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, TCS,
Accenture, AtosOrigin, Unisys, Steria, Getronics, and
CSC.
Fujitsu Services is the group’s largest subsidiary in Europe,
but there are others such as Fujitsu Telecommunications Limited
(FTEL). Fujitsu Siemens Computers was a joint venture
between Fujitsu group and Siemens. It is now wholly owned by
Fujitsu and is in the process of being integrated with Fujitsu
Services to form Fujitsu UK & Ireland.
Unite is by far the largest union in Fujitsu
Services, and the only union to organise on a national basis rather
than being restricted to certain sites or customer
accounts. Unite also has members in Fujitsu Technology
Solutions. Unite does not organise in FTEL, where the
appropriate union is the CWU.
Unite in Fujitsu
Services
Unite has a network of workplace reps and
contacts across most of the major sites. The list of these can
be found on the company’s CafeVIK intranet
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 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:
- 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
- protecting jobs in redundancy situations large and small
- improving sick leave and holiday entitlements for helpdesk
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 “Amicus
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.
The company has a UK Consultative Forum (UKCF)
elected by employees (not just union members). The majority of
the reps are also Unite members, which allows Unite to help make
the forum as effective as possible, while also providing an
additional channel for issues raised by employees with Unite reps
to be taken up with senior management.
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 (membership@ourunion.org.uk)
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?
Unite action on jobs, pay and
pensions
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