Pension strike at Astra Zeneca
Tuesday 24th August
GMB STRIKE ACTION AT ASTRA ZENECA ON 3 DATES IN
SEPTEMBER IN DISPUTE OVER CUTS IN PENSION BENEFITS
The last thing GMB
members want to do is to take strike action at Astra Zeneca but the
savage attack by the Company on the pension entitlement of members
leave them with no choice
After consultation with shop stewards at the Astra Zeneca
Macclesfield site GMB has fixed the dates for strike action by
shift workers at the site as follows:
8th September 2010 - 3 strikes of 2 hours duration as
follows:
0830 hrs – 1030 hrs
1500 hrs – 1700 hrs
2130 hrs – 2330 hrs
15th September 2010 - 3 strikes of 4 hours duration as
follows:
0830 hrs – 1230 hrs
1500 hrs – 1900 hrs
2130 hrs – 0130 hrs
22nd/23rd September 2010 - One day/shift of strike action
between 0600hrs and 0600 hrs
Further action will be announced in due course. Formal
notification to the Company will follow in due course also.
GMB announced last week that 70% of its members who voted in a
ballot at Astra Zeneca the giant pharmaceutical company have
supported the call for strike action as urged by their Union.
The dispute arises from the Company’s draconian proposals to, in
effect, end its defined benefit (final salary) pension scheme for
2,500 staff based mainly at Maccesfield. The Astra Zeneca
(AZ) site at Macclesfield is the second largest site worldwide in
the AZ group. GMB is the largest union on the site.
Talks on the Company’s pension proposals were held over a three
months period earlier this year. The result failed to move the
Company at all from their original stance. As AZ is a
multi-national Company the GMB has enlisted the support of Unions
across Europe and beyond.
Allan Black, GMB National Officer responsible for Astra
Zeneca said: The strike action follows a GMB ballot
of its members in the Company in the light of this highly
profitable pharmaceutical company’s decision to make savage cuts in
its employees’ defined benefit (sometimes called final salary)
pension scheme.
GMB is enormously proud of the overwhelming vote by
members on this pension issue. We are also buoyed up by the
messages of support from our sister unions across Europeand across
the world. The last thing our members want to do is to take
strike action at Astra Zeneca but the attack by the Company on the
pension entitlement of our members leaves them with no
choice.”
End
For more information contact Allan Black – GMB National Officer
on: 07725 100316 or Neil Holden 07740 8040 70 in North West