British Gas boss says wife and son sent excrement in wake of union row
GMB union calls on members to resume strike action at British Gas amid accusations that Centrica is forcing workers onto poorer contracts
2 February 2021 • 1:05pm
The boss of British Gas owner Centrica said his wife and son were sent a package of excrement on Monday with a note referring to a union dispute.
Chris O’Shea told MPs on the Business Select Committee: “I know this puts a lot of pressure on people. Only yesterday, my wife and teenage son had a package of excrement delivered to them with a note about ‘fire and rehire’. This is something that affects absolutely everybody; I’m not immune to this.”
Bitterness over the British Gas engineers’ dispute was revealed on Tuesday when MPs heard details of distressing incidents since the row over pay and conditions flared.
Members of the GMB have staged 12 strikes this year and will walk out again on Friday for four days, as the union campaigns against new contracts it says cut pay and increase the working week for engineers under a so-called fire and rehire policy.
Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, told the Business Select Committee that his wife and teenage son had received a package of excrement, while police have been involved in helping some staff travel home.
British Gas boss received poo in the post amid fire and rehire row
It s been a rough year for British Gas owner Centrica, which fell out of the FTSE 100 due to the fall in energy prices caused by the pandemic. (Getty Images)
The chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica was “sent excrement” in the post yesterday amid an ongoing row over pay at the firm.
Chris O’Shea told MPs at a business committee meeting today that the package was received by his wife and teenage son “with a note about fire and rehire”.
British Gas engineers last month held a five-day strike after Centrica said it plans to cut about 5,000 jobs to “arrest the decline” of the company.
British Gas workers enter 12th day of strike, with four more planned this week Industrial action by British Gas engineers is to be stepped up after an announcement of more strikes in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Members of the GMB union are taking their 12th day of action on Monday, mounting socially distanced picket lines across the country. A further four days of strikes will be held on February 5, 6, 7 and 8, the union announced. National officer Justin Bowden said: “These four days of strikes will add to more than 170,000 homes in repair backlog and 200,000 service visits axed. “Staff in the field engineers bargaining group will not accept the new contract.