Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Dave Reid
Engineers working for BT’s Open Reach are taking another five days of strike action at four workplaces across South Wales against the imposed re-grading of their jobs.
A newly aggressive management at BT are attempting to force the repayment project engineer (RPE) workforce to move to new management grades that would undermine their terms and conditions, put their jobs at risk and make them much more dependent on a bonus structure that would insentivise them to charge public projects much more for services.
RPEs arrange for BT cables to be moved or protected when construction projects take place like a new road or building. So the changes would lead to an extra cost being placed on public services and the public to maximise the profit for Open Reach.
At the moment RPEs view their job as a public service by finding the cheapest solution to customers to shape the work in a way that minimises their costs. But if they are put on a lower wage with a management bonus scheme then they would be expected to provide the service in a way that maximises the profit to Open Reach. As the Newport pickets explained: “For example, instead of advising the council to move a kerb on their plans to reduce the need for expensive telecom engineering work, we would be encouraged in the future ensure the Open Reach carries work that would unnecessarily cost the council thousands, but create business for the company”.
BT has claimed that existing workers would keep existing terms and conditions but new starters would start with longer hours, no overtime, less sick pay and holidays. And strikers believe that, as has been shown time and again across British industry, this is the thin end of the wedge – “once 50%+1 of the workforce are on the new contracts then they will try and force the existing workforce on to the them too”.
The company has claimed that workers will be better off but during negotiations the boss admitted that if she was in their position then she would not want the new re-grading either.
The strike has an added importance because 40,000 Open Reach workers are currently being balloted for strike action at BT, Open Reach and EE against compulsory redundancies, attacks terms and conditions and site closures that would force workers to travel long distances to work. Other Open Reach workers are regular visitors supporting the picket lines as they themselves prepare for the ballot.
Morale is high with the majority of strikers on the picket line, despite managers trying to intimidate them with petty attacks. CWU members inside the Newport building have been reprimanded for bringing cups of tea to the strikers!
The strike continues from next Monday to Wednesday in Newport, Swansea, Cardiff and Merthyr.
