Strike suspended as talks resume at AstraZeneca
THE GMB union has suspended its strike action over pensions at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield to resume talks with management.
Since September 8 union members have staged seven days of stoppages in protest at the company’s decision to end a defined benefit scheme and replace it with a defined contribution scheme.
GMB said it had suspended the action to allow the talks to proceed “in a calm atmosphere” when they start on Monday, November 1.
In a statement to members GMB regional officer Neil Holder said the agreement was reached after talks with management on October 25. An overtime ban has also been lifted.
“GMB has made it clear and the company understands that the action is suspended rather than cancelled and to facilitate this in line with legal requirements the necessary documentation will be exchanged over the next few hours,” said the statement.
“The effect of this is to stop the clock on the legal time limits surrounding this current campaign of industrial action. The industrial action (strikes and overtime ban) is however suspended with immediate effect.”
The GMB has said that the ballot received the support of 70% of its members at the site, which is its second-largest operational base, employing 2,500 of its 9,000 staff.
Meanwhile AstraZeneca published third quarter figures today which showed a 25% drop in pre-tax profits to £1.4bn on sales of £4.9bn, down 3.5%. Earnings for the nine months were static at £5.4bn on sales of £15.5bn, up 3%.
