British Gas engineers face mass firings after rejecting contract offer
Hundreds of British Gas engineers face being sacked on 1 April after rejecting a revised contract offer earlier this month, according to the GMB Union.
A string of strikes has been held by thousands of engineers since February, in opposition to the company’s ‘fire and rehire’ tactics.
The union said engineers were told they had to accept a 15 per cent pay cut by noon yesterday or face being fired.
Today, British Gas parent company Centrica is expected to give formal notice of termination to engineers who did not accept the contract changes, the union said.
Centrica chief executive, Chris O’Shea has said that the “vast majority” of staff have accepted the new contracts, which include longer hours, and that those who refuse would “leave the company of their own accord”.
The new contracts will also mean that engineers will be paid from when they arrive at the first customer’s property, instead of when they leave home.
“If Mr O’Shea goes ahead with this reckless action, GMB has agreed to declare an official national lockout dispute with British Gas from 1st April,” GMB national secretary, Justin Bowden, warned.
“There will also be further strikes and other appropriate action in this deadlocked dispute.”
A Centrica spokesperson said that the change in contracts is designed to protect jobs after profits have declined over the last decade.
“There is a job for everyone at the end of this process and our new terms are fair and very competitive.
“We know this is difficult, but we have a responsibility to reverse our decline which has seen us lose over three million customers, cut over 15,000 jobs and seen profits halved over the last ten years.”
At the end of February, Centrica reported a £362m statutory loss due to a combination of coronavirus, lower commodities prices and warmer weather. The firm also took a £783m hit last year.