Photos: Fujitsu Services hit by Amicus strike

Staff at Fujitsu Services went on strike on Friday for the fifth day running, as their protest over redundancy rights, better pay and union recognition continued.

On Wednesday the staff, all members of the Amicus union, joined staff from other unions to protest over employee rights in a mass rally in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. NHS employees, along with students and staff from local civil service unions, joined the action.

The five-day strike is the culmination of a long-running dispute with the outsourcing company, which has contracts with several large organisations that have operations in the Northwest of England, including Marks & Spencer and the Home Office.

There are 300 Amicus members working for Fujitsu Services in Manchester, out of a total workforce of 1,000 mostly non-union workers. The union has been angered by the treatment of Ian Allinson, senior representative for Amicus at Fujitsu Services, who is facing suspension from Fujitsu.

According to Allinson, Amicus members are due to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss their next step in the action.

Nurses who joined the protest on Wednesday get ready to walk through Central Manchester to the mass rally in Piccadilly Gardens.