Fujitsu faces five-day strike
Tom Espiner ZDNet UK
Published: 19 Jan 2007 17:01 GMT
Staff at the Manchester offices of technology giant Fujitsu
will go on a five-day strike in just over two weeks' time, as the
ongoing dispute between the company and trade union Amicus shows
little sign of resolution.
Amicus confirmed on Friday that the strike would go ahead, from
Monday, 29 January to Friday, 2 February. An earlier strike took
place on 11 and 12 January, as reported last week.
Fujitsu and Amicus are in dispute over a range of issues. The union
claims that workers were denied the benefits of union recognition
and representation, and the right to a 90-day consultation before
redundancy. They also say that redundancy payment terms were
cut.
The staff in question work on a number of outsourced
accounts.
Ian Allinson, senior representative for Amicus at Fujitsu, told
ZDNet UK on Friday that he had recently been threatened with
disciplinary action. "We clearly think that's linked to my role in
the dispute," he said.
"We think one of the reasons the union was attacked in Manchester
is that the company generally doesn't recognise unions. It feels
like they're trying to break the union here to nip it in the bud,"
Allinson added.
Sources within Fujitsu, though, have claimed that Amicus has
refused to negotiate over the outstanding issues.
It is understood that Fujitsu has asked staff who are not engaged
in the action to avoid taking leave during that week. The company
is understood to be confident that its customers won't be
affected.
Companies that use the services of Fujitsu's Manchester branch
include Marks & Spencer and H&M, plus various government
departments including the Home Office.
Sorry for flooding, last thread of the day. 
