| 2021–present United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis |
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| Background |
| Industrial action |
The 2022 BT Group strikes were an industrial dispute between the telecommunications provider BT and members of the Communication Workers Union over pay amongst the backdrop of the UK cost of living crisis. The strike action was taken by CWU members working for BT group's communications infrastructure subsidiary Openreach alongside those employed at the company's call centres.
In April 2022, members of the Communication Workers Union rejected pay offers made by BT Group as part of its 2022 pay review which awarded a £1,500 increase in fully consolidated pay to its team members and frontline staff. The decision taken at the CWU's Telecoms and Financial Services conference was made on the basis that the offer failed to "adequately reward the contribution made by CWU members keeping the country connected throughout the pandemic" and that it was "not acceptable in the face of increased inflation ... and the cost of living crisis". The conference resolved to hold a ballot on undertaking industrial action as a result. [1] [2]
A strike ballot was held on the 30 June. Campaigning for a yes ballot took place, in one notable example the CWU erected billboards outside the BT Tower calling out a 32% increase in remuneration for BT Group CEO Philip Jansen, which it contrasted with the establishment of a "community pantry" at a BT call centre. BT claimed that this was "absolutely not a food bank", despite CWU claims to the contrary. [3] [4] A majority of both Openreach and BT Group staff turned out to vote in favour of strike action, though a strike ballot held by staff at BT owned mobile communications operator EE did not achieve the 50% turnout required by the Trade Union Act 2016, missing the 50% turnout threshold by 8 votes. [5] This strike action took place on 29 July and 1 August, in the first nationwide strike taken by BT staff since 1987. [6] [7] Another two-day strike was held on 30 and 31 August. [8] Additional strikes were also held on 6, 10, 20 and 24 October. Unlike in previous strikes, the CWU did not exempt 999 switchboard operators from partaking in October's industrial action. BT subsequently redeployed staff from other lines of business to answer 999 calls during the strike days. [9]
On 28 November, union members accepted BT's offer of a £1,500 pay raise for workers earning less than £50,000, thus ending the year's industrial action. [10]
In response to the notification of strike action made to BT Group, the company published a press release on 15 July in which it claimed that the pay offer it made awarded "team member and frontline colleagues the highest pay award in more than 20 years" and that "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". [11]
On 1 August, shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy joined CWU members on a picket line in her Wigan constituency, with shadow employment minister Imran Hussain and Labour whip Navendu Mishra also joining CWU picket lines. [12] [13] This is despite Labour Party leader Keir Starmer having previously told shadow ministers that they should not join picket lines during the 2022 United Kingdom railway strikes. [14] Lisa Nandy is reported to have made Keir Starmer's office aware of her appearance on the picket line in advance of her visit. [12]
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is the main trade union in the United Kingdom for people working for telephone, cable, digital subscriber line (DSL) and postal delivery companies. It has 110,000 members in Royal Mail as well as more in many other communication companies.
The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates United Kingdom labour law. The Act applies in full in England and Wales and in Scotland, and partially in Northern Ireland.
The 2007 Royal Mail industrial disputes.
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015. He was previously Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.
The 2009 Royal Mail industrial disputes is an industrial dispute in the United Kingdom involving Royal Mail and members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which began in the summer of 2009. It was the country's first industrial action involving postal workers since 2007 and came about after the Communication Workers Union accused Royal Mail of refusing to enter into dialogue regarding how the implementation of modernisation plans would affect the job security of postal workers.
Lisa Eva Nandy is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development since 2023. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010. Nandy has previously served as Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary and Shadow Energy Secretary.
Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Along with Unison, Unite is one of the two largest trade unions in the UK, with over 1.2 million members in construction, manufacturing, transport, logistics and other sectors. The general secretary of Unite is Sharon Graham, who was elected on 25 August 2021 with 46,696 votes on a turnout of 124,127, with her term beginning on 26 August 2021.
Philip Eric Rene Jansen is a British businessman, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BT since February 2019, having been CEO of Worldpay since April 2013.
The Living Staff Living Wage campaign is an umbrella term for the organised workers behind industrial actions at Picturehouse Cinemas in the United Kingdom since 2014.
The 2020 Labour Party leadership election was triggered after Jeremy Corbyn announced his intention to resign as the leader of the Labour Party following the party's defeat at the 2019 general election. It was won by Keir Starmer, who received 56.2 per cent of the vote on the first round. It was held alongside the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election, in which Angela Rayner was elected to succeed Tom Watson as deputy leader.
Samuel Peter Tarry is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South since 2019. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. On 10 October 2022 he was deselected by the Ilford South Constituency Labour Party as its candidate for the next election. He remains an active member of Parliament representing the Labour Party.
Keir Starmer became Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom after being elected as Leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020. He appointed his Shadow Cabinet on 5 and 6 April. Starmer has reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet five times: in June 2020, May 2021, June 2021, November 2021 and September 2023.
The 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes are an industrial dispute in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK has seen its largest incidence of industrial action since 1989, beginning in the second Johnson ministry and continuing through the Truss ministry and Sunak ministry. The railway strikes commenced on 21 June 2022 after members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) walked out over wages, planned changes to working practices – involving the removal of guards from trains, the reduction in the number of open ticket offices, and an increase in the age at which people could claim the young persons and senior citizen card – and the threat of redundancies. The disputes in Scotland and Wales were resolved by the RMT in December 2022, and by ASLEF in May 2023. In much of England the RMT dispute was resolved in November 2023. As of January 2024, the RMT dispute remains active in London, while the ASLEF dispute is active across all of England.
Since May–June 2022, a series of labour strikes and industrial disputes have occurred in various industries of the United Kingdom's economy as workers walked out over pay and conditions. The strikes took place with rising inflation, and demands for pay increases that would keep pace with this inflation.
Sam White is a British political adviser. He is best known as Chief of Staff to Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer during the period Labour gained a substantive poll lead.
Starting in May 2022, postal workers in the United Kingdom undertook a series of strikes and industrial disputes. They principally involved members of Unite and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) at both Royal Mail and the Post Office. The Royal Mail strikes ended in July 2023 after workers agreed to a three-year pay deal with Royal Mail.
The 2022–2023 National Health Service (NHS) strikes are several ongoing industrial disputes in the publicly funded health services of the United Kingdom.
The Labour Party leadership of Keir Starmer began when Keir Starmer was elected as Leader of the UK Labour Party in April 2020, following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election. Starmer's tenure as leader has been marked by his opposition to some of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and various other issues involving the government, including Partygate, the cost of living crisis, and the industrial disputes.
Audrey White was a British shopworker whose activism led to breakthrough legislation on sexual harassment in the United Kingdom. Her activism also drew attention to the use of legislation banning picketing and the use of strip searching by the police.
Labour Together is a British think tank closely associated with the Labour Party which supported Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. It works to measure public opinion and develop political policy, and intends to support Labour in the next United Kingdom general election as well as for a second term in government. It is regarded by The Guardian, Politico, The Times and Business Insider as a highly influential group upon the current Labour Party, and seen as an "incubator" of its next manifesto.
