Hewlett Packard workers to strike

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Deleted member 66701

Deleted member 66701

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_e...ex.cfm/id/9E6DBC30-B9DE-4100-86B4B0FC305E7AC2

Up to 1,000 PCS members working for Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise Services, will be taking part in a one day strike on 10 December after voting overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over pay freezes and job losses.

78% of those taking part in the ballot voted for strike action with 92% supporting action short of a strike including an overtime ban.

An overtime ban will start on 8 December in the run up to the one day strike and involve workers who work on IT contracts for the Department for Work and Pensions.

There has been growing anger amongst staff since HP took over EDS in August 2008, with 3,400 staff already axed. Staff have been further angered by the imposition of a pay freeze this year and for 2010 despite the company delivering fourth quarter revenues of 30.8 billion US dollars.

Added to this, HP staff now face a further job insecurity with further a 1,000 job losses planned for the first half of next year.

Those taking part in the industrial action work on IT contracts for the Department for Work and Pensions in locations around the UK including: Newcastle, Washington, Preston and the Fylde Coast.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "It is disgraceful that hardworking staff who are shouldering greater workloads and contributing significantly to HP’s revenue and profits should be rewarded with pay freezes and job losses.

The ballot result illustrates the depth of anger amongst a workforce who face a second year of pay freezes despite the company delivering fourth quarter revenues of 30.8 US billion dollars.

"The ballot result illustrates the depth of anger amongst a workforce who face a second year of pay freezes despite the company delivering fourth quarter revenues of 30.8 US billion dollars.
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It's about bloody time the company got a wake up call. Now, what shall I do on Thursday?

Queue all the "be glad you have a job", "it wont get you anything" naysayers.
 
I always enjoy the confusion people experience in expecting companies operating under free market capitalism to cut corners everywhere so goods are cheap, while also paying them high wages and avoiding modernisation to preserve jobs.

Go go cognitive dissonance!
 
[TW]Fox;15441813 said:
Well to be honest...
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vonhelmet said:
I always enjoy the confusion people experience in expecting companies operating under free market capitalism to cut corners everywhere so goods are cheap, while also paying them high wages and avoiding modernisation to preserve jobs.

Go go cognitive dissonance!
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So a company making over £15 billion profit for the last 3 months is right to sack 1,000's of people and freeze the pay of others?
 
wordy said:
So a company making over £15 billion profit for the last 3 months is right to sack 1,000's of people and freeze the pay of others?
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Would you rather they doubled the price of printer cartridges?

Think carefully...

Their shareholders will demand those profits regardless of the effect on workers, and the board will do what it must to maintain those profits.

Welcome to capitalism.
 
vonhelmet said:
Would you rather they doubled the price of printer cartridges?

Think carefully...
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Why would they need to double the prices of items when they've made 15billion profit in three months, not exactly struggling are they?

....Insert condesending one liner here....
 
wordy said:
Why would they need to double the prices of items when they've made 15billion profit in three months, not exactly struggling are they?
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They have NOT made 15bn in profit in three months!

Why should we listen to your opinion on employee relations when you can't even get basic business right?
 
Some strikes have an effect on the general public, I can't really see what effect this will have to the man in the street.

Does anyone really care?
 
wordy said:
Why would they need to double the prices of items when they've made 15billion profit in three months, not exactly struggling are they?

....Insert condesending one liner here....
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Sorry, didn't mean to be so condescending.

The point is that this is capitalism and we're dug in deep with it.
 
wordy said:
Why would they need to double the prices of items when they've made 15billion profit in three months, not exactly struggling are they?

....Insert condesending one liner here....
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It's really quite simple. To maintain or increase their profit margins (which they have to do in order to fulfil their obligations to shareholders), they need to increase revenue. If they are handing out pay rises and bonuses, they would therefore need to increase the cost of their stock so that they keep making the same amount (or more).

Increasing the price of their stock drives consumers away and potentially destroys their market position. The easy option therefore, is to freeze pay rises.

They may have made £xx Billions in the last few months, but they base their figures on actual data, plus projections.
 
[TW]Fox;15441813 said:
Well to be honest...
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stop being a pretentious ****.

I'm a member of the PCS also, though don't work for HP... They are a bloody good union who will stand up for the lesser man. the facts of it are that HP are a massive company, have banned over time, froze pay and are laying people off even though they are still turning in big profits. PCS are sticking up for the little man who lets face it, work day in and day out and actively contribute to the profits they have turned.

Would you be happy if you didn't get an annual rise?

As feek has said, it doesn't effect the majority of the population, it's nothing in the league of the Royal Mail strikes for example, but still it does set the tone for a lot of companies also thinking of doing the same.
 
hilly said:
Would you be happy if you didn't get an annual rise?
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If it bothered me I would seek alternative employment.

Striking is ridiclous, if you dont like the terms under which you are employed, move. If you can't move, then well, thats life isn't it?
 
[TW]Fox;15442143 said:
If it bothered me I would seek alternative employment.

Striking is ridiclous, if you dont like the terms under which you are employed, move. If you can't move, then well, thats life isn't it?
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Of course it's life.

though Employers should in my eyes at least provide you with an increase of your wage which is in line with inflation. After all the cost of living is going up all the time. House prices are once again rising, vat is going up at the end of this month back to it's previous 17.5% mark up, but the employers aren't doing any thing to compensate this.

Seeking alternative employment is all well and good, but "be glad you have a job" after all, good jobs are bloody hard to find these days.
 
hilly said:
vat is going up at the end of this month back to it's previous 17.5% mark up, but the employers aren't doing any thing to compensate this.
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They didn't reduce your salary when the VAT went down, so why should they put it up now VAT is going back?
 
Last I heard HP were asking their staff to take a pay cut. How did that go? Never work for an American company unless you like being treated like dirt.
 
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