Fujitsu Ballot - Support Needed
Unite is to hold a consultative ballot of members in Fujitsu, the Japanese IT company over plans to alter its final-salary staff pension scheme which will in effect be a pay cut of at least 15 per cent for 4000 employees.
Fujitsu Services is making significant profits - £199million in the past year on a 12 per cent rise in sales to £2.8billion. It also paid out £1.59million in compensation for loss of office to two directors.
In a further development Unite activists at Fujitsu are asking other Unite members to send messages of support to workers taking part in the consultative ballot.
A message from Fujitu workers said: "Despite our employer declaring record profits this year, they unilaterally cancelled our pay rise a week before it was due to take effect and are now trying to close the main final salary pension scheme by dismissing and re-employing nearly 4000 of us on new contracts.
The reaction from employees has been fantastic - Unite membership across the UK has risen by well over 20% already this year and there is a real determination to resist Fujitsu's attempts to opportunistically take advantage of the recession to drive down pay and pensions. Whereas the 2006-7 dispute only directly involved the main Manchester site, we have launched a national campaign on pay and pensions and have just elected a national "combine committee" for the first time. Unite is working closely with PCS, which also has members in Fujitsu.
On Monday (3rd August) we will be opening a consultative industrial action ballot involving our members across the UK. Those outside Manchester generally have no experience of a dispute, so messages of support for our campaign would be particularly appreciated to boost members' confidence".
Message of support from Workers Uniting Group supporters can be email to
support@ourunion.org.uk.
Trinity Mirror Ballot
Unite members at all of Trinity Mirror's 12 UK print centres are to be balloted for industrial action.
Voting papers will go out to over 1000 members of the Unite this week after a nationwide pay freeze was imposed by the newspaper publisher last November.
Unite national officer for newspapers and media Steve Sibbald said: "The latest figures from the company's accounts show that they have, once again, made a profit. As a result of this their share price has rocketed, which will be good news for their board and their executives. Meanwhile, our members and the majority of their colleagues have wage freezes imposed on them."
Artenius Demo - Barcelona
Unite members from Artenius will confront shareholders at a board meeting in Barcelona, Spain, today (August 8th). The workers are angry about the way they were informed of the jobs and their basic redundancy pay.
Phil McNulty, Unite national officer said: "They are furious at the way the parent company, La Seda de Barcelona, has sucked money from the site and then placed the UK plant in administration. Our members were given three hours notice, sacked with state minimum redundancy pay and with not a word of consultation even though the company had consistently denied that this was about to happen. This is another serious blow to the Wilton complex adding to the growing redundancies, placing further doubt on its future."
Phil added that he had heard nothing from the government since meeting with them more than a week ago. He said: "I am extremely concerned to ensure that the serious of the situation is appreciated by the UK government. The Wilton situation is now critical."
Workers Uniting Website blog on USW Paper and Pulp Conference - Unite Reps take part in first co-ordinated bargaining planning for paper sector in USA, Canada and UK:
http://www.workersuniting.org/
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