Unite extends Fujistu strike, heads to parliament

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Unite has extended its strike at Fujitsu Services, adding seven more walkout days to protest job and pension cuts.

The union is also taking its battle to parliament, with Labour MP for Manchester Tony Lloyd tabling an early day motion.

On top of six strike days over the past two months, the 2,000 Unite workers at the IT services company will also be walking out on the 22 and 29 of January, as well as 1, 5, and 8 February. Workers in Northern Ireland will also strike on 26 January, while sites across the UK will walk out on 27 January.

Unite claimed that Fujitsu had tried to ban further strike action with an injunction, but failed to because it overlooked a strike action notice sent by the union.

Peter Skyte, Unite national officer for IT and communications, said in a statement: “Fujitsu should be focusing on serious negotiations with Unite rather than shooting itself in the foot by spending money on expensive lawyers in a fruitless and ultimately counterproductive attempt to use the law instead of the jaw."

“We still believe that this dispute can only be resolved by Fujitsu sitting down with us to address the issues of jobs, pay and pensions,” he added.

Noting that there were no dates currently set for talks, a Fujitsu spokesman said: "Fujitsu is disappointed that Unite has decided to continue with its industrial action."

Unite accused Fujitsu of discrimination in the job cuts earlier this month.

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