BT has told staff that it could offer more financial support to those hit hardest by the cost of living crisis as it frees up cash thanks to a government energy subsidy for businesses.
The chief executive, Philip Jansen, told workers that he would be able to table a new proposal to the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents about 40,000 of the company’s 100,000 employees, to bring an end to talks over a pay deal that has seen the two sides at loggerheads since April and the first national strike action in 35 years.
Jansen said the government’s move to cap business energy bills – albeit only until the end of March – would allow the financial flexibility to consider improving staff pay.
However, last week BT warned of more job cuts to come after it said it needed to find more than £500m in additional savings due to soaring inflation and energy bills. BT’s energy bill will be £200m higher year on year.
“Now that we know that the extra energy costs are capped at £200m until end of March – I didn’t know that in April – I know we will do something,” said Jansen, speaking on Wednesday at an all-staff video call, first reported by Bloomberg. “It will be targeted at those who need it the most.”
Jansen has previously maintained that a surge in inflation, which is running at a 40-year high, and soaring energy costs fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant BT could not afford to further improve staff pay.
“We have been in constant dialogue with the CWU since April, when talks broke down,” said a spokesperson for BT. “We are currently talking to them about ways we might be able to help with a cost of living response and we remain hopeful that we can agree a way forward.”
BT has said that the eight days of strike action held so far have had a “relatively modest” impact on costs but admitted that about 40,000 homes missed out on having their broadband connections completed on time.
In April, BT gave 58,000 frontline staff – from call centre workers to engineers at its Openreach subsidiary – a £1,500 pay rise that it said was its biggest award in two decades, despite CWU rejecting the award.
Last year, BT awarded frontline workers a special bonus of £1,500 in recognition of their work during the coronavirus pandemic. This comprised a £1,000 cash bonus and £500 in shares, which will be awarded after three years as part of the employee share scheme.
