Unite at Fujitsu
UNITE is the largest union in the UK and second largest
in Ireland and has a specialist “IT and Communications” sector for
people working for companies such as Fujitsu. UNITE organises
in all the big IT companies such as IBM, HP/EDS, Capgemini,
Accenture, AtosOrigin, Unisys, Steria, Getronics, CSC and TCS.
Fujitsu UK & Ireland (also known as
Fujitsu Services) is the group’s largest subsidiary in the UK, but
there are others such as Fujitsu Telecommunications Limited
(FTEL).
UNITE is by far the largest union in Fujitsu
UK & Ireland, and the only union to organise on a national
basis in both countries rather than being restricted to certain
sites or customer accounts. UNITE does not organise in FTEL,
where the appropriate union is the CWU.
UNITE in Fujitsu UK&I
UNITE has a network of representatives and
contacts across most of the major sites. The list of these
can be found on the company’s CafeVIK intranet
here or on the internet here.
Reps help members with advice, guidance and individual
representation, as well as leading the way in campaigning and
dealing with the company at a collective level. UNITE also
has a “Combine Committee” elected by members across the UK to
coordinate the union’s work.
UNITE has a
national “protocol” agreement with Fujitsu Services to
encourage good industrial relations. In the agreement, the
company “acknowledges that UNITE has the right to
contact its employees and seek to recruit and involve them in the
union”, “that all its employees have the right to
be union members and to take part in legitimate union
activity” and commits the company to ensure
“that union members do not suffer any detriment as a
result of their membership or legitimate
activity”.
UNITE campaigns in Fujitsu have had real
successes, such as:
- protecting jobs in redundancy situations large and small
- dramatically improving the replacement Defined Contribution
(DC) pension provision for former members of the ICL DB pension
plan, and improving the contractual status for all members of the
company’s DC schemes
- making (generally secret) company pay and benefits information
available to members across the country, helping members to argue
their case with their managers and to make informed career
decisions
- improving sick leave and holiday entitlements for service desk
staff across the UK
- securing agreements to protect and improve terms and conditions
(e.g. pay, benefits, pensions, redundancy terms, standby payments)
in areas where we have recognition
- helping hundreds of members resolve individual issues
UNITE produces email and paper newsletters to
keep members informed about what is going on in the company, and to
campaign over issues from pay and pensions to job security.
UNITE has its own “Unite
The Union” CafeVIK community on the company intranet. In
addition, the UNITE branch including Fujitsu Manchester has an
internet site (http://www.ourunion.org.uk/) with
a huge archive of Fujitsu-related news and campaign materials.
Members of UNITE played a key role in
terminating the company’s old UK Consultative Forum (UKCF),
clearing the way for the new “Fujitsu Voice” structure. Union
members are working to ensure this is a much more effective channel
for the company to inform and consult employees.
UNITE is already recognised for collective
bargaining in several parts of the company, including Manchester,
and where enough employees are joining the union we are working to
extend this to new areas.
Union recognition gives employees extra rights
(whether they are union members or not). Union membership
helps you exercise your rights (whether you’ve already got union
recognition or not).
In the current economic climate, now is no
time to be outside the union. If you’re not already a UNITE
member, please join. If you
join online, please also let the rep who acts as our membership
secretary within Fujitsu know so that you can start receiving
newsletters etc straight away. Alternatively, you can
download, print off and return a
membership form from CafeVIK.
If you’re already a member – why not get more
involved or simply ask a colleague to join?
The effectiveness of the union depends on the
size and involvement of its membership. Do you think the
union would be more effective if more people like you were
involved?
Last updated: 1 March 2011
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