Major strike by Fujitsu staff at ‘cash cow’ HMRC

Fujitsu staff supporting IT services contracts at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will strike for 22 days in protest after in-house colleagues in similar roles received significantly higher pay rises.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union at the scandal-stained supplier will down tools at HMRC on 21 March and not return until 23 April.

Fujitsu staff working on HMRC contracts were offered a 1.5% pay rise – compared with the 5% received by in-house colleagues in similar roles.

The union said: “The new round of action is expected to affect time-sensitive work, putting Fujitsu at risk of financial penalties for missing targets.”

A Fujitsu spokesperson said: “We are disappointed by PCS’s decision to proceed with industrial action following extensive negotiations around pay. We have worked with our clients to ensure all services are maintained.”

Following a two-day strike by the workers in January, the union did not rule out further action in the coming weeks because “members are angry that Fujitsu reports large profits from the HMRC account while offering them below-inflation pay rises”.

HMRC has become a UK cash cow for Fujitsu, which has continued to win major deals despite its pledge to pause bidding on government contracts after public anger over its role in the Post Office Horizon scandal.

As revealed by Computer Weekly, despite reports suggesting Fujitsu will be replaced on HMRC’s Traders Support Service, an internal meeting revealed Fujitsu is, in fact, bidding for the new £370m contract and is confident of a renewal of its contract, which was worth £240m when it was signed in 2020.

Computer Weekly also revealed a direct deal between HMRC and Fujitsu for hardware and cloud procurement, worth over £200m and known as North Star, where there is no competitive tender. Meanwhile, the department is also extending its Computer Environment for Self-Assessment (CESA) contract worth just shy of £60m, where Fujitsu is the incumbent.

In regard to the latest strike, an HMRC spokesperson said: “We have robust plans in place to ensure we continue delivering critical services for our customers during any industrial action.”

Fujitsu told its UK staff in September 2024 that there would be no UK-wide pay rise this year as it prioritised a limited budget, fuelling anger among a workforce with low morale.

One Fujitsu worker not involved in this action showed support for the striking staff, saying: “Good luck to them for standing up for their rights at a company that dodges accountability.”

Fran Heathcote, general secretary at the PCS, said: “Fujitsu continues to report large profits from the HMRC account, but never offers staff anything close to inflation, devaluing our members’ salaries over many years, despite their skills and knowledge being vital in ensuring HMRC’s tax systems remain working.

“This is a classic example of all that’s wrong with outsourcing – colleagues working side by side being paid different rates for doing similar jobs.”

Fujitsu also faces pressure from politicians to pay an interim contribution to the huge cost to taxpayers of the Post Office scandal. Last month, peer Kevan Jones demanded that Fujitsu make an interim payment of £300m.

Since then, the government and Fujitsu have initiated talks about Fujitsu’s contribution to the scandal bill, which will run into billions of pounds. The announcement of talks made no mention of an interim payment.

Computer Weekly first exposed the scandal in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to Horizon accounting software, which led to the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.