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BRITISH GAS engineers begin another four-day strike against pay cuts tomorrow, as parent group Centrica posted a £700 million adjusted operating profit.
The engineers’ GMB union said that further talks had taken place at conciliation service Acas, but the company’s refusal to withdraw its fire-and-rehire imposition of new contracts remained the “main obstacle” to a settlement.
When the current stoppage ends on Monday, the 7,000 field engineers will have taken 26 days of strike action since overwhelmingly rejecting the imposition of inferior pay and conditions. The GMB has already sanctioned further action up to April.
British Gas owner Centrica recorded a £699 million group adjusted operating profit for 2020, according to preliminary results, with a statutory operating profit of £52 million reversing the previous year’s £849 million loss.
GMB national secretary Justin Bowden said: “Last summer, when British Gas decided on fire-and-rehire pay cuts for gas engineers, it was already a profitable company — as today’s results confirm.”
Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea said the Acas talks “have given us the basis, hopefully, for an agreement which is being presented to our staff at the moment.”
