Unite presses ahead with Fujitsu strike vote

Skyte: Fujitsu should "consult meaningfully" to avoid job losses

Members of the workers union Unite are to vote on industrial action in a dispute with IT services firm Fujitsu over job cuts, frozen pay and its plans to shut their final salary pension scheme.

Unite has served the company with seven days notice of the ballot, which will begin on 12 October, with results available after 30 October.

This follows a previous UK-wide vote, where 87 per cent of the union’s members voted for industrial action against the company’s proposals.

According to the union, the changes in the firm’s pension scheme could reduce employees’ pay by around 20 per cent. Unite says 4,000 staff in the main pension scheme are being hit by Fujitsu’s plans to close its retirement fund.

Unite claims Fujitsu is planning to dismiss employees after the end of the consultation period in October, and offer them new unchanged contracts, except in relation to pensions.

The August announcement of job cuts affecting 1,200 UK staff, with an additional 6,000 people - half the firm's workforce - cited as being at risk of redundancy, also fuelled the union’s anger.

“Unite members are asking why they should lose their jobs and tighten their belts when last year the company paid out about £150m to shareholders and around £1.6m to two directors as compensation for loss of office,” said Unite national officer Peter Skyte.

“The company imposed a pay freeze on UK staff earlier this year, withdrawing promised pay rises to employees,” he said.

Skyte added that Fujitsu remains highly profitable, so it should increase members’ pay, maintain the pensions and “consult meaningfully” to minimise job cuts and avoid compulsory redundancies.