UK HP workers will strike tomorrow HP workers are going on strike tomorrow, following talks which delayed the first mooted day of action in December. Talks between unions and HP ended yesterday without agreement. About 1,000 people are expected to be involved. They want better job security and better pay as well as recognition of collective bargaining rights …
The word you are looking for is "Lytham" or, to give it its full name, "Lytham St Annes". Build largely on sand it is, big subsidence problems - whenever I think of it I'm reminded of the Holy Grail sketch: "People said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp..." and so on.
Nationalise the Fuckers? Yes Please
If ITSA hadn't been privatised in the first place then you wouldn't have the problem. And HP would not be charging hundreds of £ per man day for Asian resources that cost 20% of the price while the other 80% goes to California to pay for the CEO's $30m pay packet. That's your tax moneygoing out of the country one way or another
HP made over $30Bn last year. Only about 15 Execs seem to see the rewards
I'm sorry but how old are you? And what is 'ensuring HP's name is mud in the UK' going to achieve exactly. Unless you're actually as dumb as you sound, you'd realise that the reason IT isn't as lucrative a career as it used to be due to this strange thing called market conditions. HP can't run with higher costs than organisations it is competing with in these times of reduced demand! This isn't HP going out on a limb and taking actions that aren't consistent with others, this is HP reacting slower and later to many competitors to minimise the impact. And IT is still a lucrative industry. I'd dare anyone striking to say hand on heart that their salary isn't enough to live on. And if you think it isn't then you're deluded or you need to look at your lifestyle. There are people supporting partners and children who manage it on a supermarket cashier's wage so count yourself lucky! Get out in the real world and stop thinking you're hard done by when you're not!
You wouldn't happen to be an executive would you ?
You are right IT workers are well paid. I am not however moaning about pay. Respect is the issue along with the credibility of our so called leadership.
At HP there is a long history of broken promises, lying to staff and at the moment dirty tricks to get staff to leave voluntarily to prop up short term profits. At the same time executives are getting paid unjustifiable bonuses and accounts are starting to be lost.
The sad fact is that HP has to fail in order to get better.
Yep I'll agree that going out to shaft your employer is generally a dumb idea but the rest of your post is pure crap, from someone who clearly has no idea how HP works or the market it is in.
HP aren't some poor little company just doing what it can to survive against tough market conditions, they are a global multinational running around buying other global companies then trashing them. The people striking worked for EDS until HP bought them recently. HP are hardly taking actions to minimise the impact, they are using typical corporate power plays to buy out, destroy and undercut the opposition.
IT is indeed a lucrative industry but unfortunately that's not enough for our CEO who keeps giving himself and his execs multi-million dollar pay rises and bonuses. At the same time they are troughing they are firing thousands of employees to replace them with cheap foreign labour wherever possible, and crying poverty due to the global financial crisis. They were planning who to drop in August 2008 two months before the crisis even broke so somehow I doubt that was the reason.
My salary and those of my colleagues is enough to live on - I would like it to stay that way.
Why, whenever a story like this comes up, is there always some ill-informed corporate suckup just dying to kick the little guy?
Way to go, trash the reputation of the company you work for, that should ensure a continuous revenue stream and give you job security.
You can get that nice warm glow of self satisfaction from knowing you shoed em who's the boss as you and all your colleagues queue up at the job centres you used to support.
BTW, I heard a rumour that HP were going to shorten your tea breaks and make you pay for your own milk...
You are Red Robbo AICMFP.
HP have wanted to get rid of another 1000 for at least 8 months now as far as I'm aware. There's only 1000 people on strike as only one union is involved at the moment but the feeling is roughly the same throughout the UK.
If my union ballotted i'd definitely vote to strike - the way this company is going through layoffs, or through total incompetence at a senior level losing us contracts and work I'm probably going to lose my job anyway.
The unions probably quite like HP - they've done wonders for their membership. My colleagues and I had never even thought of joining a union until HP came along, now we're all signed up!
Wheres the "Scrap, scrap, scrap!!!" icon when you need it?
Its the same down under... pay freezes and working unpaid overtime. Lucky for them very few of us are unionised.
But HP are already reaping what they've sown - numerous (and usually skilled and valuable) employees are leaving the first chance they get.
There's precious little loyalty left to the company.
The union is only interested in looking after the ex civil-servants, they have been offered job guarantees, and two above 2% pay rises over the next two years all for a reduction of 1.5 days leave (which is extra to them, most of the HP workers don't even get these). The majority of staff are non members and have had no pay rise for the last 2-3 years.
Yet another example of these people (mostly UK Government (euphemism)) standing in the middle of the train tracks and not being able to see the express train bearing down on them.
When these people were not outsourced, when they were proper government (euphemism) employees we could have just had them shot as traitors.
I am on strike today = no pay rise for three years, no pay rise this year, no training ever and being treated like bloody fools by the management. They really do have poor communication skills...
HP cut the pay of everyone they legally could be 5 to10% last year. they couldnt cut ours so we got veiled threats to our final salary pension scheme. the only thing keeping many of us here. We have already been made to pay more for this which is fair enough.
I have accepted all this and the redundancies but enough is enough. The CEO got $42million in 2008 off our backs... we got nothing but many got the push to be replaced by bestShore people nowhere near as good!! So everything takes longer - oops there goes your savings
If you are being replaced then your job isnt redundant. It stinks!
Most of us work for the Government, so they are up to their necks in this,and their short sighted policies will result in this country having no IT industry. MPs are bloody useless...
Then what? Green technology - dont make me laugh.
As a taxpayer I am disgusted that our money is being sucked out of the country like this... to give American companies massive profits
Respect to you Mr AC for fighting back and making a sacrifice - your Salary - to do so.
"As a taxpayer I am disgusted that our money is being sucked out of the country like this... to give American companies massive profits"
You're not alone in your feeling.
Consider replacing "companies" with "CEOs"
Is it 70 million USD for Mr Hurd in 2 years?
Nice work for an ex-tennis professional who has written how many lines of code???
Walking into the Cobalt Business park Branch of EDS that day... what did I see? About 5 blokes with picket signs... that was it!!
I was approached by two of them asking "are you in the union" and my reply was "No.. I'm Kelly's staff and we have been told we can't protest". I was then told they are fighting for recognition of kellys to be have full Union rights.
Well thats greaet, except when I then said "I was under the impression this entire protest was only designed to impact DWP staff, and i'm not on DWP"... I was told pretty much.... "yes".
Sorry.. but this protest was and is a joke!
The protest was purely intended to improve the working conditions of DWP staff ONLY who are all on HP contracts. While those of us, working for the MOD via Kellys don't have contracts and we would all KILL to have contracts.
What benefit is this protest going to have on us?
Answer, probably none.
Yes we are paid a rediculious wage working for EDS (14.5k) and yes it needs to be improved because its nothing short of criminal considering the massive profit HP makes. Most other people in similar roles, in other companies are paid around 20-30k to do the same work.
But what good is a protest that is purely populated by those with HP contracts? How does that reprosent Kelly staff who are paid LESS then those with HP contracts? Any benefits they recieve on DWP, wont be felt by us because its too risky to protest along side them.
Man up!
You challenge us to state that we can't live on the wage we earn working at EDS?
I earn 12k after tax, which is about £900 a month. I'm in my late 20s and still live at home because 1) I couldn't afford to live in a decent flat while 2) Saving for a car and 3) Paying off that student loan which I need to save up money for.
My currently out goings are £200 rent to the parents, £500 savings for a car every month, £60 on bus fairs every month, £10 on my phone, £30 on opticians fees.
£200+£500+£60+£10+£30 = £800 a month because I live at home, leaving me about £100.
If I moved out, rent would go up to around £500+ if I wanted to move somewhere decent and not a student flat. That would then exceed my £900 a month. I would probably have to stop saving for the car (which is a necessity) or make do with buying an old banger which would last a year and then break down.
I should be moving out of home at my age, and if I did... yes I could survive, but not exactly in a comfortable way. In the role and industry I work in, at EDS, I should be on a decent enough wage that I can afford a flat I can be proud of, while still saving for important things like a car, and finally paying back the student loan.
But as it stands.. im being paid next to nothing, cant afford to move out, its taking for ever to save for the car, I cant afford to start paying off the student loan.
Maybe you think 12k is enough to live on.. you might disagree, and i'm sure thats more then some people earn. But considering other people earn twice what we do, in the same company, on HP contracts, doing the same kind of 2nd line support work in IT... its outragious.
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