Fujitsu Crewe staff to strike over unfair treatment of union official

Fujitsu staff in Crewe have voted to take industrial action next week after what union Unite is claiming to be unfair treatment of a local union activist.

A slim majority of Unite members, 52 per cent versus 48 per cent, voted in favour of a strike on 30 June. More of them, 72 per cent to 28 per cent, voted for industrial action including a work-to-rule, non-co-operative policy to start on the day of the strike.

Unite claims that the individual concerned, Alan Jenney, a 39 year-old IT professional, has been put at risk of redundancy without any effort to redeploy him elsewhere.

The union accused Fujitsu of singling him out because of his activities with Unite, and refusing to help him in the same way that other staff members at risk of redundancy have been supported.

"It is disappointing that such a major company is behaving this way towards its own employee who simply wants to be treated fairly and not singled out after 17 years of service for redundancy, without making any genuine effort to find him alternative employment," said Unite national officer for IT and communications Kevin O'Gallagher.

"Going on strike is a last resort, but members in Crewe are behind the campaign."

This is not the first time Fujitsu workers have been forced to take industrial action. Most recently, in January last year staff went on strike claiming that redundancies, pay freezes and changes to staff benefits were unfair.

Ironically the firm was among several big names, along with HP and Google, to give its backing to the government's StartUp Britain initiative designed to help startup firms achieve their potential and foster growth in the economy.