It looks like we North Americans aren’t the only ones that think that employees should be compensated for BlackBerry use. 13,000 BT employees have banded together and decided to work only 36 hour weeks as well as turn off their BlackBerrys in a BlackBerry Strike of sorts after work hours in lieu of going on strike.
BT Connect users are seeking equal pay and changes to pay differentials, ranges, and progression and feel like they are being short changed when asked to user BlackBerry devices outside of regular business hours without compensation.
BT Connect members expect that their contracted 36-hour work weeks will end on Thursday. Union members will go home after they’ve worked their 36 hours as well as switch off their BlackBerrys in an effort to show BT just how much productivity is lost if employee doesn’t work outside contracted hours.
Source…
I don’t think that this would every work in the U.S. simply because most people that use BlackBerrys here are salaried non-union employees.
This cracks me up. BT are a pile of crap and have single handedly been holding back the evolution of fixed line and broadband in the UK for years. They should do the overtime for being such a shocking company as it seems there’s plenty for them to fix. Nobody forces them to use their BlackBerrys in the same way I’m not forced to. However, where I differ from the ‘clock in clock out’ BT employee is that I see that sending that email after work will save me time the next day (the company benefits and so do I), whereas your average BT employee wants a medal just for turning up on time. Given the current climate they should be thankful they even have jobs – sack em I say.