Unite action on jobs, pay and pensions
Unite, the largest union in the UK, has this week begun an
industrial action ballot on jobs, pay and pensions covering over
1500 members at the Fujitsu IT services company in the UK. The
union has served 7 days notice to the company of the ballot which
will begin on 9 October. The ballot result is expected to be
available after 30 October
This follows a previous overwhelming vote for industrial action
as part of a UK-wide consultative ballot against a proposal to
close the company’s main final salary pension scheme and the
imposition of a pay freeze. 87% of members voted in favour of
strike action and 96% in favour of industrial action short of a
strike in the consultative ballot.
Some 4000 employees in the main defined benefit pension plan are
being hit by the company's plans to close the scheme to future
accrual. The company intends to force this through by dismissing
employees after the end of the consultation period in October, and
offering them employment on new contracts which are unchanged
except in relation to pensions. The union estimates that the
proposed pension scheme change would reduce the total pay package
of each employee by typically around 20 per cent.
The company imposed a pay freeze on UK staff earlier this year
just a week before it was due to take effect, withdrawing promised
pay rises to employees.
In late August, Fujitsu announced proposals for 1200
redundancies in the UK and has since put 6000 people at risk of
redundancy, amounting to 50% of its UK workforce.
Fight for jobs, pay and
pensions, October 2009
