Huge backing for Telefonica/02 pay deal as talks continue on Stores pay progression

Members at Telefonica have overwhelmingly accepted an inflation-beating 2.35% pay increase.

The one-year CWU-negotiated deal provides for a fully consolidated rise that flows through to all salary-related allowances and will apply to general population grade employees in contact centres, engineering rolesand high street shops across the UK.

Accepted by an impressive 94% of members in a consultative ballot that closedon Monday,the increase will apply from April 1.

CWU assistant secretarySally Bridge,who led the union’s negotiating team, expressed her delight at the level of support received for a package which, she said, “stacks up well against recent pay settlements and is certainly above average.”

Sally added: “Talks took place over several months, this offer represented a significant increase on the initial proposals we received from the business at the start of our discussions, and I’m absolutely convinced we pushed the business asfar aswe could.

“The deal iswellabove inflation and, as such, reflects the huge contribution that hard-working staff have made to the company’s commercial success.”

As part of the deal, pay progression payments were also agreed for Tech Spec, Business Support and T&E grade employees who are not at the maximum of their pay range.

• Meanwhile, detailed discussions are continuing with regards to a particular pay progression problem that the CWU believes exists in the O2 Stores.

Tensions there relate to a widespread perception amongst employees that the Academy’ skills accreditation system is failing to allow to allow even highly experienced staff members to progress to the top of their pay scale.

For some time CWU concerns have been mounting that the tiny number of people who have so far managed to reach the third advanced’ pay point, since the introduction of a new reward structure in 2014, is indicative of fundamental failings in the complex Academy’ system.

“Frankly the jury is still out on this point,” stresses Sally. “From the CWU’s perspective, the fact that only a handful of our members have so far successfully made it through the Academy’ system to reach the advanced’ pay point is simply unacceptable, because we only agreed to the new reward structure in 2014 on the basis that the third pay point would be real and achievable – not pie in the sky.

“On that basis we’ve asked Telefonica for a root and branch review – but the company has responded that would be premature because it’s satisfied that significant numbers are going though the academy and about to achieve accreditation.

“We’ve asked to see the evidence and the company has committee to provide it at our next meeting in April – so the onus is now firmly on Telefonica to prove that the CWU’s concerns are misplaced.

“The only meaningful demonstration of that would be a big increase in the numbers graduating through the Academy and reaching the advanced’ pay point, so we’re waiting with bated breath!”