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.