| British Gas engineers vote for 24-hour strikes on five days |
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LONDON - As the holiday season gathers momentum, pray that your central heating does not run out on you. For if it does, you either have to repair it yourself or shiver out in the cold as thousands of British Gas engineers have decided to resort to 24-hour strikes and withdraw the "unsocial" hours cover.
The engineers are unhappy with the new pensions’ provisions unveiled by the company that support the withdrawal of the final salary pension scheme to new workers from January onwards. GMB union leaders have agreed on five dates when these strikes will be held. December 12, 19 and 21 and January 6 and 9 have been penciled in as the 24-hour strike days.
Out of hour calls will not be entertained from December 12 to 23 and from January 4 to 10. It is reported that union leaders voted by four to one to go on a strike alleging that the company turned back on its promise to keep the scheme running if engineers increased their individual contributions.
"We are offering cover during this period of industrial action to British Gas customers who are at risk which means the elderly and those with very young children who do not have heating," said Brian Strutton, the national secretary of GMB adding that it was "absolutely imperative" that British Gas met with union leaders to resolve the issue.
British Gas called the strike action as "unwarranted" and said that it was confident that any major disruption would not occur, "While there would inevitably be disruption for many customers, we are confident that our engineers will continue to cover emergencies and prioritize the needs of the vulnerable," said Dave Kendle, the director of British Gas Services.
Almost 6,000 engineers would be involved in the strike and this could cause quite a lot of hardship in the run up to Christmas and New Year.
Posted
on : Wed, 30 Nov 2005 20:20 GMT | Pensions News
By : Anne Philips
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