999 call workers in Glasgow and Dundee walkout over pay
They're unhappy about a £1500 flat rate pay offer from BT.
Emergency call handlers in Glasgow and Dundee are walking out for the first of four days of industrial action in a dispute over pay.
Hundreds of 999 staff are unhappy about a £1,500 flat rate pay offer from BT.
"We are not getting the recognition we deserve"
Joyce Stevenson is one of them and told Clyde 1: "Calls can be quite difficult at times depending on what is happening and we are group of people who worked through the pandemic.
"We could not work from home and put our lives at risk to do our jobs.
"It was a scary time for us because we didn't know if we were going to take coronavirus back to our families and we really feel we are not getting the recognition from the company that we deserve."
The call handlers are being joined by tens of thousands of Openreach engineers in the industrial action.
"I regret having to take this course of action"
Further strikes are planned on October 10, 20 and 24.
Joyce added: "Calls may not be answered within the target of 5 seconds.
"However, the blame lies with BT and if they had come back to the negotiating table then I am sure things would be different.
"I regret having to take this course of action, but we are one of the lowest paid grades within the company."
"We will do whatever it takes to protect 999 services"
A BT Group spokesperson said: “We know that our colleagues are dealing with the impacts of high inflation and, whilst we respect the right of colleagues to take industrial action, we are 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.
“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”.
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