Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, today confirmed
(Monday 26 October) that it was in ‘restructuring’ talks with
energy giant E.ON which could result in job losses.
The talks that also involve other energy trade unions come in the
wake of E.ON acquiring Npower last year and the impact of
Covid-19 on the business.
Unite officer with responsibility for E.ON retail Katie Morris
said: “Unite can confirm that it is in talks, along with the
other energy unions, with the management of E.ON over
restructuring plans.
“The talks are against a background of the harmonisation of the
services offered by E.ON since it acquired Npower. The
restructuring process has been accelerated by the impact of
Covid-19 on its business model.
“We expect an announcement next month on possible job losses.
Unite’s position is that any job losses in the future should be
voluntary and not of a compulsory nature.
“Unite remains committed to working in a constructive manner with
the E.ON management during this difficult time for the energy
sector specifically and the country generally.
“However, we won’t tolerate any moves that use the pandemic as an
excuse to erode pay and employment conditions of our members -
such moves would be strongly resisted.
“Unite will comment more fully once the talks have concluded and
the management have presented their proposals.”
Unite has hundreds of members working for E.ON in retail and call
centres, as well as engineers and technicians ‘in the field’
carrying out maintenance and visiting consumers’ homes.
