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Letter to HP members from Mark Serwotka

Dear colleague

I am writing to you to offer my personal support – and the support of the PCS National Executive Committee – in your fight for fair pay and job security.

 
It is a disgrace that a company as wealthy as HP is seeking to impose a pay freeze for its standard contract staff, is denying staff the right to pay progression and is seeking to impose a longer working week in return for a below inflation offer for image staff.
 
HP has also failed to give our union any assurances on job security or the future of current locations going forward and will not allow staff on standard contracts to be represented by our union when it comes to pay awards.
 
This cannot be fair.
Here is a company that declared profits of almost $8 Billion last year. It’s CEO, Mark Hurd, earns more money in a year that the any of us will earn in our lifetimes. HP is a company that has done very well out of numerous government contracts funded by the taxpayer.
 
At the same time this company pays some of the workers who deliver these profits £13,000 per year. It wants to freeze the pay of thousands of HP staff and it will not allow staff free choice about whether or not to they wish to be represented by our union.   
 
PCS has very serious concerns about the impact on a number of critical services as a result of this intransigence by the employer. We will be reporting these to DWP Ministers and to MPs. We will be asking for an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) into serious questions about a number of systems HP operates on behalf of DWP and MoD.
 
We will also be providing full support to all HP Enterprise Staff and will be building for maximum publicity for your action. We will be explaining the issues around this dispute to fellow workers and trade unionists and asking them for support and we will operate a Hardship Fund to help those in real financial need so that everyone can support our action.  
 
I want to thank every member of our union in HP who has supported our action to date. I particularly want to thank those who have actively supported the strike through picketing. I urge all HP staff – image, standard and agency worker alike – to join our union and actively support the forthcoming action on 29-30 march and 6-7 April. I very much hope to be able to join you on the picket line on one of these days.
 
I know taking action is not easy and that many of you cannot afford to lose money but together we can win fair pay and job security.    
 
Yours sincerely
 
Mark Serwotka