Union on verge of Seagate recognition

A long-standing Seagate employee and campaigner for trade union rights revealed Unite the Union was on the verge of recognition at the company’s Springtown plant.

Speaking to Derry Now, the activist, who wished to remain anonymous, described the prospect as “a historic event, not just in Seagate but in the city”.

They recalled how the long journey to union recognition had started with four or five people, who between them had more than 100 years service in Seagate.

“We were drawn from the original 37-strong group of union members which had historically existed at Springtown. We then organised a diverse, cross-shift group of 16 people who started the campaign to increase union membership on-site,” they said.

“This began with prospective union members signing a petition calling for union recognition here. Our petition was hugely successful. We gathered almost 500 signatures saying we would like Unite the Union to represent us in negotiations with the company, in regards to pay and terms and conditions.

“Through our local Unite office and regional officer, Brenda Stevenson, we also asked for support from Unite to try and build the campaign. In addition, Cllr Shaun Harkin (PBP) got a motion passed by Council in support of our right to trade union recognition.

“We also met with Mayor Sandra Duffy and a delegation of councillors to discuss our campaign and concerns. Following this, senior Seagate management also met with the Council and Mayor Duffy.

“We worked 24/7 during the pandemic and during those two years Seagate made record revenue during those two years. Seagate Technology Holdings annual revenue for 2022 was $11.661 billion [£9,681 billion] yet when our pay rise was announced in July 2023, we were given 3.6%. We are not offered anything at Seagate. Our pay rises are imposed and have been from day one,” he said.

The trade union activist said this was when workers started asking hard questions of management.

They said: “Inflation and the cost of living had gone through the roof. We held meetings with senior managers back in September 2022 and for months we were asking for a better pay rise or a cost of living payment to help us deal with the cost of living crisis.

“It took them two months to get back to us and when they did, they basically said there was no money in the pot and the global economic climate had changed.

“As well as the petition, we got leaflets printed and produced newsletters. We started handing them out at the factory gates. We also got banners made. I’m sure everyone has seen them around the city, at Springtown Road, at the Peace Bridge, and Altnagelvin and at several recent rallies.

“And, as of today, we have more than 500 Unite members on site. We have gone up from 37 to 500 and we want to put on record our thanks to Unite locally and nationally for its help. We also want to mention the public because we have had a great response from the general public,” they said.

On February 17, Unite sent a letter to the managing director of Seagate in Springtown and the head of HR, asking them for voluntary recognition for the union.

“On Monday (March 6). The union received a letter from the US saying the company had now agreed to meet with Unite to discuss the request for union recognition,” they said.

“People here are excited. They are just waiting now to see how the situation pans out. Unite has forwarded a letter to Seagate asking for dates which suit for the meeting. Unite is ready to meet at any time.

“We cannot wait to get union recognition and we believe it will start a domino effect, across departments and unionise the whole factory.

“As you can imagine, all the members in here now are keen to see what comes of the meeting. We are asking Seagate to do the right thing and respect the wish of the majority of the manufacturing specialists to have trade union recognition,” they said.

Thanking the community and the people in the city for their support, the Seagate worker said people wanted proper representation.

They added: “There are a lot of positive things which will come with union recognition.

“Workers need to feel more comfortable and respected, that their voices are being heard and they are being rewarded accordingly for the success of the company.

“Workers obviously feel more respected knowing they are being heard and rewarded accordingly. When you have a billion dollar company and you have workers struggling to pay bills and stressed about finances, something is very wrong.”