Unite members at Fujitsu to ballot in defence of union
representative
3 June 2011
Unite has given notice to IT services giant Fujitsu that it will
be balloting its members in Crewe for strike action in defence of
local trade union activist Alan Jenney.
Unite says that Alan has been singled out and put at risk of
redundancy, whereas the company has responded to hundreds of job
losses elsewhere by supporting staff through redeployment.
Unite also claims that the company’s approach to Alan’s case has
seriously breached company processes and agreements.
Alan is a 39-year-old IT professional who has worked for the
company for 17 years since leaving full-time education.
Unite continues to work for a resolution to the issue, which the
union believes Fujitsu could easily achieve, but members are
concerned that time is running out. They are determined to
defend Alan from what they see as victimisation for his union work
on their behalf.
Kevin O’Gallagher, Unite national officer for IT and
communications, said: “All our members are asking is for Alan to be
treated like so many other employees and supported in redeploying
into another role, rather than singled out for redundancy.
Members have made clear they will not tolerate the victimisation of
union reps, and they have the full backing of Unite in this
stance.”
The public sector is a major customer of Fujitsu and if the
issue is not resolved, members could take action on 30 June to make
links with many of Fujitsu’s customers who are likely to be
striking in defence of public services and pensions that day.
ENDS
For further information, contact Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931
315
