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Summary
- The five-day strike was called off today without any favourable result.
- Several thousands of employees participated in the strike but the major issue that remains unsettled is the “fire & rehire policy”
Engineers and Technicians of Centrica Plc (LON:CNA) owned British Gas called-off their strike today after putting it up for five days. The engineers and workers could not get a breakthrough with respect to resolutions related to compensation and other employment agreements.
The strike commenced last Thursday, after members of the GMB union were provoked by industrial action. More than 7,000 people from the workforce consisting of service and repair gas engineers, heating experts, electrical engineers, gas engineers and smart metering technicians participated in the five-day strike that commenced on Thursday.
However, FTSE 250 listed Centrica Plc, the parent company of British Gas had announced that it will provide services to the vulnerable households and emergencies and had contingency plans to deal with the disruption caused by the strike.
The new policy backed by British Gas is a legal contract that allows the company to rip up the contract during the tenure of the employment and put the employee on a lesser contract.
From the company’s perspective, the new contract, also known as Section 188 notice, shall allow the company to terminate the contract as and when required. In addition, Centrica claims that the new contract would help in curtailing job losses. The employees feel threatened as the company is trying to enforce the legislation.
(Image Source: © Kalkine Group 2020)
Also read: Centrica (LON:CNA) Faces Industrial Action in Early Next Year on New Employment Contracts
Members of GMB union opine that the energy company must take fire and rehire policy off the table and stop threatening its workforce in order to end this massive disruption and remain profitable. More than 85 per cent of the workforce outrightly rejected this contract imposed by the company.
Insiders feel that this contract can bring a plethora of uncertainties with respect to employee’s finances. A worker, who might have availed an auto loan or home loan, will now have to reassess and plan his expenses to make his ends meet in the wake of new contract policy.
Earlier in December, the members of the GMB had warned the energy company of dire consequences such as the industrial action in January as the energy company was adamant to enforce its new terms.
Britain’s largest energy supplier Centrica has been losing its market share with the onslaught of regulatory reforms such as the price cap. Shares of Centrica were down by more than 40 per cent in a year’s time. In June, the energy company decided to make 5,000 jobs redundant globally and carry out restructuring in a bid to stay afloat during the pandemic.
