360 British embassy staff join American trade union

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Telegraph
Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 17/03/2005)

Britain's embassy in Washington, its most important diplomatic outpost worldwide, is in the throes of industrial unrest which has seen hundreds of staff sign up to join an American trade union.

The mission's grand premises on Massachusetts Avenue have been riven by ill-tempered disputes between management and employees and even a one-day strike over alleged plans to cut wages, reduce benefits such as maternity leave, and impose redundancies.

After months of fruitless talks as well as the stop-page, staff approached the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees, a moderate union with 85,000 mainly white-collared members. Some 360 of the staff of 630, a majority of them British, voted to join.

With the changes to pay and conditions due to come into force on April 1, the embassy must choose between negotiating with the union, or, if it refuses, risking the explosive prospect of intervention by the American courts.

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