There was a high turnout and 58.9% members voted in this ballot, with 84.6% voting to accept the agreement and 15.4% voting to reject.  The turnout has been further strengthened by large numbers of new members joining Connect and exercising their right to vote in recent weeks.  This reflects the great importance of the pensions issue, Connect's work to secure this potential agreement with BT and the union's efforts in communicating the detail to our members. 

The CWU's ballot has also now closed, with CWU members joining you in strongly voting to accept.  67% members from the CWU voted to accept, with 33% voting to reject the offer.  The turnout of 40% is high in the context of a postal ballot. 

Connect and the CWU will now jointly sign the agreement on pensions with BT, the terms of which can still be read by following the links on the right hand side of this page by logging in as a member.

Both unions will now be conducting detailed discussions with BT on the implementation of this complex agreement. The changes will apply from April 1 2009 and we will be communicating with you further on the details of these changes in early 2009.

In addition members will be able to seek financial advice via our new membership services provider.  Details of Connect's new membership services provider will be announced in the New Year.