HP Launch Assault on Pay
Workers employed by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and their new parent company, Hewlett Packard (HP), are facing the real threat of pay and benefit cuts following recent management proposals to boost profits.
HP remains remarkably profitable with recent results showing a profit in excess of $1.85 Billion however the company wants to halt the recent decline in share price by restoring profit levels through attacks on workers pay and conditions. Mark Hurd, who is the boss of HP including EDS, has claimed that he is ‘leading’ by example by imposing a 20% cut in his base pay.
by Ian FitzPatrick, PCS
Workers in the US have had between a 2.5% and 10% pay cut imposed on them while labour laws in Europe mean that similar pay cuts can only be introduced following workers consent. This has not stopped management from using propaganda to persuade workers to accept pay cuts using the argument that pay cuts will save jobs – conveniently forgetting the recent announcement that 27000 jobs would be cut globally over the next 3 years anyway!
What is remarkable about the example being set by Mark Hurd is that his cut in pay in real terms is potentially less than what any other employee in the company is being asked to do. Mark Hurd’s base pay last year amounted to $1.45 Million – his overall compensation package however including shares, allowances and bonuses amounted to in excess of $42 Million.
This means that his proposed pay cut of $290,000 on his base pay will represent less than a 0.7% cut in his total pay of $42 Million a less than the 2.5%-10% cut facing his staff. For the vast majority of workers, base pay is their only pay and their is real anger towards the actions of management that have led to an increase in union membership and staff challenging the actions of management.
IT sector workers traditionally have not been unionised and this shift in consciousness towards workers rights reflects the anger in society towards the bosses and how we should not have to pay for this crisis in capitalism.
