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Clients of some of the UK’s top outsourcing and IT services players are braced for potential disruption to their business from industrial action over pay. Workers at Capita have kicked off what could be the first in a series of strikes in the financial and IT sectors after they rejected a “derisory” pay rise of 1.5 per cent. The union Unite added that it has written to Capita’s clients to inform them that talks over pay have broken down, prompting about 100 staff at the firm’s Glasgow unit to begin two walkouts, due to end on Friday morning. Accusing Capita of “hypocrisy,” the union said the firm had blamed the size of the pay reward on the downturn, at the same time as promising bumper pay packets to directors. “Capita staff are being forced by their employer to accept an insulting pay offer while their CEO, Paul Pindar, awards himself a package worth £9.8 million,” Unite said. National officer Rob MacGregor asked: “How can a company, which increased operating profit by 18 per cent to £320 million last year and increased the dividend payment to shareholders by 20 per cent, not be able to give its staff a cost of living pay rise?” With support from some political figures, Unite has also been challenging the pay settlements imposed on rank-and-file techies at IBM, Capgemini, EDS/HP and, most recently, Fujitsu. In each dispute, the companies are accused of putting profits before the needs of individuals and workers who depend upon the public sector for services and jobs. Similar cost-cutting steps in the IT department have also been taken at Barclays, resulting in the bank’s decision in May to close 350 permanent IT positions. Unions’ negotiations with management at Barclays, IBM and Fujitsu about changes at the respective firms hit a low point during the summer, raising the prospect of industrial action over the coming months. Sep 24, 2009 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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