Policy & Position Statements

You can find my policy and position statements here. Please be patient as we populate this page over the next few months.

BT Group Strike

BT and Openreach workers went on strike for two 24-hour walkouts on Friday 29th July and Monday 1st August in the first national telecoms group strike ballot since 1987. Many constituents, including local members of the CWU have been in touch with me to share their stories. Decisions to strike are never taken lightly, and I offer my support to those BT Group workers who took industrial action. The Labour Party unequivocally supports workers’ right to strike to improve their pay and conditions, especially in a cost-of-living and inflation crisis where key workers, who kept us connected throughout the pandemic, are struggling to pay their bills. The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Shadow Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Secretary have both written to Nadine Dorries as Secretary of State for DCMS to urge the Government to get BT to the negotiating table and find a fair pay deal. So far, she has said nothing on this dispute and the current Tory leadership candidates have both threatened the right to strike in the debates. They have also written to the BT Group CEO to ask him to open negotiations with the CWU and resolve this dispute. The CEO, whose own pay increased by around a third to £3.5m this year, refuses to meet with the CWU. He is arguing that BT cannot afford to increase workers pay, despite making £1.7bn in profit over the last 15 months - most of which went directly to their shareholders – and increasing the prices of their broadband and telecoms packages. As a proud trade unionist for the last 20 years, I support the right to strike and call on the Government to act to get BT around the negotiating table to resolve this dispute.
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How can I contact Simon?

Write: 16 Westmorland Street Wakefield WF1 1PJ Attendance at our offices is by appointment only Telephone: 01924 682269 Email: simon.lightwood.mp@parliament.uk
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