Unite has welcomed steps taken by Fujitsu towards tackling low pay after the IT services giant pledged to boost its UK-wide minimum wage to £14,000 per annum for all of its staff.
As part of an agreement reached with the union in 2010, Fujitsu had already set a £12,000 company-wide minimum wage, but committed to review it every year.
This year, however, the union had been pressing for an increase to £15,000 in order to match the Minimum Income Standard or the Living Wage.
Where Unite has collective bargaining in place, the company has gone further than its stated average and boosted the minimum wage to £14,500. With recently agreed pay awards, the move is expected to give affected employees salaries of more than £15,000 per annum.
Although Unite remains critical of the below-inflation budget that Fujitsu allocated to its 2012 pay review, the union welcomed its decision to give lower-paid staff a fairer share of the pie, with higher percentages for those on lower wages meaning that their pay rises are nearly as big as those for higher earners.
But it is not all roses in the garden.
Kevin O’Gallagher, Unite's national officer for IT and communications, said: “Members welcome a fairer approach to pay from Fujitsu this year, which will mean many employees receive bigger rises than they have done for years. However, the company has made clear that it sees the 2012 pay review as a ‘one-off’ so it will be important for staff to continue campaigning to ensure Fujitsu establishes a fair and transparent approach to pay and benefits."
He also called on the vendor to sign up to the Fair Pay Charter for the IT services industry.
