Fujitsu workers back industrial action
Article published: Tuesday, September 6th 2011
Fujitsu workers in Manchester affiliated with the Unite union have voted in support of industrial action in a dispute over pay, working conditions and the treatment of trade unionists.
Manchester Fujitsu workers showing support for sacked union rep Alan Jenney
Ballot results released on Thursday 1 September show 56 per cent of Unite members on the Northampton Road site back strike action while 86 per cent support industrial action short of a strike. Representatives of the 202 union members are today holding negotiations with Fujitsu management in a meeting mediated by the industrial relations arbitrator ACAS.
The vote comes in the wake of what unionists claim has been sustained “union busting” activity on the part of Fujitsu managers, who they say have targeted trade union reps with unwarranted disciplinary action. Unite have suggested that Alan Jenney, a trade union representative from a Fujitsu facility in Crewe and deputy chair of the union’s Fujitsu combine committee, was made redundant for his union activity.
The Unite branch at Manchester Fujistsu in a statement expressed its concern that if industrial relations at the company continued on the present trajectory then “employees will have no real say over how they are treated at work”.
In addition, union representatives have claim Fujitsu have broken agreements made with workers over redundancies, pay, and pensions, with the company pursuing what unionists call a “race to the bottom” in terms and conditions. Ian Allinson, the senior rep for Unite at Fujitsu Manchester, told Mule that Fujitsu managers appeared to “pick and choose whether to stick to agreements”. He said union representatives were “doing our best to resolve the dispute, but talks have been taking place for a long time already”.
If today’s talks with ACAS are unsuccessful and strike action takes place, workers in Manchester will follow other Fujitsu workers around the UK who are also taking industrial action. On June 30 workers in Crewe took strike action in protest at the treatment of Alan Jenney, and on August 31, members of the PCS union working for Fujitsu in Telford, Swansea and Merseyside also voted in favour of striking over pay.
A Fujitsu spokesperson told Mule: “We are aware of the union’s intention to take industrial action following a ballot by members but we are not able to comment on any specific individual cases”.
Andrew Bowman
More: Manchester, News
Comments
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Probably good news for workers elsewhere, especially in Eastern Europe or Asia.
Comment by simon on September 6, 2011 at 3:27 pm
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