THE UNITED SOCIALIST PARTY
A Party that always campaigns for a fair and just society for all in Britain
Trade Union Consultation
& Labour Laws
Press statement by Public & Commercial Services Union,
Preston & Fylde Branch
Strike action, overtime bans and a work to rule by PCS union members working for the American
‘outsourcing’ company EDS, are in prospect after the union’s National Disputes Committee
authorised a ballot.
A dispute over redundancies affects 900 PCS members working in EDS offices in Preston, Lytham St.
Annes, Norcross (Blackpool), Washington and Newcastle, on contracts developing computer systems
and providing printed output for the Department for Work and Pensions.
EDS was acquired last year by Hewlett Packard, another American company, who immediately
announced a target of 3378 job cuts in the UK.
The union has objected to the redundancies saying that they are not genuine and that the overall
workload from the DWP is increasing rather than diminishing, due to the pace of benefits reform
and increasing unemployment.
PCS has also complained that consultation has been “a sham”, that the redundancy selection
process is unfair and that the company is not redeploying displaced staff, to vacant posts for which
they are suitable.
Ian Vanson, Chair of PCS’s Preston & Fylde Branch, said ; “HP is a hugely profitable group, having
made nearly $2 billion in each of the first two quarters of 2009. EDS’s DWP account in turn, is a very
high earner for the company. The job cuts exercise is quite simply a transfer of money from the
wages bill to boost share value, dividends and the already astronomical bonuses being taken by HP’s
top chiefs. The price of this for our members is job loss or increased workload”.
“While compulsory redundancies are taking place, we have the company saying that Programmer
jobs at Preston are reserved for ‘Best Shore’ staff brought in from India and Operator jobs at
Norcross are reserved for ‘low cost contractors’, i.e. agency staff. Similarly, offshore staff from India
are working long term in the North East in systems testing jobs, while resident experienced system
testers have been made redundant. We do not support the demand for “British jobs for British
workers” but the debarment of British workers in favour of Indian workers is almost certainly in
breach of the Race Relations Act, as well as immigration rules”, Mr. Vanson continued.
He concluded, “EDS is a government contractor, which is hoping to see the renewal of key DWP
contracts in the near future. We hope that the government and Preston & Fylde and North East MPs
will impress upon the company that it must act in accordance with legal requirements and good
employer standards in respect of redundancies, so that strike action may be avoided”.
The timing of industrial action will be considered by the union’s EDS Group Executive Committee
during September.
*
The EDS sites at Fulwood, Preston, Lytham St. Annes, Norcross (Blackpool) and in the
North East, provide IT development, maintenance, printed output and user support for
benefit systems including Pension Credit, Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance and
Employment & Support Allowance.
*
EDS made operating profits of £767 million on £2.6 billion worth of work for the DWP
between 2003 and 2006, an average profit margin of 29%. {Source: Sunday Telegraph,
24/12/2006}
*
The legal definition of redundancy is that, either generally or at particular locations,
“the requirements of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind
has ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish”, EDS has stated in
redundancy notices, that the exercise derives not from diminution of workload but from
“a need to reduce costs and headcount”.
*
The law requires that collective redundancy consultation should be carried out over a
specified period, “with a view to seeking agreement”. EDS has not reached agreement
with the unions and has sent out compulsory redundancy notices before the end of the
statutory period.
*
Redundancy selection procedures are required by law to be objective. EDS’s procedures
are not objective. They are slewed by the way in which selection pools are defined. An
example is the way in which one person selection pools are assigned to colleagues who
are ‘on the bench’. Because of the nature of IT development work there is sometimes a
temporary gap between one piece of work ending and the next starting, and people ‘on
the bench’ are waiting for their next assignment.
*
Suitable alternative employment. The law requires employers to look for suitable
alternative employment for workers selected for redundancy. EDS is not properly
implementing this obligation. Two recent examples are of extremely serious import :-
o
Racial discrimination. Benched members with substantial skills and experience
matches with some vacant posts, e.g. Programmer, have been told that the
vacancies are reserved for ‘Best Shore’ staff, even where the work is located
onshore. This practice – of which we have written evidence - is almost certainly
in breach of Section 1(1)(b) of the 1976 Race Relations Act.
o
Agency workers. A member made compulsorily redundant was turned down for
vacancies in the Norcross Print Centre, for which he had previous direct
experience. He was told – in writing – that the posts were reserved for ‘low cost
contractors’, i.e. agency staff. The government is currently consulting on
legislation to implement a European Union directive requiring agency workers
to enjoy the same pay and conditions as permanent workers.
