Unite begin week-long strike at Reading finance firm

It's part of a national pay dispute with Diligenta

Author: Alan Jones, PAPublished 12th Jan 2026

Workers at finance firm Diligenta have started a week-long strike in a dispute over pay.

Unite said around 1,000 of its members at sites in Liverpool, Glasgow, Reading, Edinburgh and Stirling will walk out.

The company - which has an office in Forbury Road in Reading - provides call centre outsourcing for several large organisations.

Unite members at Diligenta’s head office in Peterborough will now also be balloted for industrial action.

The strikes follow five days of industrial action in November and December.

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.”

We have approached Diligenta for a comment.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.