First strikes in IT sector continue over job losses at Fujitsu
Jan 14 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal
A UNION has urged directors at Fujitsu to come up with an alternative to axeing hundreds of jobs as it plans to lead workers into further strike action.
Workers at the computer giant, which employs around 40 staff at its site in Newcastle, have been on strike for four days amid a bitter row over jobs, pay and pensions.
Their trade union, Unite, is now planning a further two days of industrial action today and tomorrow.
Since announcing the cuts in September, the firm has been able to reduce its target from 1,200 redundancies to 876, with 586 workers choosing to leave voluntarily.
Representatives at Unite believe directors at Fujitsu should now find ways to redeploy the remaining 290 staff or at, at least, extend the consultation deadline beyond January 31. The union have also claimed that twice as many women had been selected for compulsory redundancy, while almost one in 10 part-timers have been told they were losing their job, compared to 3.9% for full-timers.
National officer Peter Skyte said: “We are disturbed to find that a disproportionate number of women, part-time and ethnic minority workers appear to have been selected for redundancy at Fujitsu, but have had no meaningful response from the company to our queries on this.
“The fact that we are being forced into further strike action illustrates the lack of success we have had in engaging the firm in constructive talks.”
The firm also plans to scrap its final salary pension scheme and continue with its long-running pay freeze.
Unite, which also headed 24-hour walk outs in December, said that the strike action was the first to take place within the UK’s IT sector.
Fujitsu employs around 11,000 people in the UK at sites including Bracknell, Stevenage, Manchester, Crewe, Belfast, Staines, Basingstoke, Wakefield, Sheffield, Solihull, Telford, Swansea, Slough, Lewes, Warrington, Cardiff, Londonderry, Bristol and London.
A company statement from Fujitsu said: “Fujitsu is disappointed that the Unite trades union has decided to continue to take industrial action whilst consultation continues with the elected employee representatives on the proposed changes to the pension scheme.
“Fujitsu has taken prudent measures to ensure that service to its customers is maintained.”
