BT (NYSE: BT) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) reached a deal on Friday to establish a new 33-month labor agreement, with 72 percent voting in favor of the pact.
Under the terms of this new contract, BT will provide workers with a 2 percent raise plus a flat rate increase of $341 from April 1, 2014, which it said "will be fully consolidated and pensionable." Depending on their grade, CWU members will get increases between 2.5 percent and 3.2 percent.
The deal between CWU and BT came after five months of negotiations. CWU currently represents more than 45,000 non-management BT staff, all of which will get a 2.5 percent increase to base pay from both April 2015 and April 2016.
"We are pleased with today's ballot results which show BT workers overwhelmingly endorse the excellent pay deal we have negotiated," said Andy Kerr, CWU deputy general secretary. Three-quarters of the workers who voted are in favor of the pay deal.
Similar to U.S.-based service providers such as AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ), BT and CWU have had a tenuous relationship. In 2010, the telco narrowly avoided its first strike since 1987 when it agreed to give workers a 3 percent annual pay increase running for 39 months.
For more:
- see the release
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