Fujitsu Services faces strike action from staff

Union members votes in favour of action over plans to shut final salary pension

Skyte: Fujitsu is highly profitable

IT services provider Fujitsu Services is set for a battle with trade unions after its employee members of Unite voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

The dispute centres on the supplier’s plan to shut its final salary pension scheme and the imposition of a pay freeze. The company also announced last week that 1,200 staff will be laid off – nearly 10 per cent of its UK workers - further provoking the union’s anger.

Some 87 per cent of Unite members working for Fujitsu voted in favour of strike action and 96 per cent were in favour of industrial action short of a strike.

The union claimed that the proposed pension change would reduce the total pay package of each employee by at least 15 per cent.

“Fujitsu Services is not struggling or failing. It is a highly profitable and successful company but one which is seeking to take advantage of the recession to attack jobs, pay, pensions and conditions,” said Peter Skyte, Unite national officer for IT and communications.

“Our members are insisting that the company should pay fairly and provide decent pensions for all its employees. Following the announcement of 1,200 redundancies, they are now calling for the issue of job cuts to be included in any ballot for formal industrial action. We are calling on the company to meet us to resolve these issues and avoid the risk of damaging industrial action.”

Fujitsu has blamed the job cuts on lower-than-expected sales, despite making a pre-tax profit of £200m last year.