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Two sets of discussions have taken place to date and the proposal from the company so far does not reflect what your Union representatives in BTMSL initially sought which was a flat percentage increase for all.

Discussions have been taking place with Openreach with regard to the resourcing implications associated with the launch of BT Sport.

Following a conference all with Openreach at which members from the CWU Openreach NT and the T&FSE Health & Safety team were present the T&FSE Health & Safety team have written back to Openreach to restate our position and again make the case that two fully trained operators who are trained in all aspects of the Mobile Elevating Work Platforms including rescue are assigned to the same MEWP. Whilst we welcome the positive progress in the letter in which Openreach have moved towards improved competency training our position remains one of believing that two-person hoist working is the best solution.

More than 10,500 members participated in the survey which is a 30% increase on last year’s excellent participation rate. This excellent response rate underlines the importance that members attach to this area of their employment experience.

Senior BT management have for some time been debating the need for early leaver schemes and the related terms. This is against a declining need to reduce numbers on a large scale. BT Group has now announced changes to the terms.

It is now 15 months since the re-launch of the Two Way Deal in Openreach. In recent months the CWU Executive, National Team (NT), Branches and members have become increasingly concerned at the direction Openreach are taking on performance management across all business units. Assistant Secretary Davie Bowman wrote to Joe McDavid, HR Director Openreach, in order to set out our concerns in specific areas of how performance management is being applied and the impact we believe this is having on those we represent.

In 2006 the CWU successfully negotiated to ensure that BT Fleet remained a wholly owned subsidiary of BT. As a result of the implementation of the “Framework for change” agreement voted for by our members in BT Fleet, the Company set about bringing new work into BT Fleet workshops. There has since been a steady stream of contract wins and the size of the contracts has increased substantially.

The National Team (NT) have been discussing the requirements for direct labour (DL) and any use of thrid-party labour in Openreach from 1 April 2013. During those discussions the company set out their proposed requirements related to the up and coming launch of BT Sport by BT Retail, as well as further campaigns and special offers for scale purchases on fibre products.

Openreach MD for Service Delivery, Roddy Thomson, has announced an extension to the number of days annaul leave that can be carried over.