Unite is to ballot up to 2,000 members at Fujitsu on
industrial action over pay and pensions.
According to the union, around 4,000 employees are affected by
the company's plans to close its final salary pension scheme.
If the proposal goes ahead, the company intends to dismiss
employees after the end of the consultation period in September and
offer them employment on new contracts which are unchanged except
in relation to pensions, Unite said.
The union estimated that the proposed pension scheme change
would reduce the total pay package of each employee by at least
15%.
Peter Skyte, Unite national officer for IT and communications,
said, "Fujitsu Services is a highly profitable and successful
company which is seeking to take advantage of the recession to
attack pay, pensions and conditions.
In June,
Unite called on the government to act quickly and decisively to
safeguard the jobs and skills of hundreds of people working for
Fujitsu on the £12.7bn National Programme for IT in the NHS.
Earlier this year Fujitsu hired pension law practice Wragge
& Co to advise the company on a pension scheme that would be
comparable to its existing final salary scheme.