Diligenta, a finance sector subsidiary for TATA Consultancy Services, saw about 1,000 workers go on strike at Reading and other sites on Tuesday (November 18).
The strike was in response to a pay dispute, and according to Unite the Union this dispute is now set to “escalate further”, with another four strike days announced for late November and early December.
Unite the Union said the strikes will cause “considerable disruption” to Diligenta’s clients, but that the “company has only itself to blame”.
The union claims Diligenta have refused to partake in negotiations.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Diligenta needs to wake up.
“Imposing a real terms pay cut on its workers, while making millions of pounds of profits and whilst continuing to reward shareholders is completely unacceptable.”
The striking Diligenta workers are “involved in outsourced work undertaking call centre, back office and complaints roles” for clients including Lloyds, M&G, Aviva, and Phoenix.
Unite the Union said Diligenta had made a pre-tax profit of £27.1 million in 2023, rising to £28.9 million the following year.
Unite said the company paid out a shareholder dividend of £14 million to TATA Consultancy Services, and claimed the dividend could instead have been used to fund a 5 per cent pay increase for all staff.
Unite regional officer Helen Camp, said: “Diligenta’s workforce have spent months trying to reach a fair agreement through negotiations. Unite members have now had enough.
“Unite members have had years of below inflation pay rises while workloads and stress have both multiplied. Diligenta must now wake up and make a decent offer to its workers or face ever growing levels of disruption to the contracts it operates.”
Diligenta was approached for comment ahead of the first strike day on November 18.
