HP employees vote on strike

Around 150 engineers and support specialists at Hewlett Packard are to vote in the company’s first industrial action ballot.

The vote has come after HP announced that it would be removing pay and pension benefits, including a final salary pension programme and a performance bonus scheme worth up to £2,000.

The UK’s largest union, Unite, has served seven days notice to HP and voting begins today. The results are expected to be made available in mid-November.

“Our members face cuts to their pay and pensions and have no choice other than to begin an industrial action ballot,” said Unite national officer, Peter Skyte.

“This is the latest in a series of attacks by the company on our members’ pay and conditions, while senior executives and shareholders do very well indeed. Unite remains willing to seek a resolution to this dispute with HP but not on the basis that one employee’s pay cut results in a HP executive’s pay and bonus increase.”