Over 600 GMB members employed by AstraZeneca in Alderley Edge and Macclesfield are being balloted over the changes the company propose to make to existing pension arrangements.
AstraZeneca, who have said that their pension scheme's deficit of £1.4bn is unsustainable, consulted with workers for 90 days earlier this year before the changes came into effect on 1st July.
GMB started the ballot on Monday, 26th July, asking its members to support a campaign of strikes to urge the company to reconsider its current position and consult meaningfully on pension scheme changes. The ballot will close on 16th August and could lead to the first strikes at AstraZeneca since the company was formed in 1999 - through the merger of Astra AB of Sweden and Zeneca Group PLC of the UK.
GMB members working at the Alderley Edge and Macclesfield sites have undergone job losses and changes of working practices over the last three or four years all aimed at securing the future of the company. Having accepted change the GMB members now feel they are being asked by the company's proposals to slash their pension entitlement too.
AstraZeneca has in financial terms done very well in recent years, last year operating profit rose by 24% compared to 2008 and the first quarter of this year shows further growth year on year of 11% - hence GMG members see no financial need for these pension cuts.
Allan Black, GMB National Officer, responsible for the company said, "I very much regret that we have been forced to this course of action by AstraZeneca's onslaught on our members' pensions. Every constructive alternative we have put forward has been ignored.
"This is particularly disappointing in the light of the huge sacrifices recently made by our members to ensure the profitability of AZ and its shareholders. We want no more than fair treatment for our members who actually generate these profits".
A spokesman from AstraZeneca said today "Any form of industrial action would not be in the interest of our employees or AstraZeneca's business in the UK."
