Staff strike over redundancies (From This is Hampshire)

Staff strike over redundancies

1:30pm Sunday 27th December 2009

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STAFF at a major IT company in Basingstoke are staging a series of strikes following a wave of redundancies.

A total of 31 staff were made redundant on December 11 from the Basingstoke branch of Fujitsu Services UK. The firm employs 258 people at two sites in Basingstoke – at Grafton House, in Grafton Way, West Ham, and at Jays Close, Viables.

The departments affected by the job cuts were engineering services, application development, human resources and sales departments. Fujitsu employs around 11,500 people in the UK.

Last Friday’s first walk-out was part of a national campaign against job cuts, pension reductions and pay. Further strike action is planned for January 7, 8, 11 and 14 and 15.

The national strike is over proposals for 1,000 redundancies in the UK and following a pay freeze imposed earlier this year. Another bone of contention is a plan to close the main final salary pension scheme to future accrual, reducing the total pay package of affected employees by about 20 per cent.

Unite, the union, said 75 per cent of its balloted members from Fujitsu Services UK backed strike action over the company’s cost-cutting moves. It said the company continues to make substantial profits, making £200million before taxation last year.

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: “While we remain ready and willing to talk at any time, this further rejection of the company’s position leaves no doubt – our members are saying enough is enough.”

Fujitsu spokesman Charlotte West said: “Fujitsu is disappointed that the Unite trade union has decided 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.”

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