Fujitsu staff to vote on strike call

The Unite union is holding a ballot of its members working for Fujitsu to consider strikes and other industrial action.

Staff at Fujitsu services have already been hit with a pay freeze for the financial year. Contractors have been forced to take a 15 per cent rate cut.

Unite is asking its 2,000 members working for Fujitsu Services whether they think industrial action is justified. The union notes that Fujitsu Services increased gross margins to 19.9 per cent and made a pre-tax profit of £199.2m last year.

The main union objection is the closure of the pension scheme - Fujitsu staff are being asked to sign new contracts in September which are identical except for the pension provisions.

The union believes the changes to pensions equate to a 15 per cent cut for every employee.

Peter Skyte, Unite's national officer for IT and communications, said: “Fujitsu Services is a highly profitable and successful company which is seeking to take advantage of the recession to attack pay, pensions and conditions." ®