Telecoms and Financial Services (inc. call centre workers)

What is a trade union?

A trade union is an organisation made up of workers who come together to support one another and collectively call for change in their workplace. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is a campaigning union and works hard to get our voice – our members’ voice – heard on a variety of issues such as fair pay, pensions, just terms and conditions, health and safety, flexible working and equal opportunities. Our primary objective is to protect and advance the interests of our members in their workplace. Trade unions are independent of any employer and solely funded by the membership.

Telecom Workers Union

The CWU is one of the largest trade unions for telecom and digital workers in the UK, we represent and support workers across the whole sector who work for employers like: Openreach, BT – Digital and Networks, Supply chain, Corporate and Business, BT Consumer EE, Virgin Media O2, Capita, Daisy Communications, Vodafone and Santander. Our members work across all areas of the industry from the cable pullers, network and headend engineers to back-office functions in admin, sales, marketing and corporate and customer-facing roles in Consumer and within the call centre environment as well as an increasing number of hybrid and home workers.

Why should I join the CWU?

One of the main aims of a trade union is to negotiate with employers about matters affecting their members; which is why union members are statistically more likely to have a secure job with more paid holiday than the national average and more control over their working hours, as well as better sickness, pension, maternity and paternity benefits. Workers in unionised workplaces get paid around 6.5% more than workers in similar non-unionised workplaces. Being a member of the CWU gives you access to legal advice on employment matters and representation at disciplinary, grievance hearings and employment tribunals; restricting management from taking arbitrary action against any individual and fostering an environment where members feel more confident to voice concerns about issues in the workplace without fear of retaliation.

We know that we can achieve more together than we can alone. By joining a trade union, you are helping to grow a movement that promotes the values of solidarity, equality, and dignity at work.

Run by telecom workers for telecom workers

Because our members come from across the telecom and financial services industry the representative’s members elect have personal experience of working for the same employers. If you need advice, support, or even representation your rep will understand the job you do, and the issues you face and have expert union training to assist and represent you. Anyone who is a member can vote for who they would like to represent them locally in their workplace, at a branch level, regionally and nationally. Every member can get involved, the union has a wide range of education and training, along with a nationwide network of reps to support you to help your colleagues.

Does membership include legal support?

The CWU (& GMB) jointly own UnionLine which provides a full range of legal services and benefits to all CWU members. This includes personal injury and employment law claims, free simple wills, preferred rates for probate & Powers of Attorney, fixed rate conveyancing, as well as an advice line that covers any legal matter. We also have a criminal and regulatory service, a family law service and a dedicated Scottish Law firm service. We provide free legal advice, case preparation and merit assessments to members, and work alongside union officials to find the right negotiated solutions where appropriate.

Are there other benefits to joining a trade union?

Every member has access to an extensive range of consumer benefits covering shopping, motoring, health and well-being, travel and family days out and insurance. To name a few: discounted supermarket vouchers, free cinema tickets, discounted gym memberships, and access to the TOTUM card which offers a huge range of discounts on well-known brands.

At a local level, our branch representatives and branch officers are all trained to represent members with workplace issues and their training will include understanding internal workplace policies and procedures as well as a basic understanding of your legal rights within the workplace.

What if I have an issue at work now?

We always recommend that you join a union, not just if you have a problem, but we understand it doesn’t always happen like that. Whilst we cannot guarantee representation for pre-existing problems our local representatives and branch officers will always do their best to offer advice and guidance on your issue.

Interested or want to find out more?

Get in touch with our Organising Department now. Email: rodept@cwu.org

You can also request a confidential callback from one of our team by completing the form below: