News

UNI Global Union stands in solidarity with the more than 1,000 members of UNI’s affiliate Unite and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) working in Fujitsu who have agreed joint strike action. The dispute is over a below inflation pay offer, the failure of Fujitsu to implement previous pay agreements and a continued attack on union representatives. The joint action will take place from midnight on Monday 19 September at sites in the UK.



The workers have met or exceeded performance targets on contracts but the company is refusing to budge from its offer of between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent - an offer which will do little to ease the financial burden on staff, some of whom only earn £13,500 a year.



Marcus Courtney, Head of UNI IT and Services says, “The offer is unacceptable when you consider that some company bosses are picking up annual bonuses worth more than the lowest paid workers are earning in a year. It is unjust - as are the breaches of agreements and victimization of union representatives.”



Unite members voted by 85.6% for industrial action short of strike and by 56.4% for strike action. The ballot result follows on from Unite supporting union representative, Alan Jenney. Unite says that he has been dismissed due to his union activities. Alan Jenney is a 39-year-old IT professional who lives in Crewe and has worked for Fujitsu for 17 years since leaving full-time education.



Unite has consistently sought to avoid the use of industrial action by utilising ACAS as conciliators but after discussions stretching over weeks little progress has been made.



Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said: "Unite will not accept any situation where an employer can arbitrarily break negotiated agreements. This dispute can only be resolved through negotiations and coming to an agreement with the workforce. We remain available to talk at any time and urge management to get around the table so we can have a negotiated settlement."



In a ballot of PCS members, working on government contracts across the UK, 65 percent voted for strike action in the dispute over a below inflation pay offer and the failure to implement previous pay agreements.



Earlier this year, PCS and Unite signed a joint national agreement to co-ordinate campaigns and industrial action where possible.