Since BT's initial offer we've started publishing your comments in a new area of the website's BT PAY UP! campaign area. Use the link to Comments on the offer to read the latest submissions.

Here's what Connect members said to back the pay claim at the start of the campaign:

Emma
BT talks about employees focusing on the total package and the real value, but they first need to understand our total contribution and personal value. How many additional hours do we work? How much do we contribute to things freely that don't reward us? How much time and energy do we really add at the expense of our families just to help the business realise its goals? What if this changed, and we did only 9 to 5 and stuck strictly to our daily job requirements? When you mess with the rice bowl you start to deplete the emotional bank account. Also, those people who feel compelled to leave, ('the plan'), are often those most confident in their ability and therefore likely to be the most competent and not really the outcome they expected. Start to realise that top line (people) delivers your bottom line (results).
 
Alex
I definitely support the campaign - BT agreed cost of living increases with CWU that last year were twice as big as management raises - how can there be two costs of living?

Chris
Seems simple to me.
· I'm near the top of my scale, because I'm doing a good job. If I then get a pay rise less than inflation, not only am I not being rewarded, I'm actually being penalised.
· When the company was doing badly, I accepted a cut in effective pay. Since the company is now doing quite well, I expect to at least maintain my effective salary.
· I have reports who are doing a great job, but are low in the pay scale because they are rising stars. If I can't reward them, they have no option but to leave the company to progress their careers.
The bottom line:
· I want to be part of an excellent company. The pay practices of the past few years do not encourage excellence, they encourage apathy and mediocre performance.

Allan
So looks like you're going to fold up again! You will never have so much support again. Why are you continuing to negotiate? You appear to have accepted already that there is a limit on this years pay budget and are just looking for a way to make it acceptable to your membership. Whose side are you on? If you don't make a credible stand this year I for one will be withdrawing my membership.

Kay
The goodwill of managers is crucial to good results. One manager has worked up over months' TOIL in the last financial year. It is no secret that in order to cut costs workloads are doubling. Managers will only take so much. BT is in danger of losing its most critical people.
Pay us now!

Rich
As a reasonably new MPG2, I was fortunate to benefit from the recent pay rise which Connect negotiated on my behalf. This moved me closer to the mid range and, as such, I am fairly happy with my reward and expect to benefit from a further pay rise this year. However, my concern is for my colleagues who have been in the job a number of years who seem to have hit a log jam with their pay despite only being at or around the mid-range themselves. One of my colleagues has received no pay rise for five years. This is wholly unacceptable. Please continue to fight for what is, in my opinion, a realistic and reasonable award.

Stuart
Having a few moments spare I read the transcript of Ben V's last web-chat.  Does that man ever listen?  He consistently misses the point that everyone is trying to make regarding pay.  Yes, the company does have a committed workforce; just look at the average length of service when people retire, but that loyalty should be rewarded.  Employees who have become managers do it for two main reasons - to improve their income and because they want to make a difference in the company. BT is taking full advantage of this commitment and loyalty by ignoring 80 per cent of its managers during the pay round and only rewarding the golden 20 per cent. And as for Ben saying that every job advert gets lots of applicants, so BT must be offering a good package.  Is this what we have become - the least poor employer?  When I joined this company in 1968 it was held up as shining light in how to look after your employees in terms of pay and holiday.  The holiday entitlement has not changed for decades and is now the norm, if not below it, for outside industry and the pay of managers is rapidly falling below that of team members.  If it is acceptable to pay across the board pay rises at team member level why is it not acceptable at manager level - is that not discrimination? One last point.  I have looked at my 'benefit' package at Band 1.  Listed are two items: holiday and pension.  As we have now moved out of the dark ages and no longer stuff small children up chimneys, surely these are no longer 'benefits' but entitlements. PAY UP! BT.
 
Simon
I fully back the current pay claim.

Clive
IT'S TIME FOR BT TO PAY UP and make up the erosion of the pay differentials between manager and non-manager grades over recent years which will otherwise continue into the future judging by BT's stance at the moment. More importantly we should also remember the impact on our pensions at the end of the day

Richard
I am surrounded by 18 C3s who I manage and who after working the same amount of hours that I do each week i.e. earning OT, earn more than I do already and are likely to get more again this year - across the board, regardless of performance. My performance is consistently good. I have consistently achieved my objectives. But year on year I have consistently regressed in real financial terms. I am nowhere near the mid-point of my salary range and my bonus has been reduced. The advice I am given - if you don't like it, you know what you can do. The result - demoralised, de-motivated and depressed. Presumably I will pass these undesirable values on to my team and then to my customer. BT wouldn't like that. My advice - you know what you can do!
 
Trevor
To add weight to your campaign I would like to add my voice in my disgust at BT's position on pay. Having been totally disillusioned by the loss of my MPG4 post as a result of NRF, I am now faced with the prospect of no pay rise for the second year in succession and the probability of a reduced bonus. I am now totally de-motivated and disillusioned with the whole BT pay process and its reward package. I have lost all confidence in BT to be honest and trustworthy in any such dealings. My family ia now witnessing a real fall in our standard of living. Almost every bill that arrives has above inflation rises, gas, electricity, fuel, council tax and water. My water rates have risen by 18 per cent this year alone; last year's council tax rise was 12 per cent. Please register my dissatisfaction.

Chris
Having been mapped to the wrong role and being unable to achieve a satisfactory outcome through the appeals process, I find myself well above the mid-point for the role I've been mapped to.  I see no point in making any special effort to improve my DPR from Good to Very Good, which it had been for years prior to the introduction of the NRF, since in the current climate the effort required would far outweigh the rewards. The only thing that now seems worthwhile chasing is objectives, since this is the only way that I can get a bit more money.  However, I would of course prefer a lower consolidated pay increase, since at 50+ I'm more concerned about my pension. Until such time as the situation improves the day job is on tick over!
 
Angela
I was horrified to find out last week that the only way I can get a pay rise will be after my manager, area manager and regional manager, have decided if I have worked hard enough for one.  This could mean that I don't even get an inflation pay rise if they don't want me to have one. I now think that if your face fits in my department you can get everything, if not… I work in the BT Phone books department and haven't been happy that in the past I have lost out on bonus because my orders were not processed in time by customer services. All my manager could say was tough.

Brian
Do not accept less than what the CWU gets. D1's are already earning more than some of their managers.

Kevin
Why, when BT is withdrawing benefits packages from its own lead professionals is it advertising similar jobs externally with company car allowance?  Is this how BT wants to recognise its own managers by bringing external people in, training them up and rewarding them more! Why weren't these jobs advertised internally? Can BT people still apply for them even if they are advertised externally? Is this what BT calls the New Reward Framework!

Sue
Please would BT listen to the voice of their experienced managers and give some recognition for the years service and commitment. To continually be told year on year that your contribution to this business is key to operations is great. To continually receive a pay rise of half a percent is an insult. Key people have left the business because of it.
 
Calvin
I would like to add my voice to the issues concerning pay. Since 1/6/2001 I have had a pay rise of £400 on a salary of £40,400 i.e. less than one per cent over four years. During this time my APR/DPR overall markings have been V.Good, Good, Good, Good. This not only is an appalling record of pay award for my direct income, but of course also impacts my pension, which in real terms is reducing year on year as inflation outstrips my pay. During this period the company has expected us all to take on more responsibility (as the workforce reduces and demands grow), but also in order to get anything but the 'standard' GOOD overall marking, somehow convince people (who are working to positively keep markings down) that our performance has improved over and above what is essential simply to cover the extra workload and responsibility. On top of all this, our overall working environment and benefit package has deteriorated - I'm referring to the loss of any form of food facilities (other than chocolate bars) in my building (and it is an out of town/industrial estate building with no other facilities close by); if BT get their way we are about to lose our parking space again with no alternative parking arrangements available etc. etc. I, like many now feel BT has no concern for its most important resource - I feel like a 'resource' to be manipulated rather than a human being who has given over 30 years service to this company. It is very sad to see so many people so demoralised at present by the attitude of the 'transient' management that we have. Whilst I and many like me are receiving less than one per cent over four years, I have seen senior managers come and go with massive pay awards and handshakes - who is it that does the work to enable them to walk away with such awards?  It's about time the share was more fairly distributed.

Michelle
I am very disappointed with the New Reward Framework. I have applied for a new post, which previously had PCGU benefits. If I am successful at the interview I would be in a situation where I would be working alongside colleagues doing the same job but are on a higher band of benefits.

Colin
I have just moved into LLU on promotion from Broadband and now have the lofty title of Lead Consultant which I'm taking to be old PCGU grade. Yes, I got a pay rise on moving but no more benefits than when MPG4. In fact I'm having to justify my Business Needs Car even though it has accumulated 69K miles in 2.5 years driving, so hardly a perk as being implied. So I will be expected to work longer hours with no actual increase in any benefits and any pay increase will be taken in more tax etc. It's about time BT woke up to the fact that if you want people to work even harder within their roles they to have the right to expect some form of reward from their employers, or face the consequences of reduced productivity or managers actually working their contracted hours.

Darren
I'm rather fortunate (?) in that I'm below the midpoint for my range, so all things being equal, I'm at least expecting some kind of pay rise. But I feel that all managers who meet their 'on target' objectives should at least get inflation plus one per cent.  Despite all their protestations that 'people come to work because it's exciting', can they REALLY believe that? Surely not! I come to work for the cash, pure and simple. I expect to come in, do my job (and do it well), and go home. All my bills don't stop going up - my Council Tax goes up by 5-10 per cent per year, my childcare goes up by 15-20 per cent per year, petrol and utilities - ditto.  At one of the most important times in BT's history, the board need to realise that all their high falutin' plans will go nowhere unless they have a keen, flexible, well motivated team. All these silly changes are doing is building up a massive resentment towards the board and demoralising their managers, almost to a man. It also used to be simple. If you wanted progression you looked at Job News, selected the next grade up and checked what jobs are available. These days it's almost impossible to work out. I do believe that BT does need to change the way it pays and rewards people, it also needs to change the way people see their future and how they can be a part of the BT Vision - that much is not in doubt. What is in doubt is the sly, backhanded way that BT is driving down costs, pay, progression and morale. I have to say I don't have the answers, I just know their must be a better way. Please BT - I love working for you and feel I have a lot to give, just, please don't make us accept pay cut after pay cut until all my reasons for doing a good job for the company are whittled away.

Lisa, BT Retail
In my many years of service for BT I find the attempts by the BT Board to try and pull the wool over our eyes completely deplorable.  Do they really think we are that stupid, and are going to be fooled by all their rhetoric?  The whole thing is a blatant 'stitch-up' - the NRF, bonus, benefits and new pay arrangements being nothing but an obvious cost-cutting exercise.  The recent benefits bandings are the final straw!  It all clearly shows what little respect the senior BT policy-makers really have for their 'people asset'.  Myself and many of my colleagues feel totally undervalued and de-motivated.  What is the point of working our guts out for BT, to get treated with this sort of disrespect?  Frankly, the whole thing stinks - and the senior policy and decision makers should be ashamed of their hypocritical, dishonest behaviour. But let's not fool ourselves here.  BT needs to reduce headcount (plus 21CN and OneIT efficiencies may well require further reductions in the long term?). This is probably their way of going about it - treat us badly, make us get so demoralised and fed up that we resign, saving them even more money as they don't have to pay any more leaver terms!  So I do not expect the company to give us any fair or equitable pay rises, pay progression, bonus, etc.  And we should not fool ourselves that they will play ball.  There is NOT going to be a change of thinking by the BT Board. Our bonus and salary depends on how productive we work - theirs are based on how cheaply they can con us to do it.  So there WILL be a need for industrial action.  The BT Board will arrogantly continue to ignore us otherwise.  So let's get through the negotiating process as quickly as possible - and then let's get on with industrial action.  PAY UP!

Anon
Please note my concerns about the latest pay offer. I am sick of being told that I am crucial part of delivering 21CN, that my contribution will be invaluable and at the same time I am again facing the prospect of little or no pay increase to my basic salary. How can BT expect their people to continue delivering on massive projects like 21CN whilst not paying them a decent salary?
 
Andy
Well, having read the most of the literature around NRF I have to hand it to BT in devising the most complex, wage bill reducing, demoralising pay structure ever seen. It is virtually impossible for anyone to receive a decent pay rise or progress through a career path. You can actually be promoted and never reach the minimum of the new pay band. Well done, Connect, in agreeing the implementation of this so-called Reward Framework. You are telling me that this is a fair method of rewarding people for their efforts. Roll on election time. Not one of you will get my vote. That is assuming I'm still a member as the only way I see of me getting more money in my pocket is to cancel my Connect subscription. You should all be ashamed yourselves; you are paid to look after your members, not the BT Board or shareholders.
 
LB
From reading the latest update it appears that the union has already accepted that it will not be able to get a higher offer from BT and suggests further negotiations on the matrix distribution may help achieve this, which I doubt.  What needs to be reminded is that many managers did not get a pay rise or bonus last year while accepting cut backs in headcount, additional work and working long hours.  I would therefore ask the union negotiate with more purpose or are these yearly negotiations merely a formal gathering of little purpose?

Barrie
I'm a bit concerned at a comment in your latest email. The one that says 'Recognition that further pay freezes for those high in range is not acceptable'.  This can be read in different ways, but my interpretation is that Connect is getting ready to sell us out and is going to accept no pay rise again this year for people above mid scale. As a person above the mid scale, I had no rise last year and looks like none again this year.  If that is the case then not only my salary, but my pension (I'm now 54 ) will be cut in real terms.  I find this unacceptable and if done with your consent will have to consider whether or not I stay in Connect.

Philip
'Although BT has not raised its formal open offer of 2.7 per cent, an offer which Connect has already rejected, discussions are now taking place on modelling a pay matrix distribution which could go further to meeting Connect's claim.' If they won't increase the offer I see no point negotiating. It doesn't matter how it's distributed, we know it can't meet the minimum requirement of treating the new system seriously (ie people get to the ref rate quickly and the ref rates are updated to meet the new market data).  Just walk away.

Ashwin
Does this mean that the pay offer of 2.7 per cent is it and we are now arranging the deck chairs ie matrix distribution. Please remember the commitment we have which is to ensure ALL of our members get a pay rise and not just some. This may mean that 2.7 per cent will not go far. Also BT needs to be clear that we are talking about a pay rise and not the rate for the job. Rate for the job is a separate issue and should not be mixed up with funds for a pay rise. I hope Connect is clear on that.
 
Richard
I'm currently undertaking the role of Senior Professional in the DDCS discipline but am only graded as Professional. I am in a position where I can put forward for a role re-assessment which both my Continuity Manager and Assignment Manager under the OneIT structure would support. However, I cannot see any incentive for me to do so. It does not appear I would be eligible for any pay rise on promotion, and being assessed at the higher rate it's likely that it would be harder for me to justify my currently VG performance and hence my bonus may suffer adversely. It's entirely possible that I could be financially worse off next year should my role re-assessment be successful.
The only incentive is to work towards another pay midpoint, but as it's taken me 13 years to nearly reach the midpoint of the old MPG2 scale that's not looking like a very great incentive at the moment. Seems to me I'm better off staying un-promoted, justifying better performance reviews and therefore bonuses and then investing the bonus payments. This is an utterly ludicrous state of affairs and I'm amazed I've not seen anything from the union about this as yet. So I've drafted this email just in case this situation had dropped below the connect radar somehow.

Dave
Person sitting next to me is a graduate and receives two pay rises a year up to 10 per cent! Can I be a graduate again?

Ken
Please submit some hard percentages to BT, such as a cost of living rise for all of x per cent and a pot of y per cent to support pay awards under the current performance /NRF scheme. Unless there are these two distinct elements then the benefits to the individual are lost in global percentages. If BT is offering 2.7 per cent overall, is 1.9 per cent of this cost of living with a remainder of 1.2 per cent to support performance related pay? Let us be clear what is on offer and for whom?

Adam
I'm just wondering where this will all end. What happened to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work? They've cut my bonus, not given me a pay rise and I'm working longer hours... who's laughing? I know it's not me. I do wonder would it be easier to stop paying Connect and give myself 0.5 per cent? Surely it looks like the only way of getting more money.

John
Like many of my colleagues, for the second year in a row I will be receiving no pay rise this year.  BT is trying to convince us that the new bonus structure will go some way to making up for this.  However, a few calculations have shown me that the bonus scheme offers little motivation.  If I cruise along and meet my targets, the personal element of my bonus works out at £961.  If I really push myself and get a (non-guaranteed) VG rating in my MMP, then the absolute maximum personal bonus element I can achieve is £1,681 (but will most likely be less).  This is a difference of £720 between Target and Stretch, roughly £500 for the year, or £10 a week.  This is nowhere near enough to justify the extra work required to achieve the Stretch bonus.  So neither pay nor bonus offer me anything.  Even one of my managers admitted that I might as well sit at my desk with my feet up - I'd take home the same money.  How does BT hope to push the business forward with such a lack of incentive?

Tim
Just to say that the article on the BT NRF and Bonus and Benefits Alignment
is an excellent summary of my own perception of the situation. 

A product manager
I support the need to get a fair rise, bearing in mind the majority of us over the last five years have fallen way behind inflation and have therefore effectively  had pay cuts. Together with the farce of new benefit packages which effectively downgrade my job, but not the responsibilities and work I do. I work in the broadband area, an although exceeding not only personal objectives, but group, still see no remuneration, and see workload increase and pay move backwards.  We must all stop working ridiculous hours to get things done if we do not get paid for it. BT is getting overtime free on the promise of bonuses and a pay rise, both which are not forthcoming, or would not cover the extra hours if paid in overtime. BT needs to wise up and BT employees need to wise up. All I ask is a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, and a pay regime which keeps my pay up with the cost of living, and rewards me when I exceed the performance and objective targets set.  BT - IT'S TIME TO PAY UP!

Bethan
I'd like to see BT making a clear differential between the managers' grade and those of the Newgrid grades below them. The top of a C2 salary is at times better than an MPG2.

Steve
It has already been highlighted that wtm often receive salaries higher than their line managers. They also receive sdo's on a regular basis. I feel I am not rewarded enough for the additional responsibilities I have as an operational manager. I am responsible for 19 wtm and their health, safety and to support them through operational difficulties and even when they're sick and during unsocial hours 24/7. This does lead to additional stress amongst other things for which a regular sdo would be very beneficial but I am not allowed that attendance pattern. I am required to always be there when the business and specifically the people under my chargeship require my attention. I have proven my commitment to my duties and BT should recognise this and that they are committed to supporting me by agreeing to what I believe is a reasonable pay request by my union.

Les
I thought it was time I voiced my thoughts on pay. I am/was an established MPG4 and have not received an increase in my basic pay since 2002. As you will appreciate since then most of my bills have increased. I feel that BT is using the bonus facility to increase my salary on a per year basis, and this is being done to reduce the load on the pension scheme. I do now find myself putting my bonus aside to subsidise my salary, whereas in the past I could use it in other ways. I wonder how many people in BT do not receive a salary increase. I assume the higher management award themselves increases, maybe not every year but I expect they play catch-up. The CWU members receive an increase every year (thus reducing any differential with the managers), and a percentage of the managers receive an increase at the whim of BT. Even our retired members receive an increase every year which means I could end up retiring on less money than someone who retired some years ago. Something has got to be done about managers' pay; we cannot any longer be the target of this discrimination. Please ensure we not only get a decent increase this year but that something is put in place to ensure we receive an increase every year. This is not a position of my creating but of BT's. The worrying thing is that it has been inferred that if I do not like the situation I can always leave. After 35 years service I do not think this should be the attitude.

Jeff
I am supporting the pay claim but I do have doubts about how Connect will tackle the 'high in the pay range' people. As an ex PCGU I have been allocated to Project Manager 2 Job Family. The pay range after review appears marginally higher, although in reality it has no effect on my pay. I have for the past four or five years seen very little in pay rise terms, certainly far less than inflation. This is despite continued development and 'good' appraisements. I am very near or at PCGU max and can appreciate the issues with those below me on pay. However, I have worked my way up the scale over a number of years and was worth my pay prior to NRF, otherwise I would not have merited the DPR markings and subsequent pay awards given.
Essentially your plan is about gaining recognition that pay freezes for high in the pay range people are not acceptable. This appears to be the start of a long drawn out approach that will eventually be tackled after those lower in the pay range. Want I want is action now to resolve it.

Mark
We are continuously told BT is a successful company, doing well in the market. We are also told that we all have our part to play - and lip service paid to thank us. It's time the Board bit the bullet and gave us all at least the cost of living rise we have earned. It's fair comment to reward the apparent 'high performers' but this should not be at the expense of everyone else. BT is becoming a company lead by industry fat cats.
 
Peter
Bonuses are all well and good - short term gains to make the people feel good. Well, that may be fine in the short term, but for people nearing retirement it has no real effect. If we don't get a pay rise (which I haven't for years) then effectively I will get a pension based on a three year old salary - effectively a pay cut before I even get it. In the same vein, my 'Total Rewards Statement - Other Benefits' section states the following benefits I have:
Season Ticket Loan - as a home worker why would I want a season ticket ?
Paternity Leave - two years from retirement - am I really likely to have another child?
Adoptive Leave - even less likely?
Childcare - similar
Home Computing - surely this reduces base salary - so reduces even further any pension I would get?
BT ShareSave  not much use to me two years from retirement. Why should I pay into something for two out of three years?
Benefits Plus - anyone with a bit of sense and a internet access can surf the web and beat most prices quoted in the 'Benefits'
Come on BT, let's see you really care about your staff.
 
Mary
If I'd got promotion to C3 instead of MPG2 I'd be getting a six per cent rise every year over and above the yearly 'inflation' rise. As it is, I doubt I'll get to the maximum wage for a C3 before I retire, but am expected to take much more responsibility and work longer hours.  2.7 per cent of not a lot is not much! I, in common with others, have had enough and am reducing the hours I work to fit what I get paid, so BT is losing out that way.
 
Allan
I will give my full support to the ongoing pay campaign. As one of people who has not even kept place with inflation over the last four years I feel undervalued by what has been in effect a pay cut, when we are being encouraged to take on more responsibility and working practices.

Richard
I am in the middle of my salary range. I will support the union in whatever action you feel necessary to ensure a fair pay rise for all. I will not be in favour of a pay rise that does not give me an above inflation rise. I am prepared to go on industrial action to get what we deserve.

David
BT Wholesale E&T is going through another re-org., making extra work for many people. We must show, by our actions, that the poor benefits package that many people are on, coupled to the poor pay offer, will have its effect on the business.

Henry
My basic salary today is only three per cent more than it was four years ago!  Despite achieving at least 'good' performance appraisals over this period. I know many other colleagues are in a similar position. Employees are stakeholders in the organisation, as well as customers and shareholders. The current pay policy seems unfair and short-sighted, given BT's performance.
 
Brian
I am e-mailing to express my full support for the stance being adopted by Connect. It is a long time since BT has offered the same percentage rise to managerial grades as it has to engineering people, which I take as recognition that they are finally getting the message that enough is enough. As someone paid around the famous 'mid-point' of the pay range I have seen my pay decrease in real terms year on year over the last eight years or so and I manage a team with greater earning potential than I have. To be unable to progress to the maximum for the job/role is ludicrous! One further point I would like to make. As a manager on the dedicated Broadband team I, and my colleagues have a further dilemma. We have been asked to create teams that 'break the mould' in terms of flexibility and absorption of New Wave activity, but find the new 'hard-wired' bonus scheme disadvantages us still further. The effectiveness of our teams is dependant on getting a fluid tour of duty in a reasonable travel area but with our engineers showing excellent flexibility in supporting the broadband drive we find increased travel the norm. This leads to many of the LCM Scorecard objectives [EAOS, TRC revenue generation etc] being impossible to achieve. TRC has been a particular issue as my people do not benefit from 'volume deals' or 'third party damage' claims as we do not have a patch. For this reason Broadband managers and engineers have been more and more disadvantaged whilst their local colleagues working around them have flourished. Keep up the fight and get a decent rise for us all please!

David
In the last week we have had a team meeting in which there was a general feeling of frustration about the way pay and benefits have been handled by BT under the NRF. These general feelings echo my personal feelings about these issues. It seems that those on low pay are unlikely to get a significant progression towards the median level within their function band, those on the median will get little or low pay rises and those high within the band will likely get no pay rise for the third year in succession regardless of personal performance (particularly relevant to those who came back into BT from Concert). This is seriously affecting morale within the team and there were serious discussions about reducing the amount of goodwill work done above and beyond the contracted requirements. Also the way the benefits bands have been rolled out many (like myself) now feel as if we have been demoted as last month we were told we were in a job worth salary + benefits and now we are told that we are not really worth the benefits, but out of the goodness of their hearts BT will maintain the level of benefits we used to receive.  We all feel suspicious that in a couple of years if we haven't progressed to a higher band we will eventually be offered a lump sum 'pay-off' and after that lose any benefit entitlement.  Those who were previously one promotion away from getting benefits now find themselves two promotions away. All this has been done following emails from HR stating that many will get improved pay and benefits.  So far I haven't found anyone who feels better off.  The only benefit is a small increase in on-target bonus, which is as much dependent on company performance as personal performance, so in a bad company year is of no benefit at all! I therefore fully support the union's PAY UP! campaign
 
Dave
Please count my email as being behind your campaign for a pay rise.

Seb
Just a note to say I support a pay deal where everybody gets at a minimum cost of living rises.

Peter
Bonuses are nice to get but consolidated pay rises to move up my pay band would be better.  I think the union has got it right.

William
Following the company tabling an offer of 2.7 per cent I emailed my manager telling him of my disappointment - copying the mail to my team. I have enclosed a copy of the mail and a reply from one of one colleagues expressing support - which he positioned very well in relation to the changes being instigated under 21CN.

The benefit of the mail to my manager (whom is also a Connect member) is it provided tangible evidence he could share with his management chain, evidence that their is disappointment  within the management line of BT's unwillingness to table a fair and reasonable offer of remuneration despite all the changes we as a management team are instigating to transform the company. I have copied you details to encourage others to do the same. The effect was quite surprising, it provided evidence to enable the subject to become an agenda item at the next tier 2 meeting - and hopefully beyond the tier 2 team.

Victoria
I am certainly unhappy about the pay and new rewards framework.  Under the new structure I am expected to relinquish my car allowance, health benefits and home phone line.  I am also at the top of the pay scale for this particular job family so will be one of the last for consideration regarding pay reviews.  Proposing that I move from a PSGB to a sales professional.  This is not a positively motivating move for me. 

Les
I'm backing it. Three years = three VG overall markings = one per cent pay rise = reduced relative pay = where is the incentive? Not sure of exact inflation figures but I must be I'm in the region of 10 per cent worse off…

Gary
Whilst I understand the rationale for performance-related pay, the reality is that managers are demoralised by the reducing or non-existent differentials with engineering grades. New managers cannot be recruited internally as the pay differential is insufficient - I believe external recruits are having to be offered 'mid point' starting salaries to attract them, often more than longer-standing managers in the company. Most managers are dedicated to the success of the company and often work long hours, which cannot be recognised by PRP, particularly in non sales-based teams.

Steve
I don't think it's appropriate for an organisation of BT's stature to be paying a low figure such as 2.7 per cent given that due to their wish to bring on those who are lower paid, (quite rightly), that will leave zero for a lot of people, in some cases for the second year in a row.

Raymond
During the last five years I have seen my pay reduced year on year, and the hours I work get longer and longer, and TOIL is a joke. Also the differential between managers and the people we manager have been eroded, and some of the field engineers are earning more than me. My pay rises have not even matched inflation and not only that my pension is being eroded as well.
All I'm asking for is to be paid for the job I am doing. It's not that I don't want to work - all I want is to be rewarded for my efforts and achievements.
 
Nigel
BT seems to be missing the fact that this issue is causing a deep-rooted dissatisfaction between employees and I am witnessing staff morale at an all-time low. I personally don't believe the 'paying the market rate' story as I like others haven't had a pay rise in three years, and I am £5,000 below the minimum for my band.  Furthermore I have a BSc. degree, an MSc. degree and I'm currently doing an MBA.  I know I could get a better deal in the labour market!

Colin
I am an ex PCG U very slightly above the middle of the pay range who routinely gets very good DPRs. I am furious at my continuing drop in standard of living and additional workload forcing extra hours. The new rewards structure reminds me of confusion marketing. I believe it is simply a system to divide and rule. The pay and reward structure is now ridiculously complex and in reality beyond meaningful influence at a collective level. Despite being continually told how important I am to the success of 21C by senior managers I see no reward only a continuation of slaps in the face. For the first time in my life I would be willing to undertake industrial action (strike). Then perhaps we will see how valuable we are. For years we have been reasonable and understanding to the needs of the company. But now it's time for us to consider ourselves first.

Lee
I was promoted some eight months a go now and find working longer hours from 36 to 42, with a substantial reduction in my monthly pay hard to swallow. I was always under the assumption that in any caring business if you worked hard and were promoted you should receive a salary increase, not a decrease of some £6,000.

Joanne
I have joined the web chats and explained the way in which the company has left me feeling undervalued and the impact that inflation has on us as individuals - yet the company is not prepared to give us the necessary pay increase.  One of my main concerns is house prices. The increase has been enormous so I cannot get a house that is right for my family due to my current pay.  My partner and I both work in BT at Newcastle and if we both received a significant rise then this would widen our scope in the housing market. Your work is most appreciated with this matter.

Steve
We've all done so well that all BTW staff have received a surprise mug to celebrate five million broadband lines. Will we all be surprised by the reward we get this year under the NIL Reward Framework or are there already plenty of mugs working for BTW already? The mug might just help support my son at college, but the lower standard of living and the decreasing pension won't keep me in retirement!

Dave
At my current position mid-scale, if I resigned from BT my pension would be frozen but index-linked to inflation. This would probably result in a better pension at 60 than if I continue to work and receive less than inflation salary rises for the next 14 years! I have worked on a duty manager rota for almost 10 year and to date the allowance has remained the same, which in real terms must have lost 25 per cent against inflation, whilst the non-managers have continued to have their rota allowance increased tied to their salary increase. Most of the guys in here mock the managers' salary and would certainly not consider being a manager as they could not afford the drop in wages! That's not just a joke  - it is reality.

Peter
Even if you do get an agreement for a bigger increase, then the MMP will be rigged so that they do not have to pay out to a vast majority... I was told my MMP for the year end was VG and I am now informed five days later that it is only GOOD... So they are just manipulating the figures anyway. So much for valuing my contribution.
 
A homeworker
I support your endeavours wholeheartedly for BT to PAY UP! I have been a PCGU for nearly two years and have an agreement (in writing) to the job family Corporate Services - Business Support - Senior Business Manager with a salary range of £40,800 - £61,200. I am actually paid a salary of £32,000, a considerable amount below the range and the market value for my role. It has also come to my attention that external recruits and contractors are being brought in to perform the same role as I am currently doing on a salary of £50,000.  How can this possibly happen when BT will not pay me even the minimum for my agreed Job Family band as above?

Martin
I'm fair to BT - I work hard and achieve results; why can't BT be fair to me? Speaking to colleagues, I know this is how the majority of us feel. We feel let down. Why? My job role is Senior, Nwk/Sol Designer/Integrator. Compared to people I know of doing a similar job outside BT, I am lower paid. Last year I had an MMP rating of VG. Although I was well below the mid-point of the range, I was nevertheless still within the middle third; I received a two per cent increase. Compared to some, I was lucky! This year, again I have an MMP rating of VG. The upper and lower limits of my range have not increased so I am still in the middle third and still below the mid-point. Without a reasonable pay agreement, progression through the range will be very slow and, despite my very good performance, I am likely to receive a pay increase below the rate of inflation. Many colleagues I have spoken to are in a similar, or worse, position. We want a decent pay deal!

Mike, networkbuild
Please note my comments in support of the reward claim our union is in the process of negotiating. I have also verbally registered my concerns about the impact on meeting so-called smart objectives. There are a number of people in my team that I have processed through 'absence management and capabilities job search etc' in full.  Some have been found successful re-deployment or exchange of people to come and work for me, others managed back to 100 per cent delivery of capabilities via myself and their respective medical advisors and NHS. The cost still sits with the team and negatively hits our bottom line. Therefore the objective isn't smart as I cannot possibly ever meet unit cost. It makes no difference as the team result is hardwired to the reward framework. I am unlikely to see myself benefiting from any significant pay rise or bonus... perhaps even none at all.
 
Steve
I have been following progress with considerable interest. I am in Contract Management and along with most of my other colleagues in Britain received a zero increase in consolidated pay last year. An earlier briefing said that Connect was negotiating on our behalf for a pay increase, for those that are near or above the top of the salary range, at least in line with inflation. Has Connect lowered its sights for those of us that have spent years climbing up the pay scale to be told from now on you will receive no increase. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. If we are not careful we will build up anger between those lower down the pay scale that do get an increase and those of us at the top that do not. I expect an increase for ALL members in line with inflation, at least. If there are further funds available then distribute them among  those lower down the scale to avoid them having to wait 14 years of increments etc to get near the top like those of us that are long-term members of Connect.

Chas
2.7 per cent is a joke. My roof tax and heating bills went up six per cent.

Carmel
I will have worked for BT for four years this coming June and never had a pay increase.  This is totally unacceptable. Please keep me informed as to what the union is doing about this.
 
Steve
I recall when I was a young manager at the bottom of the pay scale when the MAX for the grade was just over £3,000. If BT had applied the same principles then as it is trying to apply now I would have progressed much more quickly up the pay scale to the mid point £2,500, but I would not have progressed beyond that. I would still be being paid £2,500 per year. Unbelievable?
If BT has its way this is exactly the situation we will find ourselves in; all managers, irrespective of where there are on the pay scale now, will be receiving a ridiculously low amount in just a few years time. Just to demonstrate this take a manager being paid £35,000. With the policy BT wants to put into place, that manager will remain on £35,000, but the cost of living increases from the last year and the next five years would increase this at say three per cent per year. However, with BT applying the matrix with no increase for people on or above the mid point that manager's pay will have decreased from £35,000 to £28,208 and so on. When the max for the scale was £3,000 it was exactly the same as the pay MPs were receiving. The BT managers' max and the MPs pay tracked one another for several years. Now look at the differential; MPs now receive double the pay we do.
 
Roger                         
Given that the CARE survey is now out, no doubt indicating that everyone is really happy working for BT without any pay rises etc, why not commission a 'real care' survey among your members with questions like:

· I am happy with NRF
· I am happy with my benefits banding
· The changes have motivated me?
· I can relate my banding to the external market?
· If I could afford it would I leave BT now?
· I only come to work for the money?
· My pay has risen in real terms over that last x years
· I have confidence in the appraisal system?

Roger
In past years when we had proper pay scales like teachers and police and many others, pay settlements consisted of a pay rise of an across the board  per cent and separately  those who qualified would progress up the pay scale for the grade so there was a component to cover increased cost of living and a pay progression component to reflect increased experience and value to the company. Now it seems that pay awards in BT are given as a pot which is promoted by the company as a cost of living increase but in reality is now only funding the progression component. Should we not ask the company to fund these as two separate items? This would avoid the current fudge and erosion of pay by an formula that ignores your contribution to the company once near a static mid-point.

Glen
I am very concerned over the current pay review, I have not received a pay increase for the last three years even though I have been marked as APR 2. In real terms through inflation I am effectively moving backwards. I would at the very least expect to match inflation.

John
It is absolutely essential that managers in the company are recognised for their responsibilities and efforts and that managerial pay at least keeps pace with inflation. We are entitled to maintain a differential and enjoy similar pay increases to our CWU colleagues.

Peter
I have been working on a team for four years where there is £14,000 difference between myself and a colleague for the same work.  I will never ever reach the mid-point of my job family range, so where is the incentive to improve? Why don't I go for the easy life and forget about a bonus and small percentage rise? I don't go for that option because I take pride in my job and how I perform.  BT should do the same and reward people fairly according to there objectives. I have had a brilliant year against mine but will I see the hard
work rewarded in my salary... I think not.

Rich
I am currently £6,900 below the minimum of the pay band for my role. I'm looking to achieve a very good score this year (DPR 2) but after honest discussion with my line manager I understand this large pay gap is not going to be met this year. It's quite likely with the low pay review allocation proposed that it could take a number of years to make up this gap (four years, by my calculations). This is not the expectation set by the NRF initially or a sensible approach for any employer met with this problem. If these issues were caused by the use of inappropriate pay review systems in the past shouldn't BT now fix the problem rather than setting up a new demotivating review scheme which fails to address the problem?
It appears that any direct challenge of the NRF on individual cases is met by references to the caveats built in to the model on affordability which allows BT to avoid tackling the issues that it should clearly recognise. BT is proposing a pay review policy which is inflexible and restricts the ability for line managers to deal with the obvious cases of poor pay alignment they see. I am facing the prospect of being clearly underpaid for a number of years based on the low pay offer BT is making and the NRF indicates those underpaid should be addressed within a year. I fail to understand the cost argument as by avoiding investment in its employees BT is going to significantly damage its effectiveness to deal with the increased competition and complete its transformation strategy, which we are all part of and are working hard to realise. BT representatives keep saying this scheme is justified as high achievers who are underpaid will be rewarded. But BT's commitment to addressing this is woefully low. Currently I am looking externally for positions as would be expected. This is not a healthy position for BT to be in as I would prefer to be focussed 100 per cent on my current role and responsibilities.

Mike Foley
I would like to back the pay claim that Connect is putting forward.
 
Paul
I would like to let it be known that personally I know my salary has fallen in real terms by at least 10 per cent over the past three years. I also have concerns that I do not have a job family. My team has been told they will no longer sit in the Commercial Contracts Job Family and that a newly created Job Family will be allocated. We still do not know what this is and without one how can we get a salary increase as it will not be known what quartile I am within? If the outcome is unsatisfactory I will have to appeal against this. I believe the current offer is a disgrace particularly when my ex-colleagues were TUPED to Telereal and their pay increases are based on the Wages Index (which is showing that they will be paid in the order of 4.7 per cent).

Jim
I had a zero pay increase last year and have watched my standard of living being eroded year on year. Also, our regrading, or should I say degrading, was a farce ...there are only 11 of us 11 of us in the country, and we had to pass a ' LRQA ISO Lead Auditors Course'. If that does not make us specialists I don't know what does! I applaud the union's stance in trying to fight for us but it appears to me you are being paid 'lip service' by BT and you have no teeth when negotiating with them.

Patricia
I have worked in the sales environment for 28 years, exceeded all targets year on year and as a result I was awarded the Special Incentive Award last year as one of the top 12 managers in N. Ireland. For all of these achievements I earn a paltry £26,000 per annum - is this fair?

Gary
I would just like to say I support the claim to have a fair pay rise, something that hasn't been seen for at least five years. While our team reports have been and are getting pay rises, we see their pay overtaking our own. This should have been addressed years ago. BT should come clean and give their managers a fair pay rise.
 
Rob, OneIT
BT does not appear to understand what an able key stage 2 child does - you can only have a mid-point in a band if there are people lower and higher than this.  If BT is intending to align everyone's pay to the external market then this should apply right across the band i.e. if the high point of the external market band rises then so should the rate that BT pays to people who are considered to be at the top of a band.
 
Joe Campbell
I support the pay claim and believe it is morally right to recognise the contribution of the managers. I also support the principle that the money that will be made available should be distributed an equitable basis.
 
Sean
It is important BT continues to increase pay as it is still believed we are below other major players' pay structure. If we are to attract good loyal professionals it's important we don't scare them off at an important first hurdle.

Lou
Again this year the manager grades seem to have been offered a poor deal. Senior managers are under the impression that we do well against outside industry but are 'attracting' recruits with packages way outside those being given to BT people with many years' service. Surely this is applying double standards or would these people not join with existing 'benefits'.  I can assure senior managers that an equivalent managers in BMW, one of the largest employers in my area, are not having their company cars removed, (in fact their families can have subsidised cars), all have health insurance and can look forward to a rise this year. I also wonder why Connect is not looking into the possibility of managers in BT being discriminated against as far as pay rises are concerned. I am an employee, the same as an engineer who will automatically get a rise with no relationship to performance etc...Why the difference? Or am I being discriminated against because I happen to be good enough to have been promoted to a management grade?
 
Anne
Thought I'd just add my voice to your campaign. I'm on the minimum end of the pay scale for my job family, work in a division that has falling revenues and as a result am unlikely to do well out of the pay round despite hitting targets. Fortunately my manager is pretty fair in the pay provision but when there isn't much money in the pay pot. I get cheesed off that I am employed by BT yet pay rounds are targeted to divisions/groups.  Why isn't pay against BT's profits? We're asked to do more and more yet pay doesn't reflect this.
I've got DRs as team members who are chomping at the heels of my pay.  If things stay as they are then they will again be earning more than me. Having heard a BT HR Reward Benefits webchat, when this point was raised by a colleague, the reply wasn't very helpful.  It was something along the lines of 'we know this is an issue, but it doesn't justify overpaying our managers'. There is no incentive for team members to go into management posts.Many managers would rather be demoted to D1s - less responsibility, flexi hours and annual pay awards. Bonus payments don't go towards improving my pension. It seems that BT wants to take more and more and give little in return. Funny how many MPGs are in Banding 1 of the NRF.  Yet BT told us we do get something - a pension. Please push for an offer that helps to address the unfairness of the current pay situation. 

Dawn
A manager at the MPG 2 levels earns less than the supervisors as supervisors get back paid overtime for additional hours.  A manager is expected to put in so many additional hours, and then is frowned upon when taking TOIL.  TOIL really does need to recognised as being legitimate - after all, BT doesn't complain when someone puts in the extra hours - so it shouldn't complain if the individual wants to take back what is rightfully theirs!
Each year I have to look at what I can reduce in order to pay the bills, etc., because wage rises are appalling.  
 
Paul
Thanks for the update. However, your statement that BT should give 'Recognition that further pay freezes for those high in range is not acceptable', does not appear as clear as previous statements, that all should receive at least an RPI rise. I have recently had my original role changed to one with a lower reward package in a different family. Each year that I do not get an RPI increase means a drop in living standard, let alone any real reward for the greater contribution, that I, like many have made. While I fully support the move of those less well paid up the ladder, I hope this is not a sign that the union is contemplating accepting a below inflation settlement for any of its members. I realise these are difficult negotiations.

Peter
BT senior managers are proving again to be masters of doublespeak and untrustworthy. Isn't that a VALUE? Despite pleading that they value us and our contributions, they persist in undermining our commitment and belief in this once great company by their actions. It has been said before, and no doubt will be said again, that they are either fools or worthy of praise by Machiavelli himself if they believe this course of action to be worthwhile. The commitment of ALL staff has been the backbone of this company for all of its independent life, and this may also have been true of the Post Office but my experiences don't go back that far. Yet despite this they continue to alienate staff with 'new schemes' which will 'improve the lot' of employees, the latest being to demote many of us to the degree that it will now take two or even three promotions to get back the rights we had only weeks ago. We then get subtext that says 'oh and by the way, because we are so generous those of you with negotiated terms can retain these until we have the next mad brainwave'. If this isn't designed to de-motivate staff and get them to leave then it is indeed foolish! This arrogance and ignorance should be brought to the attention of the shareholders in the most forceful way possible. If these people continue to alienate staff in the way they are doing there will soon be no goodwill left in this company and a return to the bad old days of 'us' and 'them' will be inevitable leading to confrontation which is a waste of energy for BOTH sides. PLEASE, if the HR manuals and pundits are to be believed when they say a company's most valuable resource is its staff then recognise this NOW before it's too late.

Mark
I've just joined Connect as a result of the NRF and issues of grading (now resolved but stressful at the time). I'm personally disappointed that over the past few years there has been virtually no movement in pay despite being told by local managers that I was being underpaid and that they would fix it. MMP, as you say, is a joke (I speak as an ex HR person). Also from a wider perspective I am concerned for colleagues who are paid less than me with young families. It must be getting tougher for them all the time as prices go up on essentials. Please keep up the good work!
 
John
I would like to register my anger that, being in the upper quartile of my pay band, I am facing yet another year of pay freeze given the current BT offer. Once anyone enters the upper quartile, it seems there is no fair reward structure for them in BT. They will see there income eroded by inflation yet they would likely have performed well for BT (at least as well as those in other quartiles). Please continue your negotiations and register to BT the strength of feeling around this unfairness.

Malcolm
I have been a manager now for seven years with five of those years being marked as VG on my DPR. My pay is still below the threshold for the grade and the majority of my team earn more than me. Had I known then what I know now I would have stayed a C3 Engineering grade (which has since become a D1) and had a less stressful, higher paid, easier job with less hours, a four day week and minimum responsibility. I'm also de-motivated, bored, tired out and becoming more and more depressed which is now beginning to cause some issues in my personal life at home.
 
Maggie
I thought you might be interested to know that between November 2003 and October 2004, I was a redeployee, stranded in a work area I did not enjoy, with managers who did not really want or need me. Needless to say my morale suffered, and I looked around desperately for a solution...anything that would raise my job satisfaction levels. I did not want to leave the company I have worked for, since 1972, but my skills are not those most sought after these days. To cut a long story short, I heard of a 'C3' vacancy, it was fairly specialist and was within my previous experience, so I did some sums.The most astounding fact that emerged was that the difference between my MPG2 salary and that of a C3 (max) is only 10p per hour! I have since found my dream job, and I would not swap it for the world, but on those cold mornings when I am backing my car off the drive at 06.30, to get to a meeting on time, and unlocking my front door at 20.00 after four hours battling the M25 and M11, and knowing that I really should do stuff on the laptop before bedtime, it's a sobering thought to realise that I have earnt £0.70  more that day than the C3 I might have been. The difference is, I do this because I want to, I know that what I do is appreciated, by the people I work to and for. Its years since I took my full leave entitlement, or kept a track of TOIL.  I did get a £600 pay rise last July, but it was the first for three years. On very bad days I feel alone and used by the company I have given 33 years of my life to.

Raymond
The term implies there may be something resembling a pay increase on the horizon. I pray that this is the case as I currently sit in the higher end of my role profile and having not received a pay rise for three years now the prospect of something is eagerly awaited and long overdue. People talk about job satisfaction, motivation and morale, all of which are dependant upon being happy in your work and satisfied with the rewards and remuneration you receive. If BT wants to increase productivity and profitability then it should take note of a workforce that has low motivation, low morale and a strong feeling that their efforts are not being recognised, rewarded nor even respected!

Mark
Yes I am very concerned that slowly our overall pay diminishes over the years as year in year out our claims for a reasonable inflation-related pay increase are rejected.

Siobhan
Just wanted you to know that I support the union's stance on pay.

Karen
I particularly support the campaign, as in my particular case (having had my job family demoted to the one below) it is now the only way at BT I can see any way of recovering financially from having my job family downgraded. I was employed on 1 Nov 2004 and yet two months later had my job family downgraded. This now means that instead of my starting salary being at the absolute bottom of the salary range for my job family, I am now well at the mid-point of my new job family. I would imagine this means I will not get any kind of salary increase in June as BT will argue they need to prioritise those people who are not yet in the salary range for their job family, or who are at the bottom end of their job family (as I once was!). I am of course appealing my downgrading as employment law states an employer cannot unilaterally alter terms and conditions. This has happened to my entire team and there has been no good reason given. Therefore, the PAY UP! campaign is now the only way we can feel better about our conditions here at BT, especially when in my experience they have given on the one hand (ie: given us this job family structure) yet taken away on the other (downgraded us). I also don't feel I am paid market rate and would be astonished if BT can't at least keep pace with inflation.

Ashley
I back the campaign. As professionals we should be rewarded what we are worth. 

Steve
From the web site it is clear that a number of PCG Us have been banded at  grade 1 (so effectively they are no longer entitled to car, health and telephone benefits). Please can I also register my dissatisfaction: as a PCGU now under the  'Project Management', job family as Project Manager 2, whilst the business has not yet actually taken away the benefits (car etc), they have clearly stated that we no longer are worthy of having these benefits as PM2s and I certainly feel de-valued. The work that was originally put in to gain promotion and have these benefits at PCG U level have just been taken away. My fear is that in the near term BT will again announce further changes and will then 'actually' take these benefits away from us for good in which case we will be losing out for real.

Keith, Global Services
Nothing band 1, everything band 2, everything plus band 3.  No incentive for me, three promotions before I see any of the package. And as they (BT management) took away my car and healthcare. I'm not very impressed. Was it by any chance line management that did well out of this?
 
Jacqui
I never envisaged in my career in BT that people would be dealt such a dirty deal with the new reward scheme. I can't believe that this has been allowed to happen in this day and age. I am much worse off with this new scheme, and morale is at an all time low in our division. Something must be done to put right such a disaster! Senior managers have appeared to forgotten that the people are the biggest asset in a company...

Richard
We are currently in the process of doing external recruitment for 21C network designers, and it is quite clear from the applications that our pay is well under the salaries being earned by those we are trying to recruit in our area. If it is claimed we are being appropriately benchmarked and rewarded then the company needs to be more transparent about the proof. We are worth more.
 
Steve, BT wholesale
As a BT Contract Manager, one of just 11 in Britain, I am no longer prepared to accept a pay increase below the average earnings index for managers. In 'Professional Manager' (July 2004) the average earnings index for managers was reported as follows: 1996 - 4.7 per cent, 1997 - 6.2 per cent, 1998 - 6.9 per cent, 1999 - 6.7 per cent, 2000 - 5.6 per cent, 2001 - 5.5 per cent, 2002 - 6.2 per cent, 2003 - 5.2 per cent, 2004 - 4.9 per cent. (source; Remuneration Economics Limited and the Office for National Statistics). This year I expect a consolidated pay increase in line with the 2005 figure (average earnings index for managers) with a positive adjustment to provide an element of recovery from the 0 per cent increase in 2004. I do not expect BT to fund this increase in consolidated pay by reducing bonus payments below last year's level.

I have copied this email to my Contract Management colleagues in the hope that they may support my views by sending a similar email to the Connect email address, irrespective of whether or not they are members of my union.

Dipak
We have been short-changed in the past too many times, it's about time BT got realistic and offered a decent rise for the hard work that we have all put in.
 
Member  BT Wholesale (ND&I)
For many years now the MPG/PCG groups have not kept pace with inflation.  Our pay position is continually eroded, yet most managers are working longer and harder than ever. If you compare managers' hourly pay rates (based on the honest hours per week worked and not the contracted hours) I am sure it would not compare favourably with either comparable management jobs in outside industry or indeed the non-manager workforce we are leading. It is now quite clear that the NRF is a further cost-cutting exercise. The loyalty on which BT has been built is quickly disappearing.

Alan, Global Services
I have read comments from the membership, and from our 'leaders', so please wake up! There is NOT going to be a change of thinking by the BT Board. There WILL be industrial action. Can the negotiators plough through the negotiating procedures as quickly as possible, as I prefer to man picket lines during the summer time and not winter!

Anna
I just wanted to send you a brief message regarding pay progression as I see it. I am a fairly new manager within BT - I took the step from C3 to 'Senior Professional' (MPG4) in December 2004. A large part of my decision to move into management was the advertised pay scale, and assurances that I received from HR that the whole idea of having such large pay scales was to allow managers to remain in a role for longer whilst still progressing in pay. After successful interview, I was shocked and angry to discover that I was put in a position where I had to negotiate hard to get the BOTTOM of the pay scale advertised for the post. I felt this was insulting and also felt that I had been drawn to application and interview under false pretences. I was not aware that it was even legal to advertise a pay scale and not honour it.
Since then, I have discovered that not only am I never likely to reach the top of my pay scale, but the general consensus of opinion amongst existing managers is that I am fairly unlikely to even get a pay rise this year (or next). I have to say, this makes me re-evaluate my decision to step into management - had I stayed a C3 I would be guaranteed a decent pay rise year on year. The end result is that I am unsure of my way forward financially, and admit to not being as committed to the role as I would be if I felt fully valued, and felt that I had a long-term future in this post. As it stands, I know I will be looking to move on after a year or two - quite possibly outside of BT.

Darin, BTExact
When will BT's Board be happy - when the engineering pay scale is higher than managers'? What's the incentive for being a manager: more responsibility, workload and working hours with a lesser wage and reward package?  Sorry BT, if you don't recognise this then the future is already lost.
 
Darren
A point I would like to raise is the plight of my first line managers in the DQ Call Centre I manage. I now have four substantive managers who are all on exactly £24,000 per year. This is less than C2 maximum. Two of these managers have been substantive for approx six years and have performed in the 'good' category each year. It is my belief that first line managers should be paid a reasonable amount more than a C2 max.
 
An MPG in Wales
All my friends and colleagues agree: aiming for promotion and progression in BT is like trying to hit a very fast-moving target which each year dons new camouflage!  So BT needs to make it worthwhile staying at the same 'grade' (whatever) by making real, SUBSTANTIAL PAY OFFERS this year and going forward. Otherwise more of BT's best people will walk out... The talent exodus has already started. Our support to Connect: Many of those remaining are fully prepared to take industrial action this year.

From Paul in BT Retail
I've worked for BT for 17 years - starting at a non -management grade and working my way up to a PCG grade, to find overnight that the New Reward Framework has put me in a position where the benefits I've had for four and half years are wiped out under the new job family and benefits structure. I keep my personal rights until I reach a level that has these benefits… Where has the personal development and career path gone?  To top it off I'm above the maximum for the salary band I'm in as well, so even if there was a pay rise, would I get it? I think not. Ironically, under the old grading system I was below the mid point for PCG salaries, but now under the NRF structure I've become over the max - mass downgrading overnight! One thoroughly downhearted, depressed once loyal customer-focused manager!
 
Paul
Living and working in London, I find it ever harder to cope with a negligible pay rise of one per cent. My council tax has gone up by 20+ per cent in the last three years, gas and electricity have gone up. Water has increased. Petrol has increased. Nursery fees have increased. Congestion Charge, train fares, insurance, TV Licence - all of these have gone up by a greater rate than inflation! Where in my contract did it say by becoming a manager my standard of living will be eroded by BT? Now is the time to take a stand!
 
Gerry, One IT
In 30 years of service for BT I have never felt so 'stitched-up' and undervalued as I do now. I am one of the idiots who works long hours to try and do a decent job for BT, but they can forget that now if that is how they are going to treat me and my colleagues. I thought that I could probably get one more promotion within my last 10 years with BT to make the pension a little better and a few more 'reasonable' pay rises / bonuses that would let me and my family have a decent holiday each year. But now with the NRF and jobs being in the wrong job families I looks like I can kiss all these ideas goodbye. One other thing - I feel long-termers like myself are stuck now because of the fear of losing pension payments, that is to say it would be difficult to resign and get another job with another employer. So thank you for trying to make things better and I will back the 'PAY UP!' campaign.

Clive Salmon NREC4 
I wholeheartedly support the PAY UP! campaign. The company's managers morale is at the lowest point I can remember for many years. The industry is on the up and BT's managers are working very had to meet all the objectives set by the Board and doing it! The order books are bristling; we've cut massive costs out of the business and people are working harder than ever before. Despite this we seem to be under constant barrage of demoralising antics, (pay, bonus, NRF) which only seem aimed at pushing people out. I support at least an inflation level rise in base salary as a minimum for the forthcoming year and all the other aspects Connect is pushing for.
 
Ian
Last year I worked hellishly long hours, travelled the length and breadth of the country, did not receive a pay rise, despite achieving targets and objectives.  I was told to appeal would be fruitless. I have now changed jobs and will give the same 110 per cent effort - but  I will state that a pay increase in line with inflation is not without reasonable consideration. I don't expect a large percentage increase, buy I do expect to be treated fairly and rewarded for hard work, flexibility and the long hours  - because evening hours soon add up and I have yet to speak to manager who doesn't work JUST 42 hours.
 
Paul from GS
A year ago I took on extra responsibility, despite being a grade which was lower than my peers.  I was told to wait for NRF to resolve this disparity.  Whilst I was put in the same job family as my peers I am still £2,000 below the minimum of the pay scale. My partner always thought BT was a good example of how to treat staff. This is no longer the case and is now an example of how not to treat people.  I feel demoralised and no longer have the confidence that senior management have our interests at heart.

Gordon Smith - North Downs Branch
In common with many other colleagues I have received no pay rise in three of the past five years and in real terms my pay has declined significantly over that period. Imagine my surprise when my job family was allocated, on appeal, to find that I am below the mid point of my range but with no mechanism or intention to pay me the BT-derived rate for the job. I now understand that I am unlikely to received a pay rise this year although the industry median for my role would almost certainly have moved with inflation. This feeling of disgust with my treatment by BT is compounded by being told my role is not considered worthy enough to receive the company car etc that I have enjoyed for the past eight years.  It amazes me that BT seems unable to understand that this is extremely demotivating to be told I don't deserve these 'perks'…but they will let me keep them. The final insult, although probably not given BT's recent record, is to read on BT Today that the company has offered non-mangers a 2.7 per cent rise, indicating again how much they think of their managers.

Ralph
I am backing the PAY UP! campaign.
 
Tony, ONE IT
I have never known a workforce so unmotivated. After much culling of staff, those of us that are left are the ones that have shown loyalty to BT by refusing offers of redundancy and are also working harder seeing that jobs have stayed but employees have left. We are rewarded with added bureaucracy such as MMPs, which will in the end be used by BT as justification for not giving a pay rise or a bonus. This is a joke and a dangerous approach by BT. I am at a stage now where I am looking to become a home-worker. I need to save my travelling money to pay utility bills that I struggle to settle with my salary.

Yvonne Campbell
Here's the email I sent to Ben Verwaayen: We are encouraged to contact you with our views and so I am taking this opportunity to do so. I have been working for about two years as a project manager for BT Global Services SOE Programme and more recently the BT Wholesale 21C. Both jobs required me to work considerably above my grade in order to meet the demands of the business. I have not received recognition by way of promotion to the right level or a significant pay increase that reflects what I have achieved. Like so many of my colleagues, my pay does not reflect market forces and the erosion of my salary by way of no pay rise and token bonus payments is very disappointing. Nothing I have said is new as it's a story many BT employees have reported via the union and Employee Care Survey. What surprises me is that the BT Board clearly believes it is listening to it employees when this is patently not the case. I consider myself extremely fortunate to work with a great team of people who had such willingness to help BT achieve its values and objectives. You could not put a price on the pride they had in their work and 'goodwill' by stepping outside of their roles to ensure we achieved our deliverables and customer satisfaction. This 'credit' as I call it is fast disappearing under the relentless strain of being set targets with minimal hope of achieving them. In my area of work, we are subjected to limited resourcing and extreme workloads. People have had to take stress leave… How can we delight our customers with this approach? Where is the pride in such a poor method of working? Why continue providing 'goodwill' that is simply used up with no recognition of the cost to the provider? What I have described above is accurate, true and nothing new. Is the BT Board really listening? If so, my colleagues and I have yet to hear anything that suggests this is so.

If I could wish for the BT Board give me a signal that they value employees, it would be for them to show courage and approve the pay increase. I say this not just for myself but for all the other well deserving employees who know they are worth it. Thank you for taking the time to read this mail.

Steve
I certainly back this campaign as I have not had a pay rise that keeps me in line with inflation for some EIGHT years now!  I fact I have had very few actual increases at all in that time, due in no small part I expect to the appalling DPR mark I collected when I moved over from Group Finance to Networks in 1996-7 and the reluctance of my managers since then to show any significant upwards movement in my mark, which has never-the-less been a 3/Good for some of that time before 'the bar moved upwards' again with the transfer over to the NRF.

Clive Brice, BT Exact
I was reading the communication about the bonus and the NRF.  It says that one of the areas of concern are benefits within the lead professional in systems and IT.  I've been mapped to Systems and IT, DD&CS, LEAD.  I'm not sure whether the role mentioned in the communication was a generic title for systems and IT people, but I thought I'd add my weight to the unhappiness expressed by the benefits (sorry - un-benefits) allocated to my role. I was not a PCG before and hence all my peers get the benefits (under personal rights) and I don't.  What makes the situation worse was that one or two of my MPG 4 colleagues who like me were put into a 'higher' role got the PCG benefits last April on the strength that they passed a PCG interview in another part of BT (even though they never took the role).  I know that Connect is working hard on this and I await the ballot with interest.

Demotivated designer
Last year I got promoted (after some very strenuous efforts of my boss) for helping to bring in a £500 million bid. Due my promotion I got a small increase in pay and benefits. Now all those benefits will go under the new structure - although I will be allowed to keep them for now. I bring real value to the company, but why should I bother if the company doesn't reward us? Fortunately my skills are in high demand - I know I should start looking for a job elsewhere. A number of my work colleagues have moved on already. However, I enjoy working with my team and the work is interesting. If things don't change I will be forced to go.

A.Cotterell, Martlesham 'C'
The one and only point that matters with the 2005 pay negotiations is that whatever is being offered must only ever be considered by Connect as AN ACROSS THE BOARD PAY INCREASE ONLY, regardless of whatever BT attaches to the deal or particular role. Nothing less will suffice as you know we've been messed about with once too often and we are all heartily sick of it especially that 'above the mid-band paypoint' bull$#it! That nonsense should never ever have been agreed by the Connect Executive. Ben Marshall should be ashamed of that particular aspect because this is considered as the
biggest let down for many hardworking conscientious members in recent
years.

Mick Reidy, BT GS
Since becoming a manager in 1997 I have had consistently 'very good' DPRs.  I have always been below the mid-range of my pay band, at both MPG2 and MPG4 so have been fortunate to get a reasonable rise at each pay round but do not find much of a differential in pay from my old team member colleagues - even after eigth years.  When the NRF was first announced I welcomed the review and I also felt the early indications where that something positive would come out of it.  I only see one positive, the declaration of the target percentage for the bonus. The rest looks like the old system regurgitated, renamed and complicated - whatever happened to simple and complete?  I wonder how much the overhead of managing the new complexity is costing BT! I did not expect any movement in pay and the mapping to the role that I am in is probably correct.  However, I feel like I have been demoted.  Whereas before as an MPG4 I needed one more promotion to reach the PCGU grade and the associated benefits I now find that I am at least two grades behind that level. I strongly believe that a satisfactory performance deserves an inflation pay rise.  Perhaps it should be linked to the CWU team members whose union consistently negotiates a better pay rise than our Connect representatives.  For too many years managers are made to look like fools when the team members get their deserved rise and their managers settle for less.  BT will always try and has succeeded in keeping the payroll down.  Connect is toothless without the active support of its members.  The balance has been tipped to far for too long and we should stand up and be counted not for just for this pay round but for the future.

Rob, BT Retail
Just found out that after 19 years, I'm no longer a manager! On his last day before going on leave for two weeks, my manager sent me a letter which showed that my job had been mapped as a 'Trainer', thus leaving me no chance of questioning him or discussing a Mapping Review. What is most surprising of all is that no-one ever bothered actually asking what my job involved. Had they done so, they would have found out that:

* I am not a trainer - never delivered a training course in my life, although I did have a team of trainers until they were moved into CCC Shared Infrastructure!
* The amount of time I spend on training is about 10 per cent of my daily job.
* The 'other' tasks I do for the other 90 per cent of my time are specialised and demand a certain degree of knowledge and expertise. This has not even been considered.
* There are people in the same organisation who have no discernible role, yet have been mapped to 'higher' job roles.
* My mapping will mean that my salary will be higher than the maximum set for the role. I therefore stand no chance of getting a pay rise - although I'm used to this, having not received one for many years.
* I do stand the chance of earning a bonus based on my scorecard - but I haven't got a scorecard to work to, and haven't had a 1:1 to discuss one for many months.

I now also find that after 19 years as an MPG, I would be better off reverting to C3 grade - thus gaining overtime pay for the extra hours I've put in, and a pay rise every year based on collective bargaining, not the whim of a manager/HR person/Finance person. Thank you, BT!

Dave, BT Wholesale Markets
I have been proud to work for BT, but I cannot believe how NRF has been handled and the way HR and senior managers do not understand the feeling and concerns of employees. The fact that it appears that more people are disadvantaged is unreal for supposedly a forward-looking company and the fact that some people have moved to a minimum point on a pay scale is nothing BT should be pleased with, as they should have been there anyway!
I believe in a competitive market place for pay and rewards - so, BT, do it please! All people should be able to obtain mid-point at least in a reasonable time and have a true rewards package to match (to reflect market trends) and not the fact that it is not obtainable in a person's lifetime to reach top quartile of pay.
 
Marvin,  BT Major Business
As a relatively 'inactive' member of the union, a BT sales specialist and previously (four years ago)  working for A COMPETITOR, I am moved to write comments on the continual attempts to drive down salaries and bonuses paid for the hard-working teams across BT.  Why did I join BT? I was headhunted from a competitor for my sales skills. I was wooed by the benefits of more opportunities, teamwork ethics, BT's professionalism and desire for BT to set up a real sales environment with real sales incentives etc. I find that the nonsense made of the recent 'unrealistic market pay survey' that was done and the continual determination not to pay year end incentive bonuses despite over-achievement only serves to de-incentivise personnel. One cannot incentivise individuals and then refuse to pay them when targets are met based on other individuals' under-performance. It's neither right nor fair. I am finding this more and more with many, many people in BT. Again, despite what the CARE surveys show, the underlying feeling seems to be that one has to put positive comments just in case management 'identify you' as a negative person and non-team player. It is my opinion that management need to get a handle on the 'real' feelings around the company before it's too late, rather than just point to convenient stats. I also believe that people genuinely want to do a good job but are prevented from doing so by allowing mistrust of pay plans and promises of earnings which in recent years do not seem to materialise. The internal additional changes also impact heavily as peoples' attitudes are changing towards job retention - actually becoming less of a team player -which can impact customers and sales alike. At the coalface, and with daily contact with our clients there is clearly resentment reflected at customer level as well which again is impacting on winning business. Having been in sales for 20+ years, and working for some of the major organisations of the world, I have not worked for one, until now, that removes and complicates incentive bonuses despite achieving the company's goals and sales figures. When that happens people do tend to stop 'banging heads against brick walls' and turn to being negative, offer minimal assistance or leave. A leaver becomes costly to BT, in that, although BT may end up paying one less salary, that person can generate far more revenue for a competitor, thereby impacting BT's revenue by far more than the salary saved. I can cite examples of this many times over. Let's get back to simple incentive pay plans, not vouchers, but real money that we can see monthly or quarterly and not annually, as very few people now believe that they will actually get paid any annual bonus. As for me, I am a team player, motivated to succeed with in the sales or sales management environment and have done so for 20+ years and have far more to offer but there does come a point in most peoples' career where they review effort vs. pay and employee/employer trust.
 
Brian,  OneIT
What BT expects from me - more work!  More personal inconvenience!  More stress! What BT now gives me - salary now reducing in real terms under NRF!  Current benefits level reduced to zero! Smaller bonus than promised last year! BT has said that it has aligned jobs with the external market.  NOT from what I can see!

Jatin
I am most definitely backing this campaign!
Gary, London
I am on the pay mid-point for my role and there are already work team members who are being paid more than me - and they are on a nine-day fortnight! How can this be fair?

Bill, BT Exact
Like everyone else I speak to I am very annoyed about the pay fiasco. I have just managed to get myself an upgrade from PM1 to PM2 and when I ask about pay I am told that there is no money in the pot. All I am asking for is to be paid the rate for the job. I am £3,000 below the minimum for my grade. I have been doing this kind of work for over 18 months and all I get is 'nothing in the pot'. Over the last few years I have worked an average of 55 hours a week. I have worked at home when on leave and in the last two months I have worked when I should have been off sick. How does BT expect to motivate me to do this is they refuse to pay me what I am entitled to? By now I should be enjoying the additional benefits that go with my new grade but they have been removed. I am very very bitter and really annoyed with the company.  What can I do to get them to pay up?

Dave, BT Technical Service
Having transferred from engineering management to project management on a prestigious PFI government project with BT, I have become increasingly concerned that the true value of my pay is being eroded. Over the last four years my total pay rise amounts to below four per cent. I am beginning to feel now that BT is asking me to take a pay cut each year rather than rewarding my efforts.

Salma
I would like to comment on the Job Families. I found out last week that I am in Band 1. When reading through the document, it appeared to be contradictory and vague. On the one hand I am not necessarily entitled to a business needs car. However, they will not take my existing car away from me - which is a good thing. However, I am not sure if at some point in the future my car will be taken away. I am in a sales role therefore require a car as part of my job.

I am backing the Connect campaign, in that I do not agree with the banding I have been allocated.

Steve from Wholesale Markets
It seems to me that it is time to withdraw the goodwill that sees most managers working ridiculous hours for free. If our employers don't want to pay us properly for our normal hours, then why are we supporting the company, increasing our workload and negatively impacting our families and home life for them? BT is using pay as a way of getting us to leave so they won't have to pay redundancy. Think about it!

Dave
My main concern is that for my job family my pay range is £24,00-£36,000. I am currently on £31,000. If the mid-point is the company's aim for all job families. then in consolidated terms I am never going to progress. This includes my pension. My years of service, commitment and experience will mean nothing, even if the bounces get halfway to the possible max of 7.5 per cent (ha ha). Whether the members really are militant enough to take action to support a fight for a guaranteed consolidated pay rise, I don't know. I hope they are. 

Anon
Having read the article on the NRF and Bonus and Benefits alignment there is no date given as to when Connect are expecting negotiations to be complete. Can you please inform the members of when you expect the negotiations to be completed or do you keep on trying even though BT looks determined to implement anyway. At some stage Connect have got to say enough is enough and give its members a chance to voice their opinion by a ballot!

John
Have we not learnt anything! Why do we put in such a woolly request? We are we not like the CWU and ask for 10 per cent for everybody, no strings. Let's face it, with the No Reward Framework the time has come for subtle action to make BT think.

Keith from One IT
After reading the many angry emails from BT employees, it seems that we are being pushed towards damaging strike action. The BT Board members have no respect for us and we are just disposable work units in their eyes. Let's hope they understand that BT Value/Mission statements mean nothing to a demotivated workforce and I can see BT becoming top of the 'worst customer service company' next year if we don't get a decent standard of living pay rise. I'm wondering what would happen to the BT share price if the newspapers ever got their hands on the 1,000s of angry statements on the Connect website.

Mike
Many moons ago there was a racing driver called Nigel Mansell who had incredible drive and commitment.  After working very hard over several years he won the F1 championship.  As World Champion he felt he deserved a pay rise and should be paid the same as the previous world champion. (You could say he had achieved his stretch target and wanted the industry rate for the job). His employer said yes he could have a pay rise, but not as much as the other guy.  Nige wasn't impressed the amount on offer was a couple of mil more than his previous year, but a long way from what he thought he was worth. Our hero decided to go and drive for someone else, turned his back on F1 and went to America, and took a cut in wages.  He felt the message from his old team was 'WE DON'T VALUE YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR SUCCESS'.  Unlike us, for Nigel the money wasn't important but the message was. Isn't time BT realised that just like Nigel's F1 team they are by behaving they are saying: 'We don't value you as a member of our team!'  And the fact my wages are dropping in real terms, and non consolidated rewards are destroying my pension is just making matters worse. 
 
Colin
When you ask the members to vote to accept or reject the offer, you must also get them to vote on what they will do if they reject it. And if we reject the pay rise again this year then don't forget that we ought to back this up with a clear and determined message that industrial action will result. Anger at line managers, posters and badges mean nothing to BT senior managers. The only message they understand is if lots of people resign and as that is a final, no going back decision we need to hit them where it hurts them by withdrawing our labour. As I've not had a pay rise for two years and am not likely to see one again this year, then a 'self-inflicted' pay cut of a strike would be preferable to just sitting back and taking what BT (doesn't want to) give out!

From Insulted 
Why is it after six years of being a manager, I'm still only on £100 more than people recently promoted to D1, and that's after getting VG markings on my last few APR's.  Quite frankly, I find it an insult.

Sharon
Connect members up to and including MPG4 should stop booking TOIL. Instead book the excess hours on e-overtime for a three month period. This will really make the company think.  I will certainly cause questions to be asked in the house.

Alan, Global
Just to let you know I am supportive of the claim. However, I do have serious concerns about the job family I am in and also the fact that my potential earnings have gone down over £10,000 a year in the NRF scheme.

R from BT Exact
I have always been loyal to BT but feel now that my loyalty is not being rewarded. If BT does not offer all managers a real pay rise this year then I will definitely be supporting further action.

Steve from BT M&B
It is now apparent the NRF is, from BT's point of view, a cost cutting exercise. Where is the incentive to progress?

Specialist Sales Engineer in C&B
Lets make NRF mean something to the PSG Bs rather than just giving them a new title and striping away their current benefits!

Pete from BT Retail
The current climate doesn't exactly champion the BT values of Trust or inspiration.     One day, non-managers will overtake senior managers in their pay, doesn't take a rocket scientist to plot a graph of the current trend.

Susan, Solutions
I'm £7k below the minimum level for my job function, at this rate it'll take 5 years to get me to the minimum!

BRIAN P  BRIGHTON
The Connect claim should at least match that of the CWU.

Gerry from GS
I got a promotion nearly a year ago, and have waited all this time for BT to give out the NRF benefits. I was told upon job offer to accept my existing allowances "until the NRF is sorted out" and that "don't worry, you won't be stitched up" but hey presto - my new car allowance has been clipped by £600 a year. Is the £16m that they are supposedly "putting in" just the money they have clipped off other people, or what??

Mandeep from OneIT (BTExact)
BT made it clear that during 2004/5 more was expected in terms of performance. For MPGs this was backed up by a promise of 10% OTB. So for a year people have been working (hard) towards this goal and now the promise has been broken. Next we have NRF OTBs to motivate us - can BT seriously expect me to trust this figure after what has been done. BT must keep its promises if employees are expected to keep their promise of higher productivity.

Dave from One IT
I back the Connect pay claim.

Richard - Retail
Why don't BT stop wasting a fortune on derisory rubbish like bonuses, targets NRF etc which just encourage cheating and fiddling of figures to achieve false results. Just give us a fair pay rise that matches inflation, BT has a loyal work force and targets make no difference whatsoever. High flyers don't work for BT they've already gone!

Fed up from BTExact
BT PAY UP!! We all want to see the company succeed and become a new 21st Century BT. This can only be achieved if there is a motivated and happy workforce!! I have never known morale to be so low in the company since I joined a number of years ago, this is not a recipe for success!! There is just no incentive whatsoever to take on the extra responsibilities when BT is not prepared to pay me for doing so. I feel very under valued and not respected by BT as a BT employee.

RICHARD BTEXACT (OR WHAT EVER)
This is to show my support of this campaign and my full backing of connect.

Disgruntled of Rugby Radio
Had a poor pay rise last year of less than inflation, even with a VG DPR mark. It's like 1 step forwards then 2 back every year.

Mark from Brentwood
After receiving our benefits and bonus letter, what is clear to me and many other ex "PCG" grades is that BT no longer think we are worth the "total reward" we have been receiving, we have effectively been demoted. On top of that the company is insulting us by trying to put a positive spin on the whole NRF process, we are not stupid. The facts are that the vast majority of management are effectively on a pay freeze and we therefore get progressively worse off year.

Anne - DP Harmondsworth
People in other companies cannot believe that it is the norm in BT not to get a cost of living increase year after year after year. I cannot understand why people who work for BT continue to work hours they are not paid for, and allow BT to take advantage of their goodwill. It's time we all stopped giving BT something for nothing, and it's time they started paying the going rates, with annual cost of living increases.

Jon @ St Clements
My salary continues to be eroded by inflation.  The NRF benefits announcements are nothing short of insulting.  We cannot continue to sit back and be trampled upon.

Disgruntled BT Exact (One IT!)
I was incorrectly mapped to the wrong job role last April. I appealed(twice) and was successful at the second attempt. I am now being paid several k below the market minimum for my new role. No payrise for the last 2 years despite good/v good markings on my aprs doesn't exactly motivate me. If BT wants us to deliver on ICT programs we need some reward for hard work.

Linda in BT Retail
I am not only below the minimum range for my role, but also have found out that my bonus is to be cut from 15% to 7.5% i.e. a pay cut.    Well and truly underpaid, sick of it and not feeling valued nor motivated.

Peter, Ipswich
I remain very unenthusiastic about the way that ONE IT and BT in general has been treating its employees.  For most of PCGs there has not been an effective pay increase for a number of years and to add insult to injury there was the recent effective downgrading of benefits from almost all PCG grades.

Steve Manchester Branch
I have worked for BT for over 30 years and have until recently been treated fairly.  I continue to get good or better marks on my DPR for which I'm rewarded with a pay cut i.e. a less than inflation rise (last year .75 of one percent and the previous year zero). I'm now told that my role no longer aligns to a reward package that includes a car.  Why is the company treating it's people in this disgraceful manner?

Carolyn
I fully support the pay campaign! It's amazing that on Ben V's own website he states: 'I believe in open and honest dialogue'. So why isn't this company-wide? When invited to a web chat ref issues covered in the last Reward Bulletin, which this time focussed on bonus and benefits alignment, when you asked a question it was filtered out. Speak up? Why bother when BT ignores you by filtering you out! This is not open and honest dialogue, it's a travesty!

Anon
Approximately one year ago, I gained promotion to PCG from PTG after five years. Throughout this time I had the benefits of car, medical cover, telephone - what I considered fair reward for hard work and a job well done. Under the NRF, my job family / role has been deemed as Band 1 (i.e. no car, no medical cover and no telephone).  The only thing that has changed over this period has been increased pressure, more unrealistic timescales, additional responsibility, more stress, etc. This raises the question as to whether I have been overvalued for the past six years (I think not), or whether I'm now undervalued in my current role (I think so). Just where does BT expect me to find motivation any more?

Maurice, disgruntled Scot
After reading Ben V's e-chat on Friday, I am shocked to find out that he equates the idea that if staff don't leave the company, they must be happy with their pay and conditions. Is this his underlying plan - to get his most senior and talented people to leave without a package and recruit new people in who are even cheaper and don't cause a burden on the pension fund? Surely it is only the current talented staff that will enable the company to be transformed. Where is the market data which shows the New Grid grades are paid below the market rate and makes them worth an across-the-board pay rise year-in year-out? What I can't work out is - if, according to BT, the managers and professionals are overpaid and the managed staff are under-paid, how come managed staff can earn more than their manager?

Dave, Major Business
I am writing to you to support the union's campaign for a proposed pay rise. Last year's agreement was disappointing especially taken the engineering pay rise leading to further diminishing on the benefits of becoming a manager. This demarcation now does not truly reflect a trade-off against the additional engineering benefits of SDO'S and opportunity to work overtime.

Adrian, BT Retail
Well, the company has done it again! Lots of hot air only to remove for many benefits that were already in place and strip them out for ever from an entire tier of management! The creation of Job Families has opened the door for BT to remove benefits previously associated with many jobs. Previously if you were promoted into a PCG role, this came with a pay rise (or in some case perhaps not!), but did attract a benefits package, consisting of car allowance, private health insurance and home phone line. Now for those of us either being promoted or assimilated into equivalent jobs find that we get none of the above and that we should be grateful (Ben's web chat today will give a flavour of the management position!).

Are we going to rollover and let this happen or are we going to fight back? Our total rewards package is being eroded year on year yet we seem to be powerless to do anything about it. Connect must make a stand on thee issues and protect the overall remuneration package.

Colin, BT Exact
It's about time BT stopped taking its managers for granted. They rely on the goodwill and flexibility of all of us to make things happen; they are expecting us to work still more flexibly and adopt new ways of working and all for a reduction in pay. Does any other company work this way and get away with it? I doubt it. Perhaps it's all a ploy to get BT's most skilled and dedicated people to leave without having to pay them to go - if so, it may well just work and where would that leave BT in its efforts to get its 21CN designed and implemented in record time?

Andrew, Global Services
I strongly urge you to on my behalf to fight for decent pay rise for 2005. In real terms I have been losing money for the past couple of years, no pay rises above inflation no matter how small still means I am losing out financially. I am finding it more and more difficult to even feel remotely loyal to BT even after 22 years service that the thought of being offered redundancy seems like my best option. As for recommending anyone to join BT I would strongly advise them not to as I am having first-hand experience of BT's total disregarding for the staff. I ask you again fight hard for a decent pay rise!

Philip
I am fed up with my standard of living being eroded every year. BT should realise that their pay policy affects my family as well and I will not work harder for a company which treats me and my dependents with contempt. There is no goodwill left. My morale is low, so don't ask me to go the extra mile.

Mike
I am dismayed along with many others about receiving year on year real term pay cuts by being given zero pay awards (being on the max pay level).  However, I do feel that having been awarded a certain level of pay it should follow (in a fair system) that this pay level remains linked to inflation. 

Robin - Wholesale
Earning markedly less than a D1
Embarrassed to let on what you earn because it's so low.
Your pay has been slipping back for years
Do window cleaners earn more than you do?
Doing work outside of BT to make ends meet.
Worrying about money, instead of worrying about the job.
Servicing your own old car.
Fixing your own central heating/ washing machine/ mower/ etc.
Not taken the family on a summer holiday in years.
Increasingly uninterested in the NRF
Not convinced by job families, competencies and capabilities.
Getting wound up by the endless rhetoric
Does performance-related pay seem a long long way away.
The whole thing getting you down?
I'm not surprised because you're a BT manager.
Senior BT management don't know how we feel, well they wouldn't would they, they're not in the same boat.

Paul
In the past year I've been dumped into Group Finance under Project Sam, seen a completely botched regrading under NRF, been appraised as a PCG although only MPG, and still have no idea whether I get PCG level benefits or not (Is the Finance Job Family the last to hear?). I've never come anywhere near getting the 7.5% bonus the company is offering for being on target, let alone the 10% we want, and through being in the top half of the MPG4 scale haven't had a consolidated increase anywhere near inflation for I don't know how long. Like so many others, I feel my loyalty and commitment is being taken for granted - the company just expects us to cope with whatever it throws at us without complaining, but the time is coming when they need to reward us for it.... and not with £25 of vouchers and a smile from the big boss!

Anon, Online Channels
I think that BT's NRF programme has been a complete shambles. I successfully applied for a new position and was promised PCGU benefits, but then was told that the benefits package was still being finalised. The date to hear about the benefits has been constantly delayed. I will now hopefully find out at end of March. However, even if I hear that I have been allocated the benefits that were personally promised to me - I will have effectively lost c£2,500 as I will only be paid from April onwards. I am already seriously de-motivated as a result of this process. If don't get the benefits package that I was promised I will raise this as a case with Connect. Surely this isn't an appropriate way for BT to treat their employees?

Nicky
I think we should look to get all NRF people to the minimum of the pay scale in which they sit. There are people as far as £15,000 pa lower than the minimum level. I accept there will be issues, but for some individuals the gap between their salary and their pay scale is unacceptable.
I think we should ensure that when promoting people into the NRF framework we as a minimum get them into the correct pay scale to avoid further compounding the issues that exist. For example, generally we are capped at a 5% rise on promotion, yet for some this means they are still woefully short of the minimum pay for their scale. 
 
David, LCM
As one of those LCMs who has not received a pay rise in the last two years and no DAP's to work to. It would be nice of BT to show some appreciation of the hard work carried out, not just by myself but all of the LCMs. Please make sure it is a pay rise and not a bonus as this does not help with REAL PAY.

Lynne, BT Exact
I have expressed my views also in the CARE survey in the section where you have now to express the thing you most are annoyed about / have an issue with as part of working for BT. I stated that I have been the grade I am (former MPG4)  for approx six years and have had very goods on my APRs the majority of those years except for the first one where I was training / getting up to speed with the promotion/ work involved and in this time the pay reviews each year have been practically nothing with last year being nothing, so not had a pay increase for two years now. I am also being told I am mid-way through the scale but as my scale maximum is £42,000 and I am currently on £32,000. I cannot see this logic and think it an excuse. Also I manage managers and D1's and the people two grades lower than me are basically earning approx £2,000 less which I find insulting and quite disgusting really. The menial difference I currently earn for all the knowledge, support, guidance, workload, hours, commitment and goodwill given is a disgrace in my opinion and will get worse as the Newgrid grades keep getting the pay rises as they are and managers get nothing. It cannot surely continue!

Steve
Those BT managers responsible for pay / rewards are failing in their duties to BT. They are seriously de-motivating the rest of the workforce and this is having a strong negative impact on company performance, customer service etc. Why can't they take their heads out of the sand and recognise that allowing employees pay to fall in real terms is not motivational and not good for BT.

Howard, LCM
The whole package seems destined to give all managers the incentive to look elsewhere for employment. What we need from the company is a starting point of the rate of inflation plus some addition to sweeten the pot. All the talk of bonus and benefits is hogwash.

Paul, BT Exact
My minimum pay/reward requirement from a company with the stature of BT is that no-one should get a pay increase less than inflation.
Since Ben V has stated that he agrees with this I look forward to a consolidated pay increase that at least matches inflation - but somehow I think our HR masters will find a way around this to save the company more money on its paybill (morale - what's that?).

As has been mentioned many times, the continued lack of fair pay rises and erosion of pay and benefits through the new reward framework has angered many managers to the point where, at the very least, loyalty to the company has now become a thing of the past.

Graham, Retail Broadband
I am totally fed up with all of this.  Over a year ago I was told that I was mapped to a lead solution designer. I even got a pay rise to go with it! Because of this and me now effectively being recognised as doing the role of a PCGU I didn't leave the project I was working on to get a PCGU promotion (as I now thought I was being rewarded by being put into the higher job family) Now the NRF letters are out I am in Band 1 and get no rewards. I am totally fed up with mixed messages from BT/HR and I'm now trying to go through an appeal with my CM.
 
The first thing I did when I got home after getting the letter was go and look for jobs elsewhere. It does make me think about the point in staying and working hard for the company. For the last two years I have been getting VG/O in my MMP too, but certainly don't feel rewarded when missing out on such a big benefits package. Good luck with the PAY UP! campaign. My view of BT at the moment though is they will do what they want regardless.

Rob, Bid Manager
Please ensure both a cost of living pay rise and a suitable pay rise to move me towards a decent point on my pay scale in your negotiations with BT. The figures quoted by BT are clearly unacceptable.

David, BT Exact
Every communication regarding the benefits package implies that BT is offering something wonderful and new. I still do not see, as a former MPG 4, what extra 'benefits', if any, are to come my way. ie. same things, different hype. The benefits are allocated a monetary value and, as such, are taken into account and used to boost the size of my calculated income  for the purposes of grant applications etc. making me largely ineligible in most cases: even though my actual, real spendable money is far less than the sum being calculated as my income. To keep pace with an acceptable standard of living it is a decent, and well deserved, actual pensionable salary increase that we need not temporary benefits, especially as my skills are apparently deemed 'too valuable to the company' to allow me to leave: so my recent Newstart letter informs me. 

Ian, Sales
This campaign has my whole-hearted support behind it. It is time BT realised that we are fed up with being messed around.

Lawrence, BT Exact
In support of the PAY UP! campaign, as someone above the mid-point of my pay scale, with co-workers on the maximum, BT does not think I'm worth a rate of inflation pay rise, nor is there any way to earn as much as my co-workers, for doing the same job. I'm disgusted, particularly as BT will need me when my co-workers retire but doesn't seem to think that they need to put any work into retaining me.

Jon - BT Exact
After four years of some employees not receiving any pay rises, it is time for BT to PAY UP. Let me tell you that with the poor implementation of the NRF (i.e. people not being given the correct benefits for their grade, people having benefits taken away from them and people being well below the reference rate for their role, I could go on), One IT and other initiatives, staff morale is at an ALL TIME LOW! However, BT is still expecting 100% commitment from its employees and if it wants that from us then it has got to be willing to show some commitment to us and offer a fair and just pay increase this year. By that I mean salary increase, not bonus payments which have no effect on final salary.

Paul, Corporate Business
Last year I achieved my target only to be told I was not getting a pay rise. I have achieved my target this year and I am waiting to see if I will receive an increase. I am a Senior Sales grade and currently £6,000 below the basic salary for the position.

Sally, London
Having just received my B&B letter from BT I wish to protest in the strongest possible terms. If they had deliberately set out to demotivate and distress people at a time of already-high stress they could hardly have done a better job. We are expected to deal with constant reorganisation, several high level implementations  (21CN etc) AND a derisory offer. How soon before people begin to walk away?

Gary
We have been shafted for too many years now on pay. I for one believe the time for industrial action has arrived! I feel very disillusioned that Connect originally agreed to the NRF when it appears to have been an exercise for BT downgrading many of its staff. Get some backbone and start fighting harder!

Hedley, London
Over the past 10 years on average any one with a 'good' marking or at the top of the scale has taken a pay cut in real terms year on year. This is also the case for some higher achievers. BT has withdrawn a number of 'perks'; first it was business lunches, then biscuits, followed by tea/coffee. At the same time canteens have been closed or the subsidy has been removed resulting in high costs and hence less disposal income. With the NRF BT has identified the value of the job we do, surely that is what we should be paid!

Anthony, LCM
After what has been an intense year, without coaches, all hands to the pumps to give our customers the best service we could, I would feel absolutely let down if the LCMs' pay reward was cut short. As LCMs we stay committed to the cause, often not giving time to think about pay claims. We MAY need to think now!

Mark, specialist
BT committed in 2003 to increase the bonus for all MPG people to 10%.  However, this has not happened which is disappointing. Also why have the majority of PSG & MPG grades been given a Band 1 for benefit levels - this seems to be a cost-cutting exercise rather than comparing to the outside market?

Julian, LCM
I'm an LCM on Customer Service. Commonly know as a Low Class Manager.
At the moment we have a number of managerial vacancies on our area, and yet the very people I manage are not applying for the posts. Fairly obvious when you realise they are earning more than most managers and recognise what a thankless job ours is. Last month, there were vacancies for six TO posts on a Private wire team. 1,000 applied from across the country. Who's got the better job? This year I've already been told that there is unlikely to be a pay rise for me. I have no respect for Senior Managers and no faith in being treated fairly. Last year my pay rise was zip. What's it likely to be this year? I've been told it's going to be hard-wired. Hard-wired to what? Measures that are out of our hands, and geared up to giving us nothing. The funny thing is, I like my job, I don't want much, just recognition for what I do and a cost of living pay rise. Is that too much to ask for? BT, you stink.

Gordon, Surrey Computing
What is the point in continuing negotiations when the company may or may not adhere to the outcome? 'Reserve' our position? Our position should be NO and we should ballot immediately. 
 
Ian Cloke
I agree - that the time to act is now! I fully supported the need to give the negotiators the freedom to continual talks in the hope that a better deal for our members could be achieve. However, it is clear that there is little chance that BT will change their position. In the meetings that I have attended on the NRF, members are asking for the union to take a stance. We need to distance ourselves from the company's current position and ballot the membership now!
 
Andy, Wholesale
If we get another pay rise like last year our differentials will be eroded, even more than our C3's team, They got over two per cent and will I think get 2%+ this year, with standard of living as well. This equates to a two year pay decrease, if the deal for us is like 2004. We are told that BT understands the important role MPG2/4's do and the company could not do it without you. Yet they treat us like this, and we will be fed the same lines again this year. 

Chris, Business Direct
I haven't had a pay rise in five years. I don't know what I can add to that. I said last year that I was interested in taking the leavers' payment to go, but I was told that my role is considered too important to the business to be allowed to participate in the scheme. Which seems somewhat contradictory.

Chris
Regarding recent pay negotiations, I agree we need a ballot on industrial action. I will support it as an MPG4 I have not had an increment increase since my promotion five years ago. It has just been one long series of pay erosion against my staffs' TO pay scale.
 
George, Account Manager
I am a Field Account Manager in BT Business. To use old terminology, I am a PSGB. There are seven people in my team all doing the same job, but four of them are PSGC. I have been in the field for five years and under the NRF I am classed as a Sales Professional with a benefits package in band 1, which means that I don't qualify for a company car. healthcare or a phone line. I have had these perks for five years now. I also earn less than the lower salary as depicted on the NRF website (£24,000). My gripe is that I am being downgraded. I am also baffled as to how four of my team members are classified as Senior Sales Professionals when we all do the same job. I thought the whole point of the NRF exercise was to sort out anomalies in grading/salary/benefits. It certainly has not succeeded in my case. I am actually worse off, in theory. Good luck with the campaign to get a fair deal. I have had £300 pay rise in the last five years (and nothing at all in the last three). This is not acceptable and I am sure my experience is not unique.

Patricia, CCC
I feel that we do need to take strike action. I feel under-valued and under-paid.

Ian, BT Exact
Since moving into MPG grades from engineering I have had little or no annual pay increases and lost my London Weighting. If I had stayed as an ETG, I would have London Weighting and annual pay rises, I would be earning more money. ETGs coming into management grades will now be above the mid-points, the effective max for managers. Do people coming into these roles know what they are doing to their standard of living? After 25 years of service I am approaching the point of having to leave, as I no longer earn what in the south east of England is a living wage.

Pete, Wholesale
It is great surprise and great dismay that I read about the benefit packages that are being aligned to the job family roles as part of the NRF. My recent promotion has been completely in vain and I have no tangible change in my reward for all the additional responsibilities and stress that goes with it. BT has arbitrarily taken away the benefits to a whole tier of management - without notice - which is desperately disappointing for a company that prides itself on caring about its employees.

I have also just finished looking at Ben Verwaayen's online chat and it is obvious that he has no true understanding of the conditions we are working under or the values that drive the workforce. He is also adamant that these changes will be implemented. I would be keen to hear the union's position on this and what it plans to do to address this issue.

Sean, Wholesale
BT has recently set up a talent management website so that there is a consistent approach to identifying and cultivating talent. It's all very well identifying it and cultivating it but unless you reward it properly it will go and work somewhere that will.

Jon, Wholesale Markets
As an MPG4 (now Product Manager), I have not received a consolidated pay increase in line with inflation for many years. Engineering grade colleagues rarely seem to suffer this.I have now been informed that I do not qualify for the same benefits package that my existing Product Manager peers have retained. The message I'm picking up from BT is one that implies that I'm lucky. Well I don't feel lucky, I feel under valued and de-motivated.

My usual conscientious nature towards work is somewhat smashed. Time to take that TOIL, I think. 

Bill, Broadband
I have struggled for a number of years now with the farcical situation of being just about in the middle of my pay range. I believe BT made a promise that people would move through their respective pay scale much quicker especially if their performance warranted it. I, like many of my colleagues have worked hard to maintain a very good performance, demonstrated by my DPR markings over the years. The result has been very low pay rises that have not moved me very far up in the range. I appreciate that I have been lucky to get a pay rise but I feel I am being penalised against some of my colleagues who are near to the max in their grade. I am doing the same work but am being paid substantially less, even though my performance is high. I'm hoping that as part of the pay negotiations you will help people in my position and fight a bit harder to ensure everyone receives a fair increase this year. 

Ian, Wholesale
I joined BT Wholesale about 3.5 years ago. I was an MPG4 and had been for 10 years before moving into a Technical Account Management [TAM] role with the grade of PSG2. During this time in Wholesale I have had only one pay raise of 1%. (i.e.1% over 3.5 years). I think this is now totally unacceptable and that individuals should receive at least a cost of living rise. The PSG2 role attracted a benefits package of a car, health insurance and phone. With the 'new' benefits packages recently announced shows that the TAM role no longer has ANY benefits package associated with - how can this be?
 
Tony
I note most PCGUs in Wholesale are in jobs assessed as Band 1. Those in Band 1 don't get the benefits package formerly associated with PCGU grade e.g. company car etc. This is a major reduction in the benefits package appropriate to many jobs. Those people who have passed a board since April 2004 for a post that was previously graded as PCGU are in Band 1 but now don't get the benefits package formerly associated with PCGU grade.  Whilst those who were PCGUs before 1/4/04 retain personal rights there are a number of people promoted in the last year who get no benefits beyond what they had at MPG4. This translates to a major discrepancy between similar people doing similar jobs. Surely there should be a pay rise to compensate for this?

Raymond
As someone who has experienced the tactics first hand for the last two to three years I think HQ need to start listening and responding to the members' feelings much more closely, rather than be seen to be taking the moderate stance at negotiations.

Enock
BT has improved its position over the last few years due to a lot of hard work from its employees. After all the frozen pay years since and salary benchmarking since 2001, it would be nice to be appreciated by a commensurate pay rise that was at or above inflation. BT should be a modern company in all aspects, with happy workers who look forward to working harder the following year, not stuck in last year's pay. Especially as all around us, Council Tax, water tax, utilities etc are all going up at a rate far higher than inflation. We are not asking the company to break the bank - just to be fair.

Adrian
I resent BT giving a less-than-inflation pay rise (inflation is +3.2%), when they are able to pay good dividends to shareholders. BT is taking money from my pocket.

PCG Us in Wholesale ND&I
We are in the forefront of BT strategy - eg mobility and messaging - and we feel totally demotivated and demoralised. We are product managers, project managers and platform managers who have been assigned to benefits 1. We feel devalued.  BT is saying our role doesn't deserve the cars we drive. To be honest, we don't trust BT to maintain our personal rights. People went for promotion - a lot more responsibility - and did so for the benefits package. We believe that in future MPG4s will not apply for these jobs for a small - or negligible - pay increase. We feel we have been downgraded to MPG4 - after years of working for promotion and working hard as PCG Us. We worked hard for our qualifications and now feel we might as well not have bothered. 

Tom - platform manager
I feel that my role has been devalued as a result of no benefits and an OTB of 7.5% being assigned to it. I have worked extremely hard in developing my career to PCG U and proud of what I had achieved, the devaluation of my role has knocked the wind completely out of my sail. Whilst I appreciate that my role has been benchmarked against outside industry I have no evidence of what it has been benchmarked against. I have however drawn a comparison against a First Line Satellite Operations manager (formerly MPG4).The Operations manager's role description states that they "lead and motivate a team typically consisting of first line managers and team members". In reality the Ops managers are first line mangers and have been assigned benefits package 2. I am a second line manager with Benefits package 1 and Ieft the Sat Ops manager role on promotion!  More responsibility, harder work - and now valued less.  Why did I bother? My area is of key strategic importance to the business and needs a highly skilled and motivated team if we are going to deliver 21 CN and our business goals. If we are going to attract and retain people of the right calibre we need a reward framework that rewards its people appropriately. When is the industrial action ballot?

Martin in Wholesale
I must formally register my disquiet that the job has been devalued through the removal of the benefits. I also note that in real cash terms members of my team can now receive more when meeting objectives than I can. Quite a blow. I now find myself in a position, through no fault of my own, that regardless of personal performance as measured by the DPR I can only influence my take home pay by circa £2,000 maximum, after deductions, across a whole year and that only by achieving all Stretch targets without a single failure. This concern might be dismissed by the company but against this is the less than happy situation with pensions.  Here the issue is significant pension erosion for those in excess of 32 years service, created by moving to a performance-related pay structure. It leaves me nonplussed as to what the company wants from me. This situation has, unusually for me, made me want to draw a line in the sand, something which is of personal regret.

Michael, Repair
I would like to register my displeasure at the fact I am unlikely to get a pay rise before I retire. I am a level 1 in BT Repair and as I earn slightly more than the max for the job family created for us I cannot get a rise.

Neil, BT Retail
A number of things are important to me when assessing my pay award - What overall change has there been to my gross pay compared with the prior year, has my basic salary increased in real terms and does anything over the rate of inflation reflect my performance, does my bonus reflect my performance?
Last year my gross pay actually reduced by 6.6%, which was quite a surprise.  This was the first year I had recorded a gross pay reduction year on year -  even when my basic pay didn't increase at all in 2002 I still received an overall gross pay increase. My basic salary increased by barely the rate of inflation, yet I was told this was 'above average' and I received a reduced bonus. (hence impact onto gross pay compared with previous year). 

I am sure others would prefer to see steady rises year on year in gross salary combined with above inflation rises on basic (otherwise this is, in reality, a pay cut). Also, it doesn't fit very well to be told that your performance is above average but that you will be paid less than the previous year.

Caroline
I am a PCGU and in the past three or four years have had my pay increased by just £400. Under new job families ranges I am now back at the bottom of a scale but yet again we are being promised jam tomorrow. I work very hard and am achieving very real results for BT and yet get nothing in the form of pay rises. I do receive bonuses but at the age of 50 and with a max of just 28 in the pension scheme it is my salary that means the most to me. With negotiated pay rises for MPG4 (as were) there appears to be little or no benefit to have a personal contract. Sometimes it seem that the company is trying to drive out the layers of management even though we are the gear box of the organisation, converting strategy into actions. I can't afford to leave the company at my time in life and they know it. I feel abused!

Bob, Wholesale
Here's how I feel about the NRF and pay:
Having had virtually no pay increase in recent years and watching my pension going steadily down the drain.
Having been told year on year I am already paid too much.
Having been told "If you don't like it you can resign."
Having been put in a job role which in no way reflects the job I do.
Having had a review of the job role rejected, ensuring I will not get a pay rise.
Having the New Reward Framework introduced which sets my maximum pay half way up the pay scale and below what I currently earn. 
Having seen the people who work for me get 3-4% every year regardless of their level of performance.
Having targets added and changed through out the year as we get near to achieving.
Having my team working only four days per week and me working six days.
Having to see them get paid overtime ensuring they earn more than me.
Having to see them get London Weighting on top.
Having to work excessive hours to achieve...NO MORE PAY THOUGH.
 
The list could go on and on.  I want a degree of respect from BT and a pay rise that at least allows for inflation so I don't see my standard of living and pension going quickly down the drain. I believe the time has come for action to be taken.  If not it will go from bad to worse to dire. BT is doing this to managers because they are confident they can get away with it.  It is the classic action of the bully.  The CWU would give them a bloody nose so they won't take them on. Enough is enough, surely.
 
Alan, LCM
Another year of uncertainty surrounding pay, while my rates and utility bills continue to rise. With no pay rise last year. I will find it difficult to motivate myself for the forthcoming challenges if I am informed that this is the case again. I will be particularly annoyed that engineers under my control will either earn more than me or edge even closer with a guaranteed pay rise of some sort, or overtime, or reward schemes. It seems Local Customer Managers are easy pickings when it comes to true reward.

Paul, BT Group
Where details of inflation are clearly established it is completely inappropriate to fix basic pay and expect varying and unpredictable bonuses to compensate. BT's pay offer should recognise the effort that people are putting in.
 
Carolyn
I fully support the pay campaign! It's amazing that on Ben V's own website he states: 'I believe in open and honest dialogue'. So why isn't this company-wide? When invited to a web chat ref issues covered in the last Reward Bulletin, which this time focussed on bonus and benefits alignment, when you asked a question it was filtered out. Speak up? Why bother when BT ignores you by filtering you out! This is not open and honest dialogue, it's a travesty!

Anon
Approximately one year ago, I gained promotion to PCG from PTG after five years. Throughout this time I had the benefits of car, medical cover, telephone - what I considered fair reward for hard work and a job well done. Under the NRF, my job family / role has been deemed as Band 1 (i.e. no car, no medical cover and no telephone).  The only thing that has changed over this period has been increased pressure, more unrealistic timescales, additional responsibility, more stress, etc. This raises the question as to whether I have been overvalued for the past six years (I think not), or whether I'm now undervalued in my current role (I think so). Just where does BT expect me to find motivation any more?

Derrick Regan, BT Wholesale
As an MPG4, I feel aggrieved that the Job Family allotted to my function puts me back in the melting pot with MPG2 grades who have not passed a promotion board.The maximum of my grade is now slightly less than before and the ceiling had not changed for some time. Also Job Family wordings were adjusted by BT to reduce appeal arguments. Unless Connect is successful in achieving a pay rise for everyone (at least inflation) my prospects of a pay rise over the next few years is grim - further eroding my pension.
BT states that everyone has the option to resign if they don't like the package - I say, BT can't afford to lose their best people with 21CN on the horizon.

Bob, Livelink
If BT is to have any credibility for job families they must maintain alignment with the market and they should also stop cooking the figures by crediting us with 'benefits' that we don't actually want or use.  I was recently 'promoted' from an ETG grade and I've effectively lost out on my take-home pay ever since.  Not good for morale or motivation?

Lilian
I have been a manager for four years, and I am wholly disappointed at the current situation.  My job which was previously an MPG4 grade has been downgraded to a Team Manager B, with the potential to earn cut drastically. When I appealed against the job family, I was told that as I did a job that no one else in the company did, BT did not know where to put me, so they just put me in the Team Manager job family.  My appeal was turned down and to date I have received no feedback, apart from that it was not accepted. even though my manager has asked for this, she has also received nothing. Do the very senior managers have any idea of how the morale of their front line managers is deteriorating, when we feel undervalued and are paid less that the people who are working for us?

Terry, BT Exact
I have just received my Bonus and Benefits letter. As a Project Manager PM2, I 'qualify' for Band 1 benefits i.e. nothing ! (a direct quote from my continuity manager). Last year, I was congratulated by my then manager on gaining promotion to Senior IT Project Manager, which was, at the time, the highest level Project Manager role. BT subsequently reviewed the Project Manager job family and downgraded (there is no other word for it) me to PM2. Talk about building someone up to drop them from a great height!

It is quite clear, in my opinion, that this review was carried out due to discovering the status quo was going to cost money in cars, BUPA, etc. for an extra number of people. In my case, it was certainly not done on current role or level of responsibility.

I am totally disgusted, and as a consequence feel demoted, devalued, demotivated and frankly, used. The new role descriptions are deliberately vague and give no real indication of the demarcation i.e. what job is beyond my level of responsibilities, between PM2 and Senior Project Manager. To date, I am and have been responsible for running multi-million pound projects, which cannot be within the scope of a PM2 as stated in the role description i.e. 'Delivery of medium scale projects'. It is obvious that I will be asked to carry out large-scale projects (as I have been for a number of years) without the reward of a more senior role.

To say I feel cheated is putting it mildly. 

Steve, Global Services
Has anybody actually admitted to being in the 20% band of managers who are better off as a result of the NRF. All colleagues and friends I speak to in various BT locations are all extremely de-motivated by the NRF and all have suffered financially as a result.

I still maintain that by PCGU and above maintain their current package and being banded in band 1, along with those lower grades within the same job family, thus creating a multi-graded system within the NRF purely because we have different benefits within the same job family - isn't that a mockery of the whole NRF - or have I completely misunderstood the reasoning behind BT's claims for making a simpler fairer hierarchy!

Chris, BT Wholesale
I am fully in support of the campaign. Furthermore, I have evidence of BT employees being discriminated against in that internal adverts for the same role attract a different pay and benefits package than for the same role when it is advertised externally. This surely undermines the concept of external benchmarking as the basic principle/justification for NRF?

Sean, Belfast
Everywhere I go in the company I see dedicated, hardworking BT people who take pride in their work. BT's response to this through its NRF proposal is nothing short of an insult and a betrayal.

Paul
I hope when the time comes the action we take will be a little more substantive than all walking around doing our normal job, with one difference. WE WEAR A BADGE IN DEFIANCE AND WHISPER IN CORNERS. Those of us at mid-point or just above nearly always kiss goodbye to any pay rise and if we do get one it's lucky if it makes 1%. What point are pay range maxes if they are unattainable until death? Let's see some real action. In the past our weak-kneed approach to dispute has cost us members. If we behave like a wet blanket this time you'll lose once more. Gaining £14+ per month by dropping the union may be our only method of getting a pay-rise.

Take the dental approach, look after your teeth and your teeth will look after you. BITE BACK!

Michael, BT Group
I have not had a consolidated pay rise (which would count towards my pension entitlement) for several years now.  I have been placed in a job family for which I am well over the maximum of the pay scale.  I fail to see how I am expected to be motivated and fully committed to a company which places such a low value on my contribution.  I have pride in my work so will continue to work the long hours required to be effective in the work I do.  In fact I would be better off in pension terms if I took a redundancy package (my pension entitlement would then increase by inflation at least until it became payable).
I will fully support any action Connect may recommend to get a proper consolidated pay rise for all members. 

Brian - One IT
I have just received my Bonus and Benefits statement. I feel totally betrayed and misled by BT. Not only have I not received any pay rise for increased responsibility in my Lead Design role, I am now told that my role is not worth giving any benefits to, despite being assignment manager for many people who do receive these benefits. To cap it all, people externally recruited into the company, doing the same role as myself, have received the benefits. BT has badly miscalculated the impact on morale this will have. PAY UP BT!

Nicola, BT Exact
I wish to back the PAY UP! campaign.

G, Wholesale
I've worked with this company for over 30 years now, and I can honestly say that I have always encouraged my non-manager direct reports to further themselves and realise their potential, for their, but mostly the company's, benefit.  I must now, though, seriously question this approach given that managers across the piece have endured rising pressure and stress levels, real reductions in pay - when considering inflation, and the imposition of nonsensical pay structures.  Compare this with the conditions of our non-manager colleagues enjoy, where, because BT is terrified of their collective industrial muscle, individuals have regularly enjoyed pay increases well beyond inflation - despite the fact that we see little comparisons with outside industry in most cases.

Let's not kid ourselves that BT's current approach has a jot of justification under the 'comparison with outside industry' theme. This is an exercise in lowering the salary bill for a minority group - that's us by the way - pure and simple.  Time to re-instigate those CWU(E) ties, methinks…

J
It does seem that with limited pay rises, ( I have dropped £9,000 in four years) changes to the overall packages, we are working in a company where our overall earnings are slipping further away from the rest of the IT industry. (not the telco industry, where we use to be a major player, but we are now purporting to be in the IT industry). Couple the lower pay packages with the expected working hours we are now faced with and our hourly rate are similar to those at menial task level.

Mark, Broadband
After eight years of being a manager I am still taking home less pay now than when I was engineer and working longer hours.

Paul, BT Exact
Having not received a pay rise that matched, let alone exceeded, the rate of inflation for several years my expectations and morale are at an all-time low. I am not prepared to keep being told I must take what is effectively a pay cut whilst embracing new ideas, new schemes, new processes that, in a year or so will be history along with all the other time and money-wasting fads used primarily to mark the territory of managers destined to be forgotten...

Let's kick some ass this time - and start by getting all managers to work the hours they are paid and no more. These guys are shafting us all, selling themselves short and ensuring greater and greater pressure can be exerted to meekly wag our little tails and run whenever a stick is thrown.

Alban, OneIT
I'm not happy with my salary or the way my expertise in finance has been dismissed, or the way the benefits and bonus allocations have been decided. This all has a major impact on my potential pension - and I have to say that for someone who has put their full working life into BT this I feel this is scant way to offer people adequate reward. Increasing the proportion of OTB will in my opinion effectively mean that my pension will fall even further in real terms from now on. So overall this looks very depressing.

Julie, Bid Manager
I back the campaign. I believe my pay has virtually stood still for a while now and this will also affect my pension.

John, BT Group
I believe a pay rise of the inflation rate should be the absolute minimum. I received no pay rise last year, as I am at the mid-point of the range and I know at this present time I will not receive a pay rise again this year. How long does BT expect us to except this situation? BT expects more and more from their managers yet does not show the same commitment to their managers.

Bob
I've been marked G or VG on my MMP consistently for the last three years but have received no pay rise. This equates to a 10% pay cut. I've been with BT since leaving school and am now approaching retirement and so leaving BT is not really an option. This pay cut will also be impacting my future pension unless it is rectified swiftly. These are not the actions of fair and decent employer. I feel deeply aggrieved to be treated this way after all I have given to this company.
 
Ghansam, N&SE
I have had no pay rise for at least two years except bonus, and this means that I have lost out as pay has not kept pace with inflation at the very least. I have managed to save money to BT in the region of £3m with positive impact on P&L for which I received a silver arrow award, but no pay rise. I have worked diligently and have shown utmost loyalty to my company. In return I should at least expect an inflation-related pay increase.

Nicola, Global Services
I was undecided, still believing that my unfair salary experience as a manager with BT must be out of the ordinary, and that BT still cares about its managers….I have just read the comments from Ben Verwaayen's webchat, and boy have my opinions changed. I now back the campaign wholeheartedly. Ben V doesn't care about us. He thinks we come to work to be excited, he thinks it doesn't matter that our pay is being eroded against non-managers, he thinks paying our bills is not important. It's hard to believe, but I've now seen the evidence in black and white.

I particularly disliked this reply: 'I think BT pays extremely well. Look to our churn rate and the number of applicants we get when we advertise. People have a choice, every day, to work for BT. We value their contribution, dedication and commitment and we do expect better performance going forward. And I think we offer opportunities, inspiration and very competitive pay'. He's basically saying if we don't like it, which we don't, then we can either lump it, or leave the company. I'm not impressed…
BT's Values: Trustworthy. Helpful. Inspiring. Straightforward. Heart. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Malcolm, Honest, Trustworthy and Straightforward - something BT isn't.
The situation we find ourselves in is partly one of our own making. We have been too trusting of BT. The company we now work for is not trustworthy. It's as simple as that. I honestly believe that unless we take some serious disruptive industrial action we will continue to be railroaded and lied to. With the new financial year only a week or so away we have missed a great opportunity to cause maximum disruption. Only with a show of strength will we be taken seriously. I used to believe in BT but that is a thing of the past. The behaviour of the company over the last two to three years has demonstrated this. I have seen hard work rewarded with contempt, I have seen people openly misled when gaining promotion. Is this the same company we have all worked so hard and long for? Yes it is. The New Reward Framework is intended to do one thing only, screw us down and demoralise us further. Well stuff that - I don't do lying down and I believe many Connect members are now of the same opinion. Nothing short of strike action will suffice.  We need a ballot for industrial action NOW.
 
Andrew, Global Services
I have been in a department where I am the lowest paid employee compared to my peers with the same skill set and work tasks. I have been made numerous promises that this will be sorted, but to no avail. When will BT as an organisation address this issue of low paid employees. What is an employee to do in order to receive the same salary basic as their peers?

Anil, Croydon
We need more pay as we're underpaid. Some people are not even reaching the bottom end of the spectrum for the job roles... Cost of living pay rises should be over 2-3% a year as London is not cheap. Graduates should be better looked after as other companies pay a lot more, and BT will lose its graduates if they do not pay them more.

Victoria
I thought BT would be a good company to work for, but how wrong!  It seems to me that BT uses its power and size to make sure that its staff is not given a fair deal with regards to pay increases!  It is even more frustrating when the general consensus is that everyone works really hard and dedicates more of their time to ensure things are delivered than they should do! To not even have an increase in line with inflation is a crime!  As for job mapping, this looks to me like it has been down by looking at pay rather than what the job entails!  Let's just say that my CV is being updated as we speak and BT has a huge de-motivated work force!

Stewart 
Year on year effectively I have had pay cuts. Without the hearts and minds of the managers how does BT expect to grow in a very competitive market? Managers are expected to 'Deliver High Performance' for the company; rather than keep beating us up with 'Raising-the-Bar' pay us the actual market rates for the job we do.

Mike, BT Retail
My issue with the NRF is that my division seems to have used the process to down-grade people, in that a large number of C grades are now Sales Professionals whereas I believe they should be Senior Sales Professionals. The result being that I am above the pay scales with two years with 0% pay rise.

Steve
Very simple. My advisors get paid more than me! How does that reflect the BT values and create trust?

Patrick
As someone who over the last six years has only had one 1% pay rise, despite always having an overall VG marking on my MMP/APR I am fed up with BT's strategy which has depreciated my salary and my future pension prospects. I want a decent pay rise now!

Mike, Global Services 
I've worked in International for 20 years mostly as MPG4 and am now back at the bottom of the pile with no benefits, the minimum bonus and no pay rise possible for the foreseeable future. I've had one pay rise in four years. I don't believe that outside firms have such low benefits and bonuses for managerial staff earning £40,000 - can the union vouch for this benchmarking? Still, we can look forward to all the pay rates moving up by the 'wage inflation' rate this year if BT is serious about matching the outside market - can't we? They plead poverty but have no problem buying up Infonet, Albacom and Radianz, so a small wage rise shouldn't be a problem. Morale couldn't be lower in my group and industrial action looks an attractive alternative.

Mark, BTExact
Since being promoted to MPG4 about six years ago, my pay rises have failed to keep pace with inflation. Therefore, although I have become more competent, more effective, and taken on more responsibility, I have had no progression within the pay scale whatsoever, and am probably worse off in real terms. Now I am being asked if I am prepared to become an agile worker. Where is the incentive?

What was the point of BT introducing a new pay scheme if it cannot afford to implement it? NRF would be a big step in the right direction if BT was prepared to fund it, but without additional funding, it neither pays people the market rate for their role, nor addresses the iniquities of the old system. All it has done is make people aware of how poorly they are paid, and shown the contempt with which BT is treating its staff.

Paul, Global Services
Being halfway between min and max of the MPG4 pay scale, and continually classed as good, means no pay rise, or has done for me over the previous two years anyway. Could this be the third consecutive year? I don't think I would have been too impressed if, back in 2002 my manager had said: 'Sorry, but you won't get a pay rise until 2006, at least, and maybe not even then'. How many managers would be happy if we told them that this year - no pay rise until 2009 and maybe not even then.  Not many I would imagine. I have received a bonus for the previous few years (so no complaints there), but it's the lack of pay rise that really annoys me. I do not want to hear the same message this year where I'm effectively told: 'Thanks for all your hard work this year, but there's no wage rise for you, and if you continue to work hard next year, then there'll be no wage rise then either'. There would be anarchy in the engineering world if you even uttered a suggestion like that, so why do we have to put up with it?  My own D1s now earn (with O/T admittedly) more than I, an MPG4, do. 'Nuff said.

Luke
I was going to reserve judgement on this myself until after the pay rounds this year. However, from the looks of things I will receive a 0% pay rise again.  My objections will be brushed aside with vague references to bigger bonuses.  But I don't want a bigger bonus.  I want a decent salary that I can rely on to pay my mortgage from one year to the next. Having achieved mostly "Very Good" marks on my MMP,  I don't think that a pay rise of some description is too much to ask for.  So I'll back the union up if they decide to take action. 

Phil
Yet again, despite numerous communications to the contrary, BT fails to live up to its promises. This year,  as in all previous years,  it's 'jam' tomorrow.

I'm fed up with being told for eleven months of the year that I'm consistently a very good contributor (and also very low on the pay range) and the company don't want to lose me and my reward is coming, but the one month of the year when it comes to 'discuss' the pay review, then I'm suddenly not 'very good' (although that's not what my DPR states) and my pay rise and bonus will be negligible, again. Also I was led to believe that the new bonus and benefits arrangements would mean I would be better off. It now transpires that I remain the same as I was before. That ain't better off in my book.

Couple all this with the fact that the company car policy means I now will need to keep my car for another year (based on its reliability - yeah right, nothing to do with the money BT will save of course - why can't they treat us like grown ups and admit the real reason) then this is another erosion of our existing benefits. They'll be removing the free call allowance next!  Along with other Connect members and managers, I'm cheesed off with this company big time. Perhaps now is the time to demonstrate our anger and consider strike action. I'm willing to go out. 

Jonathon
I have concerns about workloads. It is becoming increasingly common to receive e-mails (and even phone calls) sent late into the evening or indeed, across weekends. This is rarely application of work/life balance but people having so much on that it cannot possibly be dealt with in a normal working day. Whilst this is all dealt with for 'free' the company will do little to address this. If excess hours were payable by overtime then minds would be concentrated on these extra hours as a real cost would be applied. In the period July to early December most weeks for me were based upon 10 - 12 hour days. There are many examples of overwork available, in some cases they may get TOIL bought back but at a rate lower than normal pay rate.

Nick, Field Operations
This is another stitch up. I'm not usually militant but this time  I've really had enough.  I feel that it's about time we bit back. HARD.

Lindsey
Everything else in the world goes up by at least the rate of inflation, which my pay hasn't done for sometime. I'm not even standing still, I'm going backwards! 

Robin
Having just received my pay band details and I have been assigned no benefits. Why is it that new managers entering BT are automatically allocated benefits packages to choose from including private health care? Similarly I find the fact that after promotion to management five years ago I have had to work hard in order to justify my existing pay salary. Why is it that new managers are starting on a higher salary than I did (approximately £6,000 more)? This consequently means that my existing salary (which I have had to work hard to attain is only just above that of new entrants and basically I have put in five years hard work and got nowhere.

Why is it we are constantly told that our pay is aligned with that of other companies yet BT refuses to either supply details of those companies, or indeed just a set of figures?

Steve
I'm a PTG working in an area where for several years it has been acknowledged by BT that the company is short of skilled people (network security). My role mapping, however, does not reflect the fact that I have scarce skills. My salary at the moment is below the top of the published range for this role.  Yesterday, I was given a letter outlining my benefits and reward package, which placed me in Band 1, with none of the former PTG benefits attached - no company car, no health care benefit and no free phone. As a result of this, I've been stuck in what amounts to a mark-time position, with absolutely no prospect of any consolidated pay rise this year or for the foreseeable future, however good my performance ratings may be.  When will it be that those who are responsible for exercises such as the NRF finally recognise that pissing off the very people who should be the heart and soul of the company is no way to run it?

Michael
Council tax rises by 27 per cent - unbelievable, but true for my area.   A 2.5% pay increase for someone on MPG4 max will barely cover this increase.

Mike, HR
As a PCGU who has been aligned to Business Support Manager, it really is difficult not to consider myself as having been downgraded. As a loyal BT employee who has remained dedicated and excited by their work, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that to change these circumstances I need to either change my job or leave the company.

Graham from GS

I've had one pay rise in five years. On my previous team, some 18 months ago, BT brought in people from the competition and paid them £4,000 p.a. more than almost everyone else, quoting that as the going rate for the job. Why did it not apply to the whole team? The NRF is a total disappointment. Without a cost of living pay rise each year we are all progressively worse off. Perhaps we should all work three or four  per cent less each year to make up for it ?

Mark from OI

I had thought that OI were being discriminated against, but reading the comments from other parts of the business, the feeling that we are being shafted looks universal.  When are we going to get the opportunity to vote on this?

C.D. Networkbuild

After many years of no rises or minimum rises and now entering my final year, I feel a substantial pay rise has been long time overdue, if only to give me a decent pension. On reflection of 20 years in management I'm find myself further away from my max then when I first started out. BT should put their money where their mouths are. They want the best, then they should pay for the best.

Peter from Wholesale

BT has used this NRF to continue to underpay their managers and it is time that managers actually showed BT just how much they feel undervalued by only working the hours that they are paid for. BT wants us to manage for high performance. How do they expect us to perform at such a high level when our pay does not reflect the job that we do? I worked in outside industry before joining BT and in proportion I was earning a lot more then than I do now. Totally dissatisfied with the NRF.

Steve from Wholesale

Having been promoted into management recently, I feel that BT should rebuild the differentials between managers and team members or there will be no incentive for progression or for managers to give what is required of them. There is no reason for BT not to pay its managers to keep these differentials.

Mike from Global Services CRM

Since joining Global Services exactly five years ago my salary has risen 7.5% over this period, which equates to 1.5% per annum (or near as dammit!). This is despite winning a Global Services award for excellence, and making a significant contribution to winning one of BT's biggest deals of this year. So join Global Services and reduce your standard of living and gain an increase the expectation of your output into the bargain. Seems fair all round to me!..NOT

Raymond from Retail

Having suffered a zero per cent pay increase for the past three years, enough is enough!

Trev from Global

I still feel pride in working for BT but that will not pay the bills and now the Framework has meant a loss of half the PSG bonus. What next?

Phil from BT Retail

I joined BT some four years ago at a rate below my current peers. Since then I have had minor pay increases but overall I believe this has been well below real inflation (it certainly feels like it)! I am now seriously looking around as I believe the time is right! Once people start to look I don't believe there is much that can persuade them then to stay so I hope BT wises up before more people follow my example and start looking!

Nick from OneIT (now that's another joke!)

I got my Benefits Package letter (via e-mail) yesterday and it 'made my day'. Assessed in a Lead Role last April I've taken on all the extra responsibilities and hassles associated with the role only in anticipation that, after too many years of failing to be rewarded, I would finally get something back by way of a benefits package and my family could benefit from for putting up with the long hours, extended periods away from home and all the other cr*p BT expects of you. Investors in People?

Steve from Global Services

From last year as a MB redeployee, I had been picked up by GS and promised to keep my present Job Family and benefits. But what a difference a year makes! I have now been given a lower job family and the benefits to that role reduced, save for personal rights. HR has been tasked to save BT money (it is in their objectives)and BT Management does not give a damn about promises. It is not only me. There are a number of us in exactly the same situation, and are we fed with BT Senior management & HR.

Mark from NetworkBuild

I have read with interest the comments regarding various aspects of managers' pay and feel that BT needs to understand the depth of feeling about how their managers feel they are being treated. More importantly, BT needs to do something about it. As a vital part of BTs workforce we would be expected to be motivated. If BT believes that being in a job family with a pay band that you are never likely to aspire to and a benefits package that makes a mockery of the very title is going to motivate us they're wrong.

Bill from Global services

Band 1 On target bonus 7.5 % What happen to 10% for MPG2's?

CS Cardiff

After 26 years of sheer hard work and dedication, I have finally reached the position I have always wanted and what happens? I am told I will receive NO benefits. What is the point of taking on higher level work, more stress and longer hours for nothing? For the first time, my loyalty to this company has gone. My family, instead of this company, will now have more of my time.

Jeff from BTExact

Haven't had a pay rise since 2001, despite good appraisals of 3 or better. Bonuses are worthless towards my pension and derisory anyway. It's demoralising that the company can't recognise our efforts and at the very least keep pay in line with inflation. We will do what we've always done in these circumstances just quietly and slowly withdraw our goodwill, doing a little less in the face of a very poor reward system.

Ray, LCM from BT Retail

I have been an LCM for nine years and still not reached maximum on the pay scale. I am continually reminded that those that work for me are earning far in excess of my annual income with their overtime and FRS payments. I know coaches that have earned even more, up to £40,000. When FRS or SMT first came out, LCMs were to be included in the scheme too, but that hasn't not happened. None of my team are interested in covering me or gaining promotion to LCM because they can't take the money drop.

Michael from Wessex Branch

Just role changed from MPG LCM to PM1 (promoted from MPG2 to 4 in old-speak) yet no mention of salary increase and I'm now faced with losing my car - effectively a pay-cut. Where's the incentive? I am keen to develop my career in BT but not at cost to my family!

Mahendra from BT Wholesale Markets

I would like to know who has benefited from the pot of money BT has reserved under NRF, since all the people I have talked to in Wholesale Markets have been downgraded as well as suffering substantial reductions in their bonuses under NRF. It seems to be a cost-saving exercise for BT either way - accept the offers, thus saving BT money, or leave, helping BT reduce its headcount!

Daniel from BT Retail CCC

I always hear about great rewards to staff and managers from companies that I would consider smaller than BT. We should be leading the way with staffing benefits. That is what I would expect of a company with HEART.

Fraz from BT Retail

 What bonus? What benefits package?  BT is having a laugh at our expense! Take your TOIL time, or better still only work contracted hours.

Sean, BT Wholesale

It has taken nearly a year for BT to work out what the benefit packages would be for each role in the NRF. Then they come up with exactly the same packages of benefits as the old system but apply them one level above. It's very spooky how the 'market rate' fits exactly with the grade above! And on the subject of the 'market rate', has BT taken into consideration the rates it pays contractors to carry out duties at the same level? Obviously not as it wouldn't provide the required answer.

Michael, London Wholesale

Most of my staff can now earn as much as me by doing overtime, yet I'm doing far more hours ( 60 per week on average with no TOIL). It's got to stop.

Steve B from BT Wholesale

Having been a manager for seven years I feel that despite achieving targets I do not receive fair remuneration for my performance. My team of C3's earn more than me with minimum overtime without the responsibility. Although I am committed to the success of BT I believe that I deserve a better pay deal.

Margaret from BT Retail

 Having just been briefed about the new benefits packages it is obvious that, yet again, managers in BT have been shafted!  If the proposed benefit bands are imposed then, magically, a whole tier of management has had its benefits entitlement removed. That's progress for you!  While I support that the existing pay and benefits arrangement need reviewing, the current proposals do nothing to motivate and encourage pride in your job and loyalty to BT as a company.

Abby from Kingston

Having got my 'benefits letter' I'm now totally demotivated. After all the promises to ensure that we'd be rewarded fairly THERE IS NO BENEFIT. I've put in a huge amount of effort and commitment to my work over the past few years with increasing levels of stress and at the expense of my home life. In all this time my pay has not even increased with inflation. Enough is enough. BT will now get from me what they pay for. So PAY UP!

Ian from BT Retail

The Reward e-chat in BT Retail held by Alan Davis was inundated with issues about the NRF and bonus and reward structure - I did not see one positive comment. The fact that Alan couldn't answer the questions as quickly as they were arriving shows how much HR underestimated the likely response to the e-chat, just like BT have under-estimated the strength of feeling over the NRF.

Andy, Global Solutions

I've now 30 years service with BT. The early years were good; you knew what you job was, what you got paid for that job and how you moved up the scale to get more money.  Since privatisation and moreover in very recent years the company's attitude towards its staff has changed drastically, gone is the structured and caring approach nurturing its key asset. Now it's a case of people being seen as a disposable asset.   How does the company think it is in the position it is in the marketplace?

Michael Merriman, BT Exact

The company needs to finally put its money where its mouth is and prove it really does value its staff as it constantly claims it does.  PAY UP BT!

Sid from field

Most of the managers don't even know how the Job Objectives, Roos, Personal Development and KPI's all link together or even worse, what they are about. How can they then interpret them into a reward package that is fair?

Dave, an Exact home-worker

There is only one way to send the right message to BT and that is by supporting the campaign until we all get a consolidated pay rise.

Bob - BT Wholesale

PAY UP! A paltry (at risk) bonus is no compensation for a lack of pensionable pay rise.

Paul from BT Wholesale

Managers' pay rises have not come anywhere near combating inflation for years. Yet the non-managers are looked after year on year. When are we going to get a decent pay increase?

Edel, OneIT

It feels that BT, to use a political expression, are talking out of both sides of their mouths at once. On the one hand they want to use us as a world class IT workforce to deliver ICT solutions, on the other we are not worth the pay that external world class colleagues get. They want us to work longer hours, show more commitment, embrace change, realise our leadership potential...where's the cash to back it up?  Stop benchmarking us against the average.

Grant, Major Marketing

Whilst agreeing with my colleagues about the awful way we continue to be treated, maybe some press coverage on our recent pay reviews would not go amiss to embarrass BT about the way they treat their staff.

All I can see happening is they impose everything as usual and carry on - same as ever.

Ian, Payphones
My personal feelings are those of no-confidence or trust in BT's NRF and the pay review process. Personally, I think the intention of the business was always to use the NRF as a means to manage down the paybill. The time has come for strong words and action to make the business sit up and take notice.  It's time the so-called silent majority were not so silent.

Tony, working on major contract

I am disturbed to learn that some members have received notification that the 'Benefit Band' for their role effectively results in a reduction in benefits for that role (even though members already in a role are unaffected).  Also, the letter I received stated that my on-target bonus this year would remain at 7.5%.  I thought we'd agreed with the company in 2003 that MPG2 OTBs would rise to 10% in 2005/2006?  If the company are now reneging on a previous agreement it's time to stop pussy-footing and inform the company, in no uncertain terms, that the membership will not stand for this.  If there's no movement towards implementing the agreed OTB, a ballot for industrial action should follow. I, and many others I speak to, have had enough of being taken for granted by this increasingly two-faced company - they want us to behave according to their 'values' but adopt a completely different attitude when dealing with employees. I've been with BT 17 years and never have I felt so undervalued and I'm not alone.  Everywhere I look I see apathy and disillusionment.  Quite how this is good for the long-term future of this company I've no idea but I see no effort from the Board or OC to remedy this malaise - exactly the reverse appears to be true with many policies seemingly designed to oppress and disenfranchise.

The time for concerted action is rapidly approaching.  We cannot allow the fiasco over last year's pay to happen again and if that means losing a ballot then so be it.  At least we will have tried.

Steve, London
Since becoming a manager many years ago my work/life balance has changed dramatically. I know this applies to almost every manager because I see it everyday. This is seen in the amount of hours we all work in excess of agreed contracted core hours (41 or 42 depending on location I believe). Is it not time we took industrial action and applied this to the letter of the agreement. BT relies fully on the massive amount of un-agreed call out and overtime to the point when if people argue it they are bullied by senior management and told that no such agreements exist. This kind of action would show the strength of feeling without getting us into a situation similar to that which happened to the CWU in 1987 where there were no winners due to the loss of earnings on one side and productivity on the other! If the agreements Connect entered into are on paper can we not take this up in Europe?The rest of Europe has a much stronger ethos with regard to working hours. Its time to take this further just stating your 'reserving your position' looks weak -  it needs to be backed up with action!

Julie

Is it really too much to ask, that BT should for the first time in years at least give us all an increment in pensionable pay that matches inflation? I am weary of having a pay cut in real terms each succeeding year, while still doing my best to earn my salary. And I don't see why young talented people should be persistently paid less than the market rate, or promoted without recognition in their pay packet. When is BT going to pay at least the rate for the job, particularly to women who have climbed the progression ladder from the clerical grades and are paid a pittance compared to their engineering colleagues?

Bill, Sales

I would like to express my dismay at the new benefits alignment. I have been put in band 1 which means if I change role I could lose my company car, private health care and telephone. I must also add that I am also below the minimum wage range for my job as Sales Professional. I accept I am being allowed to keep my existing benefits but is this not devaluing our grade anyway? In this instance I am of the opinion that we should withdraw from the negotiating table as these proposals are totally unacceptable. How does BT expect to replace any sales staff with this offer of no benefits? I must say as well, how does this reflect what is going on in the outside world? I know of no other sales person who has to supply their car, health cover and phone? That is, if BT is looking to replace staff - or is this just another way of forcing people out of the door?

Bob, CCC
Two words - Predictable. Pathetic.

Predictable, because we have heard all the hype and been given months of junk mail telling us how much the company wants to provide a reward framework to match MPG effort. What do we get? The same old fob off about equivalent salaries elsewhere.

Pathetic.  I am band 1, which in effect does not exist because there is no bonus! i.e. a holiday and a pension. Granted the holiday may be larger than elsewhere but there is no incentive in this band that I can see.
At the same time we are already being warned of no money again, so it looks as though I will get another below inflation payment, if one at all!

Steve Morten, CCC Croydon
I support this campaign! I am fed up with managing people who get paid more than me. What other company operates like this? It is a joke and it will destroy our great company.

John, Wholesale Markets
I am not impressed with the way BT has implemented its roll-out of the Job Family and benefits package. Whilst I am happy with my pay [I have been a manager for many years] and consequently high on the scale, I think the union should be looking to negotiate an incremental pay rise for its members with BT. This is the only true way that members' pay will increase towards the mid point or above.
I know a number of Technical Account Managers who have been in the role for four years or so and their pay excluding bonuses and benefits is now lower that if they had stayed in their C3 Technical role. Clearly not a morale booster for those managers. Keep plugging away. I will be backing the PAY UP! campaign. 

Ian
I agree with the stance the union has taken and I'm disgusted with the current attitude held by BT towards reward and recognition. I would wholeheartedly support any industrial action taken by union members.

Steve, BT Wholesale Product Management
Just received my notification... I was re-mapped to a higher grade (MPG4 to Product Manager - old PCGU grade). I have been working at this level since April 04 to find I have gained a big fat zero.

John, Voice Systems
I feel I have to contact you to voice my total frustration and anger of the NRF being imposed on me, which has definitely not improved my circumstances. My manager informed his staff at their last team meeting: 'If you don't like it, walk'.

I keep being informed by BT propaganda that they are spending millions of pounds increasing benefits and bonuses, but which management staff are actually receiving this?

I currently feel like a second class citizen, totally demotivated and demoralised. Management keep informing me that my work plays a crucial part in the success of CCC, but I then do not get the any decent pay award or bonus to match their comments. Where is the current incentive for any manager to deliver high profile projects when actions like the NRF simply brings people down to the level of the lowest performer? Can I urge the union to fight back on our behalf and clearly signal to BT management the level of feeling amongst middle management, especially against the current BT practice of 'If you don't like it, tough'.

I now feel the time is right for some form of industrial action.

Alan Unwin from BT Exact
I have not had a base pay rise for two years and pushing 50 means my pension is being eradicated. If this is where I am going to be for the next five years I'd probably be better off leaving and gaining deferred pension rights which are inflation-proofed.

Jack from Birmingham
Without even a cost of living rise, I am effectively losing money as I approach my retirement.

Liane Dwyer
My standard of living has dropped in recent years due to a lack of pay increase.  After working in BT for more than 30 years, working through the pay structure and gaining promotions it seems that as I earn more than my colleagues of the same grade (some of whom have been in the company or at my grade for a short time), I have to wait until they catch up.  Also, I'm currently waiting to be informed why my recent Job Mapping review has been rejected.

Paul, Wessex
I feel extremely disappointed that the company has devalued, with minimal consultation and justification, a role to which I  have aspired and struggled to achieve over many years. Although this change no doubt has the required effect on the bottom line and slides show that 'nobody loses out' so that the changes look great as slide-ware it has a detrimental effect on people's morale and their perception of what the company thinks of them. 

I'm from Wholesale
My colleagues and I are some of the apparent few (in the words of senior management) to lose out due to NRF as alignment to our new job family means we are to lose a percentage of our current bonus. Why are we having only 75% of the buy back paid to us?  And why, when bonus is paid as a lump sum are we having to wait two years to get it all paid out?  This is all old news to me now and whilst I do not rely on my bonus, a lump sum payment each quarter is much appreciated.

Katie, Retail
I totally support the campaign - in effect, anything less than an increase equivalent to inflation is a pay cut. From reading these comments I seem to be one of many people in this situation, but was promoted last autumn in what would have been a promotion from MPG4 to PCGU under the old system (also having had no pay rise last summer), and have now been told that the job is in band 1 with no benefits. I can't believe that BT can't afford to give people the appropriate benefits.

Katie, Global
For the sake of myself and all my colleagues I wish to register my support for PAY UP! After gaining promotion last year I am back to where I started following the introduction of job families. What I thought was a career is definitely just a job.  I have had to fight for my grade and my car. Many of us are below the salary grade in our roles and still work ridiculous hours, while the gap between those of us who are expected to do this and those that aren't widens.

Victoria from BT Wholesale
I applied for a position seven months ago and was successfully appointed to a role which had previously been classed and filled as a PCGU role. I received no benefits at this time as the packages were 'under review' and due to be announced in December for implementation in April.  I have now been advised my role has been mapped to band 1 (no benefits), meaning all my colleagues in the same role as me are receiving and will to continue to receive a benefits package.

Derek from Major Business
I am supporting the PAY UP! campaign because of BT's continuing devaluation of its staff, especially with the new benefit banding. I believe the managerial grades need to show some solidarity or BT will continue to erode our pay and benefits.

Paul, OneIT
I don't expect BT to give a pay rise this year. I would actually settle for inflation despite getting no recognition for cancelling leave to meet project requirements and currently having around 10 days TOIL which I don't expect I'll take. Some of the newer senior people in OneIT have remarked on how low BT's staff turnover is. Perhaps they are hoping their approach will make it increase and save them some money on release schemes.

Phil                                             
Current maximum salary for C3 grade. £26,052, for a 36 hour week. My current salary? £26,800, for regularly 40+ hours exclusive of lunch breaks. Bonus  2002 - £1500,  2003 - £1.

Brian, OneIT Belfast
For the first time in many years there is genuine anger about the way in which BT is approaching pay and reward for its most valuable asset - its people. All of my colleagues are in agreement.  I don't believe in getting something for nothing, but having consistently achieved Very Good overall despite rising standards, I can look forward to receiving very little reward in return.  Now the erosion of benefits, despite being spun as an INCREASE, is the final straw. 

1A from Exact  
The NRF was supposed to be open and easy to see where we stood. Not so far. Now I find that my benefits are going down with my new job in the NRF yet my responsibility keeps rising. I have effectively been demoted. NRF is a shambles. Why should we go the extra mile for OneIT? Let the company tell us exactly who we have been benchmarked against so we can judge for ourselves. Why are people coming in from outside getting better benefits than those getting promoted internally to the same role?

Dave, a BT Exact mobile homeworker
The same story is repeated year on year: APR, DPR, MMP (whatever it's called) your assessment is good or indeed very good with no complaints from your manager but still no pay rise - not even for inflation. But there is no point in complaining because BT has but one poorly hidden agenda, to get rid of people at the lowest financial cost possible. Hide real pay with smoke and mirrors, currently called the NRF (No Reward Framework), and keep your workforce demoralised and they will leave of their own accord.

Graham, GS
The New Reward Framework and the low pay issue are now one and the same. Unless something is done I'm unlikely to get a pay rise for the rest of my career!    Come on Connect. Get things moving. I never thought I'd push for strike action but I feel like it now!

AD from NDI
Why is there not a simple way to work out your pay? It should be inflation plus your performance award.  There is no differential between the level 1 and D1 grade. Their hourly rate is more than  Level 1 is paid - how can that be right? There is absolutely no incentive to become a manager.

Brenda
OK, BT. You talk about valuing your people. If this is true, show it and PAY UP!

Derek - Dartford
Prior to last year's job family fiasco, BT maintained that this was 'the place to work'. No limits on any pay scales - no restraints on high achievers. Where we go others follow.  Somehow we are now classified by 'external benchmarks'. Who are these benchmarks? Nobody can give me an answer. By previous definition they must be inferior to BT, so why the attempt at parity?  Also, the new pay ranges - if you are above the 'median point' - halfway to most people - you can kiss any hopes of increases goodbye.

Sharon, BT Global Solutions
We are working in a competitive market place and as such are constantly asked to work harder and smarter, constantly improve on the workload we handle but in return we are seeing the erosion of our pay packages. I originally had a PCSG contract that was changed to PCG with assurances of no change to my package. I have since been told that my car entitlement WILL be bought out with compensation that is insulting.

Phil - Wholesale
Yet again, despite numerous communications to the contrary, BT fails to live up to its promises. This year, as in all previous years, it's 'jam' tomorrow.    I'm fed up with being told for 11 months of the year that I'm consistently a very good contributor (and also very low on the pay range) and the company don't want to lose me and my reward is coming, but the one month of the year when it comes to 'discuss' the pay review, then I'm suddenly not 'very good' (although thats not what my DPR says).

Bob, GS
'The fairness fairy is dead', to quote Graham Shepherd, Head of Reward, BT Group HR, on a BT Exact webchat on 3 March.  I do hope Connect uses that phrase to embarrass BT senior management, publicly if necessary.  I'd like to see a retraction, and a reiteration that fairness IS important. Losing company car, losing bonus without meaningful recompense - my family's standard of living is heading down further.  I believe in the NRF in principle, but the implementation is awful.  A decent pay rise this year is what we need.

Pete from BTWholesale
BT needs to understand the reality that without a 'cost of living' rise that living standards are being eroded. Also pay differentials between managers and non managers are being eroded.

David from Global Services
Having attended our Chief Executive Officer's web chat last week, I am not sure that the BT board understands the feeling in the ranks.  Although pride in our work and commitment is recognised the reason for continually doing our jobs, ie the financial reward, is not.  The CEO did confirm that BT is going to relate the pay ranges of its managers to the market rate, by alignment with RPI, inflation, etc.  This I have to see to believe.

Mark in OneIT
The same familiar story. NRF effectively put my promotion, to MPG4, on hold for three years and when it was finally acknowledged under NRF (last September) I was paid nothing for it. To top it all BT has now said that MMPs are to be marked against the NRF grade, effectively reducing my overall marking. Looks like no pay rise again this year!  I'M READY TO TAKE ACTION!

A in Exact
People promoted to Leeds in DD&CS get no benefits. Yet people employed from external job ads do get the benefits. Surely this shows that the benefits are necessary to attract the calibre of people they want. I'm pretty sure this is what is known as benchmarking. What would have happened if someone already employed in BT went after the externally advertised post? Would they have got the benefits?  We're being told we're going to be world leaders and compete with the Accentures, IBMs, PWCs of the world.

Paul from Global Solutions
I today received my new benefits package (or more to the point, lack of benefit)  BT has seriously devalued my role and have removed any clear future promotion path.    I have worked hard for many years to build up my current status - this has been removed overnight!

Andrew from OneIT
NRF -  The removal of benefits e.g. benefits band 1 (no benefit) for the Lead roles with S&IT will seriously damage the morale within the design community and BT's ability to attract those with the necessary design skills required to deliver 21C new wave services.    Following formal interview and promotion in October 2004 I now find myself being asked to perform the Lead role for the same salary as when I was MPG4, and without the car allowance, healthcare etc. that my peers receive. Why would I?

Mick from ND&I
 BT has for too long claimed to be market leader in technology but insists on looking downmarket when it comes to pay. BT needs its people now  to bring in 21CN. Don't pee us off.  Our wages don't rise, though council tax, milk, power and water costs do. There's a point where we come to work for less.

Dave from Exact (or is it One IT?)
My part of the company can't even make a decision about what to call itself so what is the chance it will decide to pay up for the impressive services of its professional staff. None, I would say.  So we will have to get the message across that no pay rise means no co-operation with One IT and the NRF (and we all know what NRF stands for don't we?) or any other smoke and mirrors initiative.

Sarah from BT Retail Call Centre
Having had a lower than cost of living pay raise for a number of years - and no pay rise last year because I am in the upper quartile of the pay range - in real terms my standard of living is slipping, as bills and costs at home go up and pay does not.

EW from Brentwood
After 30+ years BT has now completely de-motivated me due a total lack of commitment to any form of fairness in its dealing with its staff. BT has in effect imposed an arbitrary and unagreed pay cut by failing to give me a pay rise over the past few years. In return I am imposing an arbitrary and un-agreed cut in my level of commitment to the company. If BT wishes to regard this as unfair then tough for by their own admission the fairness fairy is dead.

Brian - One IT
I have never before seen so much anger within BT at the way managers' pay and now benefits are being undermined. Most of my colleagues actually want to go on strike. This comes from people previously highly motivated and willing to work long hours to ensure that BT delivered on its ICT promises. I find myself in a lead design role, looking after 32 people. It has taken me 10 years to achieve this level and now I am told that no benefits will be given for this role.

Christina from Development Belfast
I absolutely support the PAY UP! campaign.  We all should, if we want to be treated fairly. BT will shaft us again on pay, (and bonus and everything else) unless we stand up and loudly support this campaign.  That is how the CWU get their inflation pay rises every year. I for one would be entirely prepared to take industrial action to show BT how angry I am at being treated so badly.  They want a professional work force but we are left with no motivation to do anything but the bare minimum required.

Jane from BT Wholesale
I support the PAY UP! campaign because my goodwill is evaporating very quickly!  Loyalty and commitment still exists, but is being seriously undermined by a lack of financial reward and recognition. Where is the fairness in the NRF approach to pay and reward?

Andy, Finance
I am writing to confirm that I am backing the PAY UP campaign. I feel that there is an inconsistent approach to pay increases/bonuses depending on where you sit in the organisation.

George
Year on year erosion of pay and benefits is no way to motivate.

Betty Carlton CCM Glasgow
I am a CCM in Sales and moved to the role in October 2004. I was previously a Centre Manager Specialist. I have also been advised that I am unlikely to receive a pay award because I am now at the max of the CCM sales pay banding. I feel very demotivated and will back any campaign to force the company to PAY UP! 

Roger
I wholeheartedly back the Connect Pay Claim. In fact I think it should be even higher. Pay and career advancement in the organisation are issues of real concern for me. I owe it to myself and my family to consider all options. I am sad to say this after working for BT for over 20 years. I fear that loyalty may have been mistaken for weakness, and this situation needs to be addressed urgently.

Pete Taylor at Adastral Park                     
Here's a copy of the comment I put in the recent Care survey:  'One IT has lost sight of the fact that people work better within effective, established teams.  Treating us as resources, available to start and stop work, being effective quickly with a group of strangers, at the behest of managers who don't know us or our capabilities, may be a victory for the bean-counters, but will not help BT in the medium term.  The new management structures are throwing away all the experience…'

Very difficult in wholesale                      
With NRF, why is it that it feels like pulling hen's teeth? I still do not know which Job Family I am in despite many many requests for such information. Yet I'm being asked to write a contribution to my DPR - presumably for pay/bonus calculations. How can I realistically do this when I don't know what measures are being used vis à vis NRF.    

Black Mark                                       
I am tired of seeing my lifestyle eroded despite upping my performance over the years. It is hard to determine when this erosion started because the situation was masked by good share performance which funded major domestic projects. BT is happy to recruit highly paid executives from failed telcos but it still relies on those at the bottom of the pyramid to keep the organisation on track and to deliver the programmes. It should reward the loyalty and professionalism of the majority not the shareholders.

Rob from BT Group                               
We have heard and seen a great deal of really positive and proactive activity to ensure that the company delivers against seven of the eight strategic priorities. However, the drive and actions to motivate our people have been the complete opposite. BT has always enjoyed loyalty, motivation, high performance and adaptability, especially from its managers and professionals, and in return we have asked only to be treated fairly.

Robert, BT Retail                                 
How are the OC and GLF going to be measured on their objectives to deliver against the strategic priority of motivating our people? WE ARE NOT MOTIVATED and so they certainly have not met their target and therefore should not get their bonus or pay rise!

Steve Thackery                                   
For the past four years I've had an overall 'Very Good' on my DPR, and yet for each of those years I've had a PAY CUT in real terms (in fact last year I got a 0 per cent rise).  Being about half-way between the mid-point and the max for my Job Role, I'm told I can expect 0% pay rises for the foreseeable future.  This is a story common to many of my colleagues.  So, I can work hard, do a great job, get an overall 'Very Good' on my DPR, and get a 0% rise.  Or I can freewheel, do the minimum necessary and get the same.

Phill Piddell                                   
Like many people in the company I'm not feeling very valued at the moment.  Taking phones from PSGU's, for example, is stupid. Phones cost the company almost nothing yet withdrawing them costs loads in goodwill. As for the health and car... BT has once again managed to save a penny but waste a pound.

Alan Cherry - Sevenoaks                          
Ever since becoming a PSG Grade, my pay and benefits have been eroded in real terms every year. After 35 years with BT, it is with great sadness that for the first time I no longer feel that I can trust BT's senior management to treat me fairly in terms of pay and benefits. I think Connect should be tackling this issue in a much more aggressive manner if we are to even maintain our current terms and conditions!

Martin, One IT                                   
Last year, I applied for a new role - with a higher pay range. I was successful in my application, but was told there would be no increase in my base pay - even though I am below the minimum for the respective pay range. I feel totally conned and cheated, that all the hard work that I have put in over the last few years has yielded no reward. Bearing in mind the need for ICT work to drive the company forward, they will be extremely lucky to hold on to their most skilled people.

Mick from GCS                                    
People in GCS were persuaded to become PSGs as a reward mechanism to retain their expertise. Having given their loyalty to GCS since that time they are now rewarded by having their benefits taken away and having no consolidated pay rise. BT owes its success to its people and should share their success by sharing their profits. The offer on the table at present doesn't come anywhere near that. BT needs to PAY UP!

The Phone Books London & South East              
No pay rise for two years as there is 'not enough money in the pot', despite receiving a DPR marking of 2, therefore with inflation a pay decrease.

Megan from Cardiff                              
I'm sick of the way BT takes its managers and professionals for granted.  This year, let's make it clear to BT that we have had enough of being short-changed on "base" pay.  Remember the 97.5% vote against last year's shoddy treatment.  BT can afford it, so PAY UP!

Jo Crafter                                       
I was an MPG4 (in old money). I and some colleagues were placed in a job family with PCGUs - Product Manager.  Whilst the good news means that our earning potential (max) is higher than before, the bad news is that we have been told that we need to raise our contribution as our performance will be levelled against others in the job family (the PCGU's), thus implying that we will get a rubbish DPR and therefore no pay rise! The final straw was discovering that our benefits band is 1.

Brian Madican, Angel Branch                       
BT has expectations of its staff, particularly in relation to 21CN, OneIT and the NRF. BT naturally expects every man and woman to do their duty and accept and embrace the changes which will come about as part of 21CN and OneIT. However, this is a two way street and BT should pay more attention and more money to people to do so. The NRF has an enormous potential to off set years of poor pay and performance marking by providing a fair and decent way of assessing people and giving them pay increases.

Barry from OneIT                                
Once again, actions speak louder than words and BT's actions around the whole issues of NRF, Bonus and Reward, MMP marking and pay rise and bonus payments show us all just what our company thinks of us. The words are easy to say: 'Our people are our strongest asset' - but more of us are coming to the conclusion that the actions of our senior managers mean this should be changed to 'Our people have no value'. Ben Verwaayen has made much of the core values of the business. I suggest everyone visits his website…

Ray King in Sevenoaks                            
The company has decided that a successful job mapping review would cost too much so has created a process to ensure my colleagues and I don't get a better position than the one that we currently enjoy. I do not relish spending the rest of my working life with no prospect of a real increase in pay.

Steve from Retail                               
No pay rise for two years at all!  Degradation of flexibility in pay through Job Families.   Removal of all tangible benefits through the bonus and benefits re-alignment...even though some of those 'benefits' are required to do the existing job!

Martin from Adastral                             
No more pay cuts! BT can afford to pay us properly - but they think they can get away with cutting our pay again. I for one am not going to put up with this - they must make the money available so we can get on with our jobs without all this hassle.

Charli, Angel                                     
Graham Shepherd, Head of Reward for BT, has gone on record as saying that the  'fairness fairy is dead'. Ten out of 10 for straightforward, but minus several million for helpful, inspiring, trustworthy and heart. I guess our little friend has gone to join the pay-rise pixie. According to Peter Pan you can resuscitate fairies if lots of people say very loudly that they believe in them.

Had enough from BT Exact                        
I used to love working for BT and was proud to speak out about what a great company we were. Now I am ashamed. What has gone wrong at the top? I thought Ben V was a breath of fresh air, but it looks like he will fall into the category of a has been like Mr Bonfield after running the company into the ground.  What has possessed the Board to change every stable structure within the company ie NRF, One IT, at the same time as introducing a massive change to the network with challenging targets.

Jennifer Hircock                                 
BT PAY UP! It's a pity that in the last few years where we have had headcount reductions, people working harder and longer hours, the company still feels it necessary to steal from us. For all the hardworking dedicated and decent employees BT PAY UP! Let your managers really know how you feel come pay time. If BT says it can't afford this then I think Ben V and his top team wouldn't mind not getting anything themselves - after all most of us haven't for years!

Brian North Downs Branch                         
Those in the former PCGU grade within the Network and Services Engineering Directorate have been advised that under the NRF their 'current level of benefits provision is higher than that allowed by the benefits band assigned to your role, on the basis of external employment market benchmarking'.  In other words BT considers that they are not worth the remuneration they are currently receiving. The benchmarking is therefore insulting and demoralising to all in the former PCGU grade within N&SE.

Paul, BT Wholesale                                 
Be smart. Your bonus and salary depends on how productive you work. Other peoples' rewards are based upon how cheaply they can con you to do it!

Alex from Wholesale                              
I have not had a pay increase for the last two years and this year looks the same, if BT have their way. Not only is my take home pay being eroded by inflation, but my pension too. A double whammy.

Ken, BT Global Solutions                          
All the people in my team will receive a reduction in bonus, except MPGs who receive the same 7.5% - no-one gets an increase! Most of my people are PSG. BT is not buying out our bonuses and nothing is going on to our basic pensionable salary. They are simply introducing a bonus reduction over two years. I have several people going from 24% to 7.5% bonus. Many people with key transferable skills will walk. Others will stop doing 50-60 hours a week and will work their 42, leaving BT in a very precarious position.

Graham Skipp                                     
Under the terms of NRF and being an ex MPG4 in London, I am faced with having no pay rise in my current grade from now until I retire (which could be another 18 years). I am only just above the midpoint. So from now on any issues not directly impacting on my objectives (and hence  pay) will not get any prompt attention.

Tim from Wholesale                               
I'm incredulous that BT had the nerve to introduce a three tier benefits package but leave the lowest level with nothing in it.

From Angel branch                                
I have been in the same job family as some of my colleagues for the last year.  Do I get the same benefits package as them?  NO.  Will I get the same benefits package as them when the new NRF is in place? UNLIKELY.  If I did, would I get anything backdated? NO. We should all grow knowledge-wise with the job, which should make us more productive and achieve greater results.  But it's wrong to expect me to work longer hours and intensively with recovery expected on the bench. 

Jim from Redcare                                 
I have never worked in a company that does not reward commitment before. BT may plead poverty but the fact is that we are taking a pay cut year on year. The increases in tax, fuel, interest rates and council tax don't stop; these are the cost increases we face. If BT does not pay all staff well and the best performers even better there is no incentive to go the extra mile to achieve BT's goals. Kind words and platitudes don't pay the bill at the check out in Tesco…

Pez from BT Exact                                 
I have come to the conclusion that the Board wants everything for nothing. I fail to see how they can expect high morale in a time of significant change (OneIT) with no incentive. As I received a 0% pay rise form the company last year, they should expect 0% increase in motivation and output. I have a childminder who has given herself a pay rise this year so I will need to cover this cost.  Although it will cripple me, I am ready to vote with my feet…

J from OneIT                                     
Having achieved all except one of my stretch objectives (the other is on target)I have been told that my 'countersigning manager' does not believe the objectives are tight enough and has reluctantly agreed to revise his marking from generally satisfactory to good. What is the point in having a process if senior managers can steamroller it at the eleventh hour?

Linda, BT Retail                                 
On my unit closure I was moved to an 'equivalent' job. I now find that my current job family pay is lower than my previous one and I have not had a pay rise since transferring. I have also been unofficially told that I should not expect a pay rise for the foreseeable future, until my colleagues catch up. Where is the motivation in this and how can the job possibly have been 'equivalent'?

Robin from Solent branch                         
On Ben Verwaayen's web chat today one in three of the questions were concerns over managers' pay and benefits. What will it take for him to get the message ? WE ARE NOT MOTIVATED AND DO NOT FEEL VALUED... PAY UP! OR LOSE OUR GOODWILL AND LOYALTY!

Amanda from North Downs branch                   
As a manager i have seen my pay go backwards and now earn less than when I was a C3.

Willie from East of Scotland                     
I have just trawled through the answers from Ben V's e-chat pages. I don't feel at all valued after reading his responses on NRF and differentials between MPG and non-MPG grades. I think his reward package should be tied to the company's share price. In effect he should get nothing, only negative marks on his scorecard for employee dissatisfaction.  PAY UP!

Jim from BT Exact                                 
For the last number of years BT has rewarded long hours and hard work on my part with a cut in pay. This is despite my performance always being on the high side of good. Each year BT demands more work for less pay and has been getting away with it (a Director's dream!)  I don't think pay in itself is a total motivator but a cut in pay is a guaranteed demotivator!  I am sure I am not alone in being on the receiving end of this 'reward' policy.  Time to PAY UP!

Duncan
I am backing the PAY UP! campaign.
 
Ken, LSMU
It is about time BT stopped treating their LSMU managers with disdain.  There is no recognition or respect shown from higher management that the LSMU Managers battle every day with customer issues that are vital to the company's future.  More and more is piled into the RSMU, but what are we told?  No pay rise for you! The company hasn't even the decency to award cost of living pay rises. To be told by HR that managers do not need to be higher paid than their people borders on insulting.  Line managers are hounded to create improvement/action plans for their people - but less and less of these people have an incentive for advancement.  They view their manager's job as stressful and thankless - definitely not something to be sought without the monetary motivation, but HR seems to think that people will seek promotion to go on less money.  The lunatics definitely have taken over the asylum.

Martin, Global Solutions Europe
I have worked for BT for over 26 years. In that time I have moved through this business bringing with me my experience and skills that have been honed to suit my current role. By outside industry standards I am well below the mid-way pay level, I have been on my current pay scale of £38,000 for the past three years. Last year I was given a 0.56 per cent pay increase which amounts to £200 a year before tax. Minus the tax at 40% my take home pay was £120 for the year, not even the price of a McDonalds meal once a week, I am currently a PSG4 grade and under the NRF I have been allocated a PM2 role which in no way reflects the work I currently do. 

Disgusted of One IT
Thank you so much BT, having been waiting a year to find out what benefits a Lead Professional is actually entitled to, I find out (via an unofficial route) that it's not much (allegedly). Plus just to add to our joy, our management chain in OIU don't even know where our benefits letters are coming from or if they are coming. And you want morale to increase?
Funny way to go about it if you ask me!

Richard, BT Wholesale
It is very concerning for those of us very much at the bottom of our pay scales that the salary max. may never be achieved and that we have people working for us earning more money than us.

Pete, BT Wholesale
I feel really strongly that BT should honour the claim that Connect has submitted on behalf of us all. In real terms we have fell well behind what we are entitled to as managers - at least inflation rate. I have been a manager for 10 years now and I see my ex-colleagues who are still CWU members get on average nearly a 3% pay award each year, and I personally see the differentials reducing alarmingly all the time. BT allegedly values its managers and their commitment. It's a pity BT senior management cannot demonstrate the same values!!

Steve, BT Exact
I have, in the past, accepted long hours as a prerequisite of handling a management role. However, BT now seems to think it can ride roughshod over any agreement reached with the union even to the point of not even bothering to gain agreement. As far as I am concerned BT has used up all remaining goodwill. I am now taking my TOIL and thoroughly enjoying the time off. I am refusing to take on additional work that will extend my hours without either a guaranteed above inflation pay rise or other work being taken away.
If my totally dispirited attitude spreads BT will be the losers in the end.
 
Bruce Snell
This is to show my support of this campaign and my full backing of connect.

Garth, Wales
Having been a manager for  five years I am still well below the middle pay range for the job I do. I cannot see me reaching an acceptable managerial pay level if the new pay and bonus structure is fully implemented. As with most managers I have engineers that earn more than me year in and year out. It's no wonder we can't encourage engineers to move up the managerial tree when C3 posts seem to be growing on the "easier job" bush. As for myself there will be no more extras being undertaken, non-managerial interviewing, development forum,etc,etc, until my salary reflects the workload and responsibility I have in my everyday job.

Pete, Kent
Sssome points to note.
· Having regularly achieved 90-100% OTB why am I being offered 75% as a bonus alignment payment.
· In two years time I will be £6,600 worse off assuming current performance.
· The bonus alignment scheme does not compensate for the loss of gross earnings over the coming years.

Pete Oswestry

Having just been briefed about the new benefits packages it is obvious that, yet again, managers in BT has been shafted!!  If the proposed benefit bands are imposed then, magically, a whole tier of management has had its benefits entitlement removed. That's progress for you!!  While I support that the existing pay and benefits arrangement need reviewing, the current proposals do nothing to motivate and encourage pride in your job and loyalty to BT as a company.

Jackie from Global Services

The benefits package has just been released to my 'Project Management community'. To say we are all very disappointed is an understatement. It seems there is no incentive at all to gain promotion from PM1 to PM2. Who wants to take on a higher role for no extra benefits, just extra stress!!

John (BTW)

The bonus/benefits package has let everyone down by downgrading all PCG grades & merged the PCGU with MPG's & yet we are still expected to have the additional responsibilities associated with these grades.

Tino - LCM BT retail 
I am now in a position of managing a team of 27 engineers where two thirds of them take home more money than me. I have always accepted that if a person works overtime and works the extra hours then they deserve to take home more money than their manager. But since the implementation of FRS (bonus scheme) an engineer doing a basic 36 hours a week which is 6 hours less than my standard hour can still earn more than their manager if they have a good week on bonus. This can't be fair.

Scott from Global

Work to Contract - no favours

John from service client relationship management

In all my many years working for this prestigious company, I have never before experienced such a long period of despair amongst the management workforce (both senior and junior).   We have watched our non management colleagues close the pay differentials, had our workload and stress levels increased, watched our benefits disappear and now face the loss of our bonus.   Please give me a compelling reason for staying with this company........I am sad to leave, but I have my family to look after.

Dave from GCS

BT must keep its promises, we keep ours

Steve from BT Retail

There's seems to be a lot of talking, but no hard cash in my wages. BT seem to be constantly dragging their heels!

Richard from Global Services 

The NRF has not delivered what it promised. The pay scales have been based on figures from industry and the mid point set. However BT now need to QUICKLY get everybody within their pay band and to the mid point. Also those above the mid point MUST get a pay rise against inflation, otherwise they are going backwards in terms of pay. All of the above leads to a bad feeling towards BT in the way they treat their people - who are their biggest asset.

Stu in Major Business

Alison from BT Retail
In real terms the majority of us have seen pay decreases over the last few years - how is that supposed to reward satisfactory performance? It's also devaluing our future pensions.

Robin Ridge, BT Wholesale
No pay rises, endless negotiation and prevarication. Scrap the NRF now. It obviously doesn't work. It has no credibility whatsoever. Go back to a system in which we at least get the rate for the job and leave performance issues to decide bonus.

John, London LCM
It took 16 years to get to Maximum whilst inflation eroded the gains. I work with colleagues who reached Max at 46 years of age their prospects for the future, 14 years without a rise. BT has shown no respect for lower management for years; yet back down to the CWU on every aspect. Every pay scheme has been complicated to hide the truth. All we want is a cost of living rise for EVERYONE and a simple means of getting from the first step on the management ladder to the top.

Russell
Where shall we start...

Council tax through the roof
General taxation higher than ever
Petrol - the most expensive in the world
Continuing public transport price increases beyond inflation
Etc etc etc etc....

We need a pay rise to maintain our standard of living against all these increases not just a so called cost of living rise!!

Vikki from BT Retail
I fully endorse the pay claim this year.  I find the 1% rise (my highest over a number of years) totally insulting.  What's the point of getting a 'Very Good' marking on my appraisal when all I earn myself is a pay cut?  The CWU always seem to get a pay rise over or around inflation - and I think that's the very least we should expect.  I've heard from one colleague today who has been told that he will never get the minimum on his pay range.  What's the point of having pay ranges at all.

Ian from Apsley branch
The NRF left me with no realistic expectations of a performance increment between now and retirement. My pay will be declining in real terms at RPI every year until then. I am paying more for my pension now in real terms than the benefit I will get back later.  Can BT explain what incentive I have to aim for anything other than a "Satisfactory" APR marking and to put my blinkers on to bigger-BT needs and go Hell for Leather to achieve my hard-wired targets? I'm disgusted.

Jerry Maguire
C'Mon BT - show me the money!

Martyn from Wholesale
I am doing exactly the same job as others in my team, yet I receive £7.5k a year less than those people. As some of them were PTG's they also receive benefits approaching another £4K.  That's £11.5 k difference for the same job. I like many others have been marked "Good" (especially since Ben's restrictions on the numbers) which has meant no pay rise.

Martin from Global
Good to see a realistic claim from the union.  I have had no rises for 2 years and most of the people I manage earn far more than me.  Despite this BT has made no endeavour to alter the incorrect job family my colleagues and I have been placed in (resulting in a drop of £7k on the previous max for my grade) and take no account of our skills and the vital role we play delivering ICT solutions.

John from BTexact
I can only echo all the previous comments on this page. I sometimes wondered why I became a Manager...oh I remember we had increments in those days and they were removed the year I was promoted.  John the monkey working for peanuts.

Richard
BT need to think carefully how they are going to achieve the stretching targets of deploying 21CN in a very short timescale. This will require exceptional effort from employees. Zero pay rise will result in demotivated staff and BT will fail.

NB
BT want us to work harder and harder while they continue to reduce our salaries.

We don't owe BT anything. BT have thrown away any call on our loyalty.

BT do not value their employees. BT is willing to rob your pension fund , reduce your standard of living and destroy shareholder value as long as the board gets their whack.

Gary H
I find it incredible how BT treat the pay response for management grades.

I have several years management experience, an MBA, have control of a large budget and am expected to show a return in excess of £10M. Why is it that TO's with little qualifications, far lower responsibility gets similar money by working a couple of hours overtime. I work far more hours than I'm contracted to. Maybe I should have stayed a TO and not bothered.

My patience is wearing thin. Pay up BT or I for one will vote for industrial action if it comes to a vote. Something I have never done before.

Mark,  BT Exact
Like the vast majority of BT managers I have put up with BT's excuses for the effective pay cuts of the last few years, but the time has come to say enough is enough.

The only way to get committed and motivated people is to pay them the going rate for the job and reward them accordingly.

I have never known a time in this company when morale has ever been so low with so many people dissatisfied and angry at the way they have been mistreated. I hope that senior management take note or this company is going down the pan fast.

Simon in Adastral Park
Given the work and sacrifice by BT managers it's about time that the company recognised our efforts with a motivating pay round.

CS, BT Angel Branch
Like  many  other  managers  I  have  received  zero  or  below  one  percent  pay  rises  for  at  least  the  last  five  years.  I  achieve  my  targets  and  supposedly  work  for  a  modern  technology  based  successful  company  which  in  relation  to  turnover  the  cost  of  staff  is  relatively  small.  Is  BT  deliberately  keeping  pay  rises  down  to  protect  costs  in  the  rest  of  the  telephone  industry?  Given  the  attitude  of  BT  over  the  last  few  years  on  pay,  I  suspect  some  industrial  strike  action  will inevitably follow  which  is  to  be  regretted.

Mick, London
I'm at the top of the salary range but each increase in wage is always far less than inflation rate. Inflation does not include such items as council tax etc so the decrease in living standards is greater than inflation. It is not always guaranteed that a bonus will cover these increases, so we now are reducing our standard of living, from buying cheaper furniture to taking cheaper food. This may sound petty and may not actually be noticed over time, but why should we reduce our living standards in this day and age?

I would like all ranges of a level to be paid a minimum of the yearly inflation rate, even if this means reducing the available pot for bonuses.

CA
After being promoted (sic!) from engineering 6 years ago, I'm concerned about the erosion of pay differentials.  If the CWU get anywhere near the rise they are asking for their members and I once again receive no pay rise, the demotivational effect could be very damaging to BT.

Alan B
I now find myself in the top half of my pay scale.  The result of this is no pay rises above inflation for years and consequently a serious drop in my standard of living year on year.

Surely an inflation proof rise for everyone isn't too much to ask for. It would do a great deal for my morale each year to know I would be on the same real money as last year rather than less.

Ian in Global Services
BT professionals' efforts have contributed towards the growing success of the company and deserve a share in that growth. The feedback I am getting is that the NRF is treated with much cynicism, as BT has lost most of the goodwill it had built up - and will soon start to reap the rewards for its stinginess. Many people I speak to are actively looking outside the company and realizing that better offers certainly exit. BT's problem with this will be that it is never the 'poor performers' that walk!!!

Sally
It's about time BT paid up.  They seem to want first class service for third world wages.  I haven't had a consolidated pay rise for 3 years and during that time I've completely re-skilled and all prices have risen.  I'm now faced with getting a second job just to keep paying the bills.
Pay up BT!

Steve B in One IT
BT senior management have got to decide what they want.
If they truly want to maintain a committed workforce then they need to come up with a reasonable pay policy that maintains people standard of living, rewards success and allows progression.
We all know that it is a tough market place and we all have a vested interest in making sure that the company stays competitive. People need to feel wanted with tangible recognition and all the words in the world will not change that.

Paul - One IT
Here's what the NRF has done to me;
Mapped to a higher role in April '04, no pay rise for a move from one job to another job that should command a higher salary range (previously known as PROMOTION).
How can BT expect us to believe we are aligned with the external market when they cannot align the internal market?
BT needs our buy-in to make things like One IT work, but where's the incentive? Its certainly not with NRF in its present condition.

Nick - One IT
Over the last seven years my salary has grown by 13.5% less than the index of UK average earnings (excluding bonuses) and I think I'm a fairly typical case in the MPG.  BT claims to be following the pay market - it seems not very closely.  It is about time they paid up an increase that at least matched the UK average.

P. Doff
The BT pay rises for PSG's have been a joke for the last few years, it is about time BT respected their managers with at least a fair rise matching inflation. My pay has only increased by about 5.5% in 4 years. It had better be a significant increase this year, if only they were offering the release packages again I am sure I would be competing with many others to get a place.
I am fed up with having my standard of living reduced dramatically year on year. To make matters worse BT always finds a reason not to pay the full bonus and I have now lost my company car, I was better off as a TO. If we don't get a decent pay rise at least matching inflation they can say goodbye to the long hours and evening working, I will turn off my phone at 5pm.

Rupert, BT Group
After not receiving any consolidated pay rise last year with a very good MMP, and not having any confidence in BT being any more generous this year I fully support the Pay Up Campaign and any action it might involve.
I can't see how BT can expect to take itself into the 21st Century whilst giving us 20th Century pay.  I hope the union digs it's heels in this year.
As a minimum we need a pay structure that ensures that the consolidated pay of members who perform well at least keeps track with inflation, wherever they are on the payscale.  I have given BT nearly 20 years of my working life and my trust in and respect for the company is at the lowest it has ever been.

Daren in BT Wholesale
Please give me a pay rise this year! I need at least 4% to stay still with inflation.

Richard C
BT has milked the loyalty of its people for far too long.  We have been subjected to repeated changes for the last few years in terms of working practices and performance.  We have seen no reward or recognition, despite our commitment to improve things in BT, from implementing new networks and systems to speeding up product launches and making the whole customer experience better - in most cases we have delivered.

How long before the loyalty bucket runs dry?  Even the die-hard optimists I speak to say their motivation is at an all time low and I'm now one of them.

John D
3.2% inflation ought to be a basic increase for all performing at GS or above, with additional money depending on performance.
BT have managed to increase the shareholder dividend over the last couple of years: surely employees should also be rewarded?

Anon
I see myself as an above average performer at PSGB grade with a recent GM award for performance.
My pay has gone up about 2% in the last 4 years.
My cost of living has risen at least 10% in that time.
This is an appalling situation and I am seriously considering leaving the company in the near future.

Richard L
The New Rewards Framework was meant to be open and honest. Me and my colleagues are more confused than ever.  If BT wants us to sign up to this then give it the funds it requires and make it easier to understand.

Anon BT manager
I am now in my fourth year of a non-pay rise. I'm effectively 10% worse off than I was at the start of the new century.
So it looks like spending most of a lifetime working for a company that professes to appreciate their individual employees leads to a drop in basic pay.
Why can't they invest more than words in us? Aren't we worth it? 
After thirty years it seems a shameful way to deal with employees they claim to respect.

Michael - BT Group
I support Connect's campaign for a universal minimum increase equal to inflation.  With inflation running at 3.2%, not only is my present standard of living being undermined, but also my pension.  And yet all the time BT is demanding more and more of its managers.  
Variable and uncertain bonuses are no compensation for a proper pay rise.
Fortunately, I do have a life outside BT. And I'm finding the home-work balance swinging firmly in favour of the home: going the extra mile for BT is folly.
 
Graham in Systems Engineering
The way we are being treated by the company is downright disgraceful.
It is time we are given a proper pay rise - just look at the poor morale in many areas of the company and the difficulty in recruiting externally - the board is putting the company on a downward slippery slope. BT does not deserve to succeed until they can treat their most valuable asset - the skilled professional IT engineer - properly.

Mark - Global Services
Best of luck with the campaign. I like many others in the company haven't had a pay increase for a couple of years, even though I've sort of had a promotion with job family re-alignment. I feel that the company doesn't want to increase base pay rates as it'll also impact upon pensions, so giving them a double saving, now and in the future.
 
K.J.
I note that we are being asked to go the extra mile to support BT-oneIT during its current restructuring. Great, no problem with that. Supported BTExact through the previous initiatives, helped get in external business, etc.
Took a zero payrise as I am at the top the band for several years whilst all bills were increasing.
Was concerned that BT got itself £30Billion in the red. Glad to help.
Now things are better. Revenue from Broadband is increasing significantly. Still glad to help.
How about some help back?

Ian C
Pay peanuts get monkeys
No pay rise get no motivation
No fairness get no putting customers 1st
Since there's nothing in it for me
Why should I go the extra mile?

Kevin W
The way BT has treated staff pay issues over the last few years is nothing short of disgusting. Despite BT people working totally flat out to transform the business, and revenue figures which suggest this effort is reaping real rewards for the company, BT still refuses to acknowledge the role their people have played in executing the transformation.
In my opinion, we should lobby the shareholders, go on strike, or work to rule in order to make BT aware of how strongly we feel about this and to let them see how quickly their business would fall apart without our support. No more placid, Mr Nice approach please!

Tony - BT Exact
After kicking me (and it seems, most of my colleagues) in the teeth last year with an effective pay cut, it looks like the company's planning to do exactly the same this year.And yet BT still thinks it's entitled to ask me to give it something for nothing - a manager was surprised recently when he asked me to provide out-of-hours on-call cover for free and I refused. That's what more of us should be doing, not sitting back and letting the company treat us like dirt.

Maybe we need a strike?

John - Adastral Park
Its now time that BT paid up properly.

Rick in One IT
At a time when the company is launching as 21CN and One IT, it is important that managers feel that they are properly rewarded for good performance in order that morale is maintained. Also, BT should not impose a pay deal again. Shareholders' interim dividend rose by 21% this year and so I don't think it is credible for the company to claim that it is too poor to fund a decent settlement. I do not want to see any smoke and mirrors. If a manager gets a Good rating, they should at least get an RPI increase.

Robert, Global
I was a PCG U, and was aligned into the "Lead Solution Designer" grade in the SSD job family. That was a good match in terms of the salary ranges and I had no complaints. I now have a letter from my line manager informing me that my grade has been allocated band 1 benefits, i.e. no car, no healthcare and no phone allowance. It seems that I will not lose my existing benefits, but it still feels like a kick in the teeth - I feel devalued. I feel guilty that I am receiving those benefits when BT is in effect saying that I don't deserve them. In effect, I'm back to MPG4  - given that my salary is still below the top of the old MPG4 band after four years as a PCG U. I've heard that there are similar problems in Wholesale.
 
Karen at Adastral Park
BT's pay reward for high performance - a pay cut!

Jon, Broadband
I'd like to add my comments.  I was promoted this year to a job which in old terms would have been equivalent to a PCGU grade and I was obviously expecting the associated benefits. Having received my benefits/bonus letter last week I find I am in benefits band 1 and therefore not entitled to anything. My On Target Bonus is 7.5%and I seem to be expected to have responsibility and yet no associated benefits or bonus levels.

I feel I've been totally misled due to the lack of information on benefits/bonus since the NRF has been implemented. I applied for the job with additional responsibilities etc on the assumption that I would receive the appropriate benefits for a PCGU and now feel totally deflated to find out that the goalposts have moved and I won't be entitled to anything. If they had made this clear at the beginning of the NRF implementation it may have influenced the decision about what jobs I would have applied for. While people who are now applying for jobs can do so with their eyes open in the knowledge of what they will/won't be entitled to(although it questions how they will fill some of these posts). Those of us who have been promoted in the last nine months or so have done so with no indication from BT that these goalposts may change.

Kish in One IT
For too many years now BT has not recognised its employees fully. If we are to feel truly valued we should get a pay rise at least up to inflation. Isn't it about time BT gave us more than a tenner for Christmas. What does £10 buy these days... it's a joke.

John, Wholesale
I have been and in many ways still am a huge supporter of BT but as each new NRF announcement is released so my enthusiasm and pride in working for BT diminishes. I have worked for BT since 1989 after joining as a T2B but perhaps it is time to consider my future before I lose all respect for such a great company.
Trevor in Global
 
I was lucky last year that I received a pay rise of 1%. I work long hours and travel on behalf of BT but now feel that I receive little reward or recognition for the additional effort.  Bring on the 50 hour week. It is just as well the care survey was last month, not this.
I will be supporting the PAY UP! campaign.

George
I would like to register my support for the current pay claim. I would also like to add that I have received a letter stating that my potential bonus payment will remain at 7.5% for the year to 2006.  This is in contravention of BT's 2003 commitment to a 10% level for MPGs.
Having had a zero pay rise last year apparently due to the low level of job family into which our group was put, (since rectified, but no sign of any adjustment to salary), I am feeling completely disillusioned with the whole pay and rewards system.  In particular the job families fiasco has been a personal disaster for me.

Les
What with the "fairness fairy" dying (I am quoting a senior manager on a webchat) and the unilateral decision to cut OTB bonuses I'm feeling BT doesn't value it's managers and professionals much. We're being told we must perform at higher and higher levels, work longer and longer hours (this isn't a direct instruction but is a reality), we should be prepared to work away from home for extended lengths of time and win more valuable work, but when it comes to compensating us for this we're not seeing it.
 
Does BT believe it can be a leader in ICT with an unhappy workforce that doesn't trust them?

Steve
Is it not time that we received a respectable pay rise?  Over the past three years at least, many members who have had good markings in their APR have not received any pay award.  With the NCU members continuing to get inflationary rises, their members will soon be on more money than those who are supposed to be on a higher grade.

Andy, BT Exact
1 Why don't managerial colleagues with BT C&SI appear to have MMP or personalised objectives allocated to their performance and pay / bonus outcome? This is inconsistent and not equalised over LoB's. A similar job to my own in BT C&SI (Major Incident Manager) is being openly advertised on jobserve.com at a starting salary of £45,000 pa - even though it has no technical responsibility and has no direct reports - my own role has a far wider scope - again no consistency. - my salary range is £28 to £42,000 but I am nowhere near the mid range - in fact well below.
2 - Again as per last year, why no increase in MPG shift allowance? This has not risen for at least seven years, or even more possibly.

Colin from Croydon
It's lucky I got £25 of Argos vouchers for my birthday, I will be able to buy one of these hair trimming sets and save loads of money. It will be like getting a pay rise.
 
Jim in Delta
Having had not a pay rise for years, I cancelled my TCN subscription and my Delta Point gym membership to save money, but there is no way I am giving up my Connect membership - that's my insurance policy.

Dave in BT Retail
The grade for the role I carry out for BT was originally a MPG4.Under the NRF Review last year I was assigned to a Job Family that had a pay range below the MPG2 maximum. As a result I was already earning above the maximum of my new Job Family and I ended up with a 0% pay rise which in essence is an actual pay cut.

I am disgusted that Connect allowed this to happen to me and many of your other members. I expect Connect to fight for and to achieve a pay rise of not below inflation for me and fellow managers in my position. If I do not get a pay rise this year then I will seriously consider resigning from Connect. Please negotiate ruthlessly for us all.

Mike, account manager
After discovering that I am paid around £5,000 pa below the minimum for my grade I am extremely concerned and disappointed that little action is being made by BT to rectify this. I have hit my target four years running and had a good DPR so would rightfully expect to be at least the mid-point of my grade which would require a £14,000 pay rise. Realistically I will probably have to wait around 10 years to get my market value. So I have no alternative but to start preparing my CV to protect my family's future. I am no longer prepared to put up with the stress and the ridiculous hours I put in to be so grossly underpaid and constantly insulted. If it is not sorted out immediately I will be forced to use my skills elsewhere which is a real shame after all the time I have given to the organisation..

Paul
One of the core objectives of NRF is to ensure BT staff packages are comparable with others doing the same job in and outside of BT. My basic salary is £7,000 (24%) below the lowest of the range, £14,000 (48%) below the reference rate for my job family. Bonus is all over the place, as Finance appear to have carte blanche to continually amend the pay plan as and when they see fit. Because BT appears to taking forever to rectify the situation, it will continue to lose many well-needed people to the competition, at a time when it is crucial to keep quality and experienced resource.

Tony
For years now BT has treated its managers with contempt. Forcing Connect to accept an overall pay envelope that means that many of us get NO pay increase at all. I have had one increase to my basic pay of less than two per cent in the last five years; an erosion in real terms against inflation of perhaps 10%. This has got to stop.
The NRF is the latest thing forced through by BT. I have seen what looks like pure 'rank by rank' mapping happening; NOT Job Assessment; it's a JOKE but not a funny one. If BT wanted a de-motivated management team, especially the ones of us with a long career of service behind us, then this has been the way to get it. If there was a Release Scheme today, I would take it. Sad isn't it!!
 
Jim Halliday
The cynical way that BT announced the change to the PCG car policy and started to tell people what benefit bands they are allocated after the Care survey was closed  means I will never trust my employer again.
 
Delta Dave
As I have had only had one pay rise in five years the Inland Revenue no longer considers it worthwhile for me to fill in a tax return. Thanks, BT, for giving me back three hours of my life.
 
Father of four, Croydon
I can.'t remember when I went out and treated myself to new decent office clothes. No doubt I will get a bollocking when I turn up for customer meetings looking scruffy

Andy from Apsley
After numbers of years of zero or pay rises significantly below 1 per cent, and performance markings of very good, my motivation to perform is approaching zero too. Why bother to work harder if there's no reward for it? As each year goes by and my pay is worth less, why does BT expect me to deliver more, to work harder? It's not going to happen until they PAY UP!

Mike from Apsley Branch
It's about time that we received a pay rise that is at the minimum the equivalent of inflation and should be more to address the less than inflation, (or none at all) rises in the past decade.

Bob - BTExact, Wolverhampton
I'm sorry but this claim looks very poor compared with the CWU 2005 claim of a straight eight per cent for ALL MEMBERS.

Keith from OneIT  
Echoing an earlier comment, I have been promoted twice and am currently earning less than I did as a team member TEN years ago!  Admittedly I was working a lot of overtime back then. The only difference now is that the extra hours I work are not called overtime and I get nothing for them.  And they still send us a Care survey asking if we think our pay is reasonable!! Get real BT, and PAY UP!

A.Camel, OneIT
NRF - Benefits bands not resolved and rumours that Band 1 is worth nothing
NRF - Promotion paths not resolved
OneIT - Many still don't know where they stand in the new organisation
OneIT - 80:20 ?? 80% wrong, 20% half resolved
OneIT - still faces resource issues and we are being asked to deliver more, in shorter timescales with less people
2005 Pay - Enforced MMP 'ratings profile'
2005 Pay - Will BT PAY UP ??
2005 Pay - Uncertainty over who will get a pay rise this year
It is about time BT resolved some of the outstanding issues to the satisfaction of its people and Connect. They cannot continue to change things to our detriment (eg removing company car cash-in-lieu lump sum) and still expect us to be committed to all the other changes that are taking place. 'Straws' and 'Camels backs' spring to mind.

Mark, One IT
I joined BT as a graduate on the Graduate scheme. Since completing the scheme I have had two pay rises. As at the time of the first rise I was below the mid-range I was given a pay increase to about £50 p.a. above the bottom of the mid-range. This happened again last year. I have been rated consistently as a good in my MMP throughout this time. Pay progression? Papering over the cracks more like.
I recently joined an ICT project and have put in extremely long hours to help dig the project out of a hole not of my making that would otherwise likely have landed BT with hefty contractual penalties. Is it too much to ask that 4.5 years after starting at BT I might finally be paid at what is considered to be the market rate?? I would like to think not but I am deeply cynical... We need a fair and equitable pay system and it is about time that BT recognised this and did something about it.
 
Bob in Directories 
I have been on the same salary for almost three years and I am at the low end of the median in the pay scale. I have been given good news that my job family will be on a higher scale than I have been on, but whether or not I get the pay which this merits is another matter. I live in hope. I hope, however, that this email will help display the feeling of most, that BT is making a huge profit, non-manager grades are guaranteed a rise each year, whilst managers have to grin and bear it. More power to the union.

Anon
Anybody promoted into the PCG grades from an arbitrary date in the summer has been given no benefits other than a miserly pay rise. This equates to a loss of £5000 pa. It is now the case that a large number of these people will never get benefits - this is clearly to subsidise the myth of 10% OTB which otherwise would be completely unachievable.

BT must get on very well with New Labour as they have introduced their own stealth taxes:
a) Company car payments monthly only - saves BT the cost of money over the year.
b) Christmas pay on the 22/12 each year - saves BT payroll costs for a few days each year.
c) Removal of tiered benefits from PCGTs and up
d) Removal of large numbers of PTG/PCGU jobs from the benefits system.
e) BT support the 2012 olympic bid. As a London tax payer I will have to pay for this but BT do not pay me any London Weighting.

I was promoted to a 'PCGU' job last August but have had no benefits. It now turns out that the 'role' I am doing comes in at level1 benefits i.e. none. Unless this situation is addressed BT has therefore robbed me of £5000 pa for life. I feel like I have been mugged by my own company so there is no way I will ever vote for the NRF. If we don't get a decent pay rise this year you must press for industrial action.
 
Steve, BT Global
I've just read the March 2005 issue of Connected and it has prompted me to provide you
with my thoughts on what the NRF will do to me.
I have already sent a similar message to BT via the feedback facility on the HR NRF page
at the BT Intranet - no reply from them yet !
As a PSG I had until now been relatively happy with my pay rate, but under NRF I think my bonus level is in jeopardy. Although we are not direct sales people, our team works directly on issues that enable the contract managers to provide services to their customers and so we have been given their performance targets and their levels of bonus.

With my role no longer belonging to Client Management (as far as NRF is concerned) although the work I do will not change, I think I will be pushed into the 10% bonus level. I am very concerned at the Sales buyout arrangement and would urge you to fight for a proper consolidated pay rise
to cover this loss in earnings. 

Shane, BT Exact
Why is a move from one job role to another job role that commands a higher salary range (previously known as PROMOTION) is not rewarded financially (i.e no change to their current salary or benefits) even if you are below the new salary range? It seems to negate any benefit to attaining the 'higher' role. In addition, how can BT justify the fact that the individual in question is expected to undertake a greater level of responsibility from day one of their new role, but will only be gradually remunerated at a slightly higher rate to their peers over a period of years until they "catch-up" with the minimum of their new range?

James, BT Retail Glasgow
I'm supporting the pay claim because despite maintaining my good performance I didn't get a pay rise last year. The pay rise I did get in 2003 was well below the rate of inflation. I'm currently paid £5,000 below the 'job rate' for the role I'm mapped into and it seems there's no prospect of progressing towards the 'job rate'.  Despite achieving a performance that meets the rising standards expected and working for much longer than my contracted hours, my pay has been eroded.

Ian from BTGS
I was promoted from a TO Grade to a PSG1 five years ago. I have recently been promoted to a PSG2 (Despite being marked for promotion and having a 2 on APR for approx three years) and even with the associated five per cent increase I am still virtually level with a D1 salary but do not enjoy the benefits of call-out allowance and overtime. The benefits that have almost justified getting promoted in the first place have been eroded.

Rob from GS
I was given a pay rise last year which equated to £500. This was the first pay rise for four years. Most good employers pay inflation as the norm with additional pay rises based on performance. This year I have been told the APRs of the group I work in will be moved down a marking as the norm has become too high. Where's my incentive - or is it that old expression from Monty Python along the lines of 'I pay my boss £5 a week for the privilege of having a job.'

LCM from Wales
In what other company is the managers' pay decided by whether your manager likes you or not? Who cares if you achieve your targets because you will only get marked down and the golden boys get the glory and money.  What's a one to one anyway?

David,  BT Exact
Longer working hours.  No opportunity for promotion unless you get a tap on the shoulder.  Continual change. Grand ideas all about, but no commitment to support the changes with real cash.  In summary - a company which clearly does not care about its people.    Ask not, what Connect can do for you.....but what YOU can do for Connect. SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN AND GET ACTIVE!!

Dean from Belfast
From speaking to ex-engineering friends and one to one interviews with my current team, it's clear that many managers are seen as a laughing stock - work longer hours, pressure from above and below, no pay rise for many.  If you work out the £££s per hour compared to a C3, many are badly underpaid.  This has almost destroyed the will to try harder or get promoted in parts of engineering. That's bad for the company and everyone.

Frank from One IT
I have always been loyal to the company but feel now that the loyalty is only one way. Each year we seem to have more work and often for less real pay. If BT does not offer all managers a real pay rise this year then I for one would support further action. This is a major step for me but I am now prepared to take it.

Martin from BT Leicester Branch
Like everyone I talk to about pay I'm tired of seeing a secretive system used to reduce the real value of pay and pension. The signs are already there this year with BT reneging on the agreement that the minimum bonus in 2005 would be 10 per cent and trying to make it five per cent. The NRF is a chance to resolve all the pay problems and the proof of the pudding will be in this year's pay settlement. BT can't aspire to be the best without offering its people the best.

Julia from Major Business
I know that I am not paid the same as many of the colleagues that I work with.

Mike in Global
BT have instigated a new pay framework to bring it's managers in line with outside industry, then they drag
their feet in meeting the targets they set.  Where is the logic in that!!
BT can invest £billions in 21Century Network but are struggling to invest in the managers that will drive this project forward!!

Ian
An increase in consolidated pay for all MPG grades is required to maintain morale and motivation.
Lets hope the senior management are listening.
 
Brian in Global
My wages continue to go down no matter how hard I work. How is that performance related pay? We need a minimum of RPI plus. It doesn't matter how big the pot is that BT offers if its distribution does not reach me. I voted against 1.7 % but I actually got zero anyway. I have been a manager for over 20 years and in all that time I never counted my excess hours - well I do not work one minute extra anymore. BT will lose out in the long run.
 
Martin in One IT
BT's third quarter results reflect the continued hard work, blood, sweat and tears of BT's managers and professionals. Earnings per share are up 9% - it is now time for BT to give a significant 'earnings per employee' increase to reward those who have made these results possible. Otherwise we will have to reduce our efforts accordingly to help BT understand the equation!

Alan from Network Build
After yet another year where I have had a below inflation pay rise despite an overal DPR VG, all objective met and being below the job family midpoint, it is time we made a stand and showed the company that this year we mean business.

Jones from wales
A TO on FRS now earns more than me. Since promotion I have lost roughly £45k in take home pay through poor and nil pay rises combined with long unpaid hours. Why should my pay depend on a DPR marking that bears no reflection on my achievements?

T in Exact
Why are we put in a job family whose midpoint is less than, or at current pay.  It would be simpler and more honest for the company to say that it will not give anyone a payrise (as it did a couple of years ago), rather than create unnecessary stress with this stupid charade to create the illusion of progress when there is none..

FM Payphones
Do pay benchmarked companies not take the effects of inflation on their employees pay into consideration?

Graeme from Global Solutions
For too long now managerial pay has reduced in such a way that our deferrentials from CWU grades has deminished. We should be campaingning for pay awards for all regardless of CDR markings, in the same way the CWu attravt their increases, across the board. It is about time we had an equal pay agreement across both union boundaries.

Steve, Global Services
With the move to the new Job Families and reward framework, BT appearx to have blurred the subject of incremental benefits associated with a job promotion or a move to a job that was a higher grade under the old structure. By not clarifying the benefits packages at the same time as launching job families how many people are now being short-changed by not getting the benefits (car, health care, phone) that they would have got under the old structure?    We're worth just as much today as we ever were.

Neil from Global Services   
I want to see a pay review in line with the CWU. If there is a five per cent increase available, we all get it! Not some get more than others.

Barry Tiffany from Convergent Solutions
I received no pay rise last year and the prospect of a repeat this year is unacceptable. My own view of the New Reward Framework is that it is a clever ruse designed to reduce BT's pay bill.

X in Group Finance
The CWU receive an above inflation pay rise every year, and yet managers who often work many unpaid hours are told by BT that they cannot afford to give them a pay rise.  Many managers are paid far less than the Newgrid teams they manage and this has got to stop!  How do BT expect to motivate and retain good people if even after achieving all targets and objectives there is still no pay rise!

Phil from BT Retail
As an employee of BT for over five years now I find it very de-motivating to find myself not being paid the going market rate for my role. This has been going on ever since joining the company and can only lead to individuals looking outside of BT!  The moves made by BT to benchmark the pay against the industry are positive, but only if those who are below the bottom threshold are awarded a pay rise to bring them in line with the rest of the industry.

Brian from Severnside
As for so long in this company we need to pay high salaries and bonuses to senior managers but those who actually do things are apparently overpaid already.

Leslie from Wholesale
It is time for the company to recognise that managers of all grades particularly the first line managers who give 110 per cent every day do deserve the reward an recognition of the company though pay and bonuses.

Jo Giove, BT Retail, CCC
I believe everyone is entitled to a pay raise of at least inflation. Our bills and outgoings continue to go up each year, we work hard for this company and should be recognised accordingly.

Mike from BT Business Sales
We deliver a lot to the business of BT, work long hours, often in excess of 50 hours a week, and for the commitment we show the business we should be rewarded fairly. I for example am paid £8,000 below the 'entry level' for my job role in the NRF.

Mark - Network Build
I'm completely fed up with reading about how successful BT is, only to be told there's no money in the pot for even a cost of living pay rise - apparently there's plenty for the board to dip into.  Whether they are good or poor, all engineering grades have been getting the same inflation+ pay rise and we're held to account for their productivity. I'm convinced that if we weren't at the workface then productivity would fall through the floor, yet the Board fail to recognise our contribution.

John from BT GS
I support the PAY UP! campaign because I have not had any pay rise for two years.

Pat, home-worker from Essex
It is about time BT put its words into action and increase its most import asset, employees', pay by at least the rate of inflation rather than expecting everyone to working longer hours for a pay cut.

Lynn from Sovereign St
Like many people my pay rises over the last few years have been between 0% and 1%. Taking inflation into account this means that I have had 4 years of pay cuts.  However, the comapny isn't benefitting from this parsimony. In the past I used to be happy to put in long hours when the need arose, even working weekends, to get a job done on time and within budget. Now I work my contractural hours.

Sarah from Major Business
I have been a professional sales grade in BT now for 5 years.  In that time I have had to fight to get any increase in my basic pay and increases achieved have been minimal and not in line with inflation.  I am a single mother with a mortgage and bills to pay.  Every year my outgoing costs go up.  I need to work for a company that rewards my efforts and ensures that my pay dosn't stand still whilst the cost of living increases.

Clive, Network Build.
 I support the claim simply because it's fair that our contribution towards the success of our business is actually recognised this year.

John from BT Payphones
 In real terms my pay has declined over the last few years, everything has gone up, except my pay package. 

Nigel in BT Group Finance
Since becoming a PCGU 1/4/01 I have received one pay rise of 1.92% but my role and responsibilities have greatly changed with me now doing the role of my old manager who was paid approximately 50% more than me.

Paul from Adastral Park
Pay Up! so that I too can share in the success of our company.

Alan from Edinburgh Branch
Work smarter not harder = pay fairly not flippantly

Julian
As LCM (low class manager as we are now called) I sick to death of working my butt off to be told at the end of the year I am overpaid (above the mid range) and won't be getting a pay rise. And then you see you engineers getting a percentage pay rise across the board.     I'm not greedy, all I ask is some sort of recognition for what I am doing and a cost of living pay rise. Not much to ask for, is it?    Every LCM you talk now days is demoralised and totally pissed off with BT. 
   
Martin from Networks Operations Wholesale
After 6 years as an MPG2, why am I on less pay than the majority of my C3's.

Davinder from Convergent Solutions
Fully support the campaign and feel very strongly that everyone should get a rise equivalent to inflation, plus an increamental rise, obviously depending on the individual's performance, so the person can progress to maximum for that grade or job family. The way the pay reward is structured at the moment, one will never get to the max and it is even more important (obviously a biased view) for those people who have been with BT for a very long time and contributed to it's success and are getting

Bob from Sheffield       
Although I fully support the efforts to get people to the mid point of payscale, there are many people above that point working very hard, who are told no pay we've used the budget up getting new promotees something

Paul from the dim North
Have had no pay rise for several years. Since inflation is not zero, council taxes are rising, public transport costs more and more, I am much worse off than I was in real terms.  Would you expect me to be motivated under these circumstances?

Mark, Severn Branch
I have been a manager for a long time now since the introduction of FM and have still not progressed to where I should due to the poor pay system in the past. I would like to see a transparent and fair system for all where managers get a rise to at least keep up with inflation.

Robs from W'ton
We need to show much more strength and determination this year when asked to vote on what 2005 has to offer. 

Danny Mott from BT Wholesale
I fully support this claim as for the past few years I have not received any rise whatsoever, not because of poor DPR ratings but because I am was either above the mid point and now because I am at the reference rate. In real terms my spending power has reduced as inflation has clawed away at my pay.

Karl from OneIT
The union needs to ensure that pay levels are brought up to those paid in similar external jobs.

Ronnie from BT Exact
I am on my max and therefore do not expect a large wage increase. However, I do not think that it is fair that my wage does not move in line with inflation. The pay bands need to keep in pace with inflation, as the pensions do.

Keith Stephens, Connect SE London Branch
We were told that every effort would be made to get individuals on to their job family mid-point of the pay range. If this is the case it will take years for some people to get there on current pay awards.  What happens to people who are already at mid-point or even worse above it or on max? What chance do they have of getting a reasonable pay award?

Paul, BT Wholesale
The company's policy seems to be that pay rises (once you are on the mid point) will not be made and you will be 'rewarded' by bonus only.  This represents a year on year (I had nothing last year) reduction in wages and, importantly, pension.  Bonus is for achieving targets and is a separate issue altogether. Current rises are running at three per cent, plus I expect my wage to keep pace with inflation at the very least.

Lisa from BT Retail Billing
I feel that the pay rise in line with inflation is a true and justified way to reward our members for the hard work and commitment they show to the company.  It is becoming more apparent throughout the business that it is better to be a lower grade on a maximum wage with bonuses then to be on a management grade contract.  The rewards made last year were not sufficient to put 'that gap' between C2/C3 and MPG levels.  When someone can be a C2/C3 and potentially earn more money than a management grade something is not right.

Dave - Senior Bid Manager in BT Wholesale
I am particularly aggrieved with the way BT has handled the NRF implementation and the 2005 Pay Award on a number of counts: On promotion to PSG4 over three years ago, I now learn that I am £4,000 p.a. below the mid pay point for my job. Based on pay rises received to date it will take BT another five years of rises to pay me at the mid pay point and that's without taking into account inflation. I'm also hearing rumours in Wholesale of OT Bonus payment "buy out".

Richard from BT Wholesale
I am quite satisfied with BT over the last couple of years personally on paying up, but I am supporting my longer serving colleagues who have not received in line pay rises.

Keith from Exact
I fully support the PAY UP! campaign. BT management seems to regard full-time employees as a liability and are quick to promote the outsourcing of work (without any real thought given to the impact to quality of service to our customers). They are now using this veiled threat to scare us into accepting no standard of living pay increases for years to come. If we don't fight now, the situation will only get worse for both us and the future of BT.

Graham Leng, Global Services
Personal Contractors have been dealt with very unfairly for three years now.  We put in lots of excess hours for free to make sure the job gets done, and many us, like myself, despite getting 'good' DPRs have seen pensions reduced in real terms as they reflect basic pay which has not followed inflation (no pay rise in my case).  The unfairness applies particularly because those who get overtime paid (team members) have had annual pay rises over the whole of this period.

Tony from GS
No pay increase for two years now and bonuses are insignificant as the targets are always unattainable. If we get nought this time I will no longer be working the sort of hours I do now and I will cease to care about BT's customers just as BT has ceased to care about us.

Geoff from Wholesale
I saw one of my B2's pay slips and his take home pay with a little overtime was far more than mine and he gets SDO's.

Mick from London
I support PAY UP! because 30 per cent of my field staff earn more than me.

Chris in BT Wholesale Operations
I work very hard, in a very stressful job that affects my health and my quality of life negatively. No pay rise last year. I struggle to make ends meet. Recently I feel as though I have been badly treated by senior management and the future does not look very pleasant. I am feeling fed up and stressed out.

Henry Gray, BT Retail Edinburgh
What is happening to address the situations where people do not fit into a job family and decisions are made to ram them into one at a lower rate of pay.  e.g. there are many MPG 4 people who now find themselves shoved into job families that do not even match the maximum pay of an MPG 2.  The NRF seems to be a mechanism to cut members' pay and has to be grossly unfair if the job family is decided not by ability or experience but by where you sit. It should be totally rejected.

ChairBloke from Swindon branch
Since BT reneged on an imposed pay structure in '92/3, with the exception of one year, my pay settlement has meant a net pay cut year on year ever since, because it has been below the rate of inflation. How you can mark staff as 'Good' and 'Very Good' and make an award below inflation is insane, hypocritical or both. The recent secret "benchmarking" is an insidious way of reducing the pay range and BT insults its staff by doing so. Those at the top don't care about the company or staff.

Graham Flint  from BT Exact
I back this campaign 100 per cent.  Last year I received a 1.01 per cent pay rise and nothing for three years before that.  I was taking home more money five years ago than I am now. I have had excellent feed back form the project managers I have work for but still only got a good on my APR, which did not entitle me to a pay rise.  My pay is also lower than the starting point of my job role in the New Reward Framework.

Steve,  Enterprise House
I and most have my colleagues will never again have a pay rise with the current system.  People near the top of the pay scale at the least need to keep up with the rate of inflation.

Andrew from BT Retail
Everyone should be entitled to cost of living increases at least

Dave Mayhew of Globa
I have not had a pay increase for three years since the demise of the Concert fiasco.  Our team has also been downgraded with the 'Job Family' exercise. So, although I was at the median point I am now well above it. We NEED a cost of living rise to pay the bills.

Paul in Baynard
Well, no pay raise last year is the most obvious reason to support the campaign. My DPR and position on the pay scale merited a raise. Being paid less on basic money that three of the engineers I manage is also a sore point.  Finally, after raising an appeal on last year's pay award, to receive a standard letter from the Director of Global Services some eight months or so down the line stating:  'It is BT's stated policy that it would not revisit the 2004 pay review', sticks in the craw somewhat. 

Derek Knibbs
I support PAY UP! because there does not seem to be a way of progressing to the maximum of a particular pay range. Once one is on or around the market rate one seems to get less consolidated increase irrespective of job standards performance. Thus in real terms pay and pension going down. Why have a pay range if the market rate seems to be the 'max'?

Phil from Wales
I have not had a pay rise for two years, for the simple reason that I have the misfortune to have been an MPG2 for too long (16 years) and am at the mid-range of the MPG2 pay scale.

John BT, wholesale
Very Good marking on my APR. No rise in 2004 so why should I perform to these standards? Pay motivates, whatever BT says otherwise.

Emma from BT Wholesale
Alignment of current salary rates with colleagues in same role delivering less and new job families... so salary £10,000 less than colleagues and £5,000 under start range of job family role! 

Pete from Kent
I'm fed up with non-managers earning more than I do. It's time that the differentials were changed.

Yvonne Haddad
It is important in the current climate with regard to our pay and conditions that we collectively support the union in its effort to agree a reasonable and progressive pay award for us all. The company wants MORE from us. We deserve to be treated better and our pay should reflect the commitment and hard work delivered by us all!

Paul from Thameswey
The allocation of recent pay awards has been arbitrary and lacking in transparency. Awards appear to bear little relation to effort and performance. In my case, although I have consistently received DPR markings of 2, my only pay rise during the past three years has been 1.7% in 02/03 - and I wasn't on the maximum of my pay PCG scale at that time nor am I anywhere near it according to the new reward framework. Words fail me, almost!!

Glenn Wyman
I am supporting the pay claim because if BT fail to award an inflationary increase that will make it two years running that they have gotten away with it, people in third world countries get better pay deals than that. It also smacks of injustice when I think of the financial report I browsed recently and found myself stuck for words when I saw how much the senior management are making on top of their wages.

Lynne from BT Retail Contact Centres
I have seen my pay erode in real terms for many years now.  When you take into account the extra unpaid hours I work, I am paid less than market rate! As a minimum everyone must get an inflation rise. The company claims to value its people, prove it, and demonstrate equality by giving managers at least the same percentage rises as it awards its clerical people.

HL from Croydon branch
I think it is ridiculous that managers can earn less than team members and yet have far more demands made of them.

Rachael from CS
I am currently paid below the minimum level of the job family I am in so the only way to reach the minimum level and progress in the job family towards the reference rate will be though a pay rise.

Mervyn Hamilton, BTNI
I, like many others, have been mapped to a job family that matches my current pay rate, not one that reflects my job description or actual work that I have been doing over a period of years.  Last year, despite putting in long hours and meeting all my targets and objectives, I got no pay rise. BT may talk the talk on pay, but they don't walk the walk.

Alfie from BT Retail, Belfast
BT claims to want to match salaries against the external market whilst at the same time withholding the budget to enable this to take place. This combined with the fact that we have failed to gain equivalent RPI rises for all over a number of years means that real pay (and future pensions) is being systematically eroded. This must not be allowed to continue. It would seem that BT is keener to keep its non-managers sweet whilst treating its managers with contempt - we have been taken for granted!

Lynn BT Retail
Everyone should get an inflation pay rise. I have not had a pay rise for two years and therefore am suffering serious pay erosion in real terms.

Nat McGhie from West Of Scotland Branch
When I was prompted in 1990 there was a substantial differential between TO and a first line manager. Now year on year I don't get a rise, which is at least equal to RPI, the differential has in real terms dropped. What's the incentive to become a manager now?  I should see an increase in my living standards year on year NOT a decrease.  As I see my lack of RPI rises has funded our disastrous foreign acquisitions and the paying off of our disastrous 3G license buying, all of which is not my fault

Philip from central London
My salary is continuing to reduce in comparison with our competitors in the ICT sector and is not keeping pace with inflation.

Robin Gape from Martlesham
I'd like all of us to be able to share in the success of BT, NRF as well as team members and senior directors. The current stasis sends a very poor message to those of us who would wish to drive the company to greater success in new and developing fields of endeavour.

Anne from BT Exact
CWU members get an annual pay rise regardless of performance.  Managers have more pressure on them and are expected to be committed to BT, but we should be rewarded fairly for our hard work.  Otherwise where is the incentive to improve?

Bob from Birmingham
I'm just fed up with being treated as a second-class citizen by this company and having the differentials in salaries eroded between ourselves and the engineering side. I have a team who constantly take home more money per month than me yet I have all the responsibility.

George from BT Retail
I am well below the reference rate

Ian Leeds
As someone who has been moved into a job/ job family (April 2004) which has subsequently been moved from engineering family to service family (around July) I feel very uncomfortable about the whole exercise. I have effectively been regraded from MPG4 to MPG2, as I was just above the mid point as MPG4 I am now well in excess of the top pay scale for new service job family role and without your efforts to see inflation-related rises across to board am unlikely to receive any increase at all.

Russ, BT Exact
If I don't get a pay rise this year it will be the fourth year in a row despite being marked VG on APR/MMP. In real terms standard of living has reduced as cost of living has risen. BT pushes performance-related pay down our necks but my above average performances have not been rewarded.

Sally Argyle from BT Retail
Based on an hourly rate I am on less than the advisors I manage.

Elizabeth from BT Retail
If BT recognised that it has a dedicated, motivated and world-class work force then a campaign of this nature would not be necessary - that is disappointing.

Neil James from One IT
I live in the South East and in real terms I feel I have had a wage drop over the last five years. BT have stated that they will support alignment with wage structures in outside industries. I want to see them put their 'Money where their Mouth is'.

Andrew from One IT, Martlesham
Many, perhaps most, PCGs have not had consolidated pay increases that have kept pace with inflation over the last few years inspite of high MMP markings. We should no longer be prepared to accept this injustice.

Kevin from BS
I received a 0% pay rise last year despite meeting all my objectives, being well below mid point on my payscale and achieving a 3 on my DPR. My pay differential to team members has been eroded year on year, yet my workload, responsibility and hours seem to increase. BT needs to reward people's efforts, and provide some incentive. Current BT policy seems to be reduce the wage bill any way they can, and managers are seen as a soft touch.

Robert from BT Exact
I'm fed up with having a bonus each year (which is very nice), but never any increase in my actual pay packet.  This obviously impacts my long-term earnings as the cost of living creeps up each year and my salary does not.  Also, by not having a pay increase year-on-year, my pension is not added to.

Christine from Milton Keynes
BT is only as good as its people. People are BT's greatest assest. BT's only sustainable competitive advantage is its people. Your people treat your CUSTOMERS the way you treat your people. 68% of all customers who remove their business do so because of indifference from a staff member. Customers first? PEOPLE first! RESPECT, FAIRNESS!

PV
We are worth more than what BT is aligning our pay scale to.

Richard Collins
I'd like to think that we will all gain something from the new pay structure and be paid the rate for the job. It's now up to BT to prove me right...I won't hold my breath!! 

Andy Wales, Advance Diagnostics Manager
A substantive manager for four years, I received a pay rise of £400 last year. This is not only insulting but also de-motivating. This on top of the Job Family review, which placed me in a family with a top range limit of £8,000 below the MPG4 I was promoted to.  On top of this many colleagues received 0% rises.

Steve from BT Exact
Taking inflation into account, a large proportion of Connect members are, in real terms, experiencing year on year pay cuts. Future pension values are also being decimated. While individual workload / performance is increasing we are seeing a real reduction in pay and benefits. We used to be in the top quartile when compared to equivalent jobs in the open market, but I doubt now if we even come higher than the third quartile.

Martin from Global Solutions
We have been paid less than inflation the last few years and our pay, bonuses and pensions are being gradually eroded by increases in the cost of living.  It is not sufficient to have only this year's pay at more than inflation. The last few years should also be taken into account and an overall settlement of these punishments should be achieved through demands made by the union on our behalf.  Individually we are powerless to challenge these punitive pay awards and need the Union to fight hard.

Debra from BT Group
We've had too little for too long so it's about time we got a decent pay rise

Kevin, BT Retail
BT has persistently been reducing our standards of living by not increasing our wages in line with inflation.  BT board members seem to be able to protect themselves through the cosy club called the remuneration committee.

David - One IT
The claim seems modest.  It's not asking to make up ground lost over the years,  just asking not to lose more ground.

Frans Loomans
I believe that unless the company is doing really badly, everyone who is marked good or above should be getting an increase of at least inflation. Surely that is a fair comment and I find it difficult to believe why this is not possible.

Danny from Angel Branch
Year after year, we've had below-inflation pay rises or no rise at all. We deserve better.

Steve from BT Wholesale
MPGs get it in the neck again! No benefits in band 1 (where the overwhelming majority of MPGs have been put!), proposed renaging of deal on OTB of 10% in this financial year! And yet again poorer employees with their future pensions decreasing in value all the time.  No wonder "lower level" job role adverts are getting nil response. If any team member wants to apply for a package like that they should take a cold bath and lie down!

Davy, BT Retail
Since becoming a manager in 1992 my annual pay award has always been below that of the CWU colleagues I manage and with the introduction of FRS I am the lowest paid in my team. For the benefit of those who may not understand my comment all my team members earn more for working less hours.  I am one very demoralised LCM.

Sid Dhatt, BT Exact
I feel BT needs to reward its workforce in a way that enables them to keep pace with the cost of living. Derisory pay awards of 0 to 1% are not helping to achieve this, leading to low morale.

Nigel - BT Wholesale
Under-investment in BT's people is just as harmful to its success as under-investment in its infrastructure.  BT - Now is the time to right the wrongs you have done your managers over the past decade. PAY UP! Our just claim is no more than we deserve to bring us back to an even keel   I note that senior managers don't suffer as we do - What a surprise!!!

Yvonne at Angel Centre        
The cost of living rises each year, especially in London, which is where I live. BT should not expect staff to meet their 'challenging business objectives' and then not pay a decent pay rise year on year. Staff do not have any choice but to meet the rising costs of living. BT must be made to recognise that they too must provide staff with a pay rise that at least meets the cost of living and more importantly recognises our contribution to their success.

Alan from BT Global
I take on more responsibility each year and due to no pay rises get an effective reduction in salary for it. Yet I see staff under me doing the same work year in year out getting pay rises. I don't plan on making the same mistake this year!

Kevin from Milton Keynes

Never had a pay increase last year. Cost of living has gone up.  My outgoings have gone up.  My workload has gone up. After 25 years with this company I might as well take early retirement as my pension will not change between now and when I retire in 10 years time.

Graham from Wholesale

It is terribly unfair to expect Connect members to accept lower pay awards than our CWU colleagues. Seems to me the only reason that has happened to-date is because of bargaining power. i.e. union muscle!

Richard Stimpson, LCM

I received a derogatory pay increase last year, which was far less than the CWU members received.  This was on a DPR marking of 3.1.  So much for valuing the contribution of the management grades.

Ron Barker

My last 'around inflation' pay increase was in June 2001. Since then my basic pay has increased by 1%, in June 2003. My understanding of BT's intention is that I will not get a basic pay rise for some time yet, as I am paid above the reference rate for my Job Family allocation.

Tony, a home-worker

Pay rises fixed to inflation will give stability. All we need to do now is establish the real inflation rate since the last pay rise. After that we can check back over the years for consistency against overall inflation. After all we only get the rise at the end of the pay year meaning we have lost that year's inflation!

Graeme in BT Wholesale

I have been back at work now for four years after a long term sick.  In that time I have had one small pay rise. I am now significantly worse off that I was when I returned in real terms.    This is despite giving my all to BT for the last 36 years!  Am I being penalised for taking sick leave?
 

Stephen from BTNI

Since becoming an MPG2 manager in 2000 I have received very little in the way of pay increases over the four years. As I am at the mid point of the salary range I now - as per the NRF matrix - have very little to look forward to. Even a 1 marking in my APR would not be enough to get me a considerable pay increase. I could have secured a C3 post at the same time as MPG2 - I should have taken it!

Tony in Grand Island

Retail price inflation still exists - another year of zero pay increases will put us further behind the cost of living.

George from Felixstowe

As a manger disadvantaged through poor initial job mapping for the 2004 pay round it is important that the disadvantage is corrected quickly as it will otherwise affect my pension in a few years time.

Michael from GCS

My colleagues and I had no pay rise last year.

Pat from BTexact OneIT

0% pay rise last year despite getting at least a "Good" in all areas of MMP and being well below the reference point.  This is a 2%+ pay cut in real terms!      Unless people are already on or near the max of there range there is no chance of ever reaching those levels before retirement, in fact there appears to be little chance of even achieving the reference point.  Once you're about a third of the way up the pay scale you're doing well to keep with cost of inflation.

Garry from OneIT

The effort put in by BT employees should be recognised at the most basic level by providing a cost of living pay rise across the board. Employees should not see a year on year erosion on their pay position.

Dawn from BT Directories 
As a first line manager in real terms my pay has gone backwards. How can it be fair when as managers we are often paid hourly less then the people we manage?

Dave from Peterborough

In the last six years I have had only two pay increases, which between them total aprox 2.4%.  Yet my workload and area has increased with people leaving and my taking on their work.  Also with the recent NRF I have proven that my work and experience puts me on a good scale level yet my current pay is £6,000 below the minimum and I have been told there are NO plans to make this up.

Eva Grace

Due to lack of pay rises in the previous years the pay in my team has fallen below the market rate.

Jenny from BT Wholesale

I have had two low pay increases in the past four years.  Now the Job Families are coming in I realise I am below the bottom of my new pay scale. I have never been motivated by money before and take pride in doing my job to the best of my ability, however BT is creating problems by not paying people what they are claiming they should earn for their role and therefore de-motivating their employees.

Neil Parkinson, BT Global Services

I support this claim, as I have not had a pay increase for four years!!. Also I have been given a Job Family Role where the upper salary range is over £8,000 below my current salary. I am concerned that this will lead to loss of benefits in the future.

Alan, Payphones

Long-serving members who have performed consistently well over many years and are at the top end of the pay spine also need inflation rises.

Paul Corcoran, BT Complete Project Manager
If we are portraying ourselves as a truly professional company, offering truly professional products and services, why do we not pay truly professional salaries to ALL those doing the sales and delivery? If we are to attract both high profile clients, we need to attract high profile personnel and keep the professionalism we already have.

Dulton from CEG London

Kathy (GS)

I give 100% but I'm paid 80% - where's the fairness in that!

Bob Moore @ Bournemouth ATE

Fed up being treated look a nobody and having to put up with a badly run MMP process and a massive re-org within BT Exact, all things that can be confusing and gives excuses to BT for not giving a decent pay rise and bonus. Did not get a pay rise last year so hoping not to be de-motivated even further this year.

Barry from BT group

I have had only one pay rise (1%) over the last three pay rounds. Which amounts to a pay cut, even though my DPR marks over the last three years have been VG, VG and VG but levelled down to a G. BT is de-motivating its backbone workers, the same people that pulled out all the stops to get this company back on its feet. They reward this performance by putting me in the same job role as the people I manage.

John from BT Retail

Inflation goes up each year and on not getting a pay rise for a period of years reduces my standard of living and reduces it again on retirement.

Keith Fuller @ Milton Keynes

This is my first full year as a manager and the first time ever after 35 years on the job that I haven't received a pay rise. Was it worth the effort to become a manager? I lost shift allowance and overtime and now people on my old C3 grade are earning much more than me. If BT wants new managers they should pay up and recognise us as an important factor, not as second-class employees, as I feel now. Looking forward to the Care survey!

Simon - Sheffield

All we ask for is a fair pay deal and to be treated with respect by senior management for the integral part we pay in the company's success.

Bob from BT Global Services

Having had only one (less than inflation) pay rise in the last three years. BT needs to make amends. I am expected to work out of hours when the company requires it. I have always been flexible in that respect. But enough is enough. Give me a proper pay increase to pay for all the increases i.e. council tax that I have to pay.

Fred from Group

Over a year ago I was upgraded from MPG2 to MPG4 but when last year's pay went through I was downgraded to MPG2 level.  This was amended after negotiation but BT now owe me for the difference, which I have asked for via the claim form.  As suspected this has not been honoured.

Peter from Wholesale Markets Gatwick

We are worth more than we are being paid at present. BT thinks that we are paid a good salary and our earnings are favourable within the telecoms sector. They are either misinformed or are losing a grip on reality.
 

Phil Little from BT Wholesale

I have only had one pay rise of 1.5% in four years; I am in the lower quartile for my PSG and NRF roles despite good or very good performance markings throughout.

Wayne from Global Services

I've had no pay increase for two years despite good APRs.

Bob Harper (Sheffield)

It's a last chance for the union.  If it doesn't negotiate a pay rise for all members this year - including taking industrial action if necessary - I will return my membership card and be £14 per month better off.  I expect a campaign of more than posters, badges and petitions.  Why Connect ignored a 98% rejection of the 2004 claim is beyond me. The starting point for our claim should be what the CWU negotiate for all their members.

Robert from Wholesale Markets

I'm below the mid-point for my range, and got 1.2% last year for a 'Good' marking.

Bob from ISW Branch

I support the PAY UP! campaign so we get fairly rewarded each year for the work we do no matter where we are on a pay scale.

Brian White from BT Wholesale.

The responsibilities placed upon, and the results expected from managers is not being reflected in the pay being offered. So much now depends upon qualities of leadership and team building. This is an issue of respect and fairness and BT ought to demonstrate its commitment to the people from whom so much is demanded.

Andy Stevens, Migration Services, Tunbridge Wells

I have not had a reasonable pay rise for years and my standard of living has been on the slide, therefore not keeping pace with inflation.  I have also been moved into a higher paid job family (good news) however am now in the very lower region of it, so a substantial move to the midway reference point would help make up for the lost years of no pay rise against inflation.

Robert Moggridge-Lowe

I am in full support of this year's pay claim!  For some time now I have achieved good results and got poor financial rewards. This year's claim should go some way to address this highly contentious issue.

Andy from Major Business

My hours are getting longer, the stress I feel at work is getting higher, and the expectations of my line management are increasing, yet I am paid less then I would have been if I had remained an engineer - and that was nearly 10 years ago! This is not a gripe at my workload but at being given fair pay for my effort. I am a PSGC, consistently hit my personal targets and yet my salary is not even at the bottom level on the salary range.

Pamela from BT Retail

I want to see the importance of my role recognised in my reward package.  Being the best hinges on line managers driving performance improvements and delivering CARE results, and I absolutely agree that the way I do my job is as important as delivering the numbers, I believe it is only fair that my contribution is reflected adequately.

Derek Unsworth Investment LCM North West

I am supporting the 2005 pay claim as I feel BT has let its managers down badly in 2004 by not increasing managers' pay when they met all requirements. I have worked hard for the company over the last 34 years and will remember 2004 as the year the company let me down.

Paul from Wholesale ND&I

Mart from Whittington House

My pay has declined in real terms over few years due to Pay awards being either unconsolidated or falling short of the rate of inflation.  Also non-management grades consistently receive pay awards above inflation and differentials are closing rapidly if not already exhausted due to the reduction in the working week of these grades to 36 hours.  

Dee Shelford

With all the issues surrounding the implementation of job families and the uncertainty of how this will impact benefits the company should as a minimum ensure pay is in line with inflation.  Interest rate rises over the past year have impacted on peoples incomes and low pay increases will not motivate people to deliver the company strategic goals, morale will be impacted and more people will end up on the redeployee list due to the company's overriding results-driven ethos.

Central ICT

Too little for too long. Our salaries have been steadily downgraded for years. Bonus is a carrot that does not go into our pensions.

Chris from Apsley branch

For those above the median for their Job Family with more than 30 years service, pensionable pay (and consequently pension) becomes a big concern. Watching this diminish, regardless of an individual's performance, abilities or contribution to the business does not inspire people to give of their best in the future. Inflation-related consolidated increases against performance would at least give me something to aim for.

Chris from Field Service

For the last three years I have seen the people I manage receive yearly pay rises and now with the field reward scheme earning more reward on a monthly basis plus reward for timescale revenue I do not feature in many of these rewards and have not received a payrise in this time yet am expected to deliver the benefits of such schemes above to my people…

Roger Bailey from the Sales Network

Many of us have had no base pay rise for two or even three years. Bonus and commission is harder to achieve given unrealistic 'top down' targets, which have not recognised worldwide market conditions.   In addition the company's customer satisfaction targets holds back 10%-20% of individual bonuses without us being able to directly influence individual performance - something which bonus should be about!

Diane Snelling

Everyone deserves a pay rise that keeps us level with inflation. If we do not receive this we are taking a pay cut, and that is not acceptable given the high levels of work and hours we work.

Hazel from BT Retail   

I am being paid almost £8,000 below the starting salary for my job.

Rod from Global Solutions  

I have not received a pay rise now for over three years when my colleagues outside of BT in similar industries have.

Marcus Pearce

I'm paid below the minimum for my role and have been told that the salary ranges are just a guideline. BT should be paying the market rate for the role and not choose when to apply the NRF when it suits them.

Steve from Global 

Jane from London South
Having been benchmarked against the external market, the pay scales need to be kept in line with market rates, so an increase to take account of inflation is essential.

Peter, ND&I
A common-sense approach to ensure all managers to get a pay rise and not see their salaries diminish in real terms.BR;
We're now at a point where individuals can no longer afford to accept pay freezes after the situation that's developed over the last couple of years. It's unacceptable that BT can continue to effectively dish out pay cuts to the PSG community.

Stuart, home-worker
The NRF has shown that my job has far more responsibilities than my current grade should have. I have been told that I have been allotted a higher role within the job family, however that makes my pay significantly low compared to the mid market range for this new role. Therefore I wholeheartedly back the PAY UP! campaign.

Retail member
I am supporting the campaign as I have been successful in a job family appeal after the low pay review and have not had my wages put up to the minimum.

John from BT Wholesale Internal Trading
Whilst we all appreciate the difficulties the company faces with competition and declining core revenues, it is the dedication and hard work of the personnel who are delivering the growth in ICT and Broadband, enabling BT to still grow. This growth does not happen by itself and a pay award of not less than the rate of inflation is not unreasonable. Glad to see the ill thought-out "Special Incentive Award" did not go on for a second year. Even Ben has realised that this was a terrible mistake.

Ange from BT Exact
To BT I say:  we make BT what it is, we go beyond the call of duty to get BT out of scrapes, we give up our own time out of loyalty! Don't erode our sense of pride in being BT employees! A top-notch company that needs top-notch staff MUST pay fair rates!

Disgruntled Manager at Rugby Radio
DPR mark was fudged. Couldn't get anyone to explain why, when I had worked harder and achieved more than the previous year, my mark was lower. Consequently my pay award was rubbish. Can't see things getting better this year.
                  
Tony, BT Exact
Like most people, I got crapped on by the company last year - I don't want it to happen again.
 
Andrew from BT Exact
After years in my grade it would be nice to have some chance of progressing up the pay range - even to the midpoint.
 
Steve, Wholesale, Bedford
Our pay has reduced in real terms over the years. My personal rises over the past three years have totaled 1.5%, an average of half a per cent per year, which is well below inflation.  Bonus does not negate the fact that basic pay is the main measure of reward and that basic level should not drop below inflation.

Jon @ St Clements
My salary has been eroded for the last three to four years, and a "promotion" I had gave me a piddling 1% increase, despite colleagues getting significant increases.  How can BT expect increases in performance and commitment when the same is not returned to their most important resource - their people!

Steve from Exact
Being on the max, I have had an effective pay CUT for several years.     Inflation hits us all. Let's get a fair and decent pay rise.

Graham from Cambridge
We were promised a 21st century settlement with New Reward Framework but have ended up with a 19th century employer in the form of Scrooge.

Mike from Enterprise House, Cardiff
I haven't a pay rise for three years, because my performance is merely "Good", and I'm getting VERY fed up with it

Derek Dempsey
Last year I did not get a pay rise for the first time in my 30+ years in BT. I appealed this and have not been given an acceptable reason for this. I have a GOOD rating on my DPR and am in the LOW band of my job family.

David from BT GS
I have no positive expectations of reaching the lower level of my pay range in the next two years as this would require a 10% increase both this and next year.  Even if I received last year's maximum increase of 7% this would take three years. 

Doug from BT Global CRM
BT has for too long traded on the goodwill of its professional grades whilst at the same time being prepared to see the same staff lose the value of their salary (and related pensions) year on year.  I currently average 50 hrs/ week, much of it unsocial hrs, so if I calculate an hourly rate based on this I'd be better off going onto the engineering side and not having to worry about strategy, project plans, technical design work and "selling" propositions to the customer.
 
Mike from GCS
I have suffered for years with a reduced pensionable pay rise because I was at or above the mid pay point. Over the last three years I have had no pay rise for two years and an insult for the last year. I now find that in fact my pay, according to local outside industry, was in fact lower than the mid pay point. The company gets mileage by saying that they will support the final salary pension scheme but then prevents you from increasing it buy paying bonus or using some other excuse.

Michael Samuels in Global Services
As a long-term BT employee with at least a 'Good' DPR marking, but without a pay rise for the last four years, it is about time that BT paid the rate of inflation as a minimum to everyone.

Des from BT Retail
I have had one pay rise in three years and this does not reflected my contribution to the business or my personal performance and dedication.

John from Cardiff
Over the last five years I've had one pay rise, which was below the inflation level for that year.  I've worked hard and done everything required of me.  My marks are consistently good or very good and yet in real terms my pay has gone down every year because I'm above the midpoint.  During this period my council tax has gone up by way over inflation as has my water rates.  This has not motivated me to try harder - normally I feel like just giving up.  After all it makes no difference to my end-salary...

Steve from Adastral Park
I didn't get a pay rise last year, in fact with inflation being what it is I've actually taken a pay cut. I'm earning less now than I was two years ago.

Ian, BTGS
All I want is to be paid the same wage as people with the same experience doing the same job. I'm also concerned with the ability to progress up the pay range and what happens once I reach the mid-point. As I see it at the moment it looks like the end of pay awards.

Katherine from Angel Branch
BT employs great people, and many have left due to pay issues. Stop this now and pay us what we are worth. Not everything can be outsourced!

Ged from One-IT
I am fortunate in having been with the company for many years resulting in my base rate being quite good.  The essential point for me is no reduction in pay - i.e. I expect to keep pace with inflation and I believe that anyone who is not failing the company should also.

Steve from Adastral Park
People with Good overall rating are finding it difficult to progress even when they are in the lowest third of the pay range for their grade. Either Good should qualify for at least an inflation-matching rise or the ratings should be reassessed.

Paul, Ipswich
No pay rises for years is demotivating. I have been with BT for many years but am considering leaving now and pay is one factor in that.

Roger in Global Services
A while back I experienced five years of no pay rises in spite of meeting all targets and saving BT hundreds of thousands. I had to change division and get promoted twice to get far enough down a pay scale to get any pay rises. The pay scale needs to be linked to inflation. PS I found having my review score manipulated after it was written offensive.

Mike Finnigan
I support PAY UP! because I'm sick of taking a pay-cut (in real terms) and seeing my pension frozen, year on year.

Kevan, BT Wholesale
It's about time BT paid its managers fairly for what they do, especially considering the long hours we work.  A lot of my colleagues and I have not had a reasonable pay rise in years.  What is the incentive for non-managers to gain promotion when they earn more than managers and have less stress and aggravation? I sometimes wonder why I bothered to strive to attain promotion.

Alan from Adastral Park
Not having had a consolidated pay rise for the last two years, I am concerned about the drop in my standard of living and am worried about the effect this will have on my pension when I retire in nine years time.

Mel from BT Retail
Last year - 0% pay rise.

JW from BT Retail
In real terms lack of consolidated pay increases means a pay cut each year for managers who fall into this category.  Bonuses, although welcome, do not improve regular pay or pensions.

Ian P from Global Services
It's about time BT appreciated all the work that we put in so that the top executives can claim their bonuses. Pay up now and show us how much you REALLY value us.

GLENN (BT CENTRE)
I acknowledge the need for performance links to reward, recognition and remuneration. This is to be welcomed if the process and application of the process is completed fairly and professionally. This needs to work in the many cases of line manager change, organisational change, etc, etc.  It is imperative we get this right as an organisation with union & management working together to meet requirements.

Vince, Global Services
I've not had a pay rise for the last four years.

Jenny from Exact
As I'm not far off retiring I'm aware that every year without a cost of living pay rise is not only decreasing my effective pay, but is also decreasing the value of my future pension.

Paul from BT Exact
I feel that pay for me over the last few years has been disappointing. This has not only made me feel less inspired, but also have considered leaving the company, which I used to feel proud to work for. Things may be changing in my career for the better, but wish there was a fairer system in place to reward hard work.  I personally believe that pay should progress up the scale, regardless of performance, as long as work is satisfactory. However, I do feel that BT should reward hard work.

Martin from BT Corporate
I am currently 50% below the minimum pay rate for my role and cannot imagine reaching even the minimum level in the realistic future.

Lisa Dunleavy
I don't feel I am particularly badly paid, but I know that some of my colleagues do not get their full worth.

Jon, BT Wholesale
Last year I worked hard, had my best year to date and got a top notch APR. Unfortunately due to the financial climate I got 1% above inflation raise. Where's the incentive this year?

Jim from BT Complete
BT needs to do something to address the balance between Newgrid and the NRF families. Lack of inflation rises means that many managers would be much better off in the Newgrid structure.

Ian Brown IGI6
I have had three years of not having a pay rise despite being below the mid-point and am now well below the mid-point, suffering a close to 20% reduction in pay (adjusting for inflation and tax rises) is too much!

Paul Crosby BT Retail/MB/BT Complete
We need more than a transparent pay system and external pay range benchmarking to convince us that BT is committed to achieving a fair pay and reward system. I believe BT has to treat people in a 'one BT' manner and not just the top 60%. All of us deserve an inflation rise since we all contribute to achieving BT's goals. Lets hear it for the B team!

Ralph Pruitt
The continuing stance of the company, inflicting what is in real terms pays cuts is depressing and is having a negative impact on me and my performance!

Ray from Wholesale Ventures
Last year's rise of 1.1%, year before 1.5%, year before 0%. BT's success comes from its people. When will it reward them appropriately?

Graham - BT Wholesale
During the past five years I have received overall APR ratings of 3,2,2,1,1 and I currently bring home about £25 a week more than I did five years ago - not much of a reward for my efforts.

Martin Aylett
It's time BT put their money where their mouth is. They say that it's BT's people who are key to BT's success - but have cut pay in real terms for many over many years. They say they want to relate pay to the market - but now don't want to increase rates with the market. And they say that people should progress within 'a reasonably short period' - but won't make money available to allow progression. So it's time for BT to PAY UP!

Jim - BT Retail
I am aware of too many valued people who are below the minimum salary range for their Job Family and are being given no firm guidance on how and when this will be addressed. Why has BT been allowed to "rate" the impact of CARE results by categorising questions - notably the ones about equal pay and work life balance carry little weight in the overall engagement score?

Phil from International Duty Management
Anything less than a inflation-proof pay award is a pay cut. No more pay cuts for doing a good job.

Karen Totty, BT Exact
Currently, despite years of good appraisals, my pay is less than the immediate grade max below me and less than if someone was newly promoted or subbing my grade/job. I don't feel motivated, definitely feel under-valued but am expected and do shoulder more than I consider appropriate for my grade or rate of pay. It's about time the managers and professional grades got a pay rise that at least keeps them in step with the people they manage, not having their pay eroded year on year.

Steve from BT Global Services
Pay packets have shrunk in real terms over recent years. We are all expected to show our commitment to making the company a success so now is the time for BT to show some commitment to its employees.

Dave from Global Services
Like a lot of people I have not had any increase in pay for the past four years. Having served with BT for 25 years I will not have a full pension. I now have only four years to go before I retire... my pension has remained static (gone into reverse) for four years.  Morale is at an all time low.

Bob from BT Retail, BT Directories
I haven't had a pay increase for two years and am now below the median of the scale.

Sony
I have not had a pay rise for quite a few years. In real terms I have had a pay reduction in the last four years or so.

John Matzak
I've had a real terms pay cut in recent years despite good performance.

Mark, BT Retail
Get senior BT people to live the BT Values on the New Reward Framework - Straightforward, Trustworthy, Helpful, Inspiring & Heart - none of these can be related to NRF which is such an important change for BT employees.

Paul from SDD
I have had pay rises for three of the last four years, all of which have been insignificant (the last one being 0.9%). None have been anywhere near the rate of inflation. I am very conscientious in my work and always perform to the best of my ability. It seems that instead of "We will reward our achievers" BT is actually punishing me as I'm now much worse off than I was four years ago. I know of many BT staff in the same predicament or worse.

PCG-U OneIT
As someone dealing with external suppliers and local government I see people in similar roles to myself in the private sector earning significantly higher salaries with better additional benefits. In the public sector less demanding jobs carry good salaries with regular, consolidated pay increments AND cost of living rises. For a current example see: http://www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/jvac/jobfind.pl?p=detail&jobno=8228&cat=19&mdate=26/01/2005

Peter - a disgruntled BT PCG
Glad to see that the issue of PCG pay is also being addressed. Hope to see some updates soon !

Rob from BTC
I totally agree with the pay claim, as I received no pay rise last year and got no bonus either. There must be a fairer system of pay than presently exists.

Peter, Network Build
I am fed up with not receiving a decent pay rise in the last four years. My pay has risen by £500, which in real terms now means that some of my engineers are now on a higher hourly rate than myself as they work 36 hours a week against my average 50.  Also the engineers get a rise which is not related to their performance, whether good or bad.

Donall from BT Business NI
I was told last year that there were only a very limited number of people who would get a pay rise, but some people - relatively new recruits included - received more than nominal salary increases.  I feel that there is a dual system in operation which needs to be addressed.

CP from BTGCS
I believe receiving an effective standard of living pay cut for the past three years can only be justified if PDP, CRD etc reflects a disciplinary requirement or the like. I've pursued this to no avail.  Someone has chosen to make the staff pay for errors of judgment by higher management (02 licence debt etc that is being written off through our pay and other means) with no discussion or representation.

Les from Exact
If BT wants to be in the Premier League it has to pay Premier League wages  - median not good enough 1% pay rise in three years even though each year marked as VG. I can't keep working for less; I'm working harder and longer to go backwards

John from BT Wholesale
I believe a rise to at least cover inflation is essential.

Shaun Bark
I'm supporting PAYUP! because the level of unpaid overtime is always above the level of inflation.

Mike from BT
It's about time BT recognised the contribution of its managerial grades to its success and paid a proper pay rise. The work team members have been getting pay rises at least in line with inflation whilst managers have been practically nothing.

Bob from BT Wholesale Markets
My team earn more than me. This doesn't seem correct. Basic pay is key to pensions.

Alan Murphy M3C15
Having not received a pay rise for the last two years [effectively this means a pay cut] my loyalty to BT has now reached the point of no return. I have always fulfilled my objectives and had APR markings of 3.1 and just because I am 3/4 up the pay scale I get screwed. Now it is time to screw BT. Having been a manager since 1988 I now find myself having to look at ways of supplementing my income.

Alison Paulton
Just because you are on the reference, and BT doesn't want to pay any more does not mean other items like council tax, gas, electricity will not go up. BT managers could face a severe drop in their standard of living if they went a few years without even a basic rise in line with rate of inflation.

Dave from BT Retail
I want BT to step up to the mark with the NRF. I am in the lower part of my Job Family pay bracket and want a pay increase that is at the rate of inflation PLUS an increase to get me out of the lower pay bracket.

Willie from West of Scotland
It is imperative that everyone gets as a minimum a rise in line with inflation.

Nigel from Aldershot
I think that we have been given very low pay over the past few years and that BT has not been up-front. It took them nearly six months last time to tell us we wouldn't be getting a pay rise. The last pay rises have been poor and they keep bringing out little tricks to make you feel that they are trying to give you something.

Stephen Elliott
I agree with the principle of a rise of at least inflation, but I feel that, if anything, the union has started its negotiations too low. An inflationary rise this year still means that my pay has been cut in real terms over the last few years!

Disillusioned from BTNI
I have worked for BT for over 25 years and am currently in a team that consists of both long-term BT people and new recruits. These recruits have been brought in on the same job family - fair enough, but they are being paid thousands of pounds per year higher than the "old timers". The excuse is that they need to be paid higher "to entice them into the business"! They have less experience and proven ability and WE are supposed to be paid at the market rate - something doesn't add up

Alex from North Downs Branch
I have not had a pay rise for the past three years. I am an MPG2. I am £5,000 below the reference rate for my role in the new job family. I have already been told that I will not get a pay rise again this year.

M from Ent-Cf
I am strongly in support ofa pay rise higher than inflation, otherwise it is not worth a thing.

Anthony Macias from London South
Since my TUPE into BT back in November 2002, I have not had a pay review.

ANDY M POWELL BT WHOLESALE
The CWU people had a fair increase last year. If we get the same offer again then this is the same as a pay cut.

Andy from Convergent Solutions
Four years without even a cost of living pay rise is unacceptable.  We not asked for double figure pay rises, just keeping our standard of living as is.

Ifan - North Wales
To restore eroded pay levels and maintain living standards, my take-home pay has increased by £300 over the past ten years! Stop the bonus-related nonsense and recognise managers' dedication and commitment to the company in the area of Customer Field Service.

Leslie from Brentwood
I feel that I give all I can and want a fair pay rise. Recent EXTERNAL recruitment I have done showed that people doing my job outside of BT are paid more than I am! Indeed when recruiting for a post below mine one candidate was actually earning more than I am!

Jaki Martin
I find the current process of pay increases very unfair and de-motivating.

Russell Pearce
Pay freeze for three years then a 'with inflation' is not enough. I am a manager for 15 years, MPG4 on £30,000. Please do better.

David from BT Retail
I had no pay rise last year. No recognition for commitment, enthusiasm or long hours. I'm sick to death of senior managers telling you what to do, not allowing you to manage then pointing the finger when results are not achieved.

Keith, a manager in BT Retail
I am fed up with the way I have been treated over the past few years, especially last year when I got nothing. I have worked for the company for 34 years and been a manager for 20. Because I am paid above the average for my job I have to suffer in effect a pay cut and pension reduction.

Terry Read from Retail
My wife is a manager in a large utility company. Their pay starts with a cost of living rise before any performance rises on top of that bonus payments.

Ronnie GS
BT has agreed the external benchmarks for pay ranges but it seems very likely that with the current low pay rises being offered very many people will never reach even the mid-point!

Celia from BT Exact
Last year I did not receive a pay rise, despite a performance rating of Very Good and being below midpoint in the pay range for my job family. Zero pay rise is a pay-cut in real terms, and this year I want to see a pay rise to at least keep up with inflation. There is no reason why I should be penalized due to length of service. If I perform I should see this rewarded in the form of a pay rise.

Bob Adolphus
It is most important that we obtain an inflation pay increase. We used to be well paid, but a number of years of no pay increases have changed that situation.

Phil, Global Services
For the last few years we have been told that we have been increasing our size/income/revenue etc by 20% compound. All financial targets are being met. This is despite the fact that the degree of difficulty in achieving anything continues to increase. The absence of a cost of living rise for as many years means that my salary and pension contributions have reduced at the rate of inflation for each of those years also compound.

Liam from BTNI
Managers' pay has effectively dropped over the past years. To say we are on a pay range is a lie, as BT has made it almost impossible to move above the midpoint on your scale.  I now manage people who earn more than me for fewer hours and less responsibility.

Ainle Boyle
BT have been dragging their heels in getting the NRF in place at the expense of getting further benefits to its employees in a timely manner. This has also been used to deflect interest in further salary rises, which are long overdue.

Kevin from Global Services
I have not received a pay rise for two years purely because of the way the sales grading is structured.

Chico from Group
...There are better ways to downsize that doesn't involve demoralizing and de-motivating the entire workforce.

Paul in BTC
Three years after promotion to PCGU with 'good' appraisals every year I am further away from the 'reference' point than I was from the 'mid' point when first promoted!

Bob from London Southern
I am an overall 2 on my APR and achieve or exceed my targets year on year.  I have had a total of 1.9% pay increase over the last 7 yeas.  The people who work for me have had approx 25% increase over the same period.  I have had zero pay rise for the last 3 years and have therefore seen my pension reduce by 25% over the same period due to no pay increase. I will have completed 40 years service in 4 years. The only way I see of a pay increase is to retire as soon as possible.

Paul Whitten, BTNI
It is extremely difficult to understand why BT ignores the fact that the cost of living for everyone increases each year and why it chooses to give little or no pay rise to its managers (over so many years) as compensation. It is so counter productive to producing the good will and commitment that the company claims it wants, and indeed needs, from its managers as to border on the incomprehensible!

Liz - Swindon NSH Branch
I work in a team of male colleagues and I am the lowest paid member of that team. I have been allocated a family range that puts me in the area where I will not warrant another pay rise until I retire. My household expenses are rising and I am looking at ways to cut costs in the new FY, as I have been told that my pay will remain the same again. I have now not had a pay rise for over two years and this is increasing stress and concern on my family on how to maintain our present standard of living.

Peter from Global Services
Our pay is decreasing in actual financial buying power against the rate of inflation. Reminding us of the "value of our BT benefits" does nothing to help pay bills. We need tangible cash to meet tangible living costs. The benefit packages have not been changed to reflect the fact that these all come with a Tax liability. Why the reluctance to increase basic pay? IS BT reducing our basic wage so as to reduce future pensionable pay?  (If BT had not taken a pension holiday would we be in this situation?)

Bill T from Liverpool Branch
I am supporting the pay claim because we need to have a fair reward for ALL Connect members, not just the 40 odd % who BT chose to reward last year. It is time we all had fair and substantial pay rise of the company. After all as long as they suppress us now it will also reflect in our pensions too!

Anon
I strongly support the Connect PAY Up campaign. This is a quality of life issue especially for those with family commitments. The cost of living continued to rise last year with nearly all household bills. Sometimes far in excess of any sort after pay rise. I know of no-one in other occupations that did not get a pay rise and in conversation friends found it unbelievable that we received no pay rise at all let alone the amount that was being asked for.

Chris
I have been a manager now for seven years, have not received anything other than 'good' or 'very good' on my APR/DPR and am still £4,100 less than the mean rate for my grade... How can this be?

North Wales manager from BT Retail
I support the Pay Up campaign because we as managers along with a select few engineers are the very reason why things are still moving forward in the company. Without us, the teams would not perform to their full potential, and customer care and safety would be a very low priority. If the company feels that their management team are not worth investing in, it could lead to indifference and a 'couldn't care less' attitude. The company will get the managers it creates.

Martyn from BTExact 
I'm fed up of being expected to do more for less reward;

R from One IT 
About time too, after seeing my standard of living drop over the past two years. It's about time the union did something about it.  My outgoings have all gone up over the past two years but my income has remained the same. That equates to a pay cut in my eyes.

Clare Merrett Field Service
I believe that BT should invest in me. I am hard-working and loyal however feel that BT's past pay reviews have not compensated me for my output and commitment. Like it or not this effects morale. It is time that BT remembers the lessons on motivation. BT people are one of the key enablers for business success, aren't they?' Decent pay rewards would be a good start.

Neil from BT Leeds
Why have a maximum range for a job with a pay policy that only let you progress to 2/3 maximum

Dave Eason, BT Exact 
When I joined BT I got a pay rise every year. In the last five years, I have had ONE pay rise, despite getting a '2' marking on my APR. Why? Simply because I have reached the top of my payscale. Bonus doesn't increase my pension!

1Andy from BT Wholesale
It is absolutely disgusting the way BT has treated its managers over the last three years. Everybody deserves a cost of living rise if their performance is satisfactory. Managers' salaries have been eroded to a level where most first and second line engineering managers would be better off being an engineering grade. Is it any wonder that we have difficulty recruiting new managers? Pay your managers a decent wage and publish the salary and benefit comparisons that are always referred to but never seen.

Ron From Network Ops
Reaching the 'max' should not be the end of all pay rises, as expenditure rises for all annually. It is like having a pay cut by default.

Phil from Retail Field Service
In 36 years of service, I have only felt bitter on two occasions. The first was BT's actions over compulsory overtime that forced me to go on strike, as a CWU member. The second is the introduction of the NRF. BT consistently fails to value the very people who dig them out of the mire, when their ill-conceived strategies go belly-up.

Graham BT Wholesale  
After three years of zero or below inflation pay award, I would welcome a pay increase that at least keeps up with inflation. 

Fiona Miller 
I am supporting the campaign because BT managers (at the first line level particularly) have not been recognised over the past few years for the tremendous effort they put in on behalf of the company.  They are asked to do more and more and their pay is effectively falling back as many have had no or less than inflation awards for two or three years.  This has been made worse by the NRF for a lot of people, especially those in Service, who now feel that they have no opportunity for pay progression.

Pete, Exeter 
I didn't get a pay rise last year and after 35 years of service to the company I feel pretty devalued. In addition, the NRF debacle continues and I now see job adverts published for the same role as I cover but with a starting pay level £5,000 above what I am earning at the moment!! If we don't get a reasonable rise this year and the NRF settled then morale will drop even further. Although having spoken to a number of managers in different parts of the business I'm not sure it can go any lower!

Geoff from Wholesale
Whilst the company will no doubt claim the bonus/benefits package arrangements will be favourable, this does not pay the mortgage and rises in day to day bills. I would quite happily give up some of these benefits to see an annual pay rise.
 
For far too long members with good performance have not had any real progression and often less than the rate of inflation as a pay rise. It is also about time BT put the money up front and paid what it has agreed, under the NRF, the market rate is. The issue of people below the minimum of their pay range also needs to be resolved urgently. How can someone be paid less than the minimum when the mid-point is the agreed market rate, BT's getting it on the cheap again

Tony Rimmer from Liverpool Branch (BT Exact)
Good Luck!

Peter - BT Retail
It's not unreasonable to expect a rise in line with inflation, and with what the non-managers will achieve/receive. Little motivation at present otherwise

Stuart in Global Solutions
It's a fair claim, apportions more money to those lower down the scale and recognises the hard work done by everyone.

Graham from BT Wholesale
We must start to address the erosion of the differential in pay with CWU members.

Martin from OneBTExact
Many people have received nothing for a number of years and it is now time that EVERYONE gets at least inflation. Anything less will result in further de-motivation at a time when the company is imposing OneIT and is still dragging its heels on the NRF.

Sarfraz Ahmad from Group Finance 
I didn't receive a pay increase last year and before that the percentage increase has been very small. I have been an MPG2 for over 10 years and am still way below the MPG2 max.

Andy Davis in BT Exact
Anything less than an inflation matching pay rise is a pay cut in real terms. Anything less is not a reward for performance. If I'm going to be paid less then why do BT expect  me to work more?

Chris Parfitt
After last year's pay award (not agreed but enforced by BT) I think it is high time the union got tougher. I fervently support the PAY UP! campaign!! 

Richard LCM from Retail
I did not get a pay rise last year. They took away our coaches, they downgraded our car and they still expected the same enthusiasm and more workload.

Steve from BT Retail
I have worked for BT for over 30 years. I have been in my current role / grade for over 4 years and have had excellent annual reports every year. Yet I still find that I am under the bottom of the range for my grade on the NRF. I have given BT 110 per cent for my whole career and the situation I now find myself in makes me feel used and abused. Shame on you BT.

Mark from homeworkers
I have had a 0.25 per cent increase in the last four years and this has severely impacted on my lifestyle as inflation has been a little more than that!

Robert from Global Solutions
For the past three years I have received a pay rise below or at best equal to the rate of inflation (one year as a PSG I received no pay rise at all). This is unacceptable as I am becoming financially worse off every year. My DPRs have always had a rating of at least 'Good' so performance cannot be cited as a reason. I have colleagues who are Field Engineers  and they have received a flat rate rise every year (usually equal to or better than inflation). They have always earned more through overtime

Mark Homer - BT Business Marketing
In the last four years I have had a total of less than three per cent increase in pay. Having worked for the company for over 30 years and being almost 50 I am now looking towards my pension. I am just below my mid point of my role/job family and feel my current and future standard of living has been seriously eroded. Over this period I have worked hard, often as much as 50-60 hours a week, no more! I now have a work life balance, thanks to the company's motivational reward policies!

Michael Ball, Global
It has been several years since I as a PSG2 have received any increase in pay.

Jo from BT Global
I was really fed up last year I received no pay rise at all even though I had worked very hard.  I left my job to move into a better job family, that is not how it should be!

Dave East Mids
Last year I received a 0% pay increase, or in other words, taking inflation into account, a pay cut. We are constantly being called to conferences where we are told how wonderful we are and what a good job we're doing, and I get rewarded with a pay cut! All I ask is to keep in line with inflation, and perhaps a bit more if I have earned it. It's not much to ask.  I fully support Connect's stance and hope they stick to their guns!

Dave from East of Scotland Branch
I back this pay claim and believe it is absolutely essential that Connect obtain an increase of not less than the prevailing rate of inflation for all managerial and professional people.

John Miller 
We can no longer tolerate 'negative pay rises'.

Paul from GS
I cannot afford to get pay rises that are less than inflation. Everything is going up and my wages are coming down.

Mark from Wolverhampton
I'm supporting the claim because based on last year's award, assuming that I get the same this year, it will take me a further three years to hit the reference point. This is ridiculous, with no real possibility of hitting the max of £36,000 for my role. In fact I have recently found out that somebody who's a D1 NEWGRID grade has a maximum pay range of £28,800 and you are guaranteed of hitting that amount. Some also work a 'nine day fortnight' and get paid overtime.

Alan from Access
I'm supporting PAY UP because for years managers have been treading water in pay terms with little or no pay rise and a bonus to sweeten us up. Bonus is not pensionable and does not count towards the following year's pay rise, so we are slipping back badly in relation to the team members we manage. There has to be a much bigger differential. A D1 with a little overtime can earn more than me, yet I have the responsibility and work far more hours. This is no way to recruit, retain and reward managers.

Phumans Aingh NRE224
In recent years pay has been eroded in terms of differentials and not kept pace with inflation nor external market.

Stephen from BT Global Solutions
1. I have had 1 pay rise since 2001 and that was for 1%.
2. At meetings with HR I raised why the approach to awards did not include a Cost if Living Increase.  The answer was: 'BT don't do cost of living'. This declares a policy of year on year pay decreases and is hardly the position to be expected of a Market Leader.
3. As a Market Leader I would like to see BT define the remunerations and other companies follow, rather than vice versa.

Ian from BT Retail Sales
This is the first year that you are able to speak on behalf of the forgotten PSGs out there. We need you to back us all the way as we will you. Some of us have had very little pay rises for years. It cannot continue.

Mike from BT Retail, Operator Services
Due to the new pay structure I have had an effective pay cut over the last two years.  The bonus is so small it does not compensate - I earn far more by working Sundays.  The biggest bonus I have had was £1,500, which after tax was worth less than a Sunday a month - no incentive there!

Martin from GCS
I am supporting the campaign as I have not had a pay rise for two years and with the new jobs families find that the max pay I could have earned as an MPG4 has reduced by £7,000.  This situation is deplorable I have team members earning as much as I do.

John from Global Solutions
Within the New Reward Framework it would appear that lower paid colleagues are benefiting more via the DPR process than their higher paid more experienced colleagues. Whilst not wanting to penalise those people with lower pay for doing a similar job it should not be the case that higher paid people are effectively marking time. A cost of living pay rise would at least go some way to maintaining our members' status.

L from BT Retail
I am in full support of the pay claim as last year I was marked down (lowering of the bar) despite virtually no 1:1's or any worthwhile DPR to support the marking down. This resulted in no pay rise or bonus. I complained to a senior manager asking how I could be marked down when there was nothing to base markings on, I was told that the matter would be looked into and that they did their 'best', nothing resulted from this.

Dan from BTIC
There has been cost of living rise for some time. NOW is the time to do it.

Richard from BT Exact
I'm becoming increasingly concerned at the lack of decent pay rises over the last few years simply because I'm high up on my pay scale. Why should I be penalised for this, particularly as I've worked extremely hard over the last 25 years to get to my current position in BT? It feels like long service, dedication and good/very good performance is not rewarded these days. The lack of decent pay rises has effectively led to pay cuts in 'real terms' and has not helped out my pension very much!

Richard from BTGS
I ask only to be treated as One Team, as we are asked to work, but I note that team members have been treated very differently from managers.

Mike from ND
Every year the pay gap between myself and my people closes.

ANGELIC FROM ANGEL CENTRE
Put simply,my bills increase every year - gas, electricity and council tax are all increasing, yet BT screws down its staff - the very people that have devoted their working lives to the company. Thanks.

Robert from Cornwall
As there has been no rise for two years, it seems to me that I have had a pay cut; and if I hear any more about regional pay I just might go back to London and not work from home.

Paul BT Retail
The ever-increasing demands on the Local Customer Manager role, the hours that we continue to put in with little or no recognition. We deserve a fair pay award.

Systems Engineer from BT Retail (Vern)
BT is having a good year with great results. Let's see a realistic increase in pay for all our hard work.Rod from GSNo pay rise for three years, taking account of inflation over that period means effectively three years of pay cuts. I still have a family and home to support.

Suzi from One IT
Everyone should get a pay increase that meets inflation, otherwise we are effectively getting a pay cut. That is not right, and before long our standard of living will have to decrease significantly.

Sean from BTexact
I support the PAY UP! campaign because I can't remember the last time when EVERYONE got a cost of living increase.

Alan Brown Brentwood Branch
Reference points for the grades haven't moved for several years - this must mean that either we're being duped, or the external market hasn't had a pay rise for several years. This is demoralising, and regardless of position in the pay scale makes me feel not valued.

David from BT Exact
I'm the lowest paid member of the team, despite receiving the highest performance markings

Karl from BT Wholesale
I would like to see two of the key drivers for NRF implemented. 1. The right pay for the job - indicated as the 'mid point' and 2. Progression to the midpoint in a sensible period of time ie. comparable to increments, not 10 years.

Eddie working on 21CN
I haven't had a rise for several years now and I'm fed up with the situation. Bigger bonuses etc are just not a substitute.

Dave from BT Retail
BT needs to bring managers pay back in line with non-managers. We have been treated badly for several years now and have been paid less than inflation. In reality this means I am earning less now than I did 10 years ago, where my staff are earning more.

Ann from Shared Support
If a cost of living increase isn't forthcoming I am effectively taking a pay cut every year. BT doesn't seem to have a problem funding an across the board increase for CWU members which affects the pay differential between grades so that eventually my team could/will earn more than me!

Chris Parfitt
After last year's (enforced and not agreed) pay increase it is about time the union got tough. You have my fervent support for the PAY UP! campaign.