Nearly 40,000 BT workers vote to strike over pay

Nearly 40,000 BT workers have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay.

Some 30,000 Openreach engineers and 9,000 BT call centre workers overwhelmingly backed industrial action, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said.

General secretary Dave Ward said BT now faced its first national strike since it was privatised in the 1980s.

BT said it was disappointed and would "work to keep our customers and the country connected."

The CWU - the union for all BT Group employees - announced that on a 74.8% turnout, the union's 30,000 Openreach engineers voted by 95.8% to take strike action.

It said BT staff, including 9,000 call centre workers, voted by 91.5% on a 58.2% turnout for strike action.