Talks To Be Held To Avert Further Strikes At EDF Energy

Last ditch talks are being held between EDF Energy and Unite the union on Thursday, 12th June, to avert further strikes in the three-pronged pay dispute.

Nearly 500 workers in the London, South Eastern, South West and Eastern regions will be striking for 24 hours from 00.01 on Monday 16 June which will mean delays in fixing and installing meters for customers.

Revenue protection will also be hit – as the workers going on strike include those dealing with business owners and private customers who are allegedly fiddling and stealing electricity.

EDF Energy and Unite are due to meet for talks under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. The union says the crux of the dispute is the company’s failure to abide by an agreement made in 2012.

The dispute has already seen two days of strike action at the beginning of May.

Monday's strike will be followed by selective industrial action and a work-to-rule which starts immediately afterwards. There will be strike action from 17th June to 27th June involving around 12 meter readers working from the Camden depot in central London.

The members taking this action work on an appointment basis and if they do not carry out work on time, EDF will be liable to fines. The action will be escalated on 23 June, when they will be joined by 20 more meter readers from Bexleyheath in a week of strike action, with further escalation on the cards.

From 17th June, Unite is instructing members to take action short of strike action on a continuous basis. The union predicts that this work-to-rule will have ‘a very significant impact’.

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said: "EDF Energy has a further opportunity to reach an agreement with Unite in last ditch talks on Thursday and avoid major industrial disruption.

"The facts are clear – this company made an agreement with the trade union in 2012 that it has failed to abide by.

"Our case is that the company admits this to be the case and that it didn't do the necessary sums. More seriously, it admits that it only signed the deal to avoid a dispute last time around and had no intention of honouring it.

"Two weeks ago, in negotiations, the company offered the princely sum of an extra £20 a year (before tax) to solve this dispute – this is just insulting to our hardworking members from a highly profitable company.

"We urge the EDF management to take a more mature attitude and negotiate in a constructive fashion at the Acas talks."

(CVS/CD)