INDUSTRIAL action by British Gas engineers is to be stepped up after an announcement of more strikes in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Members of the GMB union are taking their 12th day of action today, mounting socially distanced picket lines across the UK.
A further four days of strikes will be held on Friday 5, Saturday 6, Sunday 7 and Monday 8 February, the union announced.
National officer Justin Bowden said: “These four days of strikes will add to more than 170,000 homes in repair backlog and 200,000 service visits axed.
“Staff in the field engineers bargaining group will not accept the new contract. Twelve days of solid strike action shows this.”
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British Gas says it has contingency plans for dealing with the strikes, and insists the new contracts are aimed at saving jobs.
Both sides will appear before the Business Select Committee on Tuesday to discuss the dispute.
A British Gas spokesman said: “Our business needs to change to survive and protect 20,000 jobs.
“We know change is difficult but we have offered a fair deal that has been negotiated over 300 hours with unions - where base pay and pensions are protected.
“Using dismissal and re-engagement has always been a final resort option.
“That’s why we have worked so hard to ensure that it has now been removed for a significant majority of our employees - 83 per cent have already agreed to the new terms.”
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