Capita staff vote to strike over pension changes - Unite

(Updates with comments from Capita (LSE: CPI.L - news) )

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Capita staff represented by trade union Unite have voted to go on strike for six days from Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) . 5 in protest at changes to the company's pension scheme, Unite said on Thursday. (http://bit.ly/2flCeQF)

The British outsourcing firm informed its employees of significant changes to their pension arrangements in June which would result in a "massive cut" in their retirement income, the trade union said.

The company said it was among a minority of companies still offering a defined benefit pension plan to about 4 percent, or 2,920, of its 73,000 strong workforce.

"We are disappointed that these employees, some 550, are to support Unite’s strike action. We have plans in place to ensure that any potential disruption to our clients’ services is mitigated,” Capita said in a statement to Reuters.

The company, which has been hit by a Brexit-induced slowdown, reported a 3 percent fall in its first-half underlying revenue on Thursday.

The company added that its overhaul was on track along with its hunt for a new chief executive. (Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan and Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by David Clarke and Adrian Croft)