PensionsSep 9 2016

Prudential staff vote to strike

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Prudential staff vote to strike

Staff at Prudential in Reading are to strike twice for 24 hours over plans to offshore an estimated 82 jobs which deal with annuities to India.

One strike will take place for 24 hours from 00.01 on Friday (16 September) over the proposal to offshore back office annuity work to Mumbai, while a second 24 hour strike is currently set to go-ahead from 00.01 on Friday (23 September).

According to Unite, the two days of strike action are “major shots across Prudential’s bows” in a bid to make it reconsider the decision to offshore the staff.

Members will also be continuing their indefinite work-to-rule which started on 31 August.

In August last year, staff at UK life insurer Prudential who are based in Reading voted to take industrial action following the announcement the company will be offshoring skilled jobs to India.

The Unite members voted 97 per cent in favour of industrial action over plans to offshore 81 jobs dealing with annuities to the city of Mumbai.

At the end of last month, Prudential staff commenced this industrial action in protest against a plan to move 76 annuities-related jobs from Reading to Mumbai, India - known as “Project Jupiter”.

Unite has also asked Prudential’s management to disclose the numbers of staff that are earmarked to lose their jobs.

Although the redundancy notices say 82 jobs are at risk, according to Unite, Prudential has told the media the number is 51.

A spokesman for Prudential said the provider was not in a position to provide a comment on the industrial action at the time this article was published.

ruth.gillbe@ft.com