Final deadline passes for engineers facing sack in Centrica dispute

The final deadline has passed for British Gas engineers embroiled in a bitter dispute with Centrica to decide whether to accept new contracts or be sacked by the company.

While Unite, Unison and Prospect all accepted the changes last year, the GMB union has refused. The resulting 43 days of industrial action, the last of which took place on the day of the deadline on Wednesday (14 April), represent the longest strike in Centrica’s history.

Those who had refused to sign by the previous deadline on 1 April were given a two-week grace period in which to change their minds.

Centrica said on Wednesday morning that 98 per cent of its workers had accepted the updated terms and conditions as part of a major restructure which was announced last summer following the appointment of Chris O’Shea as chief executive. Of the less than 500 engineers still holding out at the time, the company said it expected 300 to 400 to refuse to sign the updated contracts, with some agreeing at the last minute.

A spokesperson said: “There is a job for everyone at the end of this process. We are changing the way we work to give our customers the service they want and protect the future of our company and 20,000 UK jobs. Today marks the end of the period for our employees to sign new contracts. These are highly competitive, and our changes are reasonable.

“Around 98 per cent of the entire company has accepted and we hope the remaining, also sign and choose to stay. We have not cut base pay or changed our generous final salary pensions. Our gas service engineers remain some of the best paid in the sector, earning £40,000 a year minimum.

“While change is difficult, reversing our decline which has seen us lose over three million customers, cut over 15,000 jobs and seen profits halved over the last 10 years is necessary. The changes will also unlock our ability to grow jobs and hire 1000 green apprentices over the next two years.’’

GMB said the “fire and rehire” notices issued by Centrica amounted to “corporate bullying” and posted pictures on Twitter of British Gas vans being collected from engineers on the back of lorries.

In a fiery statement, regional secretary Justin Bowden said the “graveyard of vans” showed that British Gas “doesn’t give a toss for either customers or staff,” adding: “These sacked gas engineers are badly needed by customers to clear the huge backlog of missed planned annual service visits and repairs.”

“There is sadly nothing in law to stop corporate bullying by companies of their own staff to sign terms they don’t accept and sacking those who don’t submit to this bullying,” he added.

“But GMB members won’t accept the outcome of the bullying. This is why we are staging the 43rd day of strike action today.”

Bowden said the “mass sackings” would not mark the end of the dispute: “There will be more strikes and action short of strikes.”

He accused the management team at Centrica of being “too stupid to see the true value of a uniquely skilled and loyal workforce” and said O’Shea would be “universally condemned” by politicians and the general public: “The arrogant gamble has been lost. Any fool can start a war and, it seems, ruin a good business.”

You can read Utility Week’s analysis of the dispute here.