EE pay claim spot on, say members

EE December 20 2019

A CWU survey to gauge EE members’ views on the union’s 2020 pay claim has revealed massive support for the key demands being made on behalf of all frontline staff and team leaders.

No fewer than 97 per cent of those who responded backed the CWU’s call for a fairer process for determining individual pay awards and a cost of living pay rise across the board for all – with 87 per cent pledging their strong support for both aims.

The results give a compelling insight into the views of employees across the business on account of the good spread of members with different lengths of service at every one of EE’s sites.

The poll has revealed that:

  • 85 per cent of members do not believe the current pay structure is fair, understandable or transparent
  • 79 per cent feel they are underpaid
  • 55 per cent do not know what grade they are in
  • 19 per cent do not even know if their pay is linked to quintiles or performance – highlighting the point the union has been making for years that the current opaque system is failing in even its stated aim of incentivising staff.

“The responses clearly reflect the points we’ve been making to EE in our pay talks, and the individual comments have also demonstrated the strength of feeling on these issues,” stresses CWU national officer for EE, Nigel Cotgrove.

“The CWU has briefed the results to EE, and this will hopefully help us achieve an acceptable agreement  – as it should be self-evident that there’s little point in persisting with this complex system if the end result is confusion as to how individual rises are arrived at.”

“That’s why we’re seeking a better, fairer, straightforward and transparent structure that everyone can understand. The CWU believes this is best achieved by a simple pay rise that applies to all.”
The current pay negotiations, which commenced last month, cover all 6,500 EE frontline staff in grades H1 to H3 and team leaders. From the outset the CWU has highlighted the company’s profitability, with Consumer and Enterprise combined (which includes EE operations) making £2,148 million in the last six months alone.

Nigel concludes: “Above everything, we’re seeking a pay increase that reflects our members’ hard work over the year, and provides for an increase in basic pay that is higher than inflation.”