In what is the first national telecoms strike in nearly 35 years, 40,000 BT and Openreach workers have walked-out.
After members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) refused a £1,500 pay rise, thousands of BT and Openreach workers are to walk off the job today across the UK for the fist time since 1987 in what is the first of two strikes – with another being held on Monday.
The CWU said that the striking workers are from a number of different divisions within the UK’s leading telecoms companies.
There are expected to be 260 picket lines across the UK, according to the CWU.
Striking workers are believed to “run all of the maintenance on Britain’s broadband services”, according to the CWU, and they also work to “keep up national infrastructure” – including everything from the NHS, to the Ministry of Defence, to mobile phone masts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Strike action comes the day after BT revealed its first sales growth for five years, with revenues having increased by 1% to £5.1 billion for the three months to the end of June, which is boosted by price increases handed down to customers earlier this year.
Leaders at the CWU have claimed the BT Group is now “gaslighting our members”.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Friday 40,000 BT and Openreach workers will strike for the first time since 1987
BT made £1.3bn profit, gave £700m+ to shareholders, CEO £3.5m (32% increase) financial officer £2.2m (25% increase)
They then imposed a below inflation offer on staff
Addressing the strike action, CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said in a statement: “Announcing hundreds of millions of pounds in profit on the eve of the first national strike since 1987 smacks of arrogance and complete contempt for frontline workers.
“Our members kept the country connected during the pandemic.
“BT workers have hundreds of picket lines arranged across the UK tomorrow, and will support the CWU in delivering mass strike action.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He added that BT and Openreach workers “deserve a proper pay rise – and that’s what they’re going to get.”
Over 40,000 workers are expected to form 260 picket lines across the UK / Credit: BT Group
A spokesperson for BT Group said in response to the strike action called: “At the start of this year, we were in exhaustive discussions with the CWU that lasted for two months, trying hard to reach an agreement on pay.
“When it became clear that we were not going to reach an accord, we took the decision to go ahead with awarding our team member and frontline colleagues the highest pay award in more than 20 years, effective 1 April.
“We have confirmed to the CWU that we won’t be re-opening the 2022 pay review, having already made the best award we could.”
So here we are. 40,000 CWU members in BT and Openreach strike for the first time in 35 years today.
The spokesperson claimed in the statement that the telecoms companies were “balancing the complex and competing demands of our stakeholders”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“That includes making once-in-a-generation investments to upgrade the country’s broadband and mobile networks, vital for the UK economy and for BT Group’s future – including our people,” the statement continued.
“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.”
Featured Image – BT Group
News
1,500 miles of roadworks lifted to help ease congestion for drivers this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
1,500 miles of roadworks have now been lifted across the UK.
With half term well underway already, and now millions of drivers set to hit the road over the next five days as Easter bank holiday weekend arrives, giving Brits two extra days off, National Highways has now confirmed that, as of today (Thursday 2 April), around 1,500 miles of roadworks have been lifted nationwide.
Roads are expected to be ‘especially’ busy tomorrow in particular (Good Friday), National Highways predicts, as this is the day people are most likely to head on a spring getaway.
So, in a bid to help ease congestion for drivers up and down the motorways, roadworks have been removed up until Bank Holiday Monday (6 April).
“By keeping 98% of routes clear, we’re supporting the wider economy where it matters most to tourism, freight, and local businesses,” National Highways said in a statement.
1,500 miles of roadworks have been lifted to help ease congestion for drivers this bank holiday weekend / Credit: pxfuel
The decision to lift the roadworks comes as a new national survey revealed a total of 71,254 breakdowns were recorded in spring (March–May) last year, compared with 56,702 in 2022.
It also showed that more than one in two (53%) UK drivers have broken down on a motorway or major A-road in their lifetime, highlighting how common the experience is for both drivers and passengers, and why it’s important to take relevant safety precautions from all sides.
29% of drivers think their breakdown could have been prevented with simple vehicle safety checks, but 17% admit to rarely or never conducting these.
National Highways echoes the statement that most of these incidents could be avoided through ‘quick and basic’ checks, and is urging drivers heading away this bank holiday weekend to familiarise themselves with how to do these before hitting the roads, so they can reach their destinations safely, saving costs and reducing delays for all road users in the process.
“Millions of people will be hitting the roads over Easter, and we want everyone to have a safe and smooth journey,” commented Colin Stevenson, who is the Road Safety Information Lead at National Highways.
“A few simple checks can help to prevent many of the breakdowns we see each year and help drivers avoid unexpected delays, cost and stress.
“Our teams work around the clock to keep motorways and major A-roads moving and these small steps from drivers can make a big difference.”
Featured Image – Mike Birdy (via Pexels)
News
Police reinvest record £18m seized from criminals back into Greater Manchester’s communities
Emily Sergeant
A record £18 million seized from criminals within the past year has now been reinvested back into Greater Manchester’s communities.
Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) confirmed that its dedicated Economic Crime Team recovered a whopping £18,150,322.56, to be precise, from criminals in the past year alone, and it’s cash that will be now be reinvested as part of the successful Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) back into communities across Greater Manchester.
This is a record figure for the police service.
Throughout the past year, GMP says it has conducted more than 850 Proceeds of Crime (POCA) hearings.
As a result of these hearings, police have recovered millions from convicted drug dealers, fraudsters, crime gangs, and money launderers, as well as recovering a ‘significant’ amount of gold.
Police have reinvested record £18m seized from criminals back into Greater Manchester’s communities / Credit: GMP
You may remember that, back in May last year, officers working at Manchester Airport stopped a man found to be carrying five gold bars weighing more than 15kg in his hand luggage as he prepared to fly abroad.
Following this seizure, GMP was then granted in February its largest-ever forfeiture order for gold bars – valued at £1.8m.
Some of the other seizures and forfeitures over the past year include just over £135,000 from a suspect after his car was stopped on the M62 in November 2025, and another £138,144 was recovered from a man after he pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
GMP was granted its largest-ever forfeiture order for gold bars – valued at £1.8m / Credit: GMP
“The work of our Economic and Cyber Crime Unit in the last 12 months to recover over £18 million in criminal assets has been nothing short of outstanding,” commented Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson, who is GMP’s lead for crime.
“This record figure reflects the hard work and dedication of our officers and staff to investigate, solve crime and bring offenders to justice.
“As we move into a new financial year, we will continue to maintain an ambitious and innovative approach while adapting and developing with partners to target criminal assets and embrace technology to remain a step ahead of changing criminal activity.
“Through using the ARIS process, this criminal money can be reinvested back into local communities for the benefit of the public we serve.
“This work reflects GMP’s continued drive to deliver an outstanding service to our Greater Manchester communities while building public trust and confidence in the service we deliver.”
Emily Sergeant -
29th July 2022 
