The strike wave will take a major step up on Wednesday 1st February when 5 unions will take national strike action – NEU, PCS, UCU, ASLEF and RMT. Up to half a million workers will be out and will be joined by the growing number of localised disputes.
It will be the single biggest day of co-ordinated strike action since the public sector pensions strike of 2miion workers on November 30th 2011 on what was effectively a 24-hour public sector general strike.
In some respects, the potential for mass co-ordinated action is even greater now, with the cost of living squeeze affecting workers in every sector, the need for such action is just as necessary now as it was in 2011. This is particularly the case with the Tories proposing new anti-union legalisation, actually moving the 2nd reading of the bill at Westminster two days before the joint strike.
Around the time of the 1st February strike, nurses, ambulance workers (who are out again today) and Scottish teachers will be taking further action on a national scale, and on 26th January there will be a Northern Ireland wide NHS strike. And this coming Wednesday, Amazon workers in the GMB in Coventry, will be on official strike action in the company for the first time in the UK. This is while junior doctors and firefighters ballot for industrial action. The effect of the strike on February 1st can bring the possibility of even greater joint action closer to reality.
The NSSN will be bringing our full support and solidarity to the mass strike on 1st February and to all workers taking action at this time. But we appeal to all those unions with a strike mandate to urgently meet together to co-ordinate so that the maximum number of workers can strike together in order that the attacks on us can be defeated.
(Email us details of February 1st strike demonstrations and rallies via [email protected] and we will publicise on our social media platforms and in next week’s NSSN bulletin)
NEU National Strike London Demonstration – Wednesday 1st February assemble 11am BBC Portland Place W1A 1AA for march to Westminster
Wales TUC ‘Right to Strike’ rally 11.30 on 1 February outside the UK Government Offices (by the Betty Campbell statue), Central Square, Cardiff, CF10 1EP details
NSSN national online public meeting: ‘After 1st February strike, how to we all strike together?’ – 6pm Monday 6th February
Zoom details – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87166952312?pwd=TFAvV25Bekd3a1lod2gvNURUMWczdz09
Meeting ID: 871 6695 2312 Passcode: 060223
NEU to take strike action over pay (16 Jan)
PCS members to join biggest day of walkouts in over a decade (17 Jan)
70,000 university staff to strike on 1 February (17 Jan)
ASLEF Rejects Proposal and Announces New Strike Dates (17 Jan)
RMT train driver members to take strike action Feb 1 and 3 (17 Jan)
TUC to hold national ‘protect the right to strike’ day on February 1 – Union body says it will fight new anti-strike legislation “every step of the way”. The TUC will hold a national ‘protect the right to strike’ day on Wednesday 1 February. The announcement comes following a meeting of trade union leaders today. Events will take place in different parts of the country against the Conservative’s new anti-strike legislation. And members of the public will be invited to show their support for workers taking action to defend their pay and conditions. More information will be provided in the coming weeks about planned activities read more
Sign the TUC petition to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: Protect the right to strike! – Our right to strike is under attack. Rishi Sunak has just detailed his anti-union legislation and plans to introduce new laws in the coming weeks. It means that when workers democratically vote to strike, they could be forced to work and sacked if they don’t. That’s wrong, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal. These new laws are a direct attack on working people’s fundamental right to strike to defend their pay, terms and conditions
Defend the right to strike rally and action planning meeting – Tuesday, January 24 6:00pm – National Education Union• Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London, WC1H 9BD
Called by: Campaign for Trade Union Freedom & StrikeMap and supported by: Institute of Employment Rights, Peace & Justice Project, Arise, War on Want, The People’s Assembly, Enough is Enough
Enough is Enough launches campaign and petition to Defend the #RightToStrike – The right to strike is under threat. New legislation proposed by the Tory government intends to override a workers’ right to withdraw their labour, forcing them to work against their will. The right to strike is a fundamental democratic right. It underpins our ability to win dignity in the workplace and earn a decent standard of living. It is no accident that this right is under attack at the very moment the public is fighting back against the cost-of-living squeeze. This government is determined to force workers to pay the price for a crisis caused by the greed of the elite yet again. We won’t accept it. We, the undersigned, pledge to defend the right to strike and oppose this latest legislation #RightToStrike
Enough is Enough online #RightToStrike rally – 7pm Thursday 26th January – follow Enough is Enough on twitter @eiecampaign for details
Sign your workplace up to save the right to strike (supported by Strike Map, ASLEF – The UK Train Drivers’ Union, Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union – BFAWU, Campaign for Trade Union Freedom, Fire Brigades Union, The Morning Star, NHS Workers Say NO, People’s Assembly and the NSSN) – The government has launched an attack on our rights. Their actions will destroy our fundamental right to strike. We want to encourage workers, union reps and branch officers to sign their workplace up to reject these changes and pledge to fight to protect our right to strike. Add your workplace name to our collective letter action and share it with every one of your co-workers. When we fight as a collective together we win!
National Demonstration – OUR NHS: END THE CRISIS SUPPORT THE STRIKES 11 MARCH 2023 Central London
NSSN news
This year’s NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 24th June in Conway Hall, London 11am-4.30pm
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE. Feel free to use this affiliation letter.
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Katrine on [email protected]
The NSSN is developing a campaign pack for social care, which we hope to make available in the not-too-distant future for supporters to use in their localities. As part of this, communications officer Dave Gorton is keen to hear from supporters who:
(1) work in social care (either local authority, private or independently provided)
(2) represent social care workers for a trade union
(3) are in need of social care provision themselves or act as an (unpaid/underpaid) carer for a family member
Dave can be contacted in the first instance via [email protected]
Union News
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RMT
Seafarers Low Pay Commission (20 Jan) – RMT response to Low Pay Commission report regarding seafarers. The LPC published its annual report yesterday, confirming that they have recommended to the Government that seafarers are exempt from the accommodation offset for onboard accommodation read more
Fleet Solid Support vessels (20 Jan) – Seafarers Union RMT today welcomed the award of a £100m contract for up to three new Fleet Solid Support vessels. Seafarers Union RMT today welcomed the award of a £100m contract for up to three new Fleet Solid Support vessels to the Team Resolute consortium and the arrival of a new subsea surveillance vessel which will be operated by RFA crew but cautioned the Government that pay, recruitment and retention problems amongst RFA’s civilian crew must be addressed as a priority read more
RMT receives fresh offer from RDG (19 Jan) – Rail union, RMT today received a new offer from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) following negotiations in the national rail dispute. The union’s NEC will now consider the detail within the offer and what next steps to take. The proposals include detailed documentation covering a range of issues that affect all of our grade groups at these 14 companies and will require serious and careful consideration. The proposals on pay and job security are directly conditional on cost savings and alterations to contractual terms, entitlements, and working practices read more
Rail minister admits settling dispute cheaper than allowing strikes to continue (18 Jan) – RMT writes to business leaders accusing the government of using them as “collateral damage” following Huw Merriman’s admission to the Transport Select Committee. The rail minister was asked if it had cost more to the government and the economy to bankroll the dispute than it would have done to settle it earlier read more
RMT train driver members to take strike action Feb 1 and 3 (17 Jan) – Train driver RMT members at 14 rail operators will take strike action on February 1 and 3 over jobs pay and conditions. The decision to strike on February 1 coincides with a TUC day of action where several unions are coordinating their strikes during the cost-of-living crisis read more
Reinstate Branch Secretary Jason Moriarty – A new newsletter has been produced as a part of our organising to get Jason Moriarty reinstated. Please download it to learn more. The RMT offers full support and solidarity with our comrade Jason Moriarty following his disclosure to his employer, London Underground, of a disability read more
ASLEF
ASLEF Rejects Proposal and Announces New Strike Dates (17 Jan) – ASLEF has rejected a proposal – that was not the result of negotiation, despite this trade union making itself available more often than the other side for talks – made by the cartel [put in place on behalf of a government which has been shown to be interfering in the talks] representing some of the train operating companies in Britain, and announced new strike dates on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February read more
TSSA
Talks continue with RDG as government prevents offer (19 Jan) – Talks between rail union TSSA and the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) will continue next week after it emerged the Secretary of State for Transport has not allowed an offer to be made to all rail workers in the dispute. A meeting between TSSA and employers group the RDG ended without a formal offer being made on Thursday after the negotiating terms became clear. Control and management staff remain outside the scope of the potential offer read more
TSSA to ballot rail workers for strike action (19 Jan) – Rail union TSSA today announces that thousands of members across 13 train operating companies will be balloted for strike action as “some distance” remains in talks with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) over the ongoing national rail dispute. The fresh ballots will be confirmed next week with results due by the end of February. A re-ballot is already taking place at Avanti West Coast. TSSA is in talks with the RDG this afternoon, but concerns over a lack of offer for management and control staff and inadequate offers for other rail workers persist. TSSA members working in train operating companies took strike action and action short of strike in 2022 in the dispute over job security, pay and conditions across the railway read more
Government admission on rail strike cost – “shocking” says TSSA (18 Jan) – Rail union TSSA has accused the government of “disastrous short termism” after the Rail Minister told MPs the cost of the national rail dispute has been far more than it would have taken to meet the demands of rail workers over pay, job security and conditions read more
Unite
Further Imperial College strikes as pay dispute intensifies (20 Jan) – Over 200 Unite members to walkout over 3.3% offer, which is a pay cut. More than 200 workers at London’s Imperial College will strike on 23 January over a 3.3 per cent pay offer, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The workers, who are non-teaching staff, last took strike action in November. Further strikes will be scheduled in the coming weeks if the dispute is not resolved. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 13.4 per cent, this is a pay cut in real terms. Imperial Colleges’ latest financial figures shows it brought in an income of over £1.2 billion for 2021/22 and had cash reserves of £1.7 billion read more
Unite announces 10 fresh strike dates as ambulance dispute escalates (20 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has announced fresh dates in an escalation of the ambulance workers dispute. Members of Unite will stage ten further strikes over the coming weeks. Additional dates could be announced in the comings days. The announcement of fresh strike comes ahead of the latest day of industrial action with Unite’s ambulance workers set to walk out next Monday (23 January) read more
Unite leader to join ambulance workers’ picket lines in Lancashire on 23 January (19 Jan) – Unite leader to join ambulance workers’ picket lines in Lancashire on 23 January. Sharon Graham to visit union pickets on second strike of Unite ambulance workers in Chorley Lancs.
Where: North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Highfield Industrial Estate, North St, Chorley PR7 1QD
When: From 07:30 hrs Monday 23 January 2023
Strike action across the Ambulance service will escalate with more than 2500 workers joining the dispute on Monday (23 January). The first day of action was on December 21 last year. The Unite industrial action will affect ambulance trusts in the West Midlands, North West and North East. Wales will also take strike action on Monday 23 January in the increasingly bitter dispute over pay read more
Welsh Ambulance workers strike to prevent the Welsh NHS from collapse (18 Jan) – Over 1000 unite members in the Welsh Ambulance Service will tomorrow (Thursday) commence the first of their two 24-hour strikes taking place on the 19th & 23rd January. Ambulance workers will join 23 picket lines across Wales in their fight to prevent the Welsh NHS from collapse. Unite members voted by a margin of 88 per cent to strike over the well below inflation pay offer which has escalated the staffing crisis engulfing the Welsh NHS. As is usual in these circumstances, Unite has agreed emergency ‘life and limb’ cover provisions with the Trust read more
West Midland’s National Express engineers to strike over pay (19 Jan) – 3,000 drivers also poised to join striking engineers who maintain vehicles for 93% of region’s bus network. Around 200 West Midland’s National Express engineers have voted by 93 per cent in a ballot with a turnout of 80 per cent to strike over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Thursday). The engineers – responsible for maintaining 1,200 vehicles that cover 93 per cent of the region’s bus network – could be joined on strike by 3,000 bus drivers, who are also about to be balloted for industrial action. The engineers have rejected a pay offer of 10.1 per cent from National Express, which made £15.8 million in profits during the first half of 2022. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 13.4 per cent, this is a pay cut read more
Education workers in Northern Ireland will stand in a united front against the Tory threat of devastating cuts on schools and education services (19 Jan) – Unite the union is engaging with its members & sister unions in Education to agree a robust response to Tory demand for £110 million in education cuts by end of March. Unite reasonably believe that the cuts are likely to expose the Education Authority to viable legal challenges over rights of children with special educational needs. Unite the union has vowed to defend education services in the face of a devastating cut to schools budgets being sought by the Tory party. The union is engaging with its members on a platform of robust action in defense of children, jobs and the education service in Northern Ireland. Earlier this financial year, members of Unite working in education took strike action to advance a pay claim for a cost of living pay increase. The response comes after it emerged that the Education Authority had written to its sponsoring Department [Education], to confirm it was simply not possible to deliver a £110 million in-year reduction to spending for the 2022-2023 tax year. Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham pledged her union would stand against the Westminster government’s ‘scorched earth’ approach in imposing brutal cuts on schools and education in Northern Ireland read more
Welwyn and Hatfield grounds maintenance workers continue with strike action over poverty pay (19 Jan) – Grounds maintenance workers employed by Continental Landscapes on the outsourced Welwyn and Hatfield council grounds maintenance contract are to continue with strike action in a dispute over poverty pay. The workers have already taken eight weeks of strike action since the dispute began in November last year. A further fortnight of industrial action has now been announced, with an initial five days of strike action beginning on Monday 30 January and a further five days from Monday 6 February read more
Unite accuses government of setting fire to workers’ rights in a `forever war’ to make workers poorer (18 Jan) – Unite accuses government of setting fire to workers’ rights in a `forever war’ to make workers poorer. Protections during pregnancy and from hazardous chemicals among thousands of laws facing government axe. Unions now workers’ only defence against massive power grab by government. The government is being accused today of `setting fire’ to workers’ rights in its forever war against UK workers which will see them become ever poorer amid a chronic cost of living crisis read more
BP Petrofac workers resume 48-hour strike action (18 Jan) – No acceptable offer put to offshore workforce. Strike action has resumed on BP Petrofac installations the UK’s largest offshore trade union, Unite, confirmed today (18 January). The 48-hour strike action which started today at 6 a.m. involving around 80 workers will conclude at 5:59 a.m. on 20 January. It follows no breakthrough in negotiations with Petrofac and the failure by the contractor to present an acceptable offer to the workers which could have averted industrial action. The BP Petrofac installations hit by the strike action include: Andrew, Clair, Clair Ridge, ETAP, and the Glen Lyon floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. The BP Petrofac dispute centres on the working rotation, which is currently a work 3 on/3 off rotation. An industrial action ballot previously returned a result of 98.3 per cent in favour of industrial action read more
Community support workers in Hounslow stage week long strike (16 Jan) – As the New Year gets underway strike action at Hestia escalates. Workers employed by Hestia are taking five days of strike action beginning today (Monday 16) and ending on Friday 20 January. The workers will also stage a protest at Hestia’s head office on Wednesday 18 January read more keep up to date on strike on the Unite Housing Workers LE/1228 branch website
Whisky giant workers to strike for months in row over pay (13 Jan) – Diageo accused of race to the bottom. Unite has confirmed today (Friday 13 January) workers based at whisky giant Diageo’s plant in Leven are set to strike in a dispute over pay. The strike action will begin tomorrow (Saturday 14 January) for a period of 48 hours only with a series of further stoppages then scheduled to take place ending on 3 April. Unite has taken the whisky giant to task following the introduction of a lower rate of pay for new starts without consultation with the unions. This issue has been ongoing and was first raised through the grievance process in 2019. The trade union estimates some of its engineering members are set to lose around 6 per cent of their pay when moved to the lower rate of pay. The strike action will directly impact on the engineering support for the bottling plant. Unite believes it would not be safe to run the plant without the support its members provide. In July 2022, Diageo reported operating profits were up by 18.2 per cent to £4.4bn, primarily driven by organic growth, with net sales up 21.4 per cent to £15.5bn. The company has an estimated 27,987 employees read more
Striking housing workers vote 99.5 percent on 93.5 percent turnout to reject inadequate NI Housing Executive pay offer (10 Jan) – As industrial action by housing workers enters its twenty-third week without resolution, Unite demands Department for Communities intervention. Thousands of social housing tenants are left without needed repair and maintenance work as a result of management intransigence. Unite the union has written to the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive Grainia Long after its members overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer made by management at the Labour Relations Agency in December. The pay offer was for a one-off non-consolidated payment of one thousand pounds and a pay point increase for grades 1 to 3 which would have benefited only a small fraction of striking workers. The offer was rejected overwhelmingly in a ballot conducted on picket lines on turnout of 93.5 percent and rejection majority of 99.5 percent. The workers who are employed in North and West Belfast, Portadown, Coleraine and Derry/Londonderry will therefore continue their strike action in pursuit of a fair pay increase for the 2021-2022 year. Their strike is now into its twenty-third week and has led to ballooning impact on maintenance services for social housing units read more
Department for Infrastructure must show leadership on Rathlin Island ferry dispute (10 Jan) – Union says workers and Rathlin Island community treated as expendable in wrangle over outsourced service. Unite the union has demanded urgent action by the Department for Infrastructure to resolve an ongoing pay dispute and safeguard the ferry service to Rathlin island. The private sector operator of the ferry service to Northern Ireland’s largest offshore island, Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd, has indicated to the Department that the company could enter liquidation by the end of January. Unite members at the ferry operator are today striking for a third day after four days when there was no service to the island as a result of inclement conditions and strike action. Strike action is scheduled to proceed for four days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) for the remainder of January. The strike follows a ballot of ferry workers who voted with a 85 per cent majority for industrial action in pursuit of a cost of living increase. Their vote came after workers’ endured three years of a pay freeze read more
Refuse workers and street cleaners to strike in Liverpool in pay dispute (10 Jan) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Liverpool Streetscene Services Limited (LSSL), are set to undertake industrial action in a dispute over pay. The 80 plus workers are principally employed in refuse collection, street cleaning and parks and cemeteries. They will begin industrial action on Monday 23 January and it will end on Saturday 28 January read more
Northern Ireland Health and Social Care workers strike for improved pay (9 Jan) – Massive 87 per cent average vote for strike action across Northern Ireland trusts. 4000 Unite members to strike on 26 January, February 16 ,17 and 23, 24. Unite the union has confirmed that its members working across the health and social care sector in Northern Ireland will be participating in an industrial campaign involving all health trade unions after they voted overwhelmingly for strike action in pursuit of a cost of living pay increase. The announcement comes as talks as discussion with the UK health secretary failed to make any progress on the 2022/23 pay claim. In December, Unite members voted with an average 87 percent majority across all five health trusts and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service for strike action read more
Industrial action set to hit GSK pharmaceutical plant in Irvine for months (9 Jan) – Kaefer contractors striking over refusal to pay bonus payments. Members of Unite, Scotland’s leading union, employed in engineering construction roles at the GSK plant in Irvine will start strike action in a dispute over bonus payments from today (9 January). Around 40 workers employed by contractor Kaefer Limited are seeking a bonus payment of £2.37 an hour, the maximum allowed under the relevant industrial agreement (National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry [NAECI]). The strike action started today at 07:30 a.m. and it will continue each day up to 23 January. There will also be an overtime ban in force which will last until 2 April. The industrial action will directly impact on the maintenance of the plant read more
Free parking looms in West London as parking attendants give 100% backing to industrial action (4 Jan) – Civil enforcement officers and CCTV operators will strike for two weeks between the 18 January and 31 January. Wealthy Serco’s offensive 20p an hour offer – or zero for workers on the real living wage – sparks strike. Unless the outsourcer Serco significantly improves its measly pay offer to essential council workers there could be free parking across the London boroughs of Hounslow, Ealing and Brent this month. Unite has served notice of industrial action today (Wednesday 4 January) to Serco which provides parking services to the three London boroughs. Civil enforcement officers and CCTV operators will strike for two weeks between the 18 January and 31 January. The giant outsourcing company’s latest profits were £303.9 million but Serco has offered the workers a measly 20p an hour or nothing for workers on the real living wage read more
Coffin factory strike enters fourth month Co-op Funeralcare wastes £1 million instead of resolving dispute (5 Jan) – Coffin factory strike enters fourth month as Co-op Funeralcare wastes £1 million instead of resolving dispute. Unite members have resumed strike action at the Co-op Funeralcare coffin manufacturing factory based in Glasgow in a bitter dispute over pay which has now entered its fourth month. Strike action by Unite members began on Wednesday 4 January and will run continuously through to Monday 16 January, which will be the fourth consecutive week of strike action. Unite recently uncovered that the Cooperative Funeralcare spent over £1,000,000 last year on purchasing coffins from third party suppliers at a time when the dispute with their own workforce could have been successfully resolved for a fraction of this cost. Additionally, Co-op Funeralcare made an underlying profit of £12 million in 2021 read more
Abellio London bus pay dispute intensifies with strikes over festive period and January – Abellio has profits of €401m but has imposed ‘unacceptable’ pay offer. Bus drivers employed by Abellio in South and West London will take a further 11 days of strike action in late December and throughout January in a dispute over pay. The bus drivers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have already taken 10 days of strike action in November and December. The last strike from the first round of industrial action ended last Saturday (17 December). The company, which made profits of €401 million in 2021, has imposed an ‘unacceptable’ pay offer. The deal does not meet the drivers’ demands and leaves full time drivers with under two years’ of service on £3.29 less per hour than their colleagues with more than two years. The dispute initially involved 950 drivers, but the anger amongst the workforce is such that membership of Unite has doubled read more
Please donate: Over 2,000 Abellio Bus Drivers at 6 garages have set strike days in a fight for pay justice. This is the first dispute at Abellio for over 10 years. The pay claim is for £20 per hour which might seem like a lot. However the the company made over £40 million in profit in 2021. It would cost the company about £11 million to pay our demand. The Abellio bus drivers are some of the lowest paid bus drivers in London. The dispute is also about fairer schedules which are exhausting and also to stop bus route cuts. The drivers have had enough. Membership has grown dramatically in the last few months. Now we are requesting financial support for the strike from branches. This money will be used primarily to top up strike pay as drivers will be losing a significant amount on strike days. We really appreciate any support and please feel to make contact for further information.
Account Details: Unity Trust Bank, Acc No: 20210456, Sort Code: 608301, Branch Name: TGWU1/768, Hayes Branch LE/768. Contact [email protected]
Reinstate Radek (Radoslaw Worbel) sacked Unite London bus rep at RATP London United Fulwell bus garage – send a message of complaint to [email protected] and a message of support to to Radek via the Unite Bus Combine: [email protected]
Greene King strikes go ahead over Christmas & New Year’s Eve – Seven days of strike action begins tomorrow (Wednesday 21st December). Brewery workers offered a “Scrooge” pay deal. Greene King’s refusal to offer a fair pay increase in the midst of a cost of living crisis mean strikes will go ahead over Christmas. Workers will take three days of strike action between 21st December and 23rd December and a further four days between 28th December and 31st December. Supplies of well-known beers and ales to pubs, restaurants and shops including IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale will be affected. The 188 workers, including production and distribution workers, drivers and draymen, who are members of Unite are based at Bury St Edmunds, Eastwood (Nottinghamshire) and Abingdon (Oxfordshire) read more
Construction giant Murphy protests in UK and Ireland over union busting (20 Dec) – Demonstrations call for four sacked trade union members to be reinstated. Demonstrations will be held outside the offices of Murphy construction companies in Newbridge, County Kildare, Warrington, Stafford and London tomorrow (21 December) over union busting at the group. The protests form part of a campaign to secure the reinstatement of four Unite members, including a Unite shop steward, who were dismissed by the group’s Irish subsidiary, Murphy International. Unite believes the reasons for the sacking are spurious and linked to the workers’ trade union membership read more
Abellio East Midlands workers to stage further strikes at Christmas over ‘drastic pay cuts’ – Company with €401m profit fails to make any pay offer despite soaring prices. Workers at train company Abellio East Midlands will begin further strike action later this month over the company’s refusal to make any pay offer despite soaring living costs. Over 140 workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, took four dates of strike action in October as well as a further two days earlier this month and will strike again on 23 and 24 December. More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved. Abellio made a net profit of €401 million in 2021. However, it has blamed its failure to make a pay offer on the Department for Transport (DfT), claiming that ministers have not authorised it to make a pay offer to its workers. The workers are based at depots in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham and employed as cleaners, technicians, shunters, engineers, inspectors, lathe operators, team leaders and supervisors read more
Strike dates set to hit Highlands and Islands Airports in lead up to Christmas – Disruption likely as Unite members at HIAL take action in pay dispute. Unite the union, which represents members across eleven airports in the HIAL group, including those working in Fire and Rescue, Security and administration, has confirmed today (6 December) that strike action will take place commencing at 00:01 hours and concluding at 23:59 hours on 19th December 2022; And commencing at 00:01 hours and concluding at 23:59 hours on 22nd December 2022. Members of Unite voted by 73.5 per cent in favour of taking strike action and by 92.8 per cent in favour of taking action short of strike in a bid to improve pay for rural communities amid a cost of living crisis. The union has previously warned that strike action will cause huge disruption over the winter break and festive period. The workforce has already rejected an 5 per cent offer which they deemed unacceptable with inflation soaring to hit a 40-year high of 14.2 per cent (RPI). The eleven airports across the HIAL Group are Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick read more
Bristol council housing officers continue striking over terrible working conditions – Around 50 Bristol council housing officers and team leaders, responsible for managing the local authority’s 27,000 tenancies, will continue striking over unsustainable workloads on 14, 15 and 16 December. The workers previously took four days of strike action in late October. The workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are angry that Bristol council is refusing to act even though the extra work is causing high rates of stress and anxiety. They are calling on the council to reduce workloads and allocate additional resources read more
Great Western Railway engineers continue strike action over pay – Around 350 Great Western Railway (GWR) engineers will take further strike action on Thursday 15 December over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers previously went on strike in October. Despite GWR’s parent company First Group, which is based in Aberdeen, making pre-tax profits of £654 million in 2021/22, the company is refusing to offer the workers a pay rise. It will be the third year in a row their pay has been frozen. Meanwhile the real rate of inflation, RPI, is at 14.2 per cent. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members at Great Western Railway have not had a pay rise in three years. Now, with soaring living costs, their wages are falling even further behind. Great Western and First Group have no reason not to address this when their profits are so high. It is sheer greed on the part of the employer and our members have Unite’s full backing in striking for a fair pay rise.” The striking workers are based at depots and stations in London, Exeter, Tiverton, Plymouth, Swindon, Swansea, Reading, Penzance, Oxford and Bristol. If the dispute is not resolved then more strikes will be scheduled read more
Harrods’ strike breaking agency employed under new anti-union law named and shamed – Protective Security Group Ltd workers ‘didn’t know’ they had been brought in to break pay strike. The agency brought in to break a pay strike by Harrods’ security guards and CCTV operators has been named and shamed as Protective Security Group Ltd. Under the new anti-trade union law passed this summer by the government, Harrods has been allowed to replace striking workers with agency staff. The company threatened the workforce with the legislation previously and is one of the first employers in the country to use it. To break the strike, Harrods, owned by the Qatari state, has contracted Protective Security, which is registered in Ruislip, Middlesex, and has two directors, Jonathon Robinson and Edward Thomas Miller. Unite understands that Protective Security workers brought into work at Harrods during the strikes were not told there was industrial action taking place and were uncomfortable crossing a picket line…More than 50 Harrods uniformed security guards and CCTV operators are striking over a ‘pay cut dressed up as a rise’. The workers began three days of strike action over a seven per cent pay offer on 25 November and will strike again on 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 26 December. The offer is a pay cut when the real rate of inflation, RPI, stands at 14.2 per cent and rising read more
UK facing Christmas pickle crisis as industrial action at pickled onion factory Mizkan in Rochdale intensifies – Lovers of some of UK’s most popular pickles face being denied their favourite condiments this Christmas as strike action at the Mizkan Euro factory in Rochdale intensifies in a dispute over pay. The factory produces Haywards Pickled Onions, Sarsons Vinegar and Haywards Pickled Vegetables. The 50 plus workers, who are members of Unite, the UK leading union, have already taken 19 days of strike action since October. The strike action is a result of the company only being prepared to offer its workers a five per cent pay increase, with the real inflation rate (RPI) now standing at 14.2 per cent, this is a very substantial real terms pay cut. Due to the just in time nature of supermarket deliveries, the strike action will almost inevitably create severe shortages at a time of year when many consumers relish these products, often with cold meat and cheese. Pickled onions and pickled vegetables are at the highest demand at this time of year read more
Strikes stepped up at Fawley refinery as heavy-handed policing deepens tensions in dispute – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed in engineering construction roles at Fawley oil refinery in Hampshire will step up strike action in a dispute over bonus payments. The 130-strong workforce, who are employed by three contractors Altrad, Bilfinger and Enerveo, are seeking a bonus payment of £2.37 an hour, the maximum allowed under the relevant industrial agreement (National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry [NAECI]). The Fawley refinery is operated by ExxonMobil, which last month recorded a quarterly profit of £17.3 billion. Tensions in the dispute have dramatically increased due to intimidatory behaviour by Hampshire police and false allegations made the employer read more. Send messages of support to [email protected]
UK braced for Dulux paint shortages as Imperial Chemical workers in Stowmarket strike over deplorable pay offer – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Imperial Chemical in Stowmarket, Suffolk, will begin strike action later this month following a derisory pay offer by the company. The workers, who recorded a 94 per cent yes vote in favour of strike action, have been offered a pay increase of just 4.3 per cent. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, now running at 14.2 per cent, this amounts to a huge real terms pay cut. The workers will initially take two 24-hour periods of strike action on Wednesday 30 November and Wednesday 7 December. The workers are principally employed as production operatives and produce paint. The most popular brand is Dulux paint and the strike action will quickly result in shortages of the product in DIY stores and supermarkets read more
Derby Alstom pay cut strikes to impact East Midlands Rail maintenance – Alstom profits at £233m but workers offered just four per cent. More than 70 highly skilled workers who maintain the rolling stock at Alstom’s Derby site will strike over pay on 27 October and 29 October. If the dispute is not resolved more strikes will be scheduled. The workers will also begin industrial action comprising of a work to rule and an overtime ban on 19 October over the four per cent pay offer, well below the RPI rate of inflation of 12.3 per cent. French-based Alstom’s latest financial report shows it made sales of £13.6 billion in 2021/22 and net profits of £233 million read more
Workers at Causeway Coast and Glens council to commence all-out strike action tomorrow after councils vote down pay increase – Offer of two pay points plus a cash lump sum to end dispute was rejected at last night’s council meeting by a single vote in the chamber. Unite the union has confirmed that its members at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council will commence continuous strike action at the local authority tomorrow (8 Sept). The decision by workers followed last night’s vote at full council at which a proposal to settle the strike by offering two pay point increments and a lump sum to workers – similar to that provided in Derry City & Strabane and in Mid-Ulster District Councils – was voted down by a majority of one councillor. General Secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, pledged her union’s full support to the striking council workers read more
CWU
Support the CWU strikes in Royal Mail & Post Office – The CWU has launched a strike fund – please support: Unity Bank, CWU General Fund, 60-83-01 33019822
We support the call of the CWU for Royal Mail and BT to be re-nationalised. Follow the latest news via CWU’s Facebook page, website and Twitter @CWUnews
Overwhelming ‘Yes’ to Santander pay deal in consultative ballot (20 Jan) – Members across Santander UK have voted by more than nine-to-one to accept a wide-ranging one-year pay deal that was negotiated by the CWU to help minimise the impact of the worst cost of living crisis for a generation. The Bank’s final offer – which emerged during intensive talks just before Christmas – received the backing of 90.5% of members participating a consultative ballot which closed at noon today (Friday January 20) read more
Did Simon Thompson mislead Parliament? Pressure grows on Royal Mail boss (18 Jan) – House of Commons Select Committee demands evidential letter ‘with sufficient details’ to back up CEO’s denials of wilful USO failure. Pressure was growing on Mr Thompson today, following his much-criticised appearance in front of yesterday’s Westminster’s Business, Enterprise & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, at which he was warned that he may be summoned back for further questioning amid allegations that the company is deliberately disregarding its statutory universal service obligations. It was quite astonishing to hear the most senior person in charge of a prestigious 507-year-old company such as Royal Mail, giving such unsatisfactory responses that the Select Committee Chair felt the need to warn him about “misleading Parliament.” And it was of particular concern that the subject which caused the most controversy was the operation of the USO. In marked contrast, Committee members and those watching saw and heard our own general secretary Dave Ward talking straight as always and making the positive case for protecting and strengthening this great company and the universal service that our members provide. As Dave quite rightly said in his statement to the Committee, we remain fully committed to a negotiated agreement, but it must protect this industry, our members who provide this vital service and of course the Great British public whom we serve read more
Post Office Crowns & Admin strikes resume – Supply Chain overtime ban begins (13 Dec) – Staff in Crown Offices and Admin grades began a two-day walkout yesterday – their seventh and eighth – while their Supply Chain colleagues have begun a two-week overtime ban. Speaking to CWU News today, acting DGSP Andy Furey said: “This dispute has now been ongoing for nearly seven months. The first strikes were back in early May. Our Post Office members have now voted twice by enormous, 90 per cent-plus, majorities for this action and they’ve certainly shown their ongoing determination to win the fair pay deal they deserve. According to reports I’ve received from our reps around the UK, this latest bout of action has, once again, been solidly supported. “I’m honoured to represent such a fantastic group of members – their strength and solidarity truly is an inspiration” read more
PCS
You can show your support to the strikes by PCS members by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
- Signing our petition to tell prime minister Rishi Sunak to intervene and hold meaningful talks to end the strikes.
- Support us on social media with the hashtags: #PCSonStrike #BlameTheGovt
PCS members to join biggest day of walkouts in over a decade (17 Nov) – PCS members across the civil service will join hundreds of thousands of trade union members on strike on 1 February in the biggest walkout for over a decade after we served notice on 123 employers. We have served notice on employers where members in the civil service and related areas have passed the 50% legal threshold for strike action. 100,000 PCS members will strike for 24 hours on the same day as 300,000 NEU members in England and Wales, affecting more than 23,000 schools. Members of train drivers’ union Aslef are also set to strike across 14 companies on 1 February. In addition, more than 70,000 UCU members at 150 universities will also strike on 1 February. Our day of action will be the largest civil service strike for years and signals a significant escalation of industrial action after a month of strikes over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security. It also coincides with the TUC’s ‘protect the right to strike’ day read more
Better Minimum wage for lowest paid staff creates issues for MOD (18 Jan) – E2 spot rate will overtake the E1 band minimum in April. The spot rate salary for E2 grades in the MOD will overtake the E1 band minimum in April, as increases to the national living wage impact the lowest paid in the department. PCS has the most members at this grade and has consistently warned MOD about the consequences of the minimum wage increasing whilst the Government pushes down on civil service pay. This situation was entirely foreseeable and avoidable. What was MOD’s solution? To cut the paid hours worked, from 42 to 37, manipulating the hourly rate to encompass the minimum wage increase read more
PCS Strike Action: 3rd to 6th February – PCS has served notice of further strike action in HMCTS over Common Platform, to take place from Friday 3 February to Monday 6 February. This is inclusive of 3, 4 5 and 6 February. This action involves legal advisers and court associates in courts across the country read more
More than 2,000 civil servants in Wales begin new strike ballot (16 Jan) – More than 2,000 civil servants working for the Welsh government and National Museum of Wales today (16) begin a new ballot for strike action over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security. members are re-balloting after last November voting by a massive majority for strike action but falling just short of reaching the 50% threshold required to take action read more
More than 30,000 civil servants begin new strike ballot (16 Jan) – More than 30,000 civil servants – including those working for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – today (16) begin a new ballot for strike action over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security. PCS members are re-balloting after last November voting by a massive majority for strike action but falling just short of reaching the 50% threshold required to take action read more
Join Facebook live event 25 January – Ahead of our one-day strike of 100,000 civil service members on 1 February we are encouraging all those involved to join a Facebook live meeting, which you can also watch on Zoom, at 6.30pm on 25 January. The PCS national executive committee has agreed to call the strike of all members in employers where the turnout passed the 50% threshold required by law for action in our ballot last year. The meeting, chaired by PCS President Fran Heathcote, will hear from PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka. Email your questions in advance to [email protected] read more
HGS members threaten indefinite industrial action – The 82 workers, employed by HGS to run the contact centre and back-office functions of the government’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), have already taken four weeks of strike action. Talks with conciliation service ACAS broke down earlier this month, leading the union today (29 Nov) to tell managers they will strike for a further two weeks from 12 December, as well as imposing an indefinite overtime ban from 26 December read more
GMB
Ambulance delays plummet AGAIN on strike day (19 Jan) – Serious ambulance delays plummeted once again on the latest strike day, GMB analysis of NHS figures shows. On 11 January – the day of a national ambulance walk out – handover delays of more than an hour were down 5 times in England on the week before. There were 444 delays of more than an hour – 5.6 per cent of arrivals. On 4 January there were more than 2,500 delays of an hour or more – 25.3 per cent of all arrivals. The figures follow NHS data from the 21 December national ambulance strike day, when serious delays almost halved from the week before. The figures show that the Government’s ‘minimum service level’ legislation is an excuse to further restrict the right to strike, the union said read more
Ambulance workers announce four more national strike dates (18 Jan) – More than 10,000 GMB Ambulance workers will stage four more national strike days, the union announced today. Paramedics, Emergency Care Assistants, call handlers and other staff are now set to walk out on 6 February, 20 February, 6 March and 20 March. The following trusts will be affected: South West Ambulance Service, South East Coast Ambulance Service, North West Ambulance Service, South Central Ambulance Service, North East Ambulance Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Welsh Ambulance Service, Yorkshire Ambulance Service. In addition, workers at West Midlands ambulance service will strike on January 23, with GMB members at North West Ambulance Service will strike on January 24 read more
Wilko sells distribution hub to private equity giant (18 Jan) – GMB Union has responded to the sale of a Wilko distribution centre to a private equity giant. Canadian asset manager Brookfield has agreed to buy the lease on Wilko’s 1.1 million square foot distribution centre in Worksop, Nottinghamshire for £88 million. Wilko originally sold the distribution centre to DHL for 48m only months ago. Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said: “The sale of this Wilko distribution centre to Canadian investment and private equity giant Brookfield – and the recent Hilco revolving credit facility – raises further concerns about the ever-growing influence of private equity investors in the UK high street…” read more
Almost 300 Mersey Care workers to strike this week (17 Jan) – Almost 300 health care workers at Mersey Care will take strike action this week over pay. GMB members including nurses, health care assistants, support staff, cleaners and admin staff will walk out for 24 hours from 00:01 to 23.59 on 18 January 2023. Mersey Care workers voted to strike over the Government’s imposed 4 per cent pay award – another massive real terms pay cut read more
GMB warns of escalating strikes and legal action for Wiltshire Council after ACAS talks break down (16 Jan) – We have been met with a brick wall of obstruction from the council, who are literally refusing to provide us with the basic facts and information that would allow compromise to be discussed, says GMB. GMB, the union for Wiltshire Council staff, warns that further strikes by traffic wardens in the county are now highly likely, as ACAS facilitated talks designed to resolve a long running industrial dispute break down. At the outset of talks, which started on 10 December, Wiltshire Council CEO Terence Herbert wrote to GMB union announcing that the council was not interested in using the talks “to avert strike action.” The proposed pay cut by the Council would require a change to staff contracts. As the staff have refused a voluntary change to the contracts, GMB warns that the Council must be planning ‘fire and rehire.’ Wiltshire Council is proposing a pay cut of 20 per cent for social workers, who would lose around £7500, and a 10 per cent cut for traffic wardens, who would lose about £2500, with care workers, leisure centre staff and highways also affected read more
Amazon workers announce strike date (4 Jan) – Amazon workers in a Coventry warehouse have announced an initial strike date. The first ever Amazon strike in the UK is set to take place on 25 January, with further dates to be announced in the coming weeks. Hundreds of Amazon workers at the fulfilment centre have voted to walk out in anger over the company’s 50 pence per hour pay offer. The ballot, which closed on 16 December 2022, saw a majority of more than 98 per of workers vote to strike. Amazon UK Services Limited reported that it paid just £10.8 million in tax in 2021, despite recording a pre-tax profit of £204 million read more
GMB union: ExxonMobil ‘throwing money’ at agencies rather than our members – GMB, the energy union, are preparing to name and shame companies who are providing strike-breakers in the midst of a trades dispute at Fawley oil refinery near Southampton. The union have been informed that agency workers have been retained on full pay until strike action recommenced, following a temporary suspension of action actioned by GMB and sister union Unite. Strike action at the refinery was suspended for Monday to Wednesday of this week to allow negotiations to take place, only for GMB to be told that talks would not be happening as there was “nothing to discuss.” Read more
Newcastle energy company announces strike dates – Workers at a Newcastle energy company have announced when they will strike over a real terms pay cut. More than 200 workers at Baker Hughes, in Walker, will take eight days of industrial action from 12 – 15 December and 12 – 18 January. GMB members at the company – who makes undersea pipelines and cable conduits for the oil and gas industry – have overwhelmingly turned down pay offers of as little as four per cent. With inflation at 12.3 per cent, both offers amount to massive real terms pay cut read more
Almost 100 workers strike after ‘Grinch’ bosses cancel Christmas – Almost 100 Durham chemical workers will go on strike tomorrow (30 Nov) after ‘Grinch bosses’ cancelled their Christmas holidays. GMB members Thomas Swan, in Consett, voted overwhelmingly to walk out over a real terms pay cut. Following the vote, company bosses cancelled all prebooked holidays over the Christmas period. The strike will last for 24 hours, with further industrial action set for Dec 7, 14 and 21 and 4 Jan. A revised offer of 5.1 per cent – capped at £1,500 – was overwhelmingly rejected read more
Money shortage fears as 1,200 G4S Cash workers vote to strike – G4S faces its first ever strike after 1,200 GMB members voted to walk out. The workers, who deliver cash and coins to the likes of Barclays, HSBC, Tesco, Wetherspoon, Santander, Asda and Aldi, returned a 97 per cent vote for industrial action. The 48 hour strike is scheduled to take place from 3am on Monday 5 December 2022, sparking genuine fears of cash shortages over Christmas. The last time G4S Cash workers voted to strike; the Bank of England is thought to have pressured G4S into improving their offer because they the Bank’s insurer demands minimum staffing levels. G4S Cash, part of Allied International, originally offered members a part pay freeze, though have now tabled an offer of 4 per cent and lump sum bonus based on contracted hours read more
Polyflor profits hit £52 million as struggling workers strike – Flooring company Polyflor has seen profits rise to more than £52 million while hard up workers take strike action to make ends meet, says GMB Union. James Holstead – Polyflor’s parent company – posted a 9.6 per cent rise in revenue year-on-year to £291.9 million for the year that ended June 30. Pre-tax profit increased 1.6 per cent £52.1 million. Almost 200 workers at the firm are in midst of three weeks’ solid strike action until 14 October. Pickets will be staged from 8 to 10am and 4 to 6pm, Monday to Friday outside the factory on Radcliffe New Road, M45. Workers voted to strike over a pay dispute. Shortly after they received a message from the company saying ‘process shifts for process workers are to be suspended…please do not turn up for your shift(s) from 6am on Thursday 1st September’ read more
Solidarity with GMB after yet another arrest on a bin picket line – For the second time in months, GMB Southern Region officers have been arrested on a picket line of their striking refuse members. Previously, arrests were made on the Wealden picket. They appeared at Hastings Magistrates Court on 29th June. The case was adjourned to Brighton Crown Court and was due to take place on November 16th but has been delayed again. This is an outrageous attack on the right of trade unions to strike, picket and protest. The NSSN sends our continued solidarity and support read more about Surry strike
Unison
From the frontline to the breadline – NHS strike rolling report (23 Jan) – Follow here for news and views on the latest day of NHS industrial action
Five ways that you can support Monday’s NHS strikers (19 Jan) – Want to support our NHS strikers? Below are five ways you can show your solidarity with UNISON members on picket lines next week. A third strike in the ongoing NHS pay dispute takes place on Monday 23 January. UNISON members working in the ambulance service in five regions will be walking out, as well as staff in hospitals across Liverpool read more
Blog: NICE and NHS staff are for life, not just for COVID (19 Jan) – “We went on strike because the NHS will only last as long as there are folk with the faith to fight for it. NICE staff and our NHS colleagues are those folk”. On Tuesday, this week, NICE staff staged a one-day strike, the first time we have been on strike since the national pensions dispute in 2011. What is NICE, you ask? The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. We work to assess new drugs and technologies and advise the NHS on clinical and cost effectiveness read more
Recap: Striking for fair pay in the Environment Agency (19 Jan) – See some of the highlights from EA strikes across the country on Wednesday, including Christina McAnea’s visit to strikers at the Thames Barrier read more
Stop Hackney Council cutting library services read more about the campaign here – Hackney library staff have been taken strike action this week
NIPSA
ICTU condemns far right protests at centres housing refugees (19 Jan) – The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has condemned recent extremist protests outside centres housing refugees in Dublin and elsewhere read more
Health Strike Update (13 Jan) – Health Strike Action HSC: While I would like to begin with wishing you all a Happy New Year in 2023, the reality is that I must provide an update in relation to the ongoing Industrial Action Dispute regarding Pay, Safe Staffing and Travel Reimbursement. The current Crisis in Health will not be resolved quickly and likewise the current Industrial Action will also need to be a continuous and determined campaign to bring Government and Employers to negotiate meaningful resolutions. In regards to the current calendar of Industrial Action being undertaken by NIPSA that requires your ongoing support including Continuous Action Short of Strike (ASOS)…and Joint Trade Union action with Unison in regards to their Non Continuous Action Short of Strike (ASOS) 16 January to 29 January 2023 (inclusive). This will include mirroring work to rule action and Withdrawal from all union/management/department of health engagement except regional meetings on dispute resolution. All NIPSA Members are required to participate in Specific Continuous Industrial (ASOS) to highlight the issue of Travel Reimbursement on the 20 January 20 February and 20 March 2023 as follows; The action will consist of a 24 hour withdrawal of personal vehicles for work related use commencing at 12.01am on Friday 20 January 2023 until 23.59pm. This Industrial Action will be repeated on a monthly basis including the 20 February and 20 March 2023. All NIPSA members are also required to participate in joint Strike Action on the 26th January 2023 with attendance at Picket lines essential. NIPSA also wishes to give notice to members that it intends to take further Industrial Action specifically to highlight Safe Staffing issues in February 2023 with details to follow read more
Statement From HSC Trade Unions Northern Ireland (13 Jan) – Health Strike Action HSC – NIPSA, RCN, Unison, Unite: Health Trade Unions in Northern Ireland seek meeting with Secretary of State Chris Heaton- Harris. Regional Health Trade Union leaders have written to the Secretary of State seeking a direct meeting with him read more
NICS Pay Offer (6 Jan) – NICS Pay: Today the NICS has published the Government’s 2022/23 pay offer to civil servants. This offer of £552 on each pay point is without doubt the most offensive and derisory offer that you will ever have received. The offer represents a pay cut for every civil servant. It is also shameful that once again special measures had to be taken to bring Administrative Assistants up to the living wage. Civil servants have received a significantly lower pay offer than those made to other public servants, so again, we have to ask the question – why are civil servants less valued by the government than other workers? As previously highlighted, if we wish to force the hand of the government, which is coming under pressure from other trade unions, then civil servants now need to join the action by those workers. If we want a fair pay rise, we will have to be in the fight. For that reason, the Civil Service Executive Committee is recommending rejection of the offer and are proposing that we ballot for industrial action. The industrial action is likely to take the form of strike action and action short of strike action read more
Royal College of Nursing
RCN members forced to strike again over unfair pay and fears for patient safety (18 Jan) – NHS nursing staff across England will join picket lines for two consecutive days after the UK government refuses to open formal pay negotiations read more
NHS pay dispute: new February strike dates announced for England and Wales (16 Jan) – We’re escalating nursing strikes on 6 and 7 February after governments refuse to seriously negotiate. February will see NHS nursing staff go on strike in what will be our most widespread protest so far against unfair pay and unsafe staffing. If progress isn’t made by the end of January, members in England and Wales will go on strike on 6 and 7 February following the refusal of the UK and Welsh governments to seriously negotiate on the current year’s NHS pay deal. Last week the Welsh government met with unions to discuss NHS pay but failed to offer a substantiative and restorative pay award for 2022/23. While we’ve had discussions with the UK government, they refuse to engage in the formal negotiations which would stop nursing strikes. Our dispute is about NHS pay for this financial year and governments have so far wasted chances to avert strike action. Our first strikes took place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on 15 and 20 December, with more strikes in England happening this week on 18 and 19 January. The nursing strikes now announced for February will be at the highest intensity in our history. They’ll take place at 73 NHS trusts in England, compared to 44 in December and 55 in January. The strikes in Wales will take place at the same NHS employers as they did in December read more
New negotiations on NHS pay to open with Scottish government (13 Jan) – RCN Scotland mandate for strike action brings new proposal for negotiations from Scottish government read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
Royal College of Midwives
Statement from RCM Board on ongoing dispute with Westminster Government (19 Jan) – At its meeting today (19 January), the RCM Board spent considerable time discussing the outcome of the ballot in England, in addition to authorising industrial action in Wales. Having beaten the Westminster Government’s draconian ballot thresholds in Scotland and Wales, the RCM Board shares the dismay and frustration of members in England that we did not achieve the legal turnout that would have given a mandate for action. This is despite a massive investment and commitment from RCM staff and activists read more
Midwives in Northern Ireland to be balloted on industrial action (18 Jan) – Midwives and maternity support worker (MSW) members of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) working in Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland are to be balloted on industrial action over pay. The ballot opens on 31 January running until 7 March read more
RCM cites ‘cautious optimism’ on pay following Scottish Government meeting (13 Jan) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has said it is cautiously optimistic that its calls for a decent pay deal can be met by the Scottish Government. At a meeting yesterday (12 January), the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, and the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Humza Yousaf, told the RCM that the Scottish Government is committed to a road map to resolve the ongoing pay dispute read more
CSP
CSP announces further employers affected by strike action in England (19 Jan) – NHS physiotherapy staff will strike at a further 32 health trusts across England on 9 February, the CSP has announced today. The strike day in February will follow the previously announced industrial action by CSP members at 30 other health trusts, which is due to take place on 26 January. Find out which members are being called out on 9 February. The industrial action called by CSP Council follows the CSP securing strike in 119 NHS employers across England – through ballots held at the end of last year and earlier this month. All eight health boards in Wales have also secured a strike mandate. The CSP will continue to participate in talks with the respective governments. However, if no improved offer is forthcoming, further strike dates will be announced in due course read more
Concrete offer needed to suspend strikes in Wales, CSP says (12 Jan) – Further discussions are to take place between health unions and civil servants after a meeting with the Welsh government that made additional money available for an NHS pay award read more
RCM continues with plans for industrial action following meeting with Welsh Health Minister (12 Jan) – Earlier today the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and other health unions met with the Welsh Health Minister Eluned Morgan to discuss issues around NHS pay read more
BMA
BMA Junior Doctors national strike ballot on pay will start on January 9 2023 in England. Keep up to date via @BMA_JuniorDocs on twitter
Ballot to strike – opens 9th January 2023 – We have announced today (6 Jan) the form of industrial action we propose junior doctors should take. If a ballot for industrial action is successful, junior doctors in England will begin their action with a 72-hour full walkout in March. We are still urging the Secretary of State for Health to meet with us and negotiate a solution to avoid the need for industrial action. So far, all requests to meet with Steve Barclay have been ignored read more Strike Fund
HCSA
HCSA junior doctors vote overwhelmingly for strike action in England – Junior Doctors in HCSA – the hospital doctors’ union have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in an all-England ballot. A decisive 97% Yes result was achieved on a turnout of 74.76%, easily passing legal thresholds. The result means that HCSA will now agree the timing and shape of strike action in coordination with other health unions. HCSA President Dr Naru Narayanan said the ballot result should act as a wake-up call to the government ahead of a separate vote of Junior Doctors by the British Medical Association which is set to close on 20th February read more
NEU
NEU to take strike action over pay (16 Jan) – Union announces strike action over pay after positive ballot results. In its ongoing campaign for a fully-funded, above inflation pay rise, teacher members of the National Education Union in England and Wales and support staff in Wales have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and the ballot has successfully surpassed the restrictive thresholds set by Government for strike action. The question put was, “Are you prepared to take strike action in furtherance of this dispute?”. For the ballot of teachers, in England a 90.44% majority voted YES on a turnout of 53.27%. In Wales a 92.28% majority voted YES on a turnout of 58.07% read more
NEU National Strike London Demonstration – Wednesday 1st February assemble 11am BBC Portland Place W1A 1AA for march to Westminster
Independent sector national pay campaign (17 Jan) – In an escalation of the union campaign for cost of living increases to match inflation, NEU members working in private schools will meet to discuss their own National Pay Campaign read more
Support these strikes:-
Salisbury Manor School Waltham Forest (Pay) 24-26 January Pablo hillips/Sandra Faria [email protected] [email protected]
Shrewsbury House Schools Trust Kingston-Upon-Thames/Merton (TPS) 23, 25 January
NASUWT
NASUWT Scotland announces further strike action by teachers (20 Jan) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union in Scotland will be taking two further days of strike action on 28th February and 1 March in its ongoing dispute with the Scottish Government and employers over teachers’ pay. These further dates are a result of the continuing failure of ministers and COSLA to come forward with an improved pay offer. The NASUWT is calling for a fully funded 12% pay award for 2022/23. The current pay offer of 5% for most teachers amounts to a further real-terms pay cut, following over a decade of pay freezes and below-inflation pay awards which have left teachers in Scotland almost £50,000 worse off as a result of their pay failing to keep pace with inflation. Alongside the strike action NASUWT members will continue to undertake ongoing action short of strike action read more
NASUWT confirms it remains in dispute with ministers over pay (16 Jan) – NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union has today announced it will be continuing its campaign to fight for decent pay for teachers and confirmed it remains in dispute with the Government. General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “When we asked teachers what they were willing to do to get the Government to act to address members’ concerns about cuts to teachers’ pay, 90% of members who voted said they are ready to take strike action and action short of strike. The NASUWT has written to Ministers in England and in Wales to confirm that we remain in dispute over teachers’ pay. The UK has some of the most draconian laws on workers’ rights anywhere, including the imposition of arbitrary industrial action ballot threshold requirements and prohibition on unions balloting members online. The NASUWT will be campaigning vigorously to ensure the repeal of all anti-trade union laws. But, no anti-trade union laws are going to stop us from doing whatever it takes to secure a better deal for our members, including by announcing plans shortly for further balloting of members.” Read more
NASUWT ballot results on industrial action (12 Jan) – The results of the Union’s statutory ballots on teachers’ pay have now been confirmed by the independent scrutineer, Civica. As at the close of the ballots on 9 January 2023, 9 out of 10 members voting supported strike action over teachers’ pay. 95% of members voting also supported action short of strike action to secure a Better Deal on pay for teachers. Turnout across the ballots in England and Wales averaged 42% read more
IOM teachers take further strike action (10 Jan) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union in the Isle of Man will take two further days of strike action tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday in the ongoing dispute over pay, workload and working practices. The strike action, which follows two previous days of strikes on 30th November and 1st December, follows the imposition of a pay award which represents a real terms pay cut of 3% for most teachers and which follows a 30% real terms loss in pay since 2010. NASUWT members rejected the current pay award. The NASUWT is calling for a multi-year fully funded pay offer that begins to address the real-terms historic erosion of pay as part of a medium to long-term strategy for the sustainable delivery of high-quality education into the future read more
Teachers in Scotland begin two days of strike action (10 Jan) – NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union are taking two days of strike action in the ongoing industrial disptute over the pay of teachers. Members will strike in primary schools on Tuesday and in secondary schools on Wednesday. The NASUWT wants to see a fully-funded pay award of 12% for the academic year 2022/23. The current offer from the Scottish Government and COSLA is a real-terms pay cut and is not acceptable. There has already been a decade of pay freezes and below-inflation pay awards imposed on teachers. As a result teachers in Scotland are almost £50,000 worse off as a result of pay not keeping pace with inflation read more
NASUWT statement following pay talks with the Secretary of State (9 Jan) – Commenting following talks today between unions and Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education, on teachers’ pay, Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “There is no doubt that the conclusion of industrial action ballots of teachers over pay this week is what has brought the minister to the table with us today…” read more
NAHT
NAHT Cymru announces industrial action short of strike in schools across Wales (19 Jan) – School leaders in Wales will begin industrial action short of strike next month following NAHT Cymru’s ballot on pay and funding. The announcement comes as NAHT entered into meaningful discussions with the Welsh government and local authority employers on pay negotiations this morning where a one-off payment for teachers and leaders was discussed. The ballot results, announced on Monday, showed an exceptionally strong appetite for taking industrial action, with 95% voting ‘Yes’ to action short of strike (ASOS) and 75% voting ‘Yes’ to strike, with a turnout of 55% of the union’s membership. The union’s Welsh Executive Committee has now met with NAHT General Secretary Paul Whiteman and President Paul Gosling and an agreement was reached to instigate action. NAHT Cymru has notified the local authority and governing body employers of its intention to take action short of strike on an ongoing basis from Wednesday 1 February read more
School leaders’ union to consider re-running industrial action ballot due to postal disruption, as leaders in England and Wales vote to take action (16 Jan) – School leaders’ union NAHT, which represents leaders in the majority of schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, today (Mon 16 Jan) announces the results of its formal industrial action ballots on pay and funding, which began on Fri 11 November and closed on Weds 11 Jan. The ballot results in England show an extraordinarily strong appetite for taking industrial action amongst leaders, with 87% voting ‘Yes’ to action short of strike (ASOS) and 64% voting ‘Yes’ to strike. This means almost 10,000 school leaders across England are willing to take industrial action. However, the legal requirement for turnout in England was not met, with votes counted for 42% of the union’s membership – short of the 50% needed. Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “It is incredibly frustrating that anti-trade union and anti-democratic legislation compelled us to conduct the ballot by post during a period in which the management of the Royal Mail refused to take action to ameliorate the disruption to the postal service.” Read more
EIS
Proposed Glasgow cuts Would Decimate Education, says EIS (20 Jan) – The EIS has warned that proposed deep cuts to education in Glasgow would decimate the educational experience of some of the most vulnerable young people in the country read more
Turning over Stones and “Strenuous Effort” Have yet to Lead to New Teacher Pay Offer (19 Jan) – The ongoing dispute over teacher pay was discussed at First Ministers Question Time today read more
Teacher strikes roll on – new pay offer must be delivered to halt further action (18 Jan) – Teachers in Fife and Orkney were on the picket lines today, as the long-running dispute over teacher pay rolls on read more
Teacher strikes continue as new pay offer awaited from Scottish Government & COSLA (17 Jan) – Teachers in North Ayrshire and Perth & Kinross were on the picket lines today, as the long-running dispute over teacher pay continues read more
16-Day Rolling Programme of Teacher Strikes Underway Across Scotland (16 Jan) – Teachers across Scotland will be taking further strike action over the next three weeks, as a dispute over pay continues. Schools in Glasgow and East Lothian were closed today, as members of the EIS took strike action at the start of a 16-day rolling programme of industrial action across Scotland. Tomorrow, teachers in North Ayrshire and Perth & Kinross will be the next to hit the picket lines in pursuit of a fair pay settlement from the Scottish Government and COSLA read more
EIS Announces Additional 22 Days of Strike Action as Teacher Pay Dispute Escalates (13 Jan) – The EIS has announced 22 additional days of strike action in an escalation of the dispute over teachers’ pay. This is in addition to the previously announced 16-day programme of rolling strike action, set to begin in schools across the country next week. EIS members have previously taken three days of national strike action – one in November and two in January – in the continuing campaign for a fair pay settlement for the year 2022. The EIS Executive Committee met today and agreed a programme of additional strike action that will include two days of national strike action in all schools and sectors on 28 February and 1 March, followed by a rolling programme of strikes for 20 days between 13 March and 21 April. Over the rolling strike period, each local authority area will be impacted by three consecutive days of strike action, with one day of strike action in all schools bookended on either side by one-day strikes in primary and secondary schools read more
SSTA
Pay Dispute – Another Wasted Opportunity (13 Jan) – Following the latest meeting of the SNCT Extended Joint Chairs meeting on Thursday evening to discuss a possible solution to the 2022-2023 pay dispute Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary said “The Scottish Government and COSLA have again failed to put an improved pay offer on the table and have blocked the path towards further negotiations. Despite a range of meetings in the last week with the Cabinet Secretary plus two ‘negotiating’ meetings of the Extended Joint Chairs no new offer has been made. This meeting was another wasted opportunity to bring the dispute to an end and prevent further strike action…” read more
UCU
Unions’ pay demand labelled ‘April Fools’ joke’ by UCEA (18 Jan) – The joint trade unions met with the UCEA this week for negotiations over pay and working conditions. The unions presented their joint claim for 2023-24 for a pay award of RPI + 2% to address the cost-of-living crisis university workers are facing. In response, a representative from UCEA likened the claim to an ‘April Fools’ joke’. The vice-chancellor body refused to significantly improve upon the 5% offer, but did confirm that when the parties next meet on Wednesday 25 January an updated offer would be presented read more
70,000 university staff to strike on 1 February (17 Jan) – Over 70,000 staff at 150 universities will strike on Wednesday 1 February. UCU is in dispute with 150 universities over the issues of pay, pensions and working conditions. The union said ‘the clock is ticking’ for university bosses to make staff a serious offer and avoid disruption. A further 17 days of strike action is due to take place over February and March. The precise dates are to be announced by the union next week. The action on Wednesday 1 February will coincide with TUC’s ‘protect the right to strike’ day. Five unions, UCU, NEU, ASLEF, PCS and RMT have already confirmed they will join the day of action against the Conservative government’s plans to introduce strict anti-strike measures through parliament. University staff have already taken three days of strike action this academic year after management imposed a pay rise worth just 3% this year following over a decade of below-inflation pay awards. UCU is demanding a meaningful pay rise to deal with the cost-of-living crisis as well as action to end the use of insecure contracts read more
Four days of strikes set to hit Sheffield College after ‘insulting’ 2.5% pay offer (18 Jan) – Over 200 staff at Sheffield College will be on strike Friday after receiving an ‘insulting’ pay offer of just 2.5% amid the cost-of-living scandal. Staff will then down tools for a further three days in January and February unless their demands are met, they will be on picket lines outside the college on each strike day. The full dates of strike action are: Friday 20 January, Monday 30 January, Tuesday 7 February, Thursday 9 February. Staff will also work to rule from Monday 23 January, which includes working strictly to their contracted hours, refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues. The announcement comes after an overwhelming 87% of members who voted said yes to strike action in a turnout of 59% read more
Universities to be hit with 18 days of strike action before April (12 Jan) – UCU announced that more than 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK will strike for 18 days between February and March in disputes over pay, conditions and attacks on pensions. The precise dates of the action will be confirmed next week. The decision was taken by the union’s higher education committee (HEC) which met today. The committee also agreed to re-ballot staff at all 150 universities to renew UCU’s mandate and allow the union to call action well into 2023, including a marking and assessment boycott from April, unless the disputes are settled. UCU says ‘the clock is ticking’ for university bosses to avoid widespread disruption this year read more
Three days of strikes begin Monday at Sparsholt College over low pay (6 Jan) – Three consecutive days of strike action at Sparsholt College in Hampshire will begin Monday after management refused to make a realistic pay offer. Staff will be picketing the college every day of the action. They have already taken three days of strike action this academic year in the long running pay dispute and are demanding a pay rise that helps them meet the cost-of-living crisis. RPI inflation is currently at 14% and the college is based in one of the least affordable areas to live in the UK. Despite this, the college has only offered an £850 consolidated pay rise alongside one off payments totalling just £450 read more
Staff to strike at Barnet & Southgate College – UCU today confirmed Barnet and Southgate College will be hit with two days of strike action later this month in an ongoing dispute over low pay. UCU members at the college will walk out on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 December. The industrial action follows a ballot in which 98% of those that voted called for strike action. Staff have already taken three days of action in October in the dispute over management’s paltry 2% pay award for the previous two financial years (1% 2020/21 and 1% 2021/22). Inflation is currently at 14.2% and UCU is demanding a significant uplift to help staff meet the cost of living crisis read more
Staff to strike at University of Sheffield International College – UCU has today announced that members at the University of Sheffield International College will take three days of strike action from Monday 28 November in a long running dispute over low pay. The action will be the first ever strike to take place in a privatised higher education provider. The full days of strike action are: Monday 28 November, Tuesday 29 November, Wednesday 30 November. Staff will be picketing all main entrances on each day of strike action. Staff will also work to rule from Thursday 1 December, which includes working strictly to their contracted hours, refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues read more
Furness College staff to strike over low pay – UCU has today announced three days of strike action at Furness College. Staff will walkout on Tuesday 6 December, Wednesday 7 December and Thursday 15 December following the results of the ballot in which 85% of those who voted said yes to strike action. Members will also be engaging in action short of strike action from 8 December until 13 May 2023, this could include not doing additional work or covering for absent colleagues. The action come after the employer offered a pay award of just 2.5% alongside a one off payment of £750 for those earning less than £25k and £500 for those who earn more. RPI is currently at 14.2% so the award means staff pay has fallen dramatically behind inflation. UCU is demanding an increase of at least 10% to help staff meet the cost-of-living crisis read more
Staff to strike at Darlington College – UCU has today announced three days of strike action at Darlington College. Staff will walkout on Tuesday 6 December, Wednesday 7 December and Monday 12 December following the results of the ballot in which 95% of those that voted said yes to strike action. The strikes come after the employer imposed a pay award of just 1% alongside a one off payment of £250. RPI is currently at 12.6% so the award means staff pay has fallen dramatically behind inflation. UCU is demanding a pay award of at least 10% to help staff meet the cost-of-living crisis. Staff at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, recently won a deal worth 9.2% for the majority of college lecturers read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
‘Disappointing and ill-judged’: Fire Brigades Union response to HMICFRS State of Fire report (20 Jan) – The Fire Brigades Union has responded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services State of Fire and Rescue 2022 report. The report, conducted by new Chief Inspector Andy Cooke, endorsed the ongoing attacks on firefighters’ right to democratically organise outlined in the government’s Fire Reform White Paper read more
FBU strike ballot opens (5 Dec) – A strike ballot for firefighters and control staff opens today Monday 5th December. Firefighters and control staff are being balloted on potential strike action on a “derisory” 5% pay offer. That pay offer had recently been rejected by FBU members in a consultative ballot by 79% on a 78% turnout. Annual CPI inflation currently stands at 11.1%. Due to restrictive anti-trade union laws the ballot will be a postal ballot only. If you’re an FBU member and your postal address has changed or you think it might be wrong, it is vital that you contact [email protected] as soon as possible read more
Merseyside firefighters, control staff and Green Book staff vote for Action Short of Strike – Merseyside firefighters, control staff and green book staff (non-uniformed staff) have “overwhelmingly” voted to take action short of strike in relation to a host of issues in Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. The percentage of those voting who voted “Yes” to Action Short of Strike is 88.06%. The action short of strike will consist of a refusal to undertake pre-arranged overtime, beginning no earlier than Thursday 1st December 2022 and potentially lasting for 6 months. The ballot comes after a serious break down in industrial relations between Merseyside Fire Brigades Union and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority and the failure to reach agreement on several issues read more
NAPO
News for Cafcass members – 2022/2023 pay dispute (20 Jan) – Please look out for more news next week arising from yesterday’s joint meeting of Napo and UNISON members. Union negotiators will be considering the valuable feedback that we received and will also take into account the replies we have received from the Employer and the Minister for Cafcass. Meanwhile we remain of the view that the unions have not agreed that the above dispute is concluded and we will be revisiting the potential options for industrial action as part of our next engagement with UNISON read more
Parole Board Changes – Napo submit statement of support to Judicial Review Lawyers (20 Jan) – Napo’s summaries of concerns regarding the secretary of state’s parole board changes. Essentially, the intervention by the Minister followed the Government’s ‘Root and Branch Review of the Parole System’ published in March 2022. Here is the important extract: “98. For the future, we are developing a model in which there will be one Secretary of State view presented to the Panel. There are two parties to parole proceedings – the Secretary of State and the prisoner. The Secretary of State’s view would reflect the assessments made by probation officers and psychologists and present one view on whether the prisoner is safe to be released.” Napo and the other recognised trade unions were first advised on these changes to the parole process, including the so-called ‘Secretary of State’s Single View’, by the employer in June last year. We formally responded in writing to the details as we understood them at that time on 14/07/2022; Napo made it very clear that we did not consider this as a reasonable or meaningful consultation period read more
BFAWU
Trade Union Coordinating Group “Fair Pay Now” pamphlet read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
NUJ
BBC journalists to vote on latest plans for local radio (19 Jan) – Following negotiations with the NUJ, the BBC has made concessions on the drastic cuts it had proposed. Members are now considering if they will be enough. BBC journalists are holding a consultative ballot following negotiations with the BBC over cuts to local radio read more
BBC must find alternative approach to cost savings at Radio Foyle (18 Jan) – Mike Nesbitt, MLA and former BBC journalist has written to BBC Northern Ireland’s Interim Director over planned cuts at the station. Proposed cuts to jobs and programmes at BBC Radio Foyle has been met with considerable opposition from NUJ members, politicians and local people who value the breadth and quality of content broadcast by the station read more
BBC journalists hold consultative ballot for action over cuts at Radio Foyle (13 Jan) – BBC members in Northern Ireland are voting in a consultative ballot for industrial action over the corporation’s proposal to close 36 posts across the province and end the popular BBC Radio Foyle Breakfast Show. The members are further angered by the BBC’s lack of consultation and its refusal to provide information on the costs of running Radio Foyle, the potential impact of the cuts on stress, and on equality. They have described the tone of management as “confrontational and disrespectful towards the union”. More than 250 people joined a rally in support of Radio Foyle in Derry earlier this month and thousands have signed a petition asking for the show to be saved. Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, has been invited to visit the city and explain his plans. The NUJ says the ballot is about protecting public service broadcasting in the whole of Northern Ireland. A yes vote in the consultative ballot is likely to lead to a formal ballot for strike action read more
NUJ members vote for industrial action at STV (22 Dec) – There has been an overwhelming strike vote at the Scottish broadcaster. The results of the ballot were 85 per cent for strike action and 93 per cent for action short of a strike. STV’s original offer was £2,000 to each employee read more
Prospect
Prospect deeply concerned as Warner Bros Discovery puts BT Sport employees at risk of redundancy (17 Jan) – Prospect is deeply concerned that Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is proposing to put all BT Sport employees at risk of redundancy. More than 200 BT Sport staff were yesterday placed at risk of redundancy, just two and a half months after they were transferred to WBD as part of the joint venture company agreed between BT Group and WBD last year read more
Civil service pay: no grounds for optimism after meeting with minister (12 Jan) – Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy met Jeremy Quin MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, this morning alongside other civil service union leaders read more
Prospect members working on the Elizabeth Line strike for first time (12 Jan) – Prospect members working at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI), which operates the Elizabeth Line, are taking strike action for the first time in a dispute over pay. The action will take place from 0630 on 12 January until 0630 on 13 January read more
FDA
FDA Fast Stream members vote to strike (17 Jan) – FDA members in the central Fast Stream have overwhelmingly voted to take strike action over pay. On a turnout of 60%, comfortably surpassing the legal threshold of 50%, 88% backed industrial action in the statutory postal ballot. FDA National Officer for the Fast Stream, Lauren Crowley, stated “our Fast Stream members have been absolutely clear – they will no longer put up with unfair pay. This result highlights the anger that our members are feeling, they are tired of empty promises when it comes to pay reform.” Read more
CPS pay: FDA calls for meeting with Attorney General (13 Jan) – The FDA’s National Officer for the Crown Prosecution Service, Duncan Woodhead, has written to the Attorney General, Victoria Prentis, regarding the current pay situation in CPS. As Attorney General, Prentis has ministerial responsibility for the service. The FDA is seeking a meeting with the minister as previous requests to meet with the department, and subsequently the Director of Public Prosecutions, were refused. FDA members at the CPS overwhelmingly rejected this year’s pay offer, of 2-3%, by 94% to 6%. Therefore, the FDA hopes a ministerial meeting can see progress towards a satisfactory resolution and a more acceptable pay offer read more
Community
Statement on planned industrial action in the education sector (17 Jan) – In response to the recent news about the results of education unions’ ballots for industrial action, Helen Osgood, National Officer for Education & Early Years, said: “Educators across the country have been making their voice heard and expressing their dismay about the pay offer that has been put to them. 8 out of 10 of our teaching members told us they are not happy with the pay offer they had received, and they wanted to seek a political solution to this issue…I urge the Government to come up with an increased offer on pay for teachers and teaching assistants who are overworked and underpaid. We respect staff across the sector and members of other unions who have made the difficult decision to go out on strike. Whilst our members have not chosen to go on strike, we ask them to show respect and support for colleagues from other unions, who have made the decision to take strike action. We ask them to never undertake any work that would be carried out by a colleague who is on strike read more
Equity
West End shows facing strike threat as Equity puts in 17% pay claim – some of the West End’s biggest shows could be hit by strike action after performers union Equity put in a 17% pay claim for thousands of its members in theatreland read more on Evening Standard website
Sign and share this petition to reinstate the English National Opera (ENO) funding and lobby your MP to back our industries and their workforce
USDAW
Central Co-op announces a distribution reorganisation in Leicester – Usdaw to enter into consultation talks (20 Jan) – Retail trade union Usdaw has been informed by the food retailer Central Co-op of their proposal to close their three distribution centres and garage in Leicester and transfer distribution operations to the Co-operative Group. The company’s proposal puts nearly 400 jobs at risk read more
Usdaw secures agreement with Tesco Bank on ‘cost of living’ pay increase (19 Jan) – Usdaw has welcomed Tesco Bank agreement to a £1,250 pay increase (on a full-time equivalent basis) for over 3,400 staff, to help with the increased cost of living. Over 90% of the bank’s workforce, those who are likely to be feeling the greatest impact from current cost of living challenges, are eligible for the increase which was effective from 8 January 2023 read more
IWGB
Follow updates on UCL strike by following @IWGBunion on twitter
UVW
Institutional racism tribunal claim could cost GOSH millions (20 Jan) – Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is today finalising the process of harmonising the formerly outsourced cleaners terms and conditions with NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts. While the United Voices of the World union (UVW) welcomes these steps, they are too little too late for our members at the hospital who have faced years of discrimination. In early March there will be a nine day court hearing where GOSH faces claims of institutional racism, for the years of structural inequality the predominantly black, brown and migrant cleaners at the hospital have faced. This was first when the cleaners were outsourced on mainly the legal minimum terms and conditions, but continued after they were bought in-house following a successful campaign by UVW in 2020. UVW believes there were unreasonable and unnecessary delays to bringing the cleaners to full NHS AfC rates. If the court agrees with us, the 80 members participating in the legal action could be awarded between £80,000 and £190,000 each. Years of structural racism could cost the children’s hospital over £12 million if the court recognises the inequality our members faced read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
SIPTU calls on Minister to end pandemic payment delay for non-HSE workers (17 Jan) – SIPTU representatives have called for the intervention of the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, to ensure that eligible health workers employed in private employments and Section 39 organisations receive their Pandemic Special Recognition Payment (PSRP) without further delay read more
Mandate (Ireland)
Mandate disappointed at Argos’s decision to close Irish outlets (19 Jan) – Union will engage intensively to get best possible deal for workers being made redundant. The Mandate Trade Union has this morning expressed its disappointment at Argos’s decision to close all of its outlets in Ireland. Mandate official, Michael Meegan, said that the union will be engaging intensively with the company to get the best possible deal for the workers who are being made redundant read more
Other news
SHAC the Social Housing Action Campaign’ and other housing campaigners are demanding a freeze on social rents, shareholder rents, and service charges. The campaign is already moving government. In August, government announced a cap on around 5% (instead of the 10% that would have been likely under the previous formula). But we don’t believe that this is low enough or broad enough. We need urgent funding to pay for campaign materials and basic admin costs. We also need trade unions to help us get our message across. Please see here to find out more, download our model motions for unions, or make a donation to account name ‘The Social Housing Action Campaign’, account number 20434685, Sort Code 60-83-01
Hi All – Thanks for your continuing support for Trade Union Education at The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (Conel). Please find attached some courses were have advertised for next term and beyond. All courses are advertised in the https://www.tuc.org.uk/TUCcoursesAs.
Couple of updates:-
- Employment law diploma is now full for Jan 2023.
- Cert in employment law have moved it to classroom.
Seasons Greetings
Best Regards
Jonathan Jeffries
PS If you need any ICT courses contact [email protected]. We also do bespoke courses for trade unions
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
QC appointed to lead the independent Unite inquiry into blacklisting – Unite is delighted to announce that Nick Randall QC and John Carl Townsend have been appointed to investigate the possible collusion by union officers in blacklisting. Over the past months, evidence gathering by Thompsons solicitors has continued, with many blacklisted construction workers and other witnesses having already been interviewed. The work of the independent investigators is expected to start officially on 11 April read more
#SPYCops Inquiry exposes state surveillance of workers movement
Keep up with developments and read and watch campaigners’ statements on the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) and Undercover Policing Inquiry websites and spycops info Facebook group
Builders Crack: The Movie
In the current situation, this long lost film from the 1990s about rank and file union organising in the construction industry is intended to lift the spirits, but also to spark a debate in our movement. Hope the youngsters in this film put a smile on your face.
Watch – Share – Discuss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VZ-QMA1FMg
Blacklist Support Group
Book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklist-SG/
Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Blacklist Support Group financial appeal: the Blacklist support group is desperately short of funds, to continue the incredible work we need more finance, would you please consider making a donation, raise it at your branches and trade councils. Please make cheques payable to Joint sites committee and send to 70 Darnay Rise Chelmsford Essex CM1 4XA. Please forward onto your contacts many thanks Steve Kelly (JSC Treasurer)
Blacklisted t-shirts available at: https://shop.hopenothate.org.uk/component/hikashop/product/78-blacklisted-t-shirt
Keep an eye out for other Facebook and social media groups and pages that are being created. The Coronavirus Support Group for Workers has been set up on Facebook and is a useful forum and you can catch up on disputes at Strike Map UK. Also, check out Organise Now! – Support for new worker organising.
International
From NUJ website – Bangladesh: journalist murdered in knife attack (20 Jan) – The NUJ has condemned the murder and urged Bangladeshi authorities to seek justice for Ashiqul Islam’s death. The National Union of Journalists has joined the International Federation of Journalists in condemning the murder of reporter Ashiqul Islam read more
Diary
February
6 NSSN national online public meeting: after 1st February strike, how to we all strike together? – 6pm
Zoom details – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87166952312?pwd=TFAvV25Bekd3a1lod2gvNURUMWczdz09
Meeting ID: 871 6695 2312 Passcode: 060223
June
24 NSSN national conference 11am-4.30pm Conway Hall, London
CONTACT US
PHONE 07952 283 558
EMAIL mailto:[email protected]
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/NSSN_AntiCuts
FACEBOOK NSSN GROUP or STOP The CUTS Likes page
ADDRESS NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE
