BT workers call for company response as strikes continue

BT call handlers - pictured on strike early in County Armagh in early October - want better pay

Emergency 999 call handlers based in Northern Ireland are taking part in a fourth day of strike action by the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

About 120 call handlers in County Armagh are the first point of contact for the public in an emergency.

CWU said it had about 1,600 members in BT/Openreach in Northern Ireland and most are on strike.

The BT Group said it would do "whatever it takes to protect 999 services".

Erin Massey, the CWU's regional secretary in Northern Ireland, said on Monday that members would continue to strike until the company responded.

"We were on strike before but as part of that agreement the 999 emergency handlers were not on strike," she said.

"We were not pushed to that extreme but the company has left us with no other choice.

"Despite the strike there has not been any movement.

"Our position will not be changing -the strike days will continue.

"It is very hard on the 999 members - we appreciate them coming out, they are among the lowest paid for the work that they do."

Ms Massey said the company's stance was "unexplainable and unacceptable".

BT says people have been trained to fill the gaps in the 999 calls service caused by strikes

The BT Group said that including the 999 service in the strikes was "reckless".

It said it gave its staff a £1,500 a year pay rise in April.

It said that represented an increase of about 5% on average, which rose to 8% for the lowest paid and was the highest pay rise in more than 20 years.

But the CWU said that factoring in the inflation rate hitting a 40-year high of 10.1% in July meant the pay offer represented a "real terms pay cut".

In a statement, the BT Group acknowledged that people were dealing with the "impacts of high inflation".

It said that while it respected the right of colleagues to take industrial action it was "profoundly disappointed that the CWU is prepared to take this reckless course of action by including 999 services in strikes".

"We will do whatever it takes to protect 999 services - redeploying our people to the most important priority is a normal part of BT Group operations," it added.

"We made the best pay award we could in April and we have held discussions with the CWU to find a way forward from here.

"In the meantime we will continue to work to minimise any disruption and keep our customers and the country connected."

They company said experienced agency teams supplemented by BT managers would operate the 999 call centres on strike days.

It said people had been trained to fill gaps caused by absences.