Swiss banks while they use food banks."<br /><br />Prices are rising in the UK at the fastest rate for 40 years, prompting workers and unions to call for pay rises to keep up with the cost of living.<br /><br />Several industries, such as the railways, have already seen strikes this summer and more are planned.<br /><br />Why are prices rising so quickly?<br />Pay falls at fastest rate on record as prices soar<br />On Thursday, BT revealed its first sales growth for five years as the telecoms firm benefited from price increases for customers earlier this year.<br /><br />The group said it was also boosted by more people signing up for fibre-optic broadband and strong trading in its Openreach network business.<br /><br />The company said revenues increased by 1% to £5.1bn for the three months to June 30.<br /><br />BT said it engaged in "exhaustive discussions" with the union, before finally deciding on a £1,500 payment which is said is its "highest pay award in more than 20 years" for workers.<br /><br />"We have confirmed to the CWU that we won't be reopening the 2022 pay review, having already made the best award we could," a statement said.<br /><br />"While we respect the choice of our colleagues who are CWU members to strike, we will work to minimise any disruption and keep our customers and the country connected."<br /><br />
