Unite Fujitsu News

Photos from a Few of Today's Pickets Around the Country (Friday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Belfast: here
  
• Bracknell: here
  
• Crewe: here, here, here and here
  
• Manchester: here and here
  
• Stevenage: here
  
• Warrington: here
  

IMPORTANT UPDATES

• Meeting with ACAS arranged
• Compulsory Redundancies on hold

Your elected Combine Committee, which coordinates UNITE’s work across the UK, has been invited to a meeting with ACAS on Monday 1st February to hear proposals from ACAS to resolve our dispute over Jobs, Pay and Pensions. ACAS are putting the same proposals to Fujitsu.

At this stage your representatives do not know what the proposals are, or whether they are likely to be acceptable to members. However, this is clearly a very welcome development.

Fujitsu has confirmed that the Compulsory Redundancies which were due to take effect this week will be put on hold – at least until the meeting has taken place.

Please ensure the maximum possible participation in the planned campaign activity over the next few days, to give negotiations the best possible chance of achieving further progress and bringing the dispute to a conclusion.

The campaign has already achieved a considerable amount:

• An extra year in the ICL DB pension plan and the offer of a 5% pay rise to members as recompense
  
• Extensions to pensions consultation, now until 5th March 2010
  
• Saving many jobs
  

The campaign has already saved many jobs and members are giving it their best shot to save the rest. Whether or not we succeed in preventing all the dismissals, the pay and pensions issues affecting the vast majority of members would still remain to be resolved. It is worth remembering that the original consultative ballot on industrial action took place before the redundancies were even announced.

There is still time for the company to do the right thing, stop the dismissals and engage in constructive talks to resolve the dispute. If the company doesn’t take this opportunity, any settlement on pay and pensions would still leave Fujitsu’s reputation tarnished by unnecessary compulsory redundancies.

Action Plans

• Strike on Friday 29th January
• Strike on Monday 1st February

Please join in wherever you can. At this stage, the following can be announced:

Please keep up your work in contacting your MP – persistence pays. If they haven’t already signed our Early Day Motion (EDM 646), please ask them to do so – as you can see, signatures are building up fast. Please keep posting your updates on www.enoughisenoughnow.net.

Action Reports

Members from Bracknell, Basingstoke, London, Stevenage, the Midlands, Wakefield, Crewe and Manchester travelled to London yesterday to take part in a lobby of parliament. After photos with a few of the MPs outside parliament, members took part in a meeting with members of the UNITE parliamentary group, which includes well over 100 MPs, as well as meeting with MPs individually.

The MPs were very supportive, and very concerned that the company was planning to go ahead with Compulsory Redundancies this week, without even engaging in formal talks. They expressed surprise at a company the size of Fujitsu risking an ongoing dispute and damage to its reputation over such a small number of jobs. Though the dispute is over Jobs, Pay and Pensions, the greatest urgency is about jobs. Members made clear to the MPs the importance of putting the maximum pressure on Fujitsu this week, so that we have the best possible chance of extending the jobs deadline again. The MPs agreed to take a number of steps to help bring the dispute to a conclusion.

Please keep up your work in contacting your MP – persistence pays. If they haven’t already signed our Early Day Motion (EDM 646), please ask them to do so – as you can see, signatures are building up fast. Please keep posting your updates on www.enoughisenoughnow.net.

After the activities at Westminster, members went for a meal and an impromptu meeting, discussing the impact that the strike is having on work, the leverage we can apply and our future plans.

Meanwhile pickets went ahead in Crewe and Manchester, with numbers boosted by a quite a few members taking part for the first time. After the picket, members in Crewe leafleted the public in the town centre. More members in a key London site joined in the strike action. Members in Warrington took part in a members’ meeting. In the evening, Belfast & District TUC held a successful meeting to raise financial and practical support for our campaign.

Cheques for the first batch of Dispute Benefit have now been sent out from head office to members’ home addresses and have started being received. If there are any days you struck but haven’t yet claimed for, please claim as soon as possible. To claim your Dispute Benefit, you must send an email claim in for each strike day - details of how to do this are given in our email newsletters.

Fundraising continues to go well. A highlight this week was the decision by UNITE’s East Midlands Regional Committee to donate £2000. This week a second batch of Hardship Payments are being posted out to members. Once again, your Combine Committee has been able to make up 90% of wages for those who need it. It is a real achievement of members’ fundraising activities and the restraint of strikers in not asking for Hardship Payments unless they really need them which has allowed UNITE to sustain a situation where no member has been unable to take part in the action because of financial pressure.

Pensions Updates

Late on Tuesday, shortly before UNITE members in England, Scotland and Wales were due to strike again, the company told the Pensions Forum (IPMC and UNITE) that it would extend consultation over the pensions changes until Friday 5th March 2010.

This is a very welcome development, removing one of the two deadlines employees faced this week, and allowing more time to try to find an acceptable outcome.

However, the company has also suggested that (despite this being communicated to plan members) it doesn’t intend the 5% pay rise for ICL DB members that they put forward at the Pensions Forum meeting on 6th January to really be compensation for loss of benefit. The company wants to make the pay rise conditional on members “voluntarily” accepting the change, presumably in the hope that this would make it harder for people to take legal action over their loss. The company sees this as an “incentive”, but employees will no doubt see it more as a stick than a carrot.

Nonetheless, the 5% is still an important step forward, and a starting point for discussions about a more realistic solution.

Minutes of the Pensions Forum meetings can be found on the IPMC community on CafeVIK.

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country (Wednesday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Crewe: here and here
• Manchester: here

Campaign Plans

• Strike on Wednesday 27th January (England, Scotland, Wales)
  
• Strike on Friday 29th January (UK)
  
• Strike on Monday 1st February (UK)

Informal discussions with the company and ACAS continue, but there are no formal talks yet. A key priority is to keep up the pressure to maximise the chance of avoiding members being dismissed as redundant at the end of this week, and to ensure that the company extends pensions consultation past the end of the week.

The industrial action is hitting the company in a number of areas, with work being significantly delayed. However, the strategy for successfully resolving the dispute depends on the pressure we can apply indirectly through MPs, customers, the media etc, not just on industrial action.

The focus of tomorrow’s strike is escalating the political pressure on Fujitsu management. Thanks to all the members who have already contacted their MPs for support, in particular for EDM 646. Please keep posting your updates on www.enoughisenoughnow.net.

Members will be travelling to Westminster from all over the country to meet MPs, so there will be fewer picket lines tomorrow:

• CRE02: Picket 7:30-10:00.
• MAN33/34/35: Picket 06:30-10:00.

Members who have confirmed they are going to Westminster are receiving separate emails with the details. It is important that everyone is at Westminster punctually by 10:30am for photos.

Keep your eyes out for further notices with plans beyond Wednesday.

UNITE: Northern Ireland strike on Tuesday 26th January CANCELLED

The strike planned for tomorrow (Tuesday 26th January 2010) in Northern Ireland is CANCELLED.

All other action notified is still going ahead as announced.

Please ensure your colleagues are aware of this change.

UNITE - The Union

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country (Friday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Belfast: here
• Crewe: here, here and here
• Manchester: here
• Stevenage: here

Campaign Plans

Earlier this week the company demanded that UNITE withdraw the notice of action on the grounds of a legal technicality. This attempt to thwart members’ democratic decisions has failed, and the notice of action stands.

Informal contact between UNITE and Fujitsu continues, and the union is working hard to bring the company back to negotiations. Peter Skyte, our National Officer, has proposed an agenda for a meeting and suggested the involvement of ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), who have been in touch with both parties for some time.

To secure an offer from the company on Jobs, Pay and Pensions that is acceptable to members, the strategy is not to rely on industrial action alone, but to combine that with other forms of pressure, such as via customers, media (our campaign has had massive coverage), MPs and building union organisation. This pressure is building up and will continue to do so if that is what is required to achieve a reasonable settlement.

The next two strike days will focus on applying pressure via MPs. Given that the UK government is Fujitsu’s biggest customer, this is a powerful lever to try to make the company behave more reasonably.

Members can help by visiting their MP in their constituency (ideally tomorrow) and by going to Westminster next Wednesday. Tony Lloyd MP has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 646) about the situation at Fujitsu, and we want as many MPs as possible to sign it. Your help is required.

UNITE has produced a briefing document which you can also give to our MP.

At this stage, the following can be announced:

A new leaflet to hand out on picket lines is available here.

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many common questions.

Campaign Boosts

People across the country know that the issues we are campaigning over – Jobs, Pay and Pensions – are likely to affect them in the near future if they are not affected already. People know that if a profitable company like Fujitsu can get away with cutting jobs and our packages to boost profits, others are more likely to follow suit. That’s one of the reasons why the support our campaign has been receiving is so impressive. Take a look at the messages of support you have received. More are coming in every day.

The messages are often followed up with money. This ranges from union bodies making donations, people taking collections at workplaces and meetings, through to individuals sending what they can afford.

It is thanks to this support that UNITE is able to provide substantial Hardship Payments to members that need them, on top of the standard £30 per day Dispute Benefit that every member gets from UNITE centrally. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and the restraint of members in not asking for Hardship Payments unless they really needed them, the Combine Committee was able to make up 90% of lost pay for the first round of Hardship Payments, and cheques have been sent out already.

If the action has to continue, more of us will need to apply for Hardship Payments. That’s why the work that members are doing in fundraising, including sending out delegations on strike days, is so important. This work got a huge boost this week when the UNITE Executive Council (EC) decided to write to every branch (and there are thousands!) asking them to support our campaign, including giving financial support. Our goal is to continue the current position where no member is unable to support the action for financial reasons.

Updates on Jobs, Pay and Pensions

Jobs

Many of us breathed a sign of relief once we knew we were personally safe from this round of redundancies. But many people have commented that if we allow the company to treat people unfairly or force them out on the cheap, the company could come back for more job cuts. That’s one reason so many people are saying “Enough Is Enough”.

This week the company has told some staff in Solihull that they are now at risk of redundancy. The company is also trying to get away with taking some late volunteers and pairings as additional job losses, rather than using them to avoid Compulsory Redundancies, as they told the redundancy consultation forums. If we don’t stand up for ourselves and insist on being treated fairly and with respect, where will this end?

The company says that there were 586 Voluntary Redundancies and 254 Compulsory Redundancies. Of the 254, around 70 are still at risk and trying to save their jobs. With the numbers left at risk so small, there really is no excuse for a company of this size trying to force through Compulsory Redundancies. With reasonable efforts, such small numbers of staff could be redeployed fairly quickly, or the same number of jobs lost through natural wastage. Taking these measures would not cost much, and might even save the company money through reduced redundancy costs as well as reducing the risk of litigation. Good management like this could raise morale and improve productivity, as well as avoiding devastating the lives of members and their families.

Pay

This dispute started over the company’s last-minute withdrawal of the 2009 pay review – even in Manchester where they had negotiated a pay agreement with UNITE. Unless we secure a fair settlement to the dispute, there is a risk the company could try to extend the pay freeze for another year.

The release this week of the latest inflation figures show how serious it would be for staff if Fujitsu froze pay again. RPI inflation has shot up to 2.4% in the year to December, with the less relevant CPI inflation (that the government uses) even higher at 2.9%. It is possible that the inflation rate will rise further next month, as the January increase in VAT back up to 17.5% shows in the figures.

Fujitsu staff have typically had below-inflation pay reviews for many years, and we can ill-afford to see further cuts in our standard of living. We’re expected to take on more and more work each year, with our productivity rising by around 8% per year. Shouldn’t we benefit from the extra wealth we create?

The news that Fujitsu has been made “preferred supplier” for the giant DWP desktop contract, ousting HP, as well as a number of other significant wins, makes senior management’s pleas of poverty even less credible.

Pensions

When trying to persuade employees that the closure of the ICL DB pension plan was necessary, the company often seemed to muddle up the past deficit (most of which relates to people who don’t work here any more) with future pension provision. But there’s no doubt that the deficit numbers are scary. The company quoted £1bn to £1.5bn as the likely deficit at the time of the March 2009 valuation (which is not yet complete). March 2009 was the low point of the stock market during the recession and since then equity values have risen by about 50%.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is reporting a dramatic improvement in the financial position of pension funds, as summarised in this BBC report.

It is hard to believe that the position of the ICL DB Pension Plan has not also improved massively since the snapshot taken in March last year.

PCS Members Voting on Offer

In the early stages of our campaign we were able to work jointly with the PCS union, which has members within certain specific areas of Fujitsu because of TUPE transfers from the civil service.

Fujitsu has consistently taken the “divide and conquer” approach, making different offers to the two unions. Nonetheless, both unions have made real progress as a result of the campaign. With PCS members being restricted to certain areas and less affected by some of the issues concerning UNITE members, it was easier for the company to make a credible offer to PCS, which PCS members are now voting on with a recommendation to accept.

The progress already made by both UNITE and PCS shows what campaigning can achieve. Making an acceptable offer on Jobs, Pay and Pensions for the whole company is bound to be harder for Fujitsu than doing a deal with PCS for some issues in specific areas. But if we stay determined and active we can secure an offer that is acceptable to UNITE members across the UK.

Messages of Support

We're receiving lots of messages of support for our campaign for Jobs, Pay and Pensions (see here for a downloadable leaflet explaining the campaign). Below are some of the comments we've received:

1. first batch
2. second batch
3. third batch
4. fourth batch

UNITE issues notice of further strikes at Fujitsu

UNITE has today issued the official notice of industrial action.

The following is an extract from the notice:

Following their vote for industrial action, our 1,454 Unite the Union members, who are employed by the company at various sites in the UK and not posted abroad, as per the attached breakdown, are hereby called upon to take industrial action.

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country (Friday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Belfast: here
  
• Crewe: here and here
  
• London: here and here
  
• Manchester: here
  
• Stevenage: here
  
• Warrington: here
  

Leaflet for the Public

See here for a leaflet we will be handing out to the public while we are on strike.

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country (Thursday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Basingstoke: here, here and here
  
• Belfast: here
  
• Crewe: here, here, here and here
  
• London: here
  
• Stevenage: here
  

Plans for the Strikes

Below is the current outline plan:

Where solidarity demonstrations have been organised, members at sites with no picket planned are encouraged to take part.

Our campaign continues to attract wide support. For example, today’s solidarity demonstration at the Home Office included a delegation from PCS at HMRC, pickets in Manchester turned away a TNT delivery, and one of today’s many messages of support included one from the IG Metal union representing workers at Fujitsu Technology Solutions in Munich.

Rumour Central

During any dispute, all sorts of rumours circulate, often calculated to undermine the campaign. This is one of the reasons why it is so important that members read union notices carefully, so that you can deal with silly rumours promptly.

Here are a few that have gone round in the last week:

“The union has called off the strikes from Monday”

The union hasn’t yet called any strikes after Friday 15th January, so there’s nothing to call off. If and when further strikes are called, members will be officially notified.

“As this site is now so militant, there will be less jobs here”

Some of the most difficult issues in the redundancy programme relate to the relocation of work from Bracknell to Swansea (the most militant PCS site) and from Crewe to Manchester. It hardly looks like strong union organisation is the biggest consideration in where to put work.

“You only get Dispute Benefit if XXX”

If you’re a UNITE member and have been on strike, please claim your £30 a day Dispute Benefit. The email notice on Tuesday 12th January gave details of how to claim. It’s as simple as that.
Members can also apply for Hardship Payments if they need extra financial support to be able to take part in the strike. As the money for Hardship Payments is raised by members, only those who take an active part in the campaign (picketing, attending meetings etc) can claim. Common sense will apply, so if you need help, ask for it.

“The redundancies have already happened, the action is too late for the jobs issue”

Many people left the company on 11th December, but people who wanted to remain in Fujitsu could choose to stay on until at least 31st January. It is the people who want to stay whose jobs we are fighting for.

“If you’ve just been redeployed, you’re risking your job by striking as you’re on a trial period.”

No. The trial period is one-way. It is time for you to decide whether the job is suitable for you, and protects your right to a redundancy payment if you decide it is not. You are not a new employee, you have continuity of service and are not on probation. The chances are that your job was saved partly by the UNITE campaign putting pressure on the company to handle the redundancies better. Shouldn’t you stick by the people who haven’t yet got redeployed?

“Helpdesk staff aren’t allowed to go on strike”

Nonsense. The company may treat helpdesk staff as second-class citizens, but they still have some human rights! You don’t have to take the answer from UNITE. The company’s own FAQ says “Who can take industrial action? Any Fujitsu UK employee; ie they may be members of Unite, or of other unions, or of none.”

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many other common questions.

Plans for the Strikes

We want to get a fair deal on the six points at the heart of this dispute:

Jobs:
1. Minimise job losses
2. Oppose compulsory redundancies
Pay:
3. A fairer pay system
4. More money for employees
Pensions:
5. Defend the ICL DB pension scheme
6. Improve pension provision for those with something worse

We have already made some progress on points 1, 2 and 5, but there is still a way to go.

To achieve a successful resolution to the dispute, we depend not just on staff taking industrial action, but on the active participation of members, which is already impressive and is growing day by day. The activity is to raise support and solidarity to sustain our members through the campaign, and to apply pressure to the company through the “three prongs”:

1. Industrial action
2. External pressure (customers, MPs, media etc)
3. Organising to strengthen union organisation across Fujitsu

Our Combine Committee has decided that the focus of the strike action over the next two days will be putting pressure on Fujitsu via the company’s customers. We will also be continuing to extend picketing to new sites which have not picketed before. Below is the current outline plan.

Where solidarity demonstrations have been organised, members at sites with no picket planned are encouraged to take part.

Whatever you are involved in, please make sure you send in a report and take some photos so that members elsewhere in the country can see how it’s going. To save clogging up email, we suggest you use the following system to get them online as quickly as possible:

1. Try to take reasonably high resolution photos – the media don’t like tiny ones.
2. Sign up for a (free) picasaweb account, which gives you 1GB of space. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a Google account for this.
3. Upload your photos using Internet Explorer (or the Picasa software if you prefer). Please make sure you put them in the public ‘gallery’ and tag all photos with “unitefjnatstrike”. Please include the date, location and what the event is in the album title. This means that we can all upload photos and see each others'. If you want the media to be able to use your photos, make sure you enable the correct licensing in your Picasaweb settings (Settings, Privacy and Permissions) (e.g. Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike).

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many questions including Dispute Benefit, Hardship Payments, Action Short of Strike and Exemptions. Please speak to your rep if you have any outstanding questions. If you are submitting a Hardship Payment application, please do so as early as possible.

If you have a home email address or mobile number and don’t currently receive occasional messages via these routes, please respond with the details so that reps can keep you updated during the action.

The following is also planned for after the two days of strike action:

· BSN01 UNITE meeting, 17:30-18:30, 19/01/10, restaurant

Your Combine Committee had intended to take the decision on what action to ask UNITE to call yesterday, taking into account the views expressed by members at the various meetings round the country over the last week. In the light of the impact the weather had on attendance at some of the meetings, the Combine Committee decided to delay the decision slightly to allow more time for members to feed in their views.

Correspondence with the Company

Informal contacts with the company have continued throughout the dispute, but the company has not yet agreed to return to negotiations (apart from the Pensions Forum meeting tomorrow). Peter Skyte, the UNITE National Officer for the IT & Communications sector, wrote to Roger Gilbert, the Chief Executive, yesterday:

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country (Monday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Basingstoke: here
  
• Belfast: here
  
• Crewe: here,
  here and here
  
• Derry/Londonderry: here
  
• Manchester: here (the rally) and here
  
• Stevenage: here
  

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country (Friday)

Here are links to photos from some of today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Belfast sites: here
  
• Crewe: here, here and here
  
• Londonderry/Derry: here
  
• Manchester: here and here
  
• Solihull: here
  
• Stevenage: here
  
• Wakefield: here
  

Strike Updates (Friday)

Strike on Monday 11th January

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the strike and any of the activities today.

More reports are coming in from today’s strikes, and photos are being linked to from www.ourunion.org.uk/news as members post them up. Highlights already reported from today include the larger picket in Wakefield, the first picket in Bracknell, the Stevenage barbecue being upgraded to include bacon as well as sausages, and the provision of a “fire pit” to the Manchester picket line by a local UNISON activist.

Meetings with local trade unionists are being set up around the country to raise support and funds for Hardship Payments. For example, two members in London raised £228 yesterday from a local UNISON branch and a collection by UCU members at a local college. Supporters are also bringing donations and collections along to picket lines. If you’re raising funds and support, you’ll want to take some copies of our “appeal for support” leaflet and collection sheet.

The strike continues to attract significant media coverage (see Google and LabourStart). Photographers and reporters visited picket lines at a number of sites, and the strike also made both TV and radio. This all adds to the pressure on the company to reach a reasonable settlement on Jobs, Pay and Pensions.

The information about discrimination in redundancy selection is likely to hit the media on Monday, as part of our pressure against Compulsory Redundancies and for a fairer pay system. In the meantime, though the reports are not yet public, members can read them online [links removed for external recipients].

More activities are being organised locally, but here are the ones collated so far:

If you play an active part, don’t forget to make sure you sign one of the strike activity registers (see the Q&A) so that your involvement is recorded. This is particularly important if you might want to claim Hardship Payments.

Whatever you are involved in, please make sure you take some photos so that members elsewhere in the country can see how it’s going. To save clogging up email, we suggest you use the following system to get them online as quickly as possible:

1. Try to take reasonably high resolution photos – the media don’t like tiny ones.
2. Sign up for a (free) picasaweb account, which gives you 1GB of space. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a Google account for this.
3. Upload your photos using Internet Explorer (or the Picasa software if you prefer). Please make sure you put them in the public ‘gallery’ and tag all photos with “unitefjnatstrike”. Please include the date, location and what the event is in the album title. This means that we can all upload photos and see each others'. If you want the media to be able to use your photos, make sure you enable the correct licensing in your Picasaweb settings (Settings, Privacy and Permissions) (e.g. Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike).

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many questions including Dispute Benefit, Hardship Payments, Action Short of Strike and Exemptions.

An email will be sent out after Monday’s strike with details of how to claim your Dispute Benefit.

Photos from Today's Pickets Around the Country

Here are links to some of the photos from today's pickets outside Fujitsu sites around the country:

• Belfast: here
• Crewe: here, here, here here and here
• Manchester: here, here, here, here and here
• Solihull: here
• Stevenage: here

Strike Updates (Thurs)

Strike on Friday 8th January and Monday 11th January

Congratulations to all the members who struck today, and particularly those who braved arctic conditions to picket and take part in other activities.

Members were buoyed up by the news this week of the company’s first substantive concession on pensions. However inadequate it may be, offering an extra 5% pay to over 3000 employees is another achievement to put alongside the many jobs saved and the extra year’s pension. A good start after only one strike day! If we remain determined we can win a fair settlement on Jobs, Pay and Pensions.

Despite the weather, reports are coming in from pickets in Belfast, Stevenage (complete with barbecue, click on the link to see the photos), Crewe , Solihull, Wakefield and Manchester (photos, photos, photos and photos). Picketing in Basingstoke and delegation work in Manchester were cancelled today due to the snow. Fundraising activities have also started in earnest to ensure we can supplement the Dispute Benefit that all striking members will get with Hardship Payments where required.

The strike has again attracted significant media coverage (see Google and LabourStart), with TV cameras and radio interviews supplementing the online and printed media.

As more members get involved in the campaign, more activities are being organised and put in place. See below for updates. Please take part in whatever you can:

The term “delegation work” refers to a delegation of members touring workplaces and other union branches to raise support and funds for the dispute. You’ll want to take some copies of our “appeal for support” leaflet and collection sheet. We have already raised thousands of pounds for the campaign fund, with the aim of ensuring that no member is unable to take part in the action for financial reasons. More money is coming in all the time. This week the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has circulated all its branches asking them to contribute.

Whatever you are involved in, please make sure you take some photos so that members elsewhere in the country can see how it’s going. To save clogging up email, we suggest you use the following system to get them online as quickly as possible:

1. Try to take reasonably high resolution photos – the media don’t like tiny ones.
2. Sign up for a (free) picasaweb account, which gives you 1GB of space. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a Google account for this.
3. Upload your photos using Internet Explorer (or the Picasa software if you prefer). Please make sure you put them in the public ‘gallery’ and tag all photos with “unitefjnatstrike”. Please include the date, location and what the event is in the album title. This means that we can all upload photos and see each others'. If you want the media to be able to use your photos, make sure you enable the correct licensing in your Picasaweb settings (Settings, Privacy and Permissions) (e.g. Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike).

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many questions including Dispute Benefit, Hardship Payments, Action Short of Strike and Exemptions. Don’t forget to make sure you sign one of the strike activity registers (see the Q&A) so that your involvement is recorded. This is particularly important if you might want to claim Hardship Payments.

Strike on Thursday 7th January, Friday 8th January, Monday 11th January.

Plans for the Strikes

As reported in our national email newsletter on 4th January, the next three days of strikes will focus on:

• Highlighting discrimination in redundancy selection
  
• Highlighting Fujitsu’s unfair pay system
  
• Local activities including raising support and funds for our dispute
  
• Local members’ meetings around the country to discuss how the campaign is going and next steps
  

UNITE will be issuing a press release highlighting some of the main discrimination issues.

Following the successful strike on 18th December, UNITE continues to press the company to resolve the dispute without the need for further action.

There are finally signs of movement from the company. In today’s Pensions Forum meeting, the company put forward a revised proposal. Below is the feedback given by the Forum (IPMC and UNITE) to the company:

We wouldn’t have come this far without the determination and action of UNITE members. It is important to keep up the pressure to secure a fair deal on Jobs, Pay and Pensions.

A number of members have raised questions about the motion on further action that was circulated for discussion at the members’ meetings taking place on Thursday, Friday and Monday. The purpose of circulating the motion was to enable members to discuss at these meetings what future action should be planned – before your elected Combine Committee takes any decisions on further action - if that proves necessary. Please do your utmost to attend a members’ meeting if you can to participate in the democratic process so that we can collectively decide how best to fight for our jobs, our pay and our pensions.

No decisions on further action have been taken and at this stage no strike action has been called after the 15th January.

Your reps appreciate that the weather conditions may prevent some activities taking place, and some members playing an active part. Some of the plans for activity have been scaled down as a result, and some may have to be varied on the day. However, the VPN is already groaning and some non-members who don’t feel confident to strike may decide to declare the strike days as “snow days”, adding to the impact of our action.

Members, reps and contacts have been busy adding more activities and more details to the plans for the next three days. Please take part in whatever you can:

The term “delegation work” refers to a delegation of members touring workplaces and other union branches to raise support and funds for the dispute. You’ll want to take some copies of our “appeal for support” leaflet and collection sheet. We have already raised thousands of pounds for the campaign fund, with the aim of ensuring that no member is unable to take part in the action for financial reasons. More money is coming in all the time. This week the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has circulated all its branches asking them to contribute.

Whatever you are involved in, please make sure you take some photos so that members elsewhere in the country can see how it’s going. To save clogging up email, we suggest you use the following system to get them online as quickly as possible:

1. Try to take reasonably high resolution photos – the media don’t like tiny ones.
2. Sign up for a (free) picasaweb account, which gives you 1GB of space. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a Google account for this.
3. Upload your photos using Internet Explorer (or the Picasa software if you prefer). Please make sure you put them in the public ‘gallery’ and tag all photos with “unitefjnatstrike”. Please include the date, location and what the event is in the album title. This means that we can all upload photos and see each others. If you want the media to be able to use your photos, make sure you enable the correct licensing in your settings (e.g. Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike).

Let’s see who has the best picket-line snowman photo!

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many questions including Dispute Benefit, Hardship Payments, Action Short of Strike and Exemptions. Don’t forget to make sure you sign one of the strike activity registers (see the Q&A) so that your involvement is recorded. This is particularly important if you might want to claim Hardship Payments.

CREWE: Strike, Picketing and Further Action Meeting

Looking back at 2009 and forward into 2010

Last year saw us begin the first national strike by employees in an IT company. The main focus on 18th December 2009 was the protest in Baker Street in London, supported by the picketing and associated strike action across the country. At CRE02, we had more people gathered outside than went into the building that day. We sang the company song, substituting the lyrics with words that reflected the three prongs of the campaign.

We need volunteers for picketing for the next three days of action that we voted for at the last members meeting, which are on Thursday 7th, Friday 8th and Monday 11th. Once again we would like chairs, something to make cups of tea, air horns, bells, whistles and other paraphernalia would be welcome. We particularly need more photography. Although we had BBC Radio Stoke, a local video crew and newspaper photographer with the reporter from The Sentinel last time, we need to have as much of our own footage or photos, so can we have the cameras out again?

If you cannot make it to the organising meeting, but would like to help out on these days, please contact one of your reps.

Meeting on Striking, Taking Other Action and Picketing

Come along to the meeting to hear what is needed – and get any further questions answered.

Agenda
· Apologies
· Striking: three upcoming days of strike action
· Picketing: organising, arrangements and supplies
· AOB

For suggestions on further items for discussion or motions to be added, please advise Alan Jenney by 11am, Tuesday, 3rd November 2009.

Location – CR 0-2, CRE02
Date – Wednesday, 6th January, 2010
Time – 12.30pm – 1.30pm, prompt start

CR 0-2 is the largest conference room on the ground floor at CRE02, behind reception.

As non-members are likely to be involved with strike action, this is an open meeting. Please encourage all members and interested non-members you know to attend. However, only Unite members can take part in elections and vote on motions.

Please make arrangements with your manager in advance for cover whilst you attend the meeting if this is necessary.

Unite Representatives – Crewe Campaign Team – Contacts

There are five accredited reps and a campaign team at CRE02. We would like more members to be involved in organising for a strike committee and picketing – sign up at the meeting or contact a rep.

In addition, there are all sorts of activities that you can be involved in: Health and Safety (heating, spills, icy roads or security), the Environment (recycling, transport), Equality, Learning (for example, see a recent learning newsletter from the Manchester Learning Reps). If you would like to be involved as a contact in one of these areas, contact one of the CRE02 reps.

Manchester: Preparations for Strike Action

You will have seen from the national notice that the next strike starts this Thursday, and there is a lot to discuss and organise.

UNITE is holding a lunchtime “strike committee” meeting, open to all members, to make the necessary preparations:

12:30pm, Tuesday 5th January
33GCR2, MAN33

Please come along if you can.

Jobs, Pay & Pensions Update

Our email newsletter on 22nd December included a report on the successful first strike day on 18th December, when a large number of members across the country played an active part in the campaign.

So far the company has not reopened formal talks to try to resolve the dispute, though correspondence and conversations continue.

It is worth taking stock of how far we have come since we balloted for industrial action:

Jobs:

• The original proposed 1200 job losses has been reduced to about 850.
  
• Despite all their limitations, the VR programme, pairing etc that the company agreed to run mean that there are now only about 70 people at risk of Compulsory Redundancy whose jobs need saving. This number is dropping every week. The company should adopt the measures UNITE has proposed to avoid making redundant those employees who want to stay.
  

Pay:

• There has so far been no meaningful movement on pay, either in terms of more money for employees, or making the pay system fairer.

Pensions:

• The company has allowed an extra year before it proposes to close the ICL DB Pension Plan.
  
• The redundancy programme means that the number of active members of the pension scheme has fallen from around 4000 to around 3300, further undermining the company’s case for closure. The Pensions Forum (IPMC and UNITE) is meeting with the company on Wednesday 6th January to discuss the future of the ICL DB Pension Plan. This would be a good opportunity for the company to make new proposals.
  
• There has so far been no meaningful movement on improving pension provision for those with something worse than the ICL DB plan.
  

The progress made so far shows that it is not inevitable that the company implements its plans unchanged despite staff opposition. Everyone who signed a petition, wore a lanyard or sticker, wrote an email, struck, attended a protest or picket, or joined the union for the first time – everyone who did something played a part in getting us this far.

But the progress is not yet enough:

• We still have dozens of members facing losing their jobs, which can have a devastating impact on their lives and those of their families. The company doesn’t have to do this.
• There is still no commitment from the company to giving decent pay rises to stop the erosion of our living standards year on year, or to a fairer pay system. We’ve all just had a 2.5% increase in prices with VAT going back up to 17.5%.
• Thousands of employees face the equivalent of a 20% cut in their pay and benefits package if the company goes ahead with closing the ICL DB Pension Plan.
• Thousands more have pension provision that is inadequate to ensure a good level of financial security in retirement.

If employees stand up together for their Job, Pay and Pensions and say “Enough Is Enough!” we can change Fujitsu for the better.

Industrial Action Plans

Don’t forget that further strikes have been called for:

* Thursday 7th January
* Friday 8th January
* Monday 11th January
* Thursday 14th January
* Friday 15th January

Don’t forget that the “action short of strike” continues until further notice:

• Ban on overtime (paid or unpaid) unless paid at least Unsocial Hours Policy (UHP) rates.
• Ban on standby unless paid at least Unsocial Hours Policy (UHP) rates.
• Work to rule and contract, (for example ban on work phone calls outside contracted hours unless paid on standby, ensure backup before and after applying patches, test and document thoroughly, be diligent about Performance Plus and Personal Development Plan activities and what is written in objectives, carefully read all Company notices and Health & Safety information, read all the information from the Pensions and Redundancy consultation web sites, take regular backups of PC, comply with the “tidy desk” policy).
• Ban on using own vehicle to travel on company business unless in receipt of an allowance.
• Policy of non co-operation

The UNITE Q&A on industrial action has further information about the action short of strike, including details of the UHP and model letters you can use.

Plans for 7, 8 and 11 January

The strike on 18th December concentrated on launching our industrial action and using the “Scrooge” protest at LON22 to put our campaign in the media spotlight.

The next three days of strikes will focus on:

* Highlighting discrimination in redundancy selection
* Highlighting Fujitsu’s unfair pay system
* Local activities including raising support and funds for our dispute
* Local members’ meetings around the country to discuss how the campaign is going and next steps

UNITE has obtained data for the redundancy selection process in Application Services (AS) across the UK, and has carried out statistical analysis on the data to determine whether higher rates of selection for Compulsory Redundancy (CR) amongst women, ethnic minorities and part-time workers were statistically significant. UNITE provided report part 1 to the company during the negotiations on 25th November, report part 2 to the company by email on 7th December, and report part 3 to the company by email on 31st December. UNITE invited the company to provide corrections, additions or explanations, along with proposals on how to rectify the situation. These had not been received by the deadline specified, and have still not been received now.

The analysis concluded:

The company has refused to provide equivalent data for the other five redundancy pools, or for other types of potential discrimination for which it holds data (e.g. disability), creating the impression that Fujitsu knows it has something to hide.

UNITE has repeatedly stressed to the company the dangers of forcing the union to put the problems into the public domain in order to get them resolved. If our senior management are serious about wanting to win future bids, they need to take immediate action to resolve the discrimination issues in particular, and the dispute in general. Employees shouldn’t need to go to court, to customers or to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in order to be treated fairly.

Discrimination isn’t important only if you happen to be in one of the directly affected groups. It is a symptom of an unfair process, and when employers treat employees unfairly we all lose out.

One of the “red-lines” for the dispute agreed by members was “A fairer pay system”. Fujitsu’s pay system is a disgrace. The pay and benefit scales are secret and change without explanation. It took UNITE years of campaigning and legal action to get to the position where now union members get an annual report including many of the scales. But the whole system is still secretive and confused, rather than open and transparent. People get significantly different pay and benefits for no legitimate reason. The evidence that UNITE has found of discrimination in redundancy selection strengthens our argument that we need a fairer pay system. Here are some of the practical ideas that UNITE put forward during negotiations:

The company can’t hide behind the recession as an excuse for failing to make these changes towards a fairer pay system – many of the ideas that would cost nothing were not included in the company offer.

Local Activities and Meetings

Where will you be picketing? How about taking part in a delegation visiting other local workplaces and union branches to raise support? Please speak to your local reps in good time to get local activities organised.

Over the next three strike days UNITE intends to organise local members’ meetings at as many locations as practical, to discuss how the dispute is going and what the next steps should be. Make sure you come along and have your say. Following all the members’ meetings, your elected Combine Committee will decide what further action to ask UNITE to call if this is necessary.

(The original email included a motion for discussion at the members' meetings)

Whatever you’re involved in, don’t forget to make sure you sign one of the strike activity registers (see Q&A) so that your involvement is recorded. This is particularly important if you might want to claim Hardship Payments.

Now that people are returning from annual leave, members and reps are busy making plans for the next few days of strikes.

(The original email included initial plans for action)

Please keep an eye out for union notices with more details and of further activities to take place during the strike.

Public Meeting in Chesterfield

The local UNITE branch covering members in Steria and CSC staff at the Royal Mail centre in Chesterfield have called a Public Meeting on one of our strike days:

The Fight To Defend Pensions in the IT Sector
5pm, Monday 11th January
Brampton Manor Club, Old Road, Chesterfield, S40 3QR
Speakers:
o Bill Eyre – Unite Workplace Rep at Steria
o James Eaden – President, Chesterfield Trades Union Council
o Colin Walker – Chair of Reps, Unite in CSC
o Ian Allinson – Unite Executive Council and Fujitsu Senior Rep

The branch would welcome members from Fujitsu attending to join in the discussion about how we defend our pensions. At Steria, where members have recently accepted a deal to close their final salary scheme but with a replacement Defined Contribution scheme which targets the same level of benefits – far better than Fujitsu is currently offering. At CSC, members are still campaigning against the closure of their Defined Benefit scheme.

Members are encouraged to attend if you can. If you want to go along and would like to share a car to get there, please get in touch as soon as possible.

Q&A on Industrial Action

Don’t forget that the UNITE Q&A on industrial action covers many questions including Dispute Benefit, Hardship Payments, Action Short of Strike and Exemptions.

The email notice on 22nd December gave instructions on how to claim Dispute Benefit for the strike day on 18th December. If you were on strike and have not yet responded to that notice, please do so as quickly as possible. If you can manage without the Dispute Benefit, please still claim it – you can always donate it to the strike fund to help other members in greater need.

Manchester: Preparations for Strike Action

You will have seen from the national notice that the next strike starts this Thursday, and there is a lot to discuss and organise.

UNITE is holding a lunchtime “strike committee” meeting, open to all members, to make the necessary preparations:

12:30pm, Tuesday 5th January
33GCR2, MAN33

Please come along if you can.