British Gas employees in Reading have slammed the company for its plans to ‘fire and rehire’ staff on new terms and conditions.

Half a dozen British Gas employees in Reading took to the picket line on Friday (Friday, February 5) by Brunel Retail Park in south Reading to protest plans to ‘fire and rehire’ staff and put them under new working conditions.

The new terms and conditions would include longer working hours, reduced sick pay, reduced overtime rates, and less holiday.

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British Gas owner Centrica announced it would be cutting 5,000 jobs in June to “arrest the decline” of the company after losing out to rivals.

Paul Murphy, a technical engineer and trade union rep at GMB, said: “I have been at the company for 16 years. We have got engineers who have been here for 30 to 40 years.

“We have worked all the way through the Covid period going into people’s house and putting people at risk.

“We volunteered for the Trussell Trust, a food bank, when we were put on furlough. In the background, the business has been planning to fire and rehire us.

“I don’t think a lot of customers realise what has been going on and why there has been such an interruption in service. That is the last thing we want to do.”

Working hours would increase from 37 hours to 40 hours, an extra 156 hours every year, under the plans.

An increase to the core hours – the main times during which they are expected to work that does not count as overtime – would increase from 8am to 6pm to 7am to 9pm, according to staff.

Nearly 90 per cent of GMB members voted for industrial action in a ballot of 9,000 members. Friday was day 13 of the strike.

British Gas insists the new contracts are aimed at saving jobs and says 83 percent of employees have agreed to the new terms.

They say the jobs are well paid and higher than competitors and engineers will earn more if they achieve their targets.

British Gas Strike

British Gas Strike

Another service repair engineer for British Gas, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It just brings a sadness for all the engineers.

“You can imagine the stress and anxiety it is causing. The trust is broken. It is toxic.

“They are attacking our terms and conditions.

“This is a year after they already made an attack on our pensions.

“Now they are completely scrapping all our terms. We haven’t asked for anything extra.

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He added: “We have all worked continuously and put ourselves and our families at greater risk.

“They say they appreciate everything we do but behind closed doors they are plotting to take away our terms and conditions.

“You couldn’t make it up. It is disgusting.”

He said the company had blamed it on Covid-19 “but everyone is still paying their monthly gas” and accused the company of refusing to negotiate with the unions and “letting down” elderly and vulnerable customers”.

Reading East MP Matt Rodda today urged the company to rethink its plans, saying British Gas engineers on strike have his full support.

A spokesperson for British Gas owners Centrica said: “We have strong contingency plans in place to ensure we will still be there for customers who really need us, and we’ll prioritise vulnerable households and emergencies.

“We know change is difficult but we have offered a fair deal that has been negotiated over 300 hours with unions – where base pay and pensions are protected.

“83 per cent of our employees have already agreed to the new terms.’’