Pay Ballot 2016

Thank you if you have already voted in the electronic ballot.  If you haven’t done so yet, please make sure that you do by midday Friday 29 July 2016 to have your vote counted.  Information about how the offer affects you was sent by Ericsson late last week which should be read along with our earlier communication.

Prospect is recommending that members accept the offer.

Closure of Ashbrook Court

Ericsson has announced that it plans to vacate the Ashbrook Court office and move to Pinley House, also in Coventry in Q1 2017.  Regrettably this was announced before the union had been consulted and we have made our views on that clear to the business.  Proper collective consultation will now take place to consider what impact the move could have on employees and the facilities and individual consultation will also follow.  If you have any questions or comments please contact our rep John Bramble in the first instance.

Premium Days

We have reminded the company that it needs to make a proposal on how  to treat Premium Days this Xmas, given both Xmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a Sunday.  It is important that not only is this in line with the detail and spirit of the Lytham Agreement but that this is known when employees are sorting out their leave/swaps etc.

Field Transformation consultation

We expect consultation to re-start in the autumn over the transformation programme that saw significant changes in the FSO, with large numbers of employees signing up for ILP payments over the 4 windows negotiations to protect Field Engineers terms and conditions and the introduction of a Field Operatives role.  While we were able to ensure that there was no compulsory redundancy there was a gap between the numbers wanting to go and the numbers that Ericsson had wanted to go.  We have not had any proposals made to us on dealing with that gap, however we expect this will form part of further consultation in the autumn.

A dozen or so Field Operatives have now been appointed.  Prospect is the only recognised trade union for Field Operatives so if you are working with them please ask them to join by visiting www.prospect.org.uk/join  We have in the past helped Technicians and Apprentices on a range of issues and will do so for the new Field Operatives.  It is really important that we maintain a high level of union membership in both Field Engineers and Field Operatives posts to protect terms and conditions.

IPM ratings

A small number of members have contacted us to raise concerns about receiving a ‘Partially Performing’ IPM rating.

Prospect has in the past successfully supported members where there are grounds to challenge ratings through appeals or grievances.  These could be, for example, because the proper procedures have not been followed by your line manager, or because a lack of evidence has been provided to explain the rating.  Evidence needs to be provided to justify the rating as there is no ‘forced distribution’ of ratings in Ericsson.

Partially Performing and Underperforming ratings have an impact on pay, so if you feel that your rating is not accurate then you need to challenge your line manager to provide evidence for it in the first instance before considering next steps.  Please speak to your local representative, myself, or contact the Prospect Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060.

CEO steps down

It is concerning that the Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg has stepped down with immediate effect leaving a stand-in replacement.  External and internal candidates are being sought.  Prospect hopes that the new CEO will be able to take the company forward in the current market environment, acting and encouraging a consultative and respectful interaction between the company, their employees and trade unions.

We need your help!

The field transformation ILP programme has seen some long-serving Prospect reps leave the business. We need a couple of keen members to step forward to help us with personal case work, so we can continue to provide advice to members on an individual basis when you need it.  This could involve attending formal meetings with colleagues.  Full training and paid time off will be provided.

You do not need experience to train for this role and you will receive support from your fellow reps and Prospect full time officers and staff.

Please get in touch with me [email protected] or call 01455 555200 to have a chat about what’s involved.

Your reps are

Dave Rennie (FSO, Branch Secretary)  - [email protected] – 07961 358011

John Hough - [email protected] – 07957 256093

Ken Harwood (FSO) – [email protected] – 07785 360071

Carl Fisher (FSO) – [email protected] – 07770 321923

John Bramble (C3) – [email protected] – 07881 917507

Mike Cude (FSO) – [email protected] – 07782 329878 (Health and Safety)