If you know a few Fujitsu friends or colleagues who aren’t in the union yet but you think might be interested, why not pass this email on to them?
If you’re one of those friends or colleagues, and are interested in finding out more about UNITE in Fujitsu, you can leave your details here:
www.ourunion.org.uk/interested
…or just join of course!
To see an electronic copy of our latest paper one-per-desk leaflet on CafeVik, click here (a local version is here).
UNITE reps have been approached by a member of the HR team to discuss the company’s Skills Register.
The company wants an accurate and up-to-date register of our skills so that they could:
These are good reasons for employees to update the Skills Register. Reps find that when jobs are put at risk, members’ efforts to secure redeployment are often delayed by the need to create CVs and Skills Register entries from scratch, rather than being in place.
The Data Protection “declaration” that you are required to accept in order to use the Skills Database puts off some people, as it talks about the data being moved abroad. UNITE reps have offered to work with the company to reword this.
We know that many people find the Skills Register confusing and hard to use. If you have any constructive suggestions on how it could be improved, please let us know so that we can pass them on to the company.
A number of members have sought advice from the reps about the Company changing their professional community role codes. Examples have included mappings from SDC/TSM roles to newly-created SDC/SIM roles, and from SSD/DEV to new SSD/TST roles.
Management and HR have claimed that the changes are ‘administrative’, with no impact on terms and conditions, but members are concerned about being asked to sign their acceptance of the role change while being kept in the dark as to how the new role pay-scale measures up to the old, and therefore whether the new role is higher, equivalent or lower status.
UNITE’s advice to members faced with a request to sign up to an enforced change of role code is before signing to ask their manager for a written statement from the Company detailing the median salary for the new role plus the associated guideline benefit levels (car, medical and bonus). Any member in this position should also seek advice from their rep.
As part of our efforts to protect the jobs of Fujitsu staff working on the NHS account, UNITE National Officer Peter Skyte and UNITE Senior Rep Ian Allinson met with Ben Bradshaw, the health minister.
Central to UNITE’s case to Connecting For Health and the government throughout has been the risk that Fujitsu would make staff redundant before CFH had decided on a new supplier. UNITE has been pressing them to assist Fujitsu and BT to bridge the timing gap and protect jobs.
The government did not agree to this in time to prevent Fujitsu dismissing around 70 staff in September. However, UNITE has now received an update from the minister confirming an arrangement with Fujitsu to extend the employment of those who remain at risk whilst discussions continue with BT about a potential transfer.
In practice, this appears to mean CFH extending funding to cover those Fujitsu staff still employed on the NHS account from 28th November to 28th January 2009 – even though not all of them will have work to do throughout the interim period.
This is a welcome development to improve job security, and shows the value of union lobbying.
UNITE reps have been briefed on plans to cease the full Reception service in MAN35. Citing the under-utilisation of Reception staff in that building, the Company intend this to take effect from 1st December. Notes from the briefing given to UNITE and to MAN35 managers can be read here – if you have any comments or concerns please let us know as soon as possible, as we are working to a tight timescale.
We are holding an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for all UNITE members in the Fujitsu Manchester bargaining unit:
1:30-2:30pm, Thursday 4th December
MAN34, conference rooms GCR1 & GCR2
This short meeting is intended to deal with two agenda items:
1) Nominations for UNITE Joint General Secretary
2) Dealing with job losses
General Secretary Election
An election is being held for the UNITE Joint General Secretary from the Amicus section. Details of the election can be found on the union web site.
General Secretaries have a big influence on the effectiveness of the union, so it is worth taking an interest.
Nominations can be made during November and December by branches and workplace reps. Members at our branch (Greater Manchester IT) decided last week to nominate Laurence Faircloth. The EGM will decide whether to endorse nominations by your workplace reps – this endorsement is a requirement of the democratic process set out in our rules. Details of which candidate(s) your reps wish to nominate will be circulated in advance.
Dealing with Job Losses
Since we secured the new Manchester agreements last year, we have been successful in avoiding any members in Manchester being made redundant against their wishes. The “Annex 1” agreement has been invaluable in this.
The general economic situation is now bleak, and our sector is seeing an increase in takeovers and mergers. Redundancy now has much more serious implications for individuals than would have been the case a year or so ago.
Because Fujitsu Services is primarily involved in outsourcing, it is unlikely that we will be hit as hard as many other companies and sectors. Indeed, David Courtley’s report on half-year results was positive. However, it is likely that the changing situation will lead to changes in the mix of jobs, with potential consequences for employees.
Your reps want to discuss with members how we learn from our success over the last year or so in protecting jobs, and how we need to adjust our approach in the light of changed circumstances.
The company’s accounts have finally been published, and if you can pick your way through them, they contain some interesting information:
If you’d like to help distribute a version of it at your site, please contact us.
If you know a few Fujitsu friends or colleagues who aren’t in the union yet but you think might be interested, why not pass this email on to them?
If you’re one of those friends or colleagues, and are interested in finding out more about UNITE in Fujitsu, you can leave your details here:
www.ourunion.org.uk/interested
…or just join of course!
UNITE is running a recruitment competition for Fujitsu Services employees in the UK. You can enter by joining UNITE, or by recruiting colleagues – and the more you recruit, the more chances you have to win.
To enter, simply return the completed application form to “UNITE – The Union, MAN34” internally or “UNITE – The Union, Fujitsu Services, Central Park, Northampton Road, Manchester, M40 5BP”. The draw will be made before Xmas. So far we have cash prizes totaling £300 and donations of any more prizes would be welcome.
The stronger the union the more we can influence Fujitsu over vital questions such as pay and job security. Who could you ask to join?
The 2009 diaries are now available for order. These include essential union information, including contact details for UNITE offices.
The Greater Manchester IT Branch normally buys some for members who want them, and other branches may choose to do the same.
If your branch isn’t ordering some, you can of course simply order your own for £1.65.
Fujitsu has a number of pension schemes, the largest of which is still the “ICL Defined Benefit” scheme, which the company closed to new members in 2000.
There is a legal right to have Member Nominated Trustees to protect our pensions, in addition to which Fujitsu operates the ICL Pension Members’ Committee (IPMC).
UNITE sees the IPMC as a useful addition to the statutory arrangements to oversee our pensions, but has raised concerns over the years about the degree of unilateral control the company exerts over its composition and role. This is important because the IPMC plays a vital role in selecting the Member Nominated Trustees.
UNITE campaigns for more openness in the operation of pension schemes, as this helps protect them. There is considerable room for improvement in the arrangements in Fujitsu.
We are pleased to report that two UNITE members are joining the IPMC, representing pensioners. Dik Leatherdale and Hilary Robinson are both former UNITE reps and will undoubtedly make a real contribution. However, there are concerns about the fact that these vacancies were filled by appointment rather than election – this can only undermine their position as “representatives”. Both Dik and Hil oppose selection by the company and would have preferred an election to take place.
For the past few years, some of the engineers on the Sirius (Home Office) account have been tucked away on the ground floor in a room with windows that don’t open and which face a brick wall. The one vent in the room cannot cope with the heat generated by PCs in use, being built and repaired. Much of the time they have been working in temperatures over 29°C (85°F), which is bad for the health and causes drowsiness which increases the risk of accidents and reduces productivity.
For a long time people had been asking for air conditioning or more to the point improved air conditioning.
Both a member and local management asked David Seymour, the local UNITE Workplace Representative, if UNITE could help get things moving. It took just one phone call to the right person to spur things along and work is due to start this week. Is it a coincidence that the wheels were put in motion just two days after a call to a director?
It is well proven that union organisation dramatically reduces the number of accidents and improves the health of the workforce.
Without a union, you have no effective way of protecting yourself and your colleagues. UNITE gives working people a route to protect their rights.
National Stress Awareness Day
Today is national stress awareness day – focussing on an issue of significant and growing concern to Fujitsu staff.
There is a vital difference between “pressure”, which people may enjoy and which can help us be effective, and “stress”, which is what happens when an individual suffers excess pressure which produces ill-effects.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as:
The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them.
The HSE identifies organisational factors as a major contributor to stress, and has published “management standards” to help organisations comply with their duty of care towards employees.
If you are suffering stress, do talk about it to someone you feel comfortable with, whether that’s a union rep or a friend at work. Look at what you do personally that might contribute, such as:
In the by-elections for vacancies on the company’s UK Consultative Forum (UKCF), three union members had already been elected unopposed.
There was a hotly contested election in the north-west, where Robert (Wilf) Williams, who was supported by the trade unions, was successful in being elected.
Thanks to everyone who supported Wilf.
The next meeting of the UNITE Greater Manchester IT Branch is on Thursday, and the agenda will include nominations for the election of a Joint General Secretary of UNITE from the Amicus section.
Meetings are held:
5:30-7pm at
Fujitsu Services, Central Park, Northampton Road, Manchester, M40 5BP.
There’s a map here.
Non-Fujitsu employees should report to the reception at MAN34 (the middle building), from where you can be escorted on site.
The dates for meetings for the remainder of the year are:
· Thursday 6th November
· Thursday 4th December
All these meetings will take place in conference room 34GCR2.
The details of arrangements for the General Secretary election are here.
We are aware of four candidates seeking nomination so far, and below we provide links to their web sites where known:
1) Derek Simpson (current Joint General Secretary)
2) Jerry Hicks
3) Laurence Faircloth
4) Kevin Coyne
The meeting will also deal with all the normal business of the branch.
All branch members are encouraged to come along and take part in the discussions and decisions.
At the September meeting, the branch elected new officers for 2009-10. These were:
· Chair: Ian Allinson
· Secretary: John Wood
· Treasurer: Lynne Hodge
· Minutes secretary: Jackie Cook
· Membership Secretary: Mike Thomas
· Delegates to Manchester TUC: Derek Wise, Ian Allinson, Lynne Hodge, Pauline Bradburn, Neil James
· Delegates to Manchester TUC Pensioners Association: Derek Wise, Neil James
· Auditors: Neil James, Ben Ashdown
· Social Event Organiser: Jackie Cook
Many thanks to Derek Wise and Bill Whitehurst, who served the branch as officers for many years but chose not to seek re-election from the end of this year. Our best wishes go to Bill, who is unwell.