There will be picket lines on Lothian Road from Monday morning at finance sector outsourcer, Diligenta’s premises at the beginning of a planned week long strike.
The staff employed by Diligenta who are members of Unite the union will strike as industrial action begins again at five sites in the UK. Staff in Peterborough will also be balloted about strikes at that location.
The union says that management at the company has failed to “meaningfully negotiate” with them over pay. There were five strikes days in November and December.
Unite says the further action could have been avoided if the company had made an acceptable pay award in 2025.
Approximately 1,000 Unite members working at Diligenta sites at Liverpool, Glasgow, Reading, Edinburgh and Stirling will hold an initial one-week strike on Monday 12 January from just after midnight until 211.59pm on 18 January.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Diligenta has failed to grasp the strength of anger of its workforce. Imposing real terms pay cut on its workers, while making millions of pounds of profits and continuing to reward shareholders is completely unacceptable.”
The workers are involved in outsourced work undertaking call centre, back office and complaints roles for several clients including Lloyds, M&G, Aviva and Phoenix. The strike action will cause considerable disruption to the operations of the companies that Diligenta provides service for.
Diligenta made an average of £82,000 per staff member in 2023, its pre-tax profit was £27.1 million the same year. That increased in 2024 to £28.9 million whilst revenue increased to its highest ever at £606 million. 2024 saw a shareholder dividend payment of £14 million to the parent company TCS, which is a billion-dollar company. This dividend could have funded a five per cent increase for all staff.
Unite regional officer Helen Camp, said: “Unite members in Diligenta are escalating strike action and the Diligenta clients will face further delays because of the failure of management to give workers the fair pay deal they deserve. This industrial action will continue until we see a pay offer that reflects the economic reality workers face.
“Diligenta’s workforce deserve a fair pay deal and Unite members have had enough of being expected to live with a pay cut each year. Diligenta could end this dispute tomorrow by making a fair offer to its workers.”
