15 September, 2011Fujitsu workers launch a 24 hour strike in Manchester and Crewe over pay disputes and discrimination against a union representative.
UNITED KINGDOM: Members of IMF UK affiliate Unite and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working in Fujitsu agreed to take joint 24-hour strike action on September 19 in UK sites of the company.
The industrial action was announced after failure of the Fujitsu management to fulfil its previous pay agreements and a continued attack on union representatives. Attempts to resolve the disputes in Crewe and Manchester by negotiation have not been successful. The company is refusing to implement its commitments on pensions agreed last year in mediation and, despite the workers meeting or exceeding performance targets, is refusing to budge from its pay offer of between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent - an offer which will do little to ease the financial burden on staff. It is also refusing to commit to adhering to an earlier agreement on redundancy and redeployment in respect of consultation and selection.
The company is at the same time undermining the unions by victimizing union representatives. Alan Jenney, a Unite representative who has worked for Fujitsu for 17 years, was dismissed without notice on July 11, in breach of his contract.
According to Unite, there are many other areas where the company is not willing to commit to honouring its agreements. These include consulting before taking decisions affecting employees and refraining from imposing decisions while negotiations are ongoing. Members of Unite voted by 85.6% for industrial action short of strike and by 56.4% for strike action. Unite has consistently sought to avoid the use of industrial action by utilising conciliation services, but the company's reluctance to make any progress in negotiations forces the union to take this last resort.