вт, the most profitable denationalised firm, has announced plans to make 16000 engineers and clerical workers redundant during the next 18 months.
Plans to shed this huge part of the workforce stem from the massive influx of new technology and the deepening economic recession.
For the National Communica tions Union (NCU), it poses a major challenge. Wil it co-operate with these redundancies or will i fight? The signs are not good. An article in the latest issue of the NCU joumal, entitled 'How the jobs agreement poises the jobs cuts in a postive Sight. an urgent need to 'rebalance its engineering and clerical worklorce. The result will be job losses. Pres. sure comes from the severe elects of recession on the company, as well as from the introduction of new technology and the impact of growing competition as a result of govemment decsions....
It is no accident that this has been the response of the current leadership of the union, which has increasingly gone along with new realism and the Kinnock leadership in the Labour Party.
Over the past year BT has already shed 5000 managers, and has decimated its worklorce, who belong to the UCW - doorkeepers, cleaners, catering staff. Now it is cally cutting back staff who work on directory enquiries. Having deat with the UCW, BT feels strong enough to take on the NCU.
A recent article in 'The City showed that BT wants to shed as many as 30,000 jobs in the long run. Immediate plans include cutting nearty 3000 jobs in the Personal Communications Division; up 650 in Group Logistics and 2850. including over 2000 engineers, in Business Communications.
Other big job losses will hit Worldwide Networks, with job losses here concentrated in London.
The sackings threat has led to widespread calls from branches for a special conference to discuss a the cuts.
The whole issue is a challenge to the union's Broad Left, which has been increasingly under pressure from new reast ideas The elements of a fightback plan are already contained in the so-called Broad Strategy already adopted by NCU conference. But will 2 be activated by the NCU leadership?
The issue now is whether to roll with the punches and accept a food of voluntary recundances which wil permanently reduce and weaken the workforce: or adopt a fighting strategy based on the demand for a reduced working week with no loss of pay, and strike action to stop redundancies. The îw is al a crossrodus. No. 10 Oct. 26; 1991
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