‘Strongly supported’ strike

The two-day strike at IT giant Fujitsu in Manchester, which started earlier today (November 7), has been strongly supported by about 300 workers in the continuing dispute over pay, pensions and job security.

To drive home their concerns, the strikers, members of Unite are leafleting existing and prospective customers in Salford’s ‘media city’, including ITV and BBC.

The 48-hour stoppage started at just after midnight today and follows on from a 24-hour strike last Tuesday (November 1) – and the union warned that further strikes were on the cards, unless management agreed to constructive talks.

Today’s strike highlights the 16 per cent gender pay gap that Unite has identified from limited data provided by Fujitsu, which means that women staff are paid an estimated £5,500-a-year less than their male counterparts. There is also a retrospective cut in pensions of up to 15 per cent for many staff who are over 60.

Unite’s dossier on pay inequality in Fujitsu can be accessed here.

The strike tomorrow (November 8) will focus on job security. Fujitsu is planning to cut 1,800 UK jobs – over 18 per cent of its UK workforce. The  strikes have been accompanied by a continuous work to rule, withdrawal of goodwill and ban on overtime which started on October 31.

“Today’s strike has been strongly supported by our members and the message is getting out that our members won’t be steamrollered into submission by the management,” said Unite regional officer Sharon Hutchinson.

“Fujitsu is a highly profitable and successful company – its main UK subsidiary made £85.6m profit last year and continues to be highly profitable.

“So there is plenty of scope for the company to be positive in meeting our legitimate concerns on pay, pensions and job security,” she added.

“If the company continues its hard line, our members will continue to take industrial action in the run-up to Christmas that will severely impact on its customers, including those at Salford’s ‘media city’.”

The company’s major sites include Belfast, Bracknell, Crewe, Londonderry/Derry, London, Manchester, Solihull, Stevenage, Wakefield and Warrington.