Members of the Communication Workers Union in mobile firm O2 have overwhelmingly rejected the company’s pay offer.
The union balloted its 3,700 members and recommended they reject a package that – the union claimed – would freeze the basic pay of half the workforce for up to seven years and link the other half’s to unattainable performance targets.
On a turn-out of 76% of members in O2’s call centres, shops and engineers 96% voted to reject the offer.
The CWU’s lead negotiator with O2, Dave Johnson, said: “The message from our members is clear – they are fed up, frustrated and furious that in O2’s most successful year they are being denied a basic pay rise.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The CWU’s negotiating team is meeting to discuss the pay campaign’s next steps. If O2 fails to improve its offer, an industrial action ballot is inevitable.
Johnson added: “The choice for the O2 board is quite simple. They can properly reward hard working employees for their contribution to the company’s success, or they can persist with their intransigent attitude and face a summer of discontent and disruption.”
