HP FACES WORKER STRIKE IN THE UK

[Anonymous]

http://www.tcmagazine.com/comments.php?id=30546&catid=6
HP FACES WORKER STRIKE IN THE UK !
Britain’s biggest trade union, Unite, is now taking votes from
Hewlett-Packard staff who want to take strike action against their
employer as the firm recently made changes to the status of various
engineers and support specialists.The union announced the action when HP
said that they planned changes to staffing regulations, meaning that
150 people in their IT services division would have to shift jobs,
losing their final salary pension schemes and benefits worth around
£2,000 each.”Our members face cuts to their pay and pensions and have no
choice other than to begin an industrial action ballot. This is the
latest in a series of attacks by the company on our members’ pay and
conditions, while senior executives and shareholders do very well
indeed,” said Peter Skyte, a Unite national officer. “Unite remains
willing to seek a resolution to this dispute with HP, but not on the
basis that one employee’s pay cut results in an HP executive’s pay and
bonus increase.”The company reported profits just a little short of £1
billion in the last quarter, and claim that the European demand for
computer hardware has been lower than anywhere else in the world.The
company has already confirmed that it is cutting some UK staff, but has
not confirmed numbers. Unite expects 850 jobs to go. HP has already axed
jobs at EDS and has repeatedly cut salaries for those staff still
employed.Unite has already taken on the likes of IBM and Fujitsu over
pensions and job losses. If the ballot is successful it will be the
first time HP faces a British strike from their staff.

[Author]

November 3, 2009 at 12:01 PM