MEMBERS of the Communication Workers Union formed a picket line at the telephone exchange in Saltcoats' Campbell Avenue on Tuesday in a row over pay.

A total of 30,000 Openreach engineers and 10,000 BT call centre workers staged a two-day strike on Tuesday and Wednesday over what the CWU said was the first strike action at BT Group since 1987.

The union said workers are opposing the imposition of an “incredibly low” flat-rate pay rise of £1,500 in April.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “These are the same workers who kept the country connected during the pandemic.

"Without CWU members, there would have been no home-working revolution, and vital technical infrastructure may have malfunctioned or been broken when our country most needed it.

“These people have performed phenomenally under great strain and have been given a real-terms pay cut for a reward.

“The reason for the strike is simple: workers will not accept a massive deterioration in their living standards.

“We won’t have bosses using Swiss banks while workers are using food banks.

“BT Group workers are saying enough is enough. They have serious determination to win, and are not going to stop until they are listened to.”

A BT Group spokesperson said: “We know that our colleagues are dealing with the impacts of high inflation and, although we’re disappointed, we respect their decision to strike.

“We have made the best pay award we could and we are in constant 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.”

The company said that when it became clear it was not going to reach agreement with the union, it awarded the highest pay rise in more than 20 years.

BT Group said its pay rise represented an increase of 5 per cent on average and 8 per cent for the lowest paid workers.