Gas firm staff hold protest over ‘fire and rehire threat’
THREATS to add extra hours and cut sick leave during a pandemic have “taken their toll” on the mental health of British Gas workers.
That’s the view of staff who yesterday burned their contracts and took to the streets in the latest strike of an ongoing pay dispute.
Members of the GMB union held socially distanced gatherings yesterday morning in protest at the company’s “fire and rehire threat”.
Employees say a new contract adds 150 unpaid hours per year, offers fewer holiday and sick leave days, and takes away bonuses for weekend and bank holiday work. British Gas chiefs maintain they are “trying to protect jobs”.
Paul Gilmartin has worked for the company for 22 years and joined a socially distanced protest in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.
The 43-year-old said: “We just want them to talk to the union again. I’ve been there 22 years and over and above that we have been working tirelessly during the pandemic.
“We have been going into houses where people might have had Covid and we are still working frontline.
“Other companies are rewarding their staff for working in these hard times but they are doing a complete 180 on that. It’s maybe not quite sleepless nights but you aren’t getting good sleeps. The worry is constantly there and some of the guys are really struggling with their mental health. Covid is hard enough.”
Yesterday was the seventh time engineers have gone on strike in the UK this month with more action planned on January 25, 29, 30 and 31 and February 1. Staff across electrical services, smart metering, installations and customer services have also been impacted.
The union said engineers are being threatened with the sack if they do not sign the new contracts by March.
GMB national officer Justin Bowden said: “GMB members at British Gas are burning the new contracts to show graphically their defiance of the imposition of hourly pay 15% below the agreed rate – as well as other changes.
“British Gas has provoked disruption to more than 100,000 households already in the backlog for services.
“That number will grow due to the new strike dates. away on the
“The company needs to put customers and staff first by abandoning wishful thinking and taking ‘fire and rehire’ off the table.”
British Gas disputes the 100,000 figure, saying: “We have strong contingency plans in place to ensure we will still be there for customers who really need us.”
The company, owned by Centrica, maintains it is trying to protect jobs, stressing that basic pay and pensions are not being affected by the changes.
A spokesman said: “We’re operating in an incredibly competitive market and British Gas has lost too many jobs and too many customers over recent years. We need to take action to modernise and refocus the company in line with what our customers need now, not what they needed 20 years ago.
“Our pay for engineers will remain the highest in the sector, but we need to get productivity back to where it used to be and for some, we need to increase the working week from 37 to 40 hours.
“We’re not changing base pay or pensions and we will reward increased productivity through additional bonuses. 83% of our employees have already accepted the new terms – including the majority of our engineers.”