Heated dispute in grip of Big Freeze

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Jan 17, 2007

Byline: By Ray Marshall

Twenty years to the day, BT walkouts hit region

The Big Freeze had descended on Tyneside and it was here to stay, said the weathermen. But to compound matters 3,000 local BT workers were about to embark on a strike which would cripple 999 calls to ambulances and police.

The headline in the Chronicle of January 17, 1987, exactly 20 years ago today, screamed 999 CRISIS.

It was reported that phone links to all emergency services in the North East were under threat in the escalation of a British Telecom pay dispute.

Durham Ambulance Service was the first to fall victim when engineers refused to repair breakdowns on its main switchboard.

Staff were unable to distinguish 999 calls from routine ones and warned there could be delays in answering emergencies.

Fortunately, in this case a Durham ambulanceman was able to repair the fault ( a blown fuse.

BT said the engineers' union refused to turn out over the weekend for emergency repairs to lines including fire stations, hospitals, doctors, midwives, old people's homes and the homes of people seriously ill.

A spokesman said: "We have pointed out the seriousness of their action. It could result in hospitals losing their telephone service, prevent the public contacting doctors and midwives and deprive old people living alone of their lifeline."

The engineers' move came after a suspension threat to colleagues who refused to work overtime at the weekend to clear a backlog of faults.

They were sent letters stating that, under the terms of their contracts, they were expected to carry out the work.

The National Communications Union immediately withdrew emergency cover.

Meanwhile, the whole of Britain's phone system was on the brink of severe disruption as thousands of engineers walked out.

More than 700 had been suspended for refusing to work weekends and a further 15,000 went out in sympathy.

On January 19, the Chronicle reported that BT had suspended two Tyneside phone girls and sparked off a strike by 3,000 North East engineering staff.

A voluntary "life or death" repairs service to ambulance and fire stations, hospitals and collieries had already been withdrawn.

By this time it was estimated that about 25,000 BT staff had walked out nationally in sympathy with colleagues.

The flashpoint came at BT's Swan House headquarters in Newcastle, where two customer service officers were escorted from the premises by management.

Lynn Charles, of Birtley, and Marion Dodds, of Low Fell, were suspended for refusing to work overtime at the weekend. Their normal duties involved taking incoming calls from the public and passing on the reported faults to engineers. As they were led from the complex they were joined by about 30 fellow workers who walked out in protest.

A union spokesman said: "It's typical of the British Telecom style of management, and the move has only further enraged our members.

"It's absolutely disgusting to pick on these girls who were complying with the result of a legally-held ballot. They were upset by their suspensions."

Luckily, sense eventually prevailed and, after talks, it was not long before the dispute was settled. But the weather also called a halt to Newcastle's league clash with Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park.