Graphs show how Fujitsu lowered pay scales by moving from “external” ones in 2003 to “internal” ones from 2004.
They also show how Professional Community changes effectively demoted people.
How are you affected?
Amicus is keeping up pressure for an open and fair pay system. Pay scales should be published, should be consistent, and should be applied equally to everyone.
People should know how a change affects them, and be able to make informed decisions. There should be no ghetto for helpdesk and RIM staff on separate scales. Everyone should be paid within the scale for their job.
Our various legal cases for the disclosure of pay scales continue, and we believe it is likely that at least one of the avenues we are pursuing will prove successful.
Don’t forget to complete the 2005 pay survey, to help uncover the real picture:
http://www.ourunion.org.uk/paysurvey2005
We also have a printable version we can provide on request to those without adequate Internet access.
In this week’s newsletter we highlight the way that pay scales are being lowered and people are being regraded during this period of company secrecy on pay.
Because of union recognition there, Amicus reps in MAN05 had access to the 2003 scales on a confidential basis. They accepted this at the time on the basis of a promise from
Though the MAN05 reps are not allowed to release the 2003 and 2004 scales, they have now published some graphs that illustrate some issues without disclosing the data.
Between the creation of the 2003 and 2004 scales, two major changes took place:
1. The Professional Communities (especially the giant Engineering community) were restructured, and most employees were “mapped” to new roles. In some cases this was little more than a name change, in others, roles were merged or split up. The graphs only show the “standard” mappings – the ones published by the company at the time. Many employees were mapped in “non-standard” ways with little discussion or information. For more information on mapping, see here.
2. Whereas the 2003 scales were based on an analysis of the “external market rate” for each role (the upper quartile, median and lower quartile for the statisticians out there), from 2004 the scales have only been based on the median pay for UK Fujitsu Services employees for each role.
Jargon buster: If you list the pay of everyone in a role in ascending order, the median is the middle one
The graphs make clear that the changes above often had two effects:
1. People doing jobs which the company had previously regarded as having widely different values were now lumped together in one role. In effect, those from the “high value” old roles had effectively been demoted by being moved into a peer-group with colleagues doing “lower value” work.
2. Instead of being compared against the pay rate for the job in other companies, the new pay scales were generally much lower because they only compared us to our fellow low-paid Fujitsu colleagues.
Could the company’s secrecy over pay scales be motivated by a desire to hide these facts? Don’t they want you to be able to work out if you are an A N O’Maly?
The TUC has joined forces with Help The Aged, Age Concern and Which? to launch a “People’s Pensions Coalition”, calling for a fair deal for the pensioners of the future. For more information, click here.
Here in Manchester the local Trades Council (which represents all unions across the city) is hosting a public meeting “United To Defend Pensions” which already boasts an impressive line-up of speakers:
6pm, Thursday 30th June
Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD
Speakers including: Mark Serwotka (General Secretary, PCS union) and Alan Manning (Secretary, North West TUC)
For more details and a leaflet, see the Manchester Trades Council web site,
The company is once again trying to break the MAN05 union recognition agreement, for example:
The company seem to think that their latest “interpretations” of our agreements carry more weight than the experience of decades of custom and practice.
There are also significant issues with the implementation of the 2005 pay deal, which we are still pursuing with management.
It appears we are going through a phase of management hostility in reaction to increasingly effective and widespread union organisation.
At our Annual General Meeting in April, members assessed the outcomes of the dispute in 2003. Many gains had been made, and members noted that:
Members were keen to ensure that the company didn’t slip back to its bad old ways, and decided:
“If our reps were forced to break off talks due to further breaches of the type that led to the dispute (for example failing to consult prior to selecting individuals to be forced out of their jobs into redeployments [including Linkwise]; failing to give 90-days consultation prior to redundancy; refusing members representation; or implementing decisions before fully hearing grievances) then we would want Amicus to ballot us for further industrial action, and to apply pressure by other means.”
To discuss the key recognition and pay issues, we are holding an:
Extraordinary General Meeting
Thursday 14th July
For all MAN05 and Central Park Amicus members (including HOM99 with a MAN05/33/34/35 admin base)
As some employees will already have moved to Central Park by then, we are having to organise the EGM in a new way to maximise attendance. It will be held in two parts – at Central Park in the morning, and MAN05 in the afternoon. Specific times and venues will be circulated soon – please pencil it in your diary for now.
Holding the meeting in two parts makes it essential that agenda items are circulated in advance, so that members in each meeting can vote on the same proposals. If you have any items for the agenda, please let us know as soon as possible.
Amicus had worked with other employees to arrange a meeting tomorrow lunchtime to discuss the Make Poverty History campaign and the G8 summit.
Regrettably, the company has refused to allow this meeting.
We have pointed out that this action doesn’t help the company’s attempt to portray itself playing a positive role in society and the community.
What else you can do:
a) Wear a white band - the symbol of the campaign.
b) Join the massive Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh on Saturday 2 July. Amicus is paying for transport from every region to help members to join the protest. This includes a coach from Manchester, and funding for members travelling on other coaches across the North West. To book your place please ring the Regional Office on 0161 798 8976 as soon as possible. It would help if you could let us know if you’re going too.
c) Join the protest at Gleneagles on Wednesday 6 July, as the G8 leaders of the top industrial countries gather.
The minutes of the May meeting of the company’s Fujitsu Services Consultative Forum (FSCF) are now available on CafeVIK.
Highlights affecting the UK include:
There are a number of Fujitsu office locations where parking can be a real headache. The issues revolve around insufficient parking places, or vulnerability to attack when using local car parks in unsafe areas. It looks like the recent ‘Project Safe’ initiative introduced to various Fujitsu sites may, ironically enough, be making things worse, as security guards are being replaced by CCTV linked to remote security centres.
Your Amicus reps have been taking up these issues with the company locally, but also nationally through the UKCF. The company has agreed that to avoid employees being worse off where there is not enough on-site parking, resulting car parking charges should be claimed through expenses, and if there is a problem with managers authorising such claims, this can be referred to HR.
We are compiling a list of the parking problems across all Fujitsu sites in the UK, so if you have any comments or information to pass on, please E-mail Amicus rep Andy Batchelor, who is creating a report for the UKCF.
The company need to address the safety issues. It is not acceptable for employees to be put at risk because there is no secure parking available near some sites. We will continue to press that parking availability is a high priority for future Fujitsu sites.
Wakefield is a hot issue, but there are worries about the new Central Park site in Manchester and other sites too.
Zero Rises
It appears that most Mobile Engineers not covered by collective bargaining received zero rises this year, regardless of Performance Appraisal result. Instead they were given a one-off bonus of 1% (don’t spend it all at once!). Some of the engineers at the lower end of the pay range were given rises, however engineers in the South have been told that for the foreseeable future anyone above a salary of £17K will not get any rises.
It is curious that the company seem able to justify zero rises by claims that people are “at the top of their respective pay grades and already paid above market rate” while claiming that there are no pay scales and that they make no analysis of the external market rate any more. It’s also hard to see how the vast majority of mobile engineers could be at the top of internal pay scales which are calculated from their own pay.
Mobile Engineers in the MAN05 bargaining unit were of course covered by the agreement there and all received a rise.
Deskilling
The increased reliability of Mainframes and Severs coupled with the policy to give installations and upgrades to the PDU have left a large number of skilled engineers in limbo. In addition the removal of key teams of engineers (such as the Networking teams) leaves the existing untrained engineers trying to fill the gap. Other plans to outsource hardware (such as StorageTek libraries) will only exacerbate the problem. Rather than giving enough support and retraining for engineers to progress into other roles, many are finding themselves assigned to more basic project work.
Conversely the Retail side of the business is working flat out to do large numbers of low value calls. To maintain productivity the number of engineers is being reduced. The company is exploiting the 30min start/end of day during which the engineers are expected to travel to & from first & last call, and engineers are now often under pressure to work an extra (unpaid) hour each day.
Recognition
ME is clearly pursuing an aggressive cost-cutting approach, often with a short-term view. Our first attempt to win union recognition in ME a couple of years ago was unsuccessful, and it is clear that engineers are now paying the price.
Would the company really get away with zero rises if ME had union recognition? Would the company be able to apply the same pressure for longer hours or remove allowances with little protest?
Most engineers see what is happening in MAN05 and realise what an important asset Union Recognition is.
The key steps to winning our next attempt at recognition are to build up the membership in ME and build up the network of reps and contacts in every area. If you want to get involved, please get in touch.
The company is introducing (on a voluntary basis) a daily “Personal Mobile Allowance” which can be paid free of tax and National Insurance (NI). Initially this is only available to Mobile Engineers.
In principle this appears to be a “win-win” for the company and its employees.
Typically, people who are eligible for this can opt to take a pay cut of £1320 and be paid back an allowance of £1186 which is tax and NI free. In effect, the company keeps its NI saving, and takes part of the tax and NI saving of the employee too. This way the employee typically makes a tax saving of £440 of which the company takes £138. The net result would thus be a benefit of £302 for the employee and £302 for the company.
Unfortunately the company tried to introduce it without consultation. As a result the scheme has given rise to unanswered questions and concerns, despite the company trying to address some of the obvious ones in a Q&A. Strong encouragement from the company for employees to sign up was not enough to overcome the doubts and the feeling that the company shouldn’t take so much of the benefit.
Following a request from Amicus rep and Mobile Engineer Alasdair Lewis via the UKCF, the company has decided to extend the deadline for decision by an extra month from 17th June. We hope that they use this time to engage with employees and their representatives to resolve outstanding concerns.
Manchester Trades Council (which represents all trade unions in the city) is hosting a meeting to Defend Pensions at 6pm on Thursday 30th June in the Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, Manchester.
Speakers include Mark Serwotka, the General Secretary of the PCS union and Alan Manning, the Secretary of the North West region TUC.
You can download a leaflet with all the details here.
Amicus recently held a drop-in session for RIM staff. Thank you to everyone who attended, and helped identify a whole range of issues. Many related to inadequate staffing resulting in excessive pressure and unpleasant shift arrangements. This article deals with one aspect of the issue, and also its impact on helpdesk staff.
Secondments and transfers between departments and across business units have been causing a number of issues in recent months - particularly for helpdesk staff who want to move to the System Centre RIM teams or to PSE positions.
Employees are being sent on long secondments (sometimes up to 6 months) but not getting a job at the end of it. While on secondment, some employees have to work unsocial hours, including night shifts or late afternoon shifts, without receiving any additional shift allowance. After the secondees return to the helpdesk it leaves the RIM teams short staffed again. Often another secondee is provided – having to be trained from scratch again. The cycle goes on and on until a permanent position is created.
It is deeply frustrating for secondees and RIM teams when someone is seconded to cover for staff shortages, learns the ropes, but is then sent back to the helpdesk – squandering their new skills.
It would be better for RIM teams and for the career progression of helpdesk staff if successful secondments were made permanent. It would be fairer if everyone was paid properly for their unsocial hours.
Similarly, PSE positions are not being filled when they become vacant. Instead a series of potential candidates perform secondments for several months before a candidate is chosen. Thus the company fills a PSE role for months without paying for the proper rate for the job. Many other employers would pay the higher salary while the employee was “acting up” to the higher role.
Amicus intend to bring these problems to the attention of the senior management team. If you have relevant experiences, views or issues we need to hear about them. Please E-mail our rep Sulayman Munir, who is leading on this issue. We won't know your what your particular issues are unless you tell us. Amicus can then bring them up anonymously.
Impact of Manchester pay deal
The MAN05 pay deal left much to be desired, but was considerably better than elsewhere in the company in a number of important respects.
Parts of the deal were to be implemented after the April pay review, and Amicus has been pressing the company to keep its promises.
As a result of the pay deal, the company propose to increase the allowance for First Aiders by 15% from £130 a year to £150. This will apply nationally.
The company has confirmed that D1-4 pay scales for all TSS1 and TSS2 grades on GOV1 helpdesks nationally are being increased by £250 as a result of the MAN05 deal. This is the first increase since the scales were introduced.
Even though the company tell us that none of the car anomalies are being rectified at the moment, we are aware of examples to the contrary. We’re not sure why the company would choose to appear worse than they actually are.
We highlighted the problems caused by the inadequate pot, which meant that many good performers received little or nothing above the minimum. We need to keep up the pressure for decent pay levels.
The company is still refusing to disclose the 2005 pay scales, despite knowing that Amicus now has a case lodged with the Central Arbitration Committee, has several cases under the Data Protection Act, is obtaining scales unofficially, and is conducting its pay survey.
At a meeting with management on 6th June, the company told us that:
While we don’t believe this figure for a minute, Amicus feels that any company resources would be better spent fixing pay problems rather than in a (probably doomed) attempt to hide them from employees.
However absurd the half-million pounds figure quoted, the company’s stated view matches an increasingly hostile attitude. The company is trying to undermine Amicus because it doesn’t like the union helping employees to assert their rights to be treated fairly on pay.
PCS
It’s worth noting that the company’s inability to work constructively with genuine employee representatives is not confined to Amicus. For example, our PCS union colleagues at DVLA Swansea were frustrated that their talks for their April 2005 pay review were only due to start on Wednesday 15th June. The company then “realised” on Tuesday 14th that they “couldn’t” field a negotiating team.
Overtime
Amicus has highlighted to the company proposed changes to overtime payments in ADG which were announced without consultation. The company now accepts that such changes cannot be made in this way. Amicus would welcome views from the employees affected on the proposed changes.
We also highlighted changes to the authorisation process which are causing problems in certain areas (notably IS). People are expected to have all overtime pre-authorised in a very specific and formal way that is completely unworkable for many people in support roles. We raised concerns about whether people might find they weren’t paid on time as a result, and the impact this would have on business if people stopped being willing to do the work needed by customers.
Remember – if you work under new arrangements you may be deemed to have accepted a permanent change to your Terms & Conditions. The company doesn’t have the power to make changes to your Ts & Cs on a whim – always seek advice from your union even if you think the change is a great improvement. One of the benefits of union membership is the ability to make more informed choices.
The next meeting of the Amicus Greater Manchester IT Branch is:
6pm-7:30pm, Thursday 7th July
Upstairs, Hare & Hounds pub, Shudehill, Manchester City Centre, M4 4AA
[Near the Shudehill Metrolink stop and the spiral ramp to the Arndale car park]
All branch members are encouraged to attend.
The North-West Amicus region is attempting to develop active forums where ordinary members who identify with any of the above groups may participate in order to shape the direction of Amicus in the North West and to more adequately reflect the diverse nature of the union in the wider community.
Our Regional Secretary has asked us to supply names & contact details of any members who want further information or want to get involved.
Please email us if you are interested.
The Make Poverty History campaign is pushing for action to tackle global poverty. Amicus is one of the many organisations backing the campaign and the protests at the G8 summit in early July.
We have organised an open lunchtime session:
12:30pm, Wednesday 22nd June
G8 Conference Room, MAN05
The session will include a short film about the G8, a presentation about Make Poverty History and discussion about the campaign. We have leaflets available if you can help publicise the lunchtime meeting.
What else you can do:
a) Wear a white band – the symbol of the campaign.
b) Join the massive Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh on Saturday 2 July. Amicus is paying for transport from every region to help members to join the protest. To book your place please email us as soon as possible.
c) Join the protest at Gleneagles on Wednesday 6 July, as the G8 leaders of the top industrial countries gather.
Amicus rep Sulayman Munir wrote to Mick Beadsley (Government Stream Manager) as follows:...
[Note: the name of the contract has been removed from this version of the newsletter]
-----Original Message-----
From: Amicus The Union
Sent: 10 June 2005 13:22
To: Beadsley Mick
Cc: Morgan Howard
Subject: AMICUS: SLA problems on the ???? Service Desk
Mick,
We're writing to raise issues about the SLA problems on the ???? service desk and their impact on staff. The issues have been ongoing since the beginning of May and are continuing into June.
Fujitsu are having severe difficulties reaching the required monthly SLA for taking calls. The SLA for the morning period is extremely bad which means that the service desk has to play catch-up for the remainder of the afternoon, thus resulting in relentless pressure throughout the day for staff on the desk.
Though we are aware that the company has tried to make more staff available, many of the measures seem to be further increasing the pressure on employees already bearing the brunt of the problems. The issues that have been brought to our attention are:
BREAKS
Only 2 members of staff are allowed to go on breaks at anyone time. Staff are having to compete with each other to take prescribed breaks and often staff aren't managing to take breaks on a regular basis. Breaks are a health and safety requirement, not an optional extra.
TOILET BREAKS
From what we understand when staff need to take toilets breaks they need to change there telephone state from 'available' to 'break', there is no other state for taking breaks outside normal prescribed ones. A number have people have complained that they are being prevented from taking toilet breaks or need to explain why they are taking an additional breaks, i.e. explaining that they require a toilet break and having to explain how long they are going to take. Supervisors are often shouting across the room asking staff what their reasons are. Staff have complained that they are finding this humiliating. I'm sure you'll agree that this is unacceptable.
BADGERING
Employees receive a stream of emails telling them how badly the company is performing against the SLAs. Employees feel that their extra effort under strenuous circumstances is not being appreciated. This does nothing to solve the problem, but just demoralises people and adds to the pressure.
SICKNESS
The relentless pressure already appears to be resulting in extraordinary sickness levels. On more than one occasion more than 50% of the 30 first-line staff have been off at once. This then puts further pressure on those in work - a vicious cycle.
It has become apparent that sickness has steadily increased over the past few weeks and this is putting an increased burden on available agents.
The extreme workload and resulting stress are causing unacceptable levels of sickness.
HOLIDAYS
We understand that management are refusing annual leave requests. While we can understand the need to ensure there are enough staff, this again appears to penalise those struggling to resolve the SLA problem. It can only contribute to unplanned absence if it continues over any period of time.
CAREERS
We have encouraged the company in its efforts to offer better career paths to helpdesk employees. The extent of the SLA crisis is undermining these efforts. Employees have to wait months for secondments, but then find they are pulled back to help out with call level. People might understand this to cover some short "blip" in workload, but not when it continues for weeks on end.
ACTIONS
We are asking you to take immediate steps to:
a) Stop badgering people about SLA problems that are not of their making
b) Allow everyone to take regular breaks
c) Stop the humiliation of employees over toilet breaks
d) Provide positive support and encouragement to the agents grappling with the workload
e) Provide enough staff to cover the workload, whether by recruitment, use of temps, or assistance from other desks or SDUs
f) Seek help from wherever is deemed necessary to resolve the root cause of the SLA problems
g) Discuss with the client how to reduce the current call volume
Employees would also like to know what other steps are being taken to relieve the pressure from them and ensure that our customers receive the quality of service they have come to expect from our dedicated staff.
I would like to discuss some of these issues with you in person at your earliest possible convenience.
Yours,
.
Sulayman Munir
On behalf the Amicus Man05 Reps Committee.
Amicus will continue to pursue action to resolve this unacceptable situation.
The Make Poverty History campaign is pushing for action to tackle global poverty. Amicus is one of the many organisations backing the campaign and the protests at the G8 summit in early July.
We had organised an open lunchtime session:
12:30pm, Wednesday 22nd June
G8 Conference Room, MAN05
Unfortunately the company has now refused permission for this meeting.
What else you can do:
a) Wear a white band – the symbol of the campaign.
b) Join the massive Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh on Saturday 2 July. Amicus is paying for transport from every region to help members to join the protest. To book your place please email us as soon as possible.
c) Join the protest at Gleneagles on Wednesday 6 July, as the G8 leaders of the top industrial countries gather.
For more information, see http://www.tuc.org.uk/makepovertyhistory.
Amicus have begun distribution of our fifth paper newsletter for our 2005 pay campaign. This one includes some leaked "possible pay scales" for TSS and TSM grades, as well as highlighting the pay survey.
Because the company is so sensitive about its pay scales, we are only publishing the leaflet internally on CafeVIK for now.
Update on War08 bargaining unit pay deal
The small bargaining unit at WAR08 has salary issues relating to the external 2003 benchmarks and to the change of its review date from January to April.
In the light of the corporate ‘pot’ being non-negotiable at 3% these issues could not be satisfactorily addressed.
Due to the size and relatively homogenous nature of the group it was, however, possible to negotiate a settlement of 3% on basic salary for all members of the bargaining group.
This seems to be considerably better than the non-represented majority of Warrington employees have received this year.
UKCF drop-in meeting
Meanwhile the employee reps on the company’s UK Consultative Forum (UKCF) are continuing their programme of “drop-in” meetings for staff. Meetings have already taken place in Bracknell and Stevenage. The next UKCF drop-in is:
Conference Room 2 at WAR13
Thursday 9th June between 10am and 2pm (drop in anytime).
The Amicus campaign for Fair Pay in Fujitsu Services continues to gather momentum. The 2005 pay survey is already getting a good response:
">www.ourunion.org.uk/paysurvey2005
We are aware that some of you experienced technical difficulties with the survey over the last week. We believe these are now resolved, but if you still can’t complete the survey please email us.
Our “Are YOU A.N.O’Maly?” posters are going down well – have you put yours up or passed them round? Have you reminded your workmates to complete the survey? We need your help to make the survey a success.
Amicus is now circulating the next of the A.N. O’Maly paper newsletters – sharing pay scale information we’ve received anonymously. The artwork is here on CafeVIK.
In this email we focus on anomalies for staff in the TSS and TSM roles where the company runs two conflicting pay systems. We’re sure many employees who aren’t yet Amicus members will support the union’s efforts to end pay secrecy – why not show the leaflet to a colleague and invite them to join? Bundles of paper copies are available on request....
General pay system
Across Fujitsu as a whole, the pay system is poorly defined. The company has given up comparing our pay rates with the external market since 2003. Could this be because the comparison was so embarrassing? All managers get now is the median salary of the company’s own employees in that role, and a lower figure 25% below that.
The unofficially obtained pay scales (see above), if genuine, are some of the internal median figures used for the 2005 pay review. We wrote to the company to invite them to confirm whether they were accurate before publication, but they have not responded.
D1-4 scales
A significant proportion of the people on TSS and TSM roles are covered by the “D1 to D4” pay scales concocted by the helpdesk management. RIM staff who transferred to IS are covered as well as those still working for helpdesks. Within each role, management defined four sub-levels. Documents are supposed to be available defining the “capability” required for each level. Management also define desk-specific pay scales for each level.
Amicus published the D1-4 scales applying to a number of the desks earlier this year. Those at MAN05 have since been increased by £250 as part of the 2005 MAN05 pay deal. The new scales are therefore:
| TSS1 | D1 | £14,250 (min) |
| D2 | £14,750 | |
| D3 | £15,750 | |
| D4 | £16,250 (max) | |
| TSS2 | D1 | £16,250 (min) |
| D4 | £19,250 (max) | |
| TSS3 | D1 | £18,500 (min) |
| D4 | £24,250 | |
| TSM1 | Team Manager :D1 | £20,250 (min) |
| Team Manager :D4 | £30,250 (max) | |
| Technical Team Manager :D1 | £25,250 (min) | |
| Technical Team Manager :D4 | £35,250 (max) |
We highlighted the low-pay on one of the Wakefield desks in last week’s newsletter.
Fiddling the figures?
Some of the D1-4 scales are considerably lower than the normal company pay scales. Employees on the D1-4 scales don’t have the internal median figures applied to them – their pay is not compared against colleagues in the same role in other parts of the organisation The company operates two pay systems with two rates of pay for people doing what the company says are comparable jobs.
Worse still, the pay of those on the D1-4 scales is included in the calculation of the medians used to determine everyone else’s pay - distorting the figures.
The most extreme example is for the TSM1 role. Many MAN05 employees will know TSM1 colleagues who got shortfall payments under our 2004 pay deal which brought their pay up to the bottom of the (externally benchmarked) pay scale for the TMG/A role (the 2003 equivalent role) - £33,000!
The helpdesks divide TSM1 into two jobs (Team Manager and Technical Team Manager), each with a D1-4 scale. At MAN05 for example, one runs from £20,250-£30,250 and the other from £25,250-£35,250.
All the underpaid managers in helpdesks are helping pull down the median for TSM1 staff across the whole company. If the unofficially obtained figures are to be believed, the median salary for TSM1 across Fujitsu in the UK is now £29,569 – more than £3000 below the bottom of the 2003 pay scale!
This example brings to life the old trade union slogan “united we stand, divided we fall”. Fujitsu is using the poor pay of helpdesk staff to justify poor pay for other parts of its workforce.
Advice for those on D1-4 scales
This year’s pay deal at MAN05 laid the foundations for staff everywhere on the D1-4 scales to start to challenge unfair treatment:
· “D1-D4 pay scales are based on capability (including performance) as set out in the level descriptions. Work not being available at the level of capability of the employee’s capability is not a reason for refusing progression up the levels.”
· “Employees will never be moved down their D1-4 scale unless this is a disciplinary sanction.”
Amicus is well aware that many staff on the D1-4 scales are not currently paid according to their scale. These are the steps we recommend you take to build on the agreement:
a) Find and study the level descriptions for your job
b) Get your manager to agree in writing which level your capability matches (e.g. they agree you are D3)
c) Demand to be paid according to your level
If a group of you in the same area are in the same boat, you may wish to work together on step c. Naturally you can call upon the support of your union.
From 1 June we welcome new colleagues from the Lloyds TSB contract. The MAN05 group have produced a leaflet with more information which you can read here.
Members on the CMC helpdesk in WAK01 have been grappling with proposed changes to their working hours.
The company is moving another customer contract to Wakefield, and wanted employees to work Saturdays and Bank Holidays on a rota system. The employees have 24/7 employment contracts, but had an agreement that they wouldn’t be asked to work out-of-hours in exchange for staying on one of the lowest pay scales in the company (£11,000 to £13,000 for TSS/1).
Members feel that if they start working out of hours that this should be reflected in their pay.
The company initially asked employees to change their shifts with only a couple of weeks’ warning, and threatened that if they refused, they could be in breach of contract. After complaints, employees have now had an apology for the lack of notice.
The employees have now provisionally agreed to a temporary arrangement for three months while the situation is reviewed. The arrangement involves premium payments and time off in lieu.
Concerns remain about what happens at the end of the 3-month period, as well as the underlying issues of low and inconsistent pay.
The company’s UK Consultative Forum (UKCF) met on 25-26 May. The big news is that a new UKCF agreement has finally been signed. Though this is inevitably imperfect, it is a substantial improvement on the previous agreement. This reflects new legislation, best-practices imported from the company-wide FSCF, and the experience of five years of the UKCF in operation.
Minutes of the meeting should be available on CafeVIK in about a week.
UKCF reps are continuing their programme of “drop-in” meetings for staff. Meetings have already taken place in Bracknell and Stevenage. The next UKCF drop-in is:
Conference Room 2 at WAR13
Thursday 9th June between 10am and 2pm (drop in anytime).
People can have an accident or fall ill anywhere, including at work. In the past we have even had tragic instances where individuals have died at work or on the way home. The law requires employers to provide adequate First Aid cover. For many years employees who volunteered to be First Aiders have received an extra payment equivalent to £130 per year.
Amicus doesn’t believe that every Fujitsu building has adequate First Aid cover, particularly where people are working non-standard hours. Johnsons Workplace Management tell us that volunteers “have not come forward”. The removal of First-Aid trained security guards under “Project SAFE” will only make things worse.
As part of the MAN05 pay deal, the company agreed:
“The allowance for First-Aiders is currently £130 per year, and has not been increased for many years. The company commits to undertake a review with other external companies and report back to Amicus the results of this review. The company will review this with Amicus with any increase backdated to 1 April 2005 if it is acknowledged that this level is below industry standards. We expect the external review to be complete by the end of May 2005.”
We wait with baited breath…
Members should receive posters advertising our 2005 pay survey through the post in the next week. The success of the survey depends on members and non-members filling it in. Please spread the word:
www.ourunion.org.uk/paysurvey2005
The survey is part of our campaign for fair pay in Fujitsu. How can the pay system be fair when the pay and benefit scales are secret?
This week’s newsletter focuses on three types of ANOmaly that were highlighted in the MAN05 pay deal this year – company cars, bonuses and pensions. Of course, the information will also help those outside the bargaining unit work out if they’re being treated fairly. ...
Company Cars
The Fujitsu Services Company Car Policy says that Human Resources are responsible for ensuring that “the relevant car categories are correctly allocated to employees”. It says that Line Managers are responsible for “Determining eligibility for a car and setting of the correct car categories for either Benefit or Business Need Drivers”, but also references the Company Car Guidelines which state that “The level of entitlement of company car available to an individual will depend on the role and appropriate external market benchmarks”.
Since the pay and benefit scales became secret, it is much harder for employees and their managers to determine the level of entitlement. The guidelines make clear that entitlement is based on the employee’s role and the “external market benchmarks” associated with it. Unfortunately, the company denies having any external market benchmarks since 2003! The pay scales used since have been purely internal.
During negotiations for the 2005 MAN05 pay deal, Amicus looked at the car entitlements of employees in different roles. It was a mess. To try to make progress, we focussed on the simplest of the anomalies. These were people who had no company car, and were in roles where most people did have a company car, and where the equivalent “old role” when external market benchmarks existed would entitle them to a company car.
The original notice included a table of information focussing on the roles CSA/1, DEV/5, FNA/D, PRO/PL, TSM/1, TSM/2, TSS/5 and SUP/D.
Note that “have cars” in this context includes Benefit Cars, Business Need Cars and Cash In Lieu. The MAN05 population figures include both people below and above the £36,911 bargaining unit threshold. For those who were below the threshold, the pay deal promised:
“Amicus have identified 32 employees in the bargaining unit who they believe don’t get benefit cars when most of their peers do. The company will review the 32 cases on a case by case basis with the individuals identified. If the individual believes that they are being unfairly treated this will be reviewed with the individual. Where, in the Company’s view there is a possible justification for not giving the individuals a car, this will be reviewed with the individual to try to agree an alternative resolution and reported back to Amicus. The overall review will be completed by the end of May 2005 and where the company agrees that a benefit car should be provided, the decision will be communicated to the individual and the benefit applicable from June 1st 2005.”
So if you’re in the MAN05 bargaining unit and are one of the car-less people in the roles listed above, your manager should have reviewed the situation with you by the end of May. If they haven’t, we suggest you ask them why not!
Amicus recognises that these anomalies are just the tip of the iceberg, but we had to start somewhere…
Bonuses
In recent years the company has tried to reduce the proportion of your income which comes from basic pay. This saves the company money on pensions, overtime, redundancy etc. It also shifts even more of the risk of poor company performance off the shareholders and onto the employees.
But if there are to be bonuses, we all want them to be applied fairly and consistently. Surely bonus eligibility should be properly defined with a published framework? 87% of those in the bargaining unit are on the Sharing In Success scheme, which is paying out just 6% this year. The remainder are spread across a variety of schemes which generally pay out considerably more.
Amicus looked at those roles where a few people were in Sharing In Success, but a lot of their peers were in other schemes (usually worth more).
The original email included a table focussing on the roles TSM/2, PRO/PL, MAN/1, DEV/5, CSA/1 and CSA/2.
Note that these figures are for MAN05 as a whole, including people above the £36,911 bargaining unit salary threshold at the time. For those MAN05 staff who were below the threshold, the pay deal promised:
“Amicus have identified 57 people in the BU who may be bonus anomalies - Company will review the 57 cases and generally offer a bonus change by the end of May 2005. Where there is a possible justification for not offering a change, this will be reviewed with Amicus to try to agree an alternative resolution. The intention is to address all the issues in time to be effective for financial year 2005-6.”
If you think you’re a MAN05 bonus ANOmaly and your manager hasn’t offered you a change yet, ask why not!
Pensions
Newer employees are excluded from the ICL Defined Benefit pension scheme. The only scheme available to them (the Fujitsu Defined Contribution scheme) is considerably less favourable.
Amicus discovered that the majority of MAN05 staff who were only eligible for the Defined Contribution scheme were in no company scheme at all. This meant the company was pocketing valuable employer contributions (estimated at over £140,000 per year just for the MAN05 bargaining unit) simply because people hadn’t joined the scheme and claimed their entitlement.
The Defined Contribution scheme is clearly not working as a mechanism for ensuring employees can look forward to financial security in retirement. Amicus is campaigning for the reopening of the Defined Benefit scheme, and we will keep pushing for this.
Amicus also discovered a group of 11 people in the MAN05 bargaining unit who are in the Defined Benefit scheme, but whose accrual entitlement (before Personal Choices) is only set at 1/75th rather than the normal 1/60th. This is clearly an ANOmaly. The MAN05 pay deal said:
“The company are willing to investigate the inconsistency of 11 people in the bargaining unit who are in the Defined Benefit pension scheme but whose entitlement is only 1/75th accrual. The company will discuss the results with Amicus with the aim of agreeing a resolution by 1 June 2005.”
If you’re one of these 11 and your manager hasn’t discussed it with you – ask why not!
We believe there are other people in the same boat on other sites too.