Fujitsu strikes again

A third wave of strikes at IT giant Fujitsu in Manchester for 48 hours, starting tomorrow (November 16), in the pay, pensions and job security dispute will mar a top international company event.

The strike will coincide with the Fujitsu Forum trade fair in Munich which is expected to attract 14,000 visitors, including senior members of the company’s global management team.

About 300 staff, members of Unite, will be striking for 48 hours starting from just after midnight tomorrow.

Unite members will be staging picket lines at Fujitsu, Central Park, Northampton Road, Manchester M40 5BP between 7am until 10am on each strike day.

Fujitsu is currently planning to cut 1,800 UK jobs – over 18 per cent of its UK workforce. The union said that the company had written to more than 2,500 UK staff this week telling them that their jobs are at risk.

The strike also 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 ÂŁ5,500-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 strikes have been accompanied by a continuous work to rule, withdrawal of goodwill and ban on overtime which started on October 31.

Unite regional officer Sharon Hutchinson said, “The third wave of strike action will coincide with the prestigious Fujitsu Forum being held in Germany.

“We hope that the adverse publicity that the 48-hour stoppage will generate will concentrate the minds of the firm’s senior management team that the strikes in Manchester will continue in the run-up to Christmas, unless they engage with their workforce in a constructive manner,” she added.

“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 resolving this dispute.”

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