The UNITE newsletter on 20th December highlighted the attempt by the company to “level down” terms and conditions for people working Out Of Hours (overtime, shifts, standby).
The company is trying to reduce what it pays out as a bonus for people who succeed in complying with the onerous requirements of DV security clearance.
It also wants to cap the mileage rate for staff using their own cars on company business (POV rate) at 40p per mile, despite rising fuel costs. This would effectively mean those without company cars or allowances (typically the lower paid) paying part of the cost themselves when travelling on business.
If you are affected by any of these issues, or other cost-cutting at your expense, it is important that you talk to one of your local UNITE reps at the earliest stage possible.
The best way to protect our jobs, pay and conditions is to build a stronger union within Fujitsu. If you have a few colleagues who you think might be interested in this newsletter, why not pass it on? If you are one of those colleagues and are interested in finding out more about UNITE, why not get in touch?
Your survey responses have led your reps to increase the priority UNITE allocates to making Fujitsu’s pay and benefits system fair and transparent. Fortunately we have some good past successes to build on:
UNITE is delighted to report the latest step forward. Most individuals now have access to their own pay comparators online:
The Internal Pay Comparator figures given are likely to differ from those in the last UNITE briefing document, as these median figures are calculated twice a year. The figures for TSS1, TSS2 and TSM1 roles should be treated with caution. A significant group of employees in Service Desks are managed on different pay guidelines (D1-D4 or Rise+), and the FAQ does not make clear whether the salaries of these individuals have been excluded from the calculation. UNITE is seeking clarification on this.
Unlike the UNITE briefing, the online system only gives you your own median, not that for other roles which you might want to move to, and doesn’t include benefit information, but it is nonetheless an important step forwards.
Many of you will have seen the news reports following the research from Incomes Data Services (IDS) suggesting that pay rises this year for most workers are once again likely to trail behind the cost of living, meaning our standard of living continuing to be eroded. To add insult to injury, IDS also found that for the year to October, the total earnings of FTSE100 directors rose by 55%. And they say “we’re all in it together”!
A good example of the way many companies are trying to take advantage of economic gloom to boost profits at the expense of their staff is the situation faced by over 1000 UNITE members at Heinz in Wigan. Heinz managed to pay a 9% dividend to shareholders, yet asked its staff to accept a pay rise below inflation. The members have taken three days of strike action, which has resulted in an improved offer from the company, but it is far from certain this will be accepted as it would still mean a pay cut in real terms. If you want to support our colleagues at Heinz you can download a collection sheet online, which includes details of how you can donate to their strike fund online.
The cuts are an issue for all of us. Many Fujitsu staff or our families will be impacted by the VAT rise, student fees, cuts in Education Maintenance Allowance, reduction in working tax credits, index linking of pensions and benefits, cuts in the services we all use and the jobs of the people who provide them.
But there may well be impact on us through Fujitsu too, as the public sector comprises most of our UK business. The government is demanding its suppliers “help” it save billions of pounds. However many good ideas we come up with to deliver “efficiency savings”, it would be naïve to think Fujitsu may not be tempted to deliver savings to government at our expense too.
We cannot protect our jobs, pay and public services by organising within Fujitsu alone – we need to be part of a wider movement to be strong enough to succeed.
UNITE is running a major national campaign under the heading “Don’t Break Britain – Cuts Kill Communities”. Please get involved however you can.
A key date for every member’s diary should be Saturday 26th March 2011.
The TUC has called a national demonstration against the cuts and UNITE wants every member who possibly can to attend. The union is organising transport from all around the country. Please book places for yourself, your family and friends now. The sooner the existing transport is filled, the sooner more can be arranged.
Thanks to all the members and non-members who took the time to complete the “Priorities” survey that UNITE ran for Fujitsu staff late last year. The survey has now closed and UNITE has published a summary of the results on CafeVIK.
The results are extremely useful and are being examined in detail by your reps. Updates will be provided over coming months on what UNITE is doing to address the issues raised.
However, one key message stands out immediately. More respondents said they had issues around pay and benefits than any other area. This was also the area most likely to be identified by respondents among the “top changes” they wanted to see. The responses strongly indicated that a large proportion of staff feel that the current pay and benefits system is unfair. Reflecting the views of staff, your reps have already decided to make this UNITE’s top priority issue over the next few months. Look out for further information and how you can get involved once some initial analysis and planning is complete.