WORKERS in Birchwood have again walked out on strike from BT's offices, in response to a real-terms 'pay cut.'

The workers at the Birchwood office are members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and are taking aim at the CEO of BT Group, Phil Jansen.

Strikers have nicknamed the CEO 'Foodbank Phil,' after the workers claim that he earned £3.5 million last year, while the union says: "Frontline staff are forced to use foodbanks."

This is the workers' eighth day of strike action, with the first day of industrial action taking place in July.

Since then, for the first time ever, 999 call handlers joined the CWU picket lines, with some 500 emergency call operators taking part in industrial action.

Birchwood's Stanford House is home to one of BT Group's offices, and staff at the site have joined the picket line once again.

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian at the CWU picket line in Birchwood in July, Tracy Buckley said: "This isn't about workers being greedy, or being awkward - just pay us enough to feed our family, pay us enough to heat our homes."

Warrington Guardian: BT Group workers went on strike in Birchwood in the summer, tooBT Group workers went on strike in Birchwood in the summer, too

Tracy is a union rep for the CWU and has worked for BT Group for almost four decades.

She added: "I've worked for BT for 36 years, I've invested my entire working life in them; I deserve to be treated better."

CWU members are on strike over pay conditions at the company - earlier this year, BT Group imposed a flat-rate £1,500 pay increase for staff members.

Workers were not consulted over the pay increase, and when adjusted for inflation this works out as a real-terms cut to workers' salaries.

Tracy said: "For the lowest-paid, this could be a five or six per cent increase, for the higher earners it could be two or three per cent - either way, it's below inflation."

A BT spokesperson said: "While we're disappointed that the CWU has decided to take industrial action, we respect the decision by their members to take industrial action.

"We have a responsibility to all of our colleagues, including the many thousands who won't be taking part in industrial action, and to our customers."