Fujitsu - Positive Vote In Consultative Ballot

Fujitsu workers have voted in a consultative ballot that they would be prepared to take industrial action in support of a dispute over the IT firm's plans to close its final-salary pension scheme and impose a pay freeze.

Unite can now move to a formal dispute ballot after complaining that 4,000 workers in the firm's defined-benefit pension plan were being hit by the plans.

Unite said that, if the proposal went ahead, the company intended to dismiss employees after the end of the consultation period in September and offer them employment on new contracts which were unchanged except in relation to pensions.

Unite says that the proposed pension scheme change would reduce the total pay package of each employee by at least 15%.

Unite national officer Peter Skyte pointed out that Fujitsu Services was not struggling or failing.

"It is a highly profitable and successful company, but one which is seeking to take advantage of the recession to attack jobs, pay, pensions and conditions," he said.

"Our members are insisting that the company should pay fairly and provide decent pensions for all its employees. Following the announcement of 1,200 redundancies, they are now calling for the issue of job cuts to be included in any ballot for formal industrial action.

"We are calling on the company to meet us to resolve these issues and avoid the risk of damaging industrial action."

Last week, Fujitsu announced proposals for 1,200 redundancies in Britain - amounting to 10 per cent of its British workforce.

Fujitsu employs around 12,500 people in Britain, with its main sites at Bracknell, Stevenage, Manchester, Crewe, Belfast, Staines, Basingstoke, Wakefield, Sheffield, Solihull, Slough, Lewes, Warrington, Cardiff, Bristol, Newcastle and London.