The Tories have sneaked their new attack on the right to strike, the Minimum Service Level Act (MSL) into law before the Parliamentary summer recess. This means that striking unions can face massive fines and their members can be under threat of dismissal at any time.
The NSSN agrees with fighting unions that are calling for action to ensure that no union is left isolated.
Workers are showing every day in the persistent and developing strike wave that they are prepared to fight against the Tory cost of living squeeze and the bosses’ offensive. The NSSN believes that if workers take action together, the crisis-ridden Tories and their anti-union offensive can be defeated.
The FBU has called for “mass opposition” and for unions to “act together to build a movement to defy and defeat this law.” At its recent AGM, the RMT passed a motion calling for a national demonstration against the MSL and co-ordinated strike action. And Unite at its Policy Conference two weeks ago, passed a motion to “call on the TUC to co-ordinate action, in the form of a 24-hour general strike.
The annual NSSN Conference on 24th June debated the model motion (now updated below) and unanimously voted to agree it, including supporting the NSSN rally and lobby of TUC Congress in Liverpool on Sunday 10th September. We encourage all union branches and trades councils to discuss the motion and hopefully agree it.
Watch videos of NSSN Conference – Opening Chair’s remarks with brief highlights of the rally and interviews
Sharon Graham Unite, Sarah Woolley BFAWU & Steve Gillan POA to speak at NSSN pre-TUC Congress Rally in Liverpool on Sunday September 10th from 1pm at Premier Meetings, Liverpool Albert Dock L3 4AD
The NSSN is delighted to announce the first confirmed speakers at the rally that we have again called at TUC Congress in Liverpool on Sunday September 10th – Union General Secretaries Sharon Graham Unite, Sarah Woolley BFAWU & Steve Gillan POA. We’ll announce others when they are confirmed. We will also give a platform to the many strikes that are taking place.
The leaflet for the NSSN TUC Rally & Lobby is here. You can email us via [email protected] to order some. Also, email us for transport information
The following are supporting lobbying the TUC. Send us details if your union also agrees to support and we’ll include in this list:-
Nottingham Trades Council, RMT Piccadilly and District West, Hounslow Unison, Hounslow TUC, Ealing TUC, RMT LU Engineering, Southwark Trades Council, Waltham Forest Trades Council, Unite LE/1228 Waltham Forest Council Branch, Unite Housing Workers LE1111, Free Our Unions, Liverpool Trades Council, Unite NW /540 Howden supply division Runcorn, Scotland CWU No2 branch, CWU Highland Amal, BFAWU Kernow, Surrey County Unison, Unite Community Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire branch, Southampton and South West Hampshire TUC, Cardiff Trades Council, Cardiff General Unite branch WA/1048, Unite WM/6050 Tom Mann branch, Birmingham TUC, Coventry TUC, Unite NW 127404 Branch, Unite WM/6030 South Birmingham branch, Coventry CWU Telecoms, Walsall TUC, Birmingham UCU, Hull Trades Council, Sheffield RMT, Sheffield TUC, Swansea Trades Council, Southern East Kent Trades Union Council, Bristol Trades Union Council, Leeds Trades Union Council, Stevenage & District Trades Union Council, Hackney Unison, Hackney Trades Union Council
Unite comment on Minimum Service Levels Act (20 Jul) – Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “If you wanted an example of just how out of touch with reality this government’s priorities are, then it is summed up by this legislation. We’ve got a cost-of-living crisis, an NHS crisis, people are struggling and the government is targeting the right to strike…” read more
PCS: TUC vows to fight for repeal as anti-strike bill becomes law (24 Jul) – The TUC has vowed to fight the anti-strike bill “tooth and nail” as the legislation passed its final parliamentary stage. he Tory government’s anti-strike minimum service levels bill passed its final stages in the House of Commons last week. Pending Royal Assent, the bill will pass into law later this year. read more
NASUWT: Strikes Bill is a vile attack on working rights (20 Jul) – Commenting on the passage of the Government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary said: “This is the latest in a long line of vile attacks on the rights of working people by this Government. The right to strike is a fundamental human right that is enshrined in international law. The Government’s economic failures are no excuse for attacking the rights of law-abiding workers. We have already defeated the Government over its unlawful attempt to allow employers to use agency workers to break strike action and we will use every means at our disposal to hold the Government to account for its attacks on the rights of our members…” read more
Government forces through their anti-union law – Usdaw thanks Peers for taking a stand and welcomes Labour’s commitment to repeal (20 Jul) – Retail trade union Usdaw has condemned the Government for failing to listen and forcing through their Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill read more
Model Motion on Tory Minimum Service Levels Bill
This conference/union/branch/trades council recognises the ‘Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act’ is a major attack on trade union rights. Sunak’s Conservative government are attempting draconian, undemocratic measures to curtail the right to strike.
Coming on the back of four decades of brutal Tory anti-union legislation, from that of Thatcher and Major through to Cameron, Johnson and now Sunak, it is clearly designed to cut across the strike wave across all sectors, rather than tackle the causes of the cost-of-living crisis. This is another crude attempt to shift the blame for inflation onto the working class whereas every worker knows it is the bosses and their class’s profiteering, which has created the crisis.
The Act allows employers to issue a notice to unions setting out who is required to work during a strike. This potentially leaves unions who refuse to comply open to serious financial penalties through sequestration of funds and removes workers’ protection from being dismissed for undertaking lawful industrial action.
We believe no individual union or member should be left isolated and the whole of the trade union movement must mobilise – collectively – in defence of workers’ rights.
We demand:
1. All unions and the TUC urgently call a national Saturday demonstration against the new law;
2. Keir Starmer pledges an incoming Labour government to reverse fines and other measures taken against any union under the terms of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act;
3. All employers refuse to use the provisions of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act and that a lead in such non-compliance be given by any government, council, fire authority or other employer led by the Labour Party;
4. If any union is taken to court or worker threatened with dismissal, an emergency demonstration is called and an immediate meeting of the TUC General Council be convened to organise mass co-ordinated strike action, including a 24-hour general strike;
5. The repeal of all anti-union legislation.
We support the NSSN rally to be held at TUC Congress in Liverpool on Sunday 10 September lobbying for this programme of action.
NSSN news
Successful Plymouth NSSN meeting 22nd July – Following a year of visiting and picking up contacts from picket lines, Plymouth union members called a founding meeting of the NSSN in the South West in Plymouth. We assembled on the RMT picket and met afterwards in the local Railway Club. Key speakers included Robbie Woodland President BFAWU KERNOW. Robert Kitley ASLEF Exeter Branch Chair (pc) spoke on the continuing overtime ban being held by train divers to bring the TOC’s to the negotiating table while Dave Goard (RMT EC) rightly praised his members for launching the widest strike wave for 50 years and their determination to continue their yearlong strike for pay, conditions and station staff. Dave Roberts (Regional Secretary of the FBU) drove down from Weston Super Mare and will encourage more local FBU reps to participate in future South West NSSN events. Ryan Aldred (NSSN national steering committee) reported back from the annual NSSN conference and we unanimously agreed to set up a steering committee. The meeting also endorsed the motion passed at NSSN Annual Conference last month, including to get local Branches to affiliate and build for the lobby of the TUC. There were also good contributions from organsers from the floor and on zoom – including Jill Narin (Vice Chair SSW NAPO) and Duncan Moore (UCU). We now have a local NSSN WhatsApp group with 28 activists on it, including most recently striking NUJ BBC and radiographers reps and a looking into booking transport to the lobby in Liverpool. The meeting was chaired by Alex Moore, NEU Plymouth District Secretary (pc)
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it and/or making an additional donation to help our work. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month via a standing order.
You can either pay online to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790.
Or you can pay by cheque to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’ and post to 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
You can receive this bulletin via email or you can choose to unsubscribe and stop receiving them. Like everyone else, the NSSN has to adhere to new data protection regulations. Therefore you must click here to subscribe/unsubscribe. Reports from unions do not necessarily reflect NSSN’s views.
RMT
RMT statement on ticket office consultation extension (26 Jul) – Rail union, RMT declared today the consultation extension on the future of rail ticket offices as wholly inadequate and called for the whole disastrous closure programme to be abandoned. Following mass campaigns by RMT, disabled and passenger groups, the train operators and their paymasters in government have been forced to extend ticket office closure consultations until September 1. Over 1,000 ticket offices are due to be closed with the loss of over 2,000 railway station staff. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Campaigning by our members on stations across the country alongside tenacious disabled peoples groups and passenger bodies has forced rail bosses and ministers to admit the original consultation was not fit for purpose and must be extended. Although our pressure has forced their hand, it is still a deeply flawed and a wholly inadequate consultation process which we are considering challenging legally in the courts. Our campaign to save ticket offices, protect our members jobs and look out for the best interests of all rail passengers will only intensify in the coming weeks. “20,000 rail workers will walk out on 29 July in pursuit of a negotiated settlement on job security pay, conditions and saving ticket offices.” Read more
Station staff threatened with disciplinary action for ticket office campaign (25 Jul) – Railway staff are being told to stop wearing “save our ticket offices” stickers or face disciplinary action, RMT understands. The union is currently encouraging the public to sign petitions and take part in consultations to prevent 1000 ticket office closures. RMT has warned that it will escalate its industrial response to any threat to dock pay or discipline staff for campaigning to save their jobs. Writing to train operator LNER, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch wrote: “I have received very disturbing reports this morning from members at your company who are being threatened by managers with disciplinary action and being sent home without pay as a result of them wearing “save our ticket offices” stickers. Threatening staff who are fighting for their very futures and for the services they provide in this way is a quite disgraceful tactic to use and I can advise you that any moves to discipline any RMT member for having a simple statement on a sticker will be met with a full industrial response read more
RMT responds to bilateral seafarer agreement (24 Jul) – SEAFARER UNION RMT today responded to the bilateral agreement between the UK and French Governments over voluntary seafarer employment and welfare standards, launched at a signing ceremony in Paris, where the UK Government is represented by the Maritime Minister, Baroness Vere of Norbiton read more
Rail companies raking in profit and stripping the railways of money (22 Jul) – RMT report finds that between 2006 and 2022, the train operating companies invested just 1% of the money spent on the railways. Train company bosses take little risk with their capital but have benefited from profits before tax, of 126% of the capital invested by rail operators. 65% of profits are locked away in shareholder dividends instead of being redistributed into improving the railway or upping workers’ wages and improving conditions. The report comes on the day of the latest strike action by 20,000 railway workers in a long running dispute on pay jobs and working conditions read more
RMT suspends strike action on London Underground after progress at ACAS (21 Jul) – RMT has suspended all strike action planned for next week on London Underground after making progress in the pensions and jobs dispute. The tube union has been locked in ACAS talks with TfL, trying to find a resolution to the longstanding pensions jobs and working conditions dispute read more
Northern undermine ticket office consultation at stations (20 Jul) – RMT has been prevented from campaigning for ticket offices to remain open at some stations run by train operator Northern. Posters have been ripped down and a public petition was removed from Workington station by rail bosses, despite the fact RMT members across the country are actively campaigning to save their jobs. Over 2000 jobs are being cut, 1000 ticket offices closed and the whole scale de-staffing of the railway industry is being proposed read more
RMT responds to DVSA report on bus fires (20 Jul) – Response to DVSA report: Responding to the DVSA report, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “This report makes some important recommendations around improved comprehensive and regular maintenance schedules, insisting that operators report fires in a timely manner and better training of drivers to encourage reporting of defects as soon as possible read more
RMT writes to Transport Focus and London Travelwatch on ticket offices (19 Jul) – Rail union, RMT has written a joint letter to Transport Focus and London Travelwatch opposing ticket office closure plans. Alongside the Equality Trust, End Violence Against Women, Disability Rights UK, DPAC, Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, Inclusion London, National Pensioners Convention WinVisible and Transport for All, the letter states: We are writing to you to object to the proposed closure of nearly 1000 ticket offices at Avanti West Coast, C2C, Chiltern, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, GTR (Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern), Great Western Railway, LNER, Southeastern, South-Western Railway, West Midlands (including London Northwestern Railway), Transpennine Express and Northern read more
20,000 railway workers take strike action on 14 train operating companies in national dispute (19 Jul) – RMT members working on every grade of the train operating companies will take strike action on Thursday 20 July in the national dispute over working conditions, pay and job security. The strike comes as rail bosses announced over 2000 job cuts and the closure of 1000 ticket offices across the network. Ticket office closures under Schedule 17 means there will be no regulations on staffing levels at stations whatsoever. This means companies will be unhindered legislation to de-staff stations across the country, affecting dispatch and non-ticket office staffing grades. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “I am proud of our members for showing such fortitude and resolve in this long running dispute. Our national dispute is about pay job security and working conditions. The recent attack on ticket offices and the threat to de-staff our railways, has galvanised a huge groundswell of public support which we are grateful for…” read more
Details of RMT picket lines up and down the country
RMT to ballot members at ISS (KAD Contract) (14 Jul) – Further to my previous Circular (IR/123/23, 3rd May 2023), an avoidance of disputes meeting took place with the Company and our negotiating team made progress in some areas as outlined below…However, the following items remain outstanding: A failure to address the 2023 pay award; A failure to improve Sick Pay entitlement and Night Allowance. This matter has now been considered by your National Executive Committee, which has taken the decision to ballot members at ISS (KAD Contract) for strike action and action short of a strike over the above issues. Ballot papers will be sent out on Wednesday 19th July and the ballot will close on Thursday 10th August 2023 read more
Arriva Rail London staff working in revenue protection vote for strike action (12 Jul) – Revenue protection inspectors on Arriva Rail London have voted to take strike action over a collective grievance issue. RMT members returned an 82.3% yes vote on a 77.2% turnout. Workers have become frustrated that a collective grievance into bullying has not been adequately dealt with and the employer is refusing to follow the right procedures in the collective bargaining agreement with the union read more
Unipart Rail workers on strike today in Crewe (12 Jul) – Engineers, clerical staff and production operatives working for Unipart Rail are on strike today in a row over pay. RMT members were offered a derisory 4.75% which they flatly rejected. However, Unipart bosses have failed to send a representative of senior management to meet with the union, demonstrating their contempt of the collective bargaining process. This is the second day of strike action Unipart rail workers have taken following a 24-hour stoppage last week. Unipart Group scored a 27.1 percent increase in profits for 2022 financial year read more
Mitie staff on Eurostar begin strike ballot (11 Jul) – Security staff at Eurostar who are employed by contractor Mitie will begin a strike ballot over the dismissal of a colleague from today. All RMT members working for Mitie in security at Eurostar will be balloted from July 11 until 1 August. The member of staff was dismissed from employment by Mitie and the union believes the decision to be wholly unfair. In a separate dispute, Mitie workers have also rejected the company’s “appalling” pay offer, meaning future strike action cannot be ruled out read more
DHL catering staff on Avanti to take strike action (4 Jul) – Catering workers will take 48 hours strike action from tomorrow evening in a row over pay. The workers who are employed by contractor DHL provide the catering stores for Avanti trains. They have not been offered a pay rise despite the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation. DHL has pleaded poverty claiming they cannot afford a rise despite the fact its global business was worth £81bn last year. Instead of trying to settle the dispute by negotiating with RMT, DHL management have sent communications to staff using an intimidatory tone, instructing them not to speak to the media about their human right to take strike action…The 48 hour strike starts at 10pm on Wednesday 5 July and ends at 9.59pm Friday 7 July read more
Show your solidarity with our cleaning grades (3 Jul) – RMT has two petitions in circulation currently relating to campaigns being run to support our cleaning grades members. Add your name to this call on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to do the right thing by his cleaners currently outsourced to ABM: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/bring-london-s-tube-cleaners-in-h… Give free travel to rail cleaners and review their outsourcing – This petition to Secretary of State Mark Harper calls on the government to follow the Mayor of London in giving free travel to rail cleaners and reviewing the outsourcing of rail cleaning. Sign here: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/urgent-support-for-rail-cleaners read more
ASLEF
ASLEF suspends strike action on London Underground (21 Jul) – A London Underground train is moving into a platform and is blurred. There are some people (also blurred) standing on the platform. After a week of negotiations at ACAS the ASLEF Executive Committee have today agreed to suspend the planned industrial action which had been scheduled on London Underground for Wednesday 26th and Friday 28th July read more
ASLEF: The train drivers’ union announces another week-long overtime ban (24 Jul) – ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, has today [Monday] announced another week-long overtime ban in our long-running dispute with 15 train companies in England which have not given their train drivers – our members – a pay rise since 2019. Drivers will refuse to work overtime from Monday 7 to Saturday 12 August. The ban which will seriously disrupt services as none of the train companies employs enough drivers to deliver the services they have promised passengers, and the government, they will run. That’s why they are dependent on rest day working, as it is called in the railway industry, which of course is voluntary, and, by agreement, and is a system in place properly to be used for the purposes of training, rather than plugging holes in their rosters. The withdrawal of non-contractual overtime will start at 00:01 on Monday 7 August and end at 23:59 on Saturday 12 August at: Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; Cross Country; East Midlands Railway; Greater Anglia; Great Western Railway; GTR Great Northern Thameslink; Island Line; LNER; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Southern/Gatwick Express; South Western Railway main line; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains. It follows four previous week-long bans on working overtime [from Monday 15 to Saturday 20 May; from Monday 3 to Saturday 8 July; from Monday 17 to Saturday 22 July; and from Monday 31 July to Saturday 5 August] which seriously disrupted services as companies cancelled trains right across the country. Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: ‘We don’t want to take this action – because we don’t want people to be inconvenienced – but the train companies, and the government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place because they refuse to sit down and talk to us and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer to train drivers who have not had one for four years – since 2019 – while prices have soared in that time by more than 12% read more
No to ticket office closures (5 Jul) – Commenting on plans to close 1000 ticket offices across England, Mick Whelan, general secretary, said: “Ticket offices and properly staffed stations are vital to support the needs of passengers and make our railway a safe and welcoming place for all travellers. The impact of removing staff for disabled passengers and those with access needs, luggage or buggies, would be huge and would effectively be saying to those people ‘we don’t want you on our railway’. It’s wrong. As train drivers we want the railway to be for everyone…” read more
TSSA
TSSA welcomes extension to ticket offices closure consultation (26 Jul) – The consultation on closing ticket offices has been extended to 1 September. TSSA today welcomed news that the consultation on closing ticket offices across England has been delayed read more
TSSA and ASLEF protest ticket office closures at Labour’s National Policy Forum (26 Jul) – TSSA and ASLEF joined forces at Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) last weekend to protest the government’s plans to close ticket offices across England read more
TSSA delighted at 100,000 responses to ticket office closures (20 Jul) – Rail union TSSA has said it is delighted with the announcement that over 100,000 people have responded to proposals to close almost every rail ticket office in England. The public consultation was launched at the beginning of the month and has been asking for members of the public to submit their views on plans hatched by the government. Responses have now surpassed 100,000 in the final week of the consultation before it closes on 26th July. TSSA has been a vocal opponent of the closures since they were announced, citing fears they will have a hugely detrimental impact on the rail network, leading to 2000 job losses, reducing station safety, access to travel deals and independence for disabled people and other groups. The union has been campaigning at stations and working with MPs, local decision makers and many concerned rail users. The union’s Interim General Secretary, Peter Pendle, welcomed the news that the 100,000 figure had been passed but called on the public to do more read more
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Coventry bin drivers vote for strike action over attack on terms and conditions and against a race to the bottom (28 Jul) – Attacks attempt to drive down pay and conditions through levelling down agenda. HGV refuse lorry drivers employed by Coventry council have voted for strike action over proposed attacks on their terms and conditions, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). More than 40 drivers are angry at the Labour council’s plans to end ‘task and finish’ and to possibly privatise the city’s refuse service. The plans are an attempt to drive down pay and conditions as it fights equal pay claims by GMB members. Rather than address low and unequal pay in other areas by raising pay and conditions to the level won by refuse workers, the Labour-run council is attempting to deal with GMB legal claims by bringing conditions of refuse workers down. Unite members are determined to ensure that equalities and equal pay mean better conditions for more and more workers – not equal misery for all. It is understood that the council’s cabinet will meet on Monday (July 31) to decide which course of action it will take. A decision on specific dates for the strikes, which are also over pay issues, will be taken in the near future. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Task and finish has been the norm for decades. It is an industry standard provision that helps make a dirty heavy smelly job more bearable. The council’s plans to scrap it are not just an attack on refuse workers but an attack on all its workers as it tries to equalise conditions downwards. Under these plans refuse workers will see cuts while those on even poorer pay and conditions will see no lasting benefit. The continuing cost of living crisis means that bills remain sky high and housing costs are hit with interest rate rises – it is appalling that the council response is this race to the bottom. Attacking terms and conditions and privatising services should not be in the Labour party playbook and councillors need to be reminding Coventry council’s leadership of that. The council should be levelling up not levelling down. Unite stands ready to defend our Coventry refuse members to the hilt.” During the first half of 2022, Coventry’s HGV refuse lorry drivers went on strike for six months to secure a reasonable pay rise. The council unsuccessfully spent £9.4 million trying to break the strike – an amount that dwarfed the costs of actually settling the pay claim – and was heavily criticised by Unite. Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “Once again, Coventry is behaving like a Labour council in name only with this naked attempt to drive down wages and working conditions. Levelling down on pay and conditions is a completely unacceptable response to the cost of living crisis read more
BREAKING NEWS!! South Gloucestershire bin strikes suspended to allow ballot on improved offer (28 Jul) – Strikes by 150 Suez workers, who empty bins on behalf of South Gloucestershire council, will be suspended for three days from Monday (31 July) following an improved offer from the company. The workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, will now be balloted on the new offer. If the offer is rejected, strikes will begin again on Thursday 3 August read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Manchester bus chaos as 1,000 Stagecoach drivers strike over pay (28 July) – Stagecoach bringing in huge profits but offers workers inadequate pay deal. More than 1,000 Manchester Stagecoach drivers have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, with strikes beginning in August, Unite, the UK’s leading union, announced today (Friday). The drivers have responsibility for manoeuvring large vehicles all day through heavy traffic and care for the safety of thousands of passengers. They have rejected an offer of just four per cent from June 2023 with a further four per cent in December. With the current rate of inflation, RPI, standing at 10.7 per cent, this is a real terms pay cut. Stagecoach’s latest financial report showed its adjusted profit before tax increased 98 per cent to £36.4 million in the six months to 29 October 2022. For the 2021/2022 financial year, Stagecoach reported revenues of almost £1.2 billion with adjusted profits of £72.7 million. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Stagecoach is bringing in massive profits and can well afford to give its drivers a reasonable pay increase. The company must put forward an offer that acknowledges rising living costs and the demands of what is a difficult and stressful job. Unite’s top priority is our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and Manchester’s Stagecoach drivers have the full backing of their union.” Strike action will take place on 11, 12, 13 and 14 August. Bus services across the whole of Manchester will be severely affected. More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Council workers across England and Wales vote yes to pay strikes – with more to come (28 Jul) – Coordinated industrial action across nations inevitable as rising prices and a decade of falling wages bite. Nearly 3,000 workers at 16 councils across England and Wales have voted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). Further ballots are also to set to close in the coming weeks, with even more council workers voting for strike action over a pay offer of just £1,925 – equating to an increase of between 4 per cent and 9 per cent depending on individual grades. In reality, this is a real terms pay cut for all workers. Council workers have seen their wages decline by over a quarter in real terms since 2010 due to wage freezes and below inflation pay increases. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Over the last decade, local government workers have seen their pay plummet in real terms. Rising prices have pushed many to the brink – they need a proper pay rise now. Unite will never stop fighting to defend and improve workers’ jobs, pay and conditions and our local government members have their union’s unwavering support.” Unite has balloted thousands of local authority members, with workers providing council services in Bath and North East Somerset, Cardiff, Chesterfield, Cornwall, Coventry, Cumberland, Cynon Valley, Darlington, Derby and North Tyneside, Gwynedd, Ispwich, Plymouth, Sefton, Warrington, Wigan and Wrexham the first to vote for strike action. Next week, senior Unite reps from councils across England and Wales will meet to decide a plan of action regarding the strike votes read more
Offshore caterers reject ‘unpalatable’ real terms pay cut (28 Jul) – Unite warns 900 members could be balloted over strike action. Unite the union today (28 July) confirmed its offshore catering members have rejected a real terms pay cut as the nation’s leading offshore trade union warned it could now ballot over 900 workers on strike action. 88 per cent of Unite’s members covered under Catering Offshore Trade Association (COTA) rejected a 4 per cent increase on basic pay from September 2023. Over 90 per cent also indicated a willingness to take strike action in a consultative ballot in order to fight for a higher pay offer with the broader inflation measure (RPI) currently standing at 10.7 per cent…COTA covers over 3,000 workers in offshore catering companies including Aramark, Conntrak, Entier, ESS, FOSS & ESG, and Sodexo. Unite’s membership delivers catering, laundry and ancillary services across oil and gas installations in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) read more
Birmingham airport strike off after Unite secures 13.3% pay deal (27 Jul) – Strike action by over 150 Birmingham airport security officers and terminal technicians has been cancelled after they accepted an improved pay deal. The one year pay deal will see the workers’ pay increase by 13.25 per cent, made up of a 10.5 per cent consolidated rise and 2.75 per cent non-consolidated. The deal will also see two new Unite workplace reps, a wider collective bargaining agreement and increased union organising access across the airport…The workers are directly employed by Birmingham Airport Limited (BAL) read more
Birmingham airport strikes suspended following last minute talks (17 Jul) – Strike action by over 150 Birmingham airport security officers and terminal technicians has been suspended following an improved pay offer by their employer Birmingham Airport Limited (HAL). All-out indefinite strike action, which was due to begin tomorrow (18 July), has been suspended as an act of goodwill to allow Unite’s members to be balloted on the new offer. Unite regional officer Sulinder Singh said: “Unite’s members have agreed to suspend strike action while they are balloted on the new offer. We will be making no further comment until the result of the ballot is announced.” If the offer is rejected, then indefinite strike action will begin on Tuesday 1 August read more
Weekend Gatwick strike off as Unite secures double-digit pay rises at two more firms (26 Jul) – Strikes scheduled for this weekend at Gatwick by ASC workers have been called off, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday). ASC workers voted in favour of a double digit pay rise, while workers at Menzies voted in favour of a 13 per cent increase for ground handling staff and a 17 per cent increase for the lowest paid staff, as well as enhancements to annual leave and sick pay. The votes in favour of the deals mean that both disputes have now ended, and all strike action related to them cancelled. Earlier this week, strikes by Gatwick DHL workers were also called off after the workers voted to accept a 15 per cent pay deal. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These excellent results were achieved because Menzies and ASC workers at Gatwick are unionised and stood strong. Unite does what it says on the trade union tin: Defend and improve jobs, pay and conditions for our members.” Workers at GGS have begun balloting on an improved pay offer. A further announcement will be made in due course read more
More Gatwick strikes suspended as Unite secures DHL workers 15% rise (24 Jul) – Menzies and ASC workers balloting on new offer and talks progressing at GGS. More Gatwick strikes have been suspended, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday), with workers either having accepted or being balloted on new pay offers. Strikes by DHL workers have been cancelled completely after they voted to accept a 15 per cent rise, as well as an uplift in skills pay, meaning workers will see their hourly rates increase by between 15 per cent and 31 per cent. A new shift premium of £1.25 per hour for between 0000 hrs and 0459 hrs has also been secured, increasing workers’ hourly rates by 23 per cent and 43 per cent during those hours…ASC and Menzies workers are currently balloting on improved offers. If the ASC workers reject the pay offer, they will go ahead with strike action scheduled between 28 July and 1 August as well as strikes between 4 August and 8 August. Strikes by Menzies workers between 28 July and 1 August have been suspended, however if the offer is rejected, strikes between 4 August and 8 August will go ahead. Talks with GGS are progressing in a positive direction. Strike action by GGS workers scheduled between 28 July and 1 August has been suspended to allow these to continue, with strike action between 4 August and 8 August still scheduled to go ahead if a satisfactory outcome is not reached in time read more
Gatwick DHL strikes suspended but industrial action by other firms still on (18 Jul) – Strikes by nearly 600 DHL workers on the Gatwick EasyJet contract have been suspended following an improved pay offer, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). The DHL workers will be balloted on the new offer and strikes scheduled to take place from 28 July to 1 August will now not go ahead. If the workers reject the deal, fresh strike dates will be announced. Gatwick strikes by around 450 ASC, Menzies Aviation and GGS workers are still scheduled to take place from 28 July to 1 August, with a further four days from 4 August to 8 August read more
Unite comment on Centrica profits: Public ownership needed (27 Jul) – Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “British Gas’ owner Centrica has just reported its highest ever first half year profits, raking in almost £1 billion. We need to stop dancing around our handbags and grasp the nettle. The only way to end the chaos in our energy supply is staring us in the face – public ownership. It is absolutely affordable. It would protect businesses and households. Put simply, it’s a no brainer. Both the Government and Labour need to decide whose side are they on.” Read more
Choppy waters as Scotland’s lighthouse workers resume second wave of strike action (27 Jul) – Sea vessels anchored in long-running pay dispute. Unite the union confirmed that its Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) members will resume 24-hour strike action in a long-running dispute over pay. Around 40 Unite members including able seamen, base assistants, cooks and technicians will take 24-hour strike action beginning at noon on Thursday (27 July). The action ends the following day at noon. The latest strike action follows a previous 24-hour stoppage over 26 to 27 June. The workers maintain and operate Scotland’s lighthouses, beacons and buoys at sea ensuring that vessels and ships have safe passage through Scottish waters read more
East London NHS Foundation Trust workers vote for pay and safe staffing strikes (26 Jul) – Unite members across the NHS continue to fight for health service’s future. Nearly 400 East London NHS Foundation Trust workers have voted to strike over pay and safe staffing levels, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday). The workers, from a wide number of professions and roles and based across numerous East London NHS Foundation Trust sites, will join 800 of their colleagues at Guys and St Thomas’ in industrial action to save the health service. Over 1,000 workers employed at Barts Health NHS Trust are also currently being balloted for industrial action, with the result due on 22 August. All of the workers are suffering the effects of the worst staffing crisis in NHS history. Overstretched and underpaid, they are calling on the government to address the chronic shortages blighting their hospitals read more
Coroner calls on Heathrow airport operators to improve safety after workers’ tragic death (26 Jul) – The coroner who oversaw the inquest into the death of a British Airways engineer and Unite member at Heathrow Airport has written to the airport operators, Heathrow Airports Limited (HAL), in his official capacity, seeking answers to his concerns over worker safety at Heathrow. The prevention of further deaths report from coroner Mr Richard Furniss to HAL, follows the conclusion last week (Friday 21 July) of an inquest in which a jury found that background visual interference was a contributory factor in the death of John Coles, a 44-year-old engineer who died in a vehicle collision in 2018 at Heathrow Airport read more
Irn-Bru supplies to ‘dry up’ as strike dates confirmed (26 Jul) – Cash rich A.G. Barr offers real terms pay cut despite £52.9m chilling in the bank. Unite the union today (26 July) announced strike dates set to hit the world-renowned A.G. Barr’s production and distribution centre in Cumbernauld. Unite confirmed that its trucker and shunter drivers who are essential to the supply of the company’s products including Irn-Bru, one of the nation’s most popular soft drinks, will now strike in a series of 24-hour stoppages. Nine days of strike action will start on 11 August with the final stoppage being on 6 October. A continuous ban on overtime will also begin on 8 August. The A.G. Barr workers previously backed strike action by 83 per cent read more
Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice workers to strike for first time (25 Jul) – Workers angry with wealthy charity for refusing to implement national pay deal despite years of doing so. Over 60 Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice workers are to strike for the first time, Unite, the UK’s leading union, announced today (Tuesday). The workers voted for strike action after the charity refused to increase pay in line with National Joint Council (NJC) scales operated by local authorities, as has been the norm for the last 20 years. The NJC has recommended a consolidated payment of £1,925 for all grades for 2022. Citizens Advice in Hull and East Riding can afford to implement the payment and had cash reserves of £1,076,156 as of 31 March 2022. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “For two decades, Citizens Advice’s workers in Hull and East Riding have dutifully accepted the NJC’s pay recommendation, despite it resulting in years of real terms pay cuts. But now, the charity is reneging on that agreement because they say the offer is too high. This is totally unacceptable and duplicitous behaviour by an organisation that can afford to pay. Our members, who are struggling with rising costs and are being treated appallingly by their employer, are right to strike. Our members’ jobs, pay and conditions are this union’s top priority and Citizens Advice’s workforce will receive Unite’s total support.” Over the last 10 years, NJC pay awards have resulted in real terms pay cuts of 27 per cent for Citizens Advice advisors and have reduced the pay for admin staff from £5,000 above national minimum wage in 2014 to just 40p above the minimum wage today. The workers will strike on 31 July followed by one day strikes on 7 August, 9 August and 11 August. If the dispute is not resolved more strike action will be scheduled. Citizens Advice Hull and East Riding services will not be available during the strikes read more
Suez ‘deliberately prolonging’ South Gloucestershire bin strike by refusing talks until 31 July (25 Jul) – Council needs to tell hugely profitable Suez to stop ‘childish games’ and negotiate. Suez is deliberately prolonging the bin strike in South Gloucestershire by refusing to enter into renewed negotiations until 31 July, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). Around 150 Suez workers, who empty bins on behalf of South Gloucestershire council, began industrial action over pay in June. They are taking all out strike action every day until 3 September…According to its latest UK financial returns, Suez brought in UK profits of £80.8 million in 2021. Meanwhile, Suez’s South Gloucestershire bin loaders earn just £11.53 per hour and are the lowest paid in the region. The impact from the strikes is set to worsen from 10 August, as Suez will not be able to continue using the agency staff it brought in to undermine the strike from that date. This is due to a High Court ruling earlier this month striking down government legislation allowing employers to use agencies to cover workers taking industrial action read more
Leicester Trelleborg strikes end after Unite secures pay victory (25 Jul) – Strikes at Trelleborg’s Leicester factory have ended after the workers accepted an improved pay deal. More than 100 workers at the industrial anti-vibration solution firm will receive an eight per cent pay rise backdated to April 2023. The workers will also receive a one-off £750 payment. The two-year pay deal will see workers receive a three per cent rise from April 2024, unless CPIH inflation is above five per cent, in which case pay negotiations will be reopened. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “By standing together with their union, Trelleborg’s workforce achieved a much-improved pay deal. As this result shows, Unite’s absolute focus on improving jobs, pay and conditions is paying dividends for our members.” All out strike action, which began on 11 July, has now been cancelled, with work resuming as normal. Unite regional officer Lakhy Mahal said: “Workers looking to improve their wages and working lives should join Unite and organise their colleagues to join the union as well.” Read more
Unite to send delegation to Vodafone AGM to challenge ‘reckless merger’ with Three (24 Jul) – Merger risks price rises and national security concerns over Three’s links to the Chinese state. Unite, the UK’s leading union, will send a delegation to Vodafone’s annual general meeting in London on Tuesday (25 July) to challenge its ‘reckless merger’ with Three. Unite will be highlighting likely price rises and national security concerns over the merger. Three’s owner CK Hutchison has close links with the Chinese state, while Vodafone holds a number of UK public sector contracts, including with the Ministry of Justice, the NHS and numerous police forces. Vodafone has avoided meeting with the union in advance of the AGM, so the Unite delegation will be raising these issues directly with management at the meeting read more
Unite gives important Labour policy document ‘thumbs down’ (23 Jul) – Britain’s leading trade union today refused to give its backing to an important Labour document for government at the National Policy Forum gathering in Nottingham. Unite was unable to back the document in full as it clearly crossed the union’s red lines. This included around workers’ rights in collective bargaining – an area which needs root and branch change, not just tinkering around the edges – as well as workers’ access to unions and a weakening of language around zero hours contracts read more
Redundancies at one of UK’s largest veterinary care providers risks pet safety (21 Jul) – IVC Evidensia laying off non-clinical staff ‘for greed’ will result in compromised animal care. One of the UK’s largest veterinary care providers is risking pet safety with redundancies to non-clinical staff, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). IVC Evidensia, which runs over a thousand veterinary practices across the country, is refusing to disclose how many non-clinical staff, including veterinary care assistants and receptionists, it plans to fire. However, the number is understood to be in the hundreds. IVC Evidensia reported an increase in UK revenues from £1.31 billion in 2020 to £2.84 billion in 2022. The redundancies are being made as part of a plan to attract further investment into IVC Evidensia read more
Unite calls off strike action by hundreds of Tube workers (21 Jul) – Strike action by hundreds of London Underground workers scheduled for 26 and 28 July has been called off, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The strikes have been cancelled after TfL confirmed that no changes to the pension fund will occur until September 2026 at the earliest. Following days of negotiations, TfL also confirmed that any future changes to terms and conditions will only occur through negotiations with the workers’ unions read more
Darlington Cepac print strikes escalate in pay dispute (21 Jul) – Food and drink packaging shortages as workers strike for two weeks. UK food and drink producers are facing packaging shortages as workers at Darlington print firm Cepac escalate pay strikes, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). Intensifying the dispute, over 90 workers will now hold two weeks of all out strikes rather than spread the industrial action across separate days across July, August and September. Further strikes will be announced in the coming days if an improved offer is not put forward. The industrial action is a result of the company only being prepared to offer an eight per cent “strings attached” pay increase. The offer is a real terms pay cut with the true rate of inflation (RPI) currently standing at 10.7 per cent. Cepac has said that the eight per cent increase is dependent on the working week increasing from 37 hours to 40 hours, an inferior sick pay scheme, changes to shift patterns and reduced overtime rates. Cepac is a profitable company and can afford to improve its offer. The firm’s latest accounts for 2021 lodged at Companies House shows the company made a gross profit of £34 million. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Cepac needs to table a fair pay offer and drop its attempt to cut terms and conditions. This is a profitable company that can well afford to give these workers a reasonable pay rise. Unite is entirely focused on protecting and improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and Cepac’s workforce have the full backing of their union.” The workers will strike for two weeks beginning at 0600 hrs on Monday 31 July and ending at 0559 hrs on Monday 14 August read more
Unite secures lump sum payment for hundreds of NHS staff and demands other trusts to follow suit (21 Jul) – Thousands of NHS bank workers denied expected one-off lump sum payment. Yorkshire Ambulance Trust agrees to pay bank workers a lump-sum payment. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a lump sum payment for workers employed at Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) Trust who were initially denied the one-off lump sum payment awarded to all other NHS workers, as they were employed on a bank-only contract. Unite has also issued collective grievances at other NHS Trusts where workers have come forward to say the lump sum payment has not been paid. The union is calling on all NHS Trusts to follow Yorkshire’s lead and pay the lump sum payment. Unite discovered that thousands of NHS workers, who operate solely through the bank system (effectively the NHS’ internal agency) had been denied the one-off lump sum payment that all other workers have received for the last financial year 2022/3. The payment is worth between £1,655 and £3,789, depending on a workers’ pay band. Unite discovered that the government has told NHS trusts it is up to their own discretion whether to pay the lump sum to bank workers and unlike other workers it is not funding the payment. After Unite tabled its collective grievance at YAS, it was quickly established that the trust was legally obliged to make the lump sum payment read more
Agency ruling will amplify indefinite strike at St Mungo’s (21 Jul) – A recent High Court ruling will plunge the charity into crisis without swift action. Unite has written to warn councils using St Mungo’s homelessness services. Unite has warned that St Mungo’s can no longer rely on agency labour to run a skeleton service while paying dedicated homelessness workers a pittance. Workers at the charity have been on indefinite strike action since 27 June. A recent High Court ruling now threatens to plunge the charity into crisis without swift action. From Wednesday 10 August employers will be barred from recruiting agency staff to undermine legal strike action (see notes). The charity is currently using a number of agencies. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Bosses at St Mungo’s can’t hide behind agency labour anymore in order to pay homelessness workers a pittance. Irresponsibly dragging out this dispute past the 10 August will plunge the charity into a crisis.” St Mungo’s increased its pay offer from 2.25 per cent to a paltry 3.7 per cent. This is despite St Mungo’s having £16 million in cash and substantial reserves. The pay offer was rejected. Bosses have failed to make any attempt to improve the offer. The charity’s pay offer fell short of alleviating the workers’ fear of being unable to pay their rent or mortgage on their current poverty wages. Unite has recruited 350 new members since the start of the strike. Unite regional officer Steve O’Donnell said: “St Mungo’s has been using agency staff to try to undermine our strike but it hasn’t worked. All it has done is drag out the dispute and contribute to a toxic culture. Bosses have been doing workers and the people who rely on the charity a great disservice.” Unite balloted over 500 workers across southern England including in London, Bristol, Brighton, Oxford, Bournemouth and Reading read more strike fund More info on Unite Housing Workers website
Virgin Money UK to close over 30% of bank branches (20 Jul) – Virgin Money UK has told staff today that 39 bank branches will close before the end of the year resulting in 260 job losses. The bank has today (20 July) informed its workforce that a third of Virgin Money bank branches will close by the end of 2023 read more
Response to the 13th Note Glasgow closure (19 Jul) – Responding to the shocking closure announcement, Bryan Simpson, Lead for Unite Hospitality, said: “To close a workplace and sack more than 20 people is both trade union intimidation and with only one week of wages and less than 30 days’ notice is also unlawful – plain and simple. Unite had a firm commitment to meet with ACAS, a meeting which the owner called for, and promises that redundancies would be paused. Then, without even speaking with the staff, the owner has reneged on this and went to the media with a sob story whilst leaving her workers high and dry. The employer didn’t have the decency to tell some of their workers that they are being made redundant before she briefed to press with a smear campaign, aimed to discredit those who have made her profits over the years. It was the workers who made this venue, and we will do everything we can to ensure that this continues.” Read more
Glasgow Parking Wardens and Emirates Arena staff vote for strike action (19 Jul) – Cycling World Championships ‘under threat’ due to poor council pay. Around 70 Unite members’ employed by Glasgow Life at the Emirates Arena and Unite members’ employed by City Parking have voted to take industrial action. They are the first of potentially thousands of Unite members’ across Local Government taking action in response to the ‘poor’ pay offer from COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) with Unite members’ in schools also being balloted for action. With 100 per cent of workers in City Parking and 91.67 per cent at the Emirates Arena voting to take industrial action, the first day of action would take place on the 3rd of August, which coincides with the beginning of the UCI Cycling World Championship in Glasgow. Unite have warned that unless gears are set in motion to reopen negotiations, poor pay could directly impact the operation at the Emirates and see the venue closed on the opening day of the event. Unite City Parking wardens would also impact the event, as traffic enforcement is necessary to keep roads clear and safe for road cyclists. The only ticket to resolve this is to end poor pay for Local Authority workers read more
Further two days of strike action confirmed as dispute at Vista Therm escalates following union-busting response of management (19 Jul) – Elected workplace rep suspended and union members at the factory have been threatened with disciplinary and legal action. Union challenges Managing Director Philip Corrigan to intervene to avoid further escalation. Members of Unite the union employed at Vista Therm, a glass manufacturer based at Silverwood in Craigavon, have been subject to extreme union-busting tactics following last Friday’s one-day strike. The strike followed a unanimous (100%) ballot for industrial action, up to and including strike, which was taken in response to the company’s refusal to engage in pay negotiations. Management claim that they no longer recognise Unite the union despite a collective bargaining agreement existing at the workplace since 2007. On Friday, representatives of Vista Therm came out to the picket to note the names of workers and police were called out. Since returning to work, union members have been subject to an extreme campaign of union-busting – including the suspension of an elected workplace representative and numerous trade union members being threatened with disciplinary action. The workforce, which is overwhelmingly Polish speaking, report exclusively English-language warnings being issued questioning their absence from work and management adopting tactics of repeatedly shifting trade unionists around the factory. Last week, Unite lodged notice of a further two days of strike action on Thursday and Friday coming (20th/21st July). The union warned that the strike action was likely to escalate with a more extensive stoppage in the coming period. Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham challenged Vista Therm management on their union-busting actions read more
Real terms pay cut provokes strike action at Luton Airport (19 Jul) – The strike will mean disruption when accessing the airport and the terminal. A real terms pay cut has prompted workers at Luton Airport to announce two days of strike action on Friday 28 July and Tuesday 1 August 2023. The workers who are employed by APCOA Parking UK are calling on the company to enter into pay negotiations rather than imposing a below inflation 6 per cent pay deal which amounts to a real terms pay cut. The strike will inevitably mean delays for passengers and staff who use the car parks and terminal at Luton Airport. The workers taking action include valet parking workers and bus drivers transporting passengers and staff from car parks to the airport terminal. Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Workers at Luton Airport won’t accept a pay cut dressed up as a pay rise. At a time when prices are going through the roof APCOA need to negotiate with Unite rather than imposing a real terms pay cut. The workers have Unite’s solid support.” Workers will take strike action between 06:30am on Friday 28 July until Saturday 29 July at 06:29am. And again at 06:30am hours on Tuesday 1 August until Wednesday 2 August at 06:29am read more
Stanlow oil refinery: Victory! (19 Jul) – Around 450 construction workers in Unite the Union at the Essar Stanlow oil refinery in the northwest have won a famous victory. They were due to start industrial action over bonus payments, with an overtime ban due to start on Monday 17 July followed by a first 48-hour strike beginning on the Tuesday. However, bosses have backed down and are now paying the full bonus rate of £2.37 an hour – up from the original 80p! Read more on Socialist Party website
Offshore dispute ends after Unite Stork members win increase (18 Jul) – New offer will see the end to strike action with a 10 per cent salary increase, backdated to January. Unite members in Stork have today (Tuesday 18th July) voted by 61 per cent to end their industrial action after a ballot which will see offshore salaries increase by 10 per cent and be backdated to January 2023. The ballot, in which 88 per cent of Unite members voted, brings this long dispute to an end. Around 700 of Unite’s Stork membership have taken part in strike action since May read more
First Manchester bus strikes stretch into August (18 Jul) – Three-part offer must come in one instalment or strikes will continue to intensify. Pay strikes by around 360 bus drivers employed by First Manchester are to stretch into August, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). First Manchester, which pays drivers a pound an hour less than the region’s other bus operators, has offered a three-part deal. The split would see a rise backdated from April, with another implemented from October and a final one in January. The drivers have been clear that they expect any pay deal to be implemented fully from April. On top of difficult working conditions, including a lack of access to toilets, long shifts and exhaustion from looking after the safety of thousands of passengers in busy built-up areas, the drivers often face physical and verbal abuse. First Manchester can afford to put forward a pay offer that would be accepted by the drivers. First Group’s 2022 annual report shows that operating profits increased by more than £6 million to £226.8 million. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “First has millions in the bank and is penny pinching – much to the detriment of the travelling public. The amount it would cost to implement a single pay deal is water off a duck’s back to the company. “To First Manchester’s struggling drivers, however, receiving a full pay rise in one go will help relieve the financial pressures they are under from rising prices and historic low pay. Our members do a tough job, First Manchester needs to acknowledge that by providing a no-strings pay deal.” Previously announced strike action will take place on 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 28 July. Further strikes have now been announced for 31 July and 2, 4, 7, 10 and 11 August. More strikes will be called if First Manchester does not put forward an improved pay offer read more
Workington bin chaos to worsen as agency strike breakers banned (18 Jul) – Council-owned Allerdale Waste Services will not be able to bring in agency staff to cover striking bin workers after 10 August. The impact from all-out strikes by workers employed by Allerdale Waste Services, which is 100 per cent owned by Cumberland council, is set to worsen after a High Court ruling banning agency staff. Following the government’s decision to reverse the ban on employers hiring agency staff during strike action in July 2022, a group of trade unions, including Unite, challenged the decision through a judicial review coordinated by the TUC. The High Court last week upheld the unions’ judicial review. The 2022 amendment to the regulations has now been quashed due to the government’s complete failure to consult prior to implementing their proposals, as required by legislation. Employers will be barred from recruiting agency staff to undermine legal strike action from Wednesday 10 August. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a total vindication for unions and workers. The government’s decision to allow employers to recruit agency staff to undermine legal strike action was a cynical move to back their friends in business and weaken workers’ legal rights to withdraw their labour. “It was entirely counterproductive as, rather than weaken industrial action, it has hardened attitudes and unnecessarily extended strikes. The dispute with Allerdale Waste Services and Cumberland council is a perfect example of that. The only way this dispute will be resolved is with an acceptable offer from the company.” The workers have been on all-out strike since 16 May in a dispute over pay. The workers’ pay rates are among the lowest in the entire country. The loaders are paid just £10.90 an hour, while the drivers, who are required to hold an HGV licence, are only paid £11.89 an hour. Tensions in the dispute have further increased as the agency staff brought in to undermine the strike are earning £14 an hour, well in excess of the rates for the permanent staff. Fresh talks between Unite and Cumberland council yesterday collapsed read more
Somerset bin strikes off as Suez workers accept 9% pay rise (18 Jul) – Strikes by more than 200 Suez workers responsible for emptying bins on behalf of Somerset council have been cancelled after the workers accepted an improved pay offer. The workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, voted overwhelmingly to accept a nine per cent pay rise. The company’s original offer was 4.85 per cent. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “When workers stand together in a union they win, as Suez’s Somerset workers have shown. Once again, Unite’s laser focus on improving jobs, pay and conditions has put money into the pockets of our members.” Unite regional officer Tim Morris said: “This result shows why those looking to improve their wages and working lives should join Unite and get their colleagues to do the same.” Around 150 Suez workers employed the South Gloucestershire refuse contract remain on all-out indefinite strike over pay read more
Paint shortage looming as Akzo Nobel workers in Gateshead strike over pay (14 Jul) – Paint shortages are looming across the UK as workers employed by International Paints (parent company Akzo Nobel) will begin strike action later this month in a dispute over pay. The 230 plus workers are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union. They voted for strike action after rejecting a pay offer of 4.8 per cent, which is in effect a substantial real terms pay cut, with the true inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 11.3 per cent. The workers, who are based at the Stoneygate Lane factory, produce specialist paints, which are used on ships and offshore facilities, as well as producing the polymer that is used in most Akzo Nobel’s paint brands, including Dulux. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members undertake vital roles and are critical to the success of Akzo Nobel, in the teeth of the cost of living crisis there is no way they are going to accept a significant real terms pay cut. “Unite is totally focused on the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the workers at International Paints will receive the union’s complete support.” Strike action will begin on Thursday 27 July and will take place on every Monday and Thursday for a four week period with the last day of industrial action initially scheduled for Thursday 24 August. The workers who are taking strike action include production and distribution workers, engineering and technical support, some office and admin support and personnel in research and development read more
Pay and understaffing provokes strike ballot at Barts NHS Trust (11 Jul) – Workers transferred to the NHS from Serco demand pay justice and safe staffing. Unite accuses Barts of short changing some of the lowest paid workers in the trust. Over 1,000 NHS workers at Barts Health NHS Trust will begin voting on industrial action today (Tuesday 11 July) in a dispute over low pay and understaffing. Last year a tireless campaign by Unite activists and union reps, which included strike action, paved the way for the workers to be transferred to NHS employment. The cleaners, caterers, porters, security guards, ward hosts and domestic staff had previously been employed by Serco. But over 1000 workers who transferred onto NHS terms after 31 March 2023 are absolutely furious that Barts is refusing to pay them a £1,655 lump sum which is part of the NHS pay deal. A significant number of workers are also losing money due to the way the NHS disregarded their length of service while employed by Serco and attempts by the Trust to pay workers inferior overtime rates. The workforce are also suffering the effects of the worst staffing crisis in NHS history. Over stretched and overworked, they are calling on Barts and the UK Government to address the chronic shortages blighting their hospitals…The ballot opens today (Tuesday 11 July) and closes on Tuesday 22 August read more
Unite announces fresh NHS strikes in London and Yorkshire in pay and safe staffing dispute (7 Jul) – Unite members at Guys and St Thomas’ hospital in London and at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service will take strike action next week in the long running dispute over pay and safe staffing. The workers at Guys and St Thomas’ will hold a 24 hour strike from 07:00 on Thursday 13 July, while the union’s members at Yorkshire Ambulance Service will strike on Friday 14 July, between 15:00 and 22:00. The industrial action in both cases will coincide with the latest strike action being taken by junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association. The strikes are the latest development in the union’s long running pay dispute. Unite rejected the government’s pay offer this spring, as it failed to address the recruitment and retention crisis that has engulfed the NHS. Unite is also taking action due to increasing concerns about safe staffing in the NHS. A recent survey of Unite’s NHS workers found that in the past year 48 per cent of members had regularly witnessed staffing shortages that had compromised patient care. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The NHS’ recruitment and retention crisis is worsening by the day. Until the government addresses the chronic low pay of NHS workers, the problems currently being experienced will only become more severe. Unite’s focus on the jobs, pay and conditions of its members, means that our workers taking industrial action in the NHS will enjoy the union’s complete support.” Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “Our members are determined to take a stand and highlight how the government’s real terms pay cuts are undermining the NHS and risking patients’ lives.” Unite is currently balloting/re-balloting a substantial number of its members at NHS Trusts throughout England to expand its industrial action mandate read more
Newbury and District Bus strikes suspended following improved pay offer (7 Jul) – The initial days of strike action involving drivers employed by Newbury and District Bus Company have been suspended following an improved pay offer by the company. This means that the strikes scheduled for today (Friday 7 July) and Monday 10 July will not go ahead as the members are balloted on the revised offer. Unite regional co-ordinating officer Scott Kemp said: “Unite was clear from the outset that the employer could make an improved offer and this has proved to be the case. It is now for our members to decide if what is on the table meets their expectations.” If the offer is rejected the strikes scheduled for 14, 19, 20 and 21 July will go ahead as planned read more
Darchem Teesside pay strikes intensify with shut downs across July and August (6 Jul) – Formula One, Rolls Royce, BAE, Hinkley Point impacted after ‘hugely profitable’ firm offers ‘pay cut’. Pay strikes by nearly 300 workers employed by engineering firm Darchem in Stillington, Stockton-on-Tees, will intensify over the summer, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Thursday). The workers have already taken seven days of strike action over pay, with a further 15 days now scheduled to take place during July and August. This week, the workers rejected in a ballot by 92 per cent an offer of six per cent backdated to February, with a further four per cent in October. The offer removed a condition that the pay anniversary date be changed from February to October, which would have resulted in a 20-month pay deal being imposed. However, the workers believe that a split pay deal is still unreasonable given the company’s huge profits. Darchem, owned by the US-based TransDigm Group, is an extremely profitable company that makes a range of products for the automotive, aerospace, energy and shipbuilding industries. The company’s latest financial returns show it had a turnover of over £108 million in 2021. During the same year, operating profits increased by 53.3 per cent to £25.3 million…The strikes, which also involve members of the GMB union, will shut down Darchem’s Stillington factory. This will impact production for Darchem’s clients, including BAE, Formula One racing companies, Hinkley Point and Rolls Royce aerospace. The fresh strikes will take place from 18 to 21 July, 25 to 28 July, 1 to 4 August, 8 to 11 August and 15 to 18 August read more
Firefighters in Waterford and Tipperary to take industrial action tomorrow (6 Jul) – Dispute centres on LGMA refusal to engage with Unite members. Over forty Unite members working as retained firefighters in Counties Waterford and Tipperary will take industrial action tomorrow (Friday 7 July). The dispute follows the ongoing failure of the Local Government Management Association – which represents local authorities – to engage with Unite regarding a number of issues. Retained firefighters, who form the backbone of the Ireland’s firefighting service, have seen their retainers and call-out fees frozen for a many years, and location requirements make it difficult or impossible for them to supplement their low earnings with other work. Retained firefighters are also seeking structured and predictable ‘off-call’ times, rather than – as is currently the reality – operating on a 24/7 basis read more
Roads Service workers strike in dispute over productivity-based pay system (4 Jul) – Workers concerned that productivity unit bonus leaves workers subject to management victimisation and undermines health and safety. Strike action commenced at roads service depots in west yesterday [Monday 3rd July] and due at depots in east from Thursday 6th July. Roads Service workers in Unite the union have recommenced strike action in their industrial campaign to end pay being subject to manager’s discretion read more
Leicester aerospace engine bolt maker Howmet hit by pay strikes (27 Jun) – Highly profitable firm offers low paid workers inadequate ‘strings attached’ pay deal. More than 50 Leicester factory workers employed by aerospace engine bolt manufacturer Howmet are to strike later this month, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). The workers, who earn as little as £11 per hour and an average of £12.50 an hour, have rejected a four per cent offer, plus purported pay incentives, that has more ‘strings attached than a grand piano’. Howmet Fastenings’ latest financial report shows it made UK profits of over £4 million for the year ending December 2021. US-based parent company Howmet Aerospace, meanwhile, reported that international revenue in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 21 per cent to $1.6 billion, with profits of $360 million. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Howmet may proclaim that it has put forward a generous pay offer but it is smoke and mirrors – the deal has more strings attached than a grand piano. Howmet’s workers are low paid and struggling with rising living costs, while the company brings in millions. Unite’s top priority is our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and these striking workers will receive the union’s full support until Howmet puts forward an acceptable pay offer.” Howmet’s Leicester factory supplies parts to Rolls Royce, Pratt and Whitney. The first day of strike action will take place on Thursday 29 June, followed by a continuous overtime ban and work to rule after the strike ends. If the dispute is not resolved further strike dates will be scheduled read more
Langford Lodge workers in Crumlin to commence weeklong strike action tomorrow morning (25 Jun) – Strike follows decisive rejection of inadequate last minute pay offer with 70% majority. Solidarity with workforce has already led to cancellation of visit by client Martin Baker. Members of Unite the union working at RLC Langford Lodge Ltd, a leading manufacturer of parts for the defence and civil aerospace sector, are to commence a first week of strike action tomorrow [Monday 26th June]. Pickets will be established at factory gates at the Crumlin site from dawn and will be maintained until midnight on July 2nd. The strike is an escalation of a pre-existing overtime ban in which workers are refusing to work outside their contracted hours or answer electronic devices. The strike will shutdown production at the factory at which 200 are employed read more
St Helens NGF glass cord engineers strike over pay (23 Jun) – NGF workers angry pay offer less than colleagues received at sister company Pilkingtons sites. St Helen’s engineering and maintenance workers employed by NGF, which produces glass cord used in rubber and plastic products, will strike over pay. Unite, the UK’s leading union, said the workers are angry at being offered a 5.65 per cent pay rise plus an £800 bonus that is lower than offers received by their colleagues at nearby sites. NGF is a sister company to Pilkingtons UK, whose workers at a number of sites in the surrounding region have received pay rises 6.75 per cent plus £750 and 7.5 per cent. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members are rightly angry they are being treated as second class employees compared to their colleagues at nearby Pilkingtons. Unite is now completely focused on protecting and improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and these workers will receive their union’s total support.” The workers will stage two 48 hours strikes on 2 July and 14 July. If the dispute is not resolved strike action will escalate. The dispute also involved members of the GMB union read more
OCS workers at Glasgow Airport vote to strike after no shift on ‘poverty pay offer’ (22 Jun) – Workers who aid passengers with mobility challenges expected to stop during busy summer season. Unite has confirmed today (22 June) a key group of workers based at Glasgow Airport have emphatically voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay, and that the initial action will occur in July. Around 70 Unite members employed by OCS Group UK Limited voted by 95 per cent in favour of taking strike action on a 91 per cent turnout. Unite’s members previously rejected a ‘poverty pay’ offer by 96 per cent which would have taken basic pay to £10.90 per hour. There has been no improved pay offer to date by OCS. Unite has further confirmed that 24-hour strike action will now start on 6 July and end the following day with a further stoppage taking place on 11 July read more
Selby bin chaos as workers strike over ‘rubbish pay’ (21 Jun) – Nearly 40 Urbaser refuse workers to walkout in June, July and August over poverty wages. Nearly 40 outsourced refuse workers in Selby, employed by waste company Urbaser on behalf of the North Yorkshire unitary authority, will strike during the summer over ‘rubbish pay’. The dispute is a result of the workers rejecting an eight per cent pay offer because they are on some of the lowest rates in the country for their roles. Bin loaders and grounds workers are paid just £10.64 an hour and refuse lorry drivers, who require an HGV license, are paid just £12.51 an hour. The workers have also been offered a bonus, but they are angry it is less than the cost-of-living payment provided to refuse workers employed in other areas of the newly formed (Conservative controlled) North Yorkshire unitary authority read more
Network Rail facing signalling delays as Unipart Rail workers in Crewe strike over pay (21 Jun) – The UK is set for serious disruption of railway signalling parts, Unite, the UK’s leading union, has warned, as workers at Unipart Rail Ltd have announced strike action in a pay dispute following a derisory pay offer. The workers, who are based at Unipart Rail’s Crewe depot, have rejected a 4.75 per cent pay increase, which is in reality a pay cut, with the true inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 11.3 per cent. The workers have announced two initial 24 hour strikes on Wednesday 5 July and Wednesday 12 July. An overtime ban will also be in place from 3 July until 16 July read more
Unite members set for industrial action on Water Services Framework (20 Jun) – Water delivery workers in local authorities to down tools on Friday 30 June. Unite seeking changes to Water Services Framework including referendum commitment. Unite members involved in water delivery services around the country will take industrial action on Friday 30 June. The dispute follows members’ decision to reject the ‘Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services’ document put forward by the Workplace Relations Commission last year. The dispute centres around the failure of the local authorities and their representative association to engage with Unite concerning what the union believes to be shortcomings in the Framework document read more
Edinburgh University joiners to strike over pay (20 Jun) – Union warns of student safety concerns as 72-hour action set to start. Joiners employed by the University of Edinburgh are set to strike for 72-hours starting on Friday (23 June) in a long-running dispute over pay. Around a dozen estates department workers who are members of Unite previously voted for strike action by 100 per cent over the failure by University management to address pay disparities on campus. The trade union is highlighting that joiners, despite undertaking a four-year apprenticeship, are paid around £2,000 a year less than locksmiths who undertake training for two weeks. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The joiners at the University of Edinburgh fully deserve pay parity with other tradespersons on campus. Unite’s members provide skilled and vital work which keeps students safe in the event they are locked out their accommodation. We will support them all in the way in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.” A series of stoppages will take place throughout June and July with the first beginning at 8am on Friday (23 June) and continuing up to 26 June when the action concludes at 7:59am read more
Regulator of Social Housing on strike (20 Jun) – Striking for a week. There was a determined mood on the Regulator of Social Housing picket on Monday. Strike action had the Housing Ombudsman, another quango with a similar relation with the government, had been suspended on Friday following talks but the strike at the regulator continues for a week. Both groups of workers are calling on their employer to respond to the pressures of inflation currently standing at 11.4% RPI read more
Education Authority workers in Unite set to commence first day of seven day strike action (14 Jun) – Strike follows Secretary of State’s punitive budget that has left Education Department unable to deliver pay & grading business case. Unite the union members employed by the Education Authority are set to commence seven days of strike action tomorrow [15th June]. The industrial action follows an overwhelming ballot result in which 94% of Unite members voted for strike action. The strike results from the failure of the Department of Education to implement a pay and grading review. The review would see significant increases to the pay of Education Authority workers but its implementation has been prevented as a result of the punitive budget set for the Department by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The strike involves more than 700 education workers and will extend for seven weekdays. Schools across Northern Ireland are likely to experience significant disruption as a result as Unite’s membership includes school bus drivers, escorts and maintenance workers, catering staff, classroom assistants, playground supervisors, school administrative staff, cleaners, building supervisors and ground maintenance staff. The General Secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, committed her union’s full support for the striking education workers read more
Unite announces Xplore Dundee strike action after meaningless conciliation talks with company (9 Jun) – Blame for 12 weeks strike action lies with company management for failure to move on pay. Unite the union announced today (9 June) that around 200 workers employed by Xplore Dundee will take twelve weeks strike action in a dispute over pay. The bus workers based from the East Dock Street depot will begin the strike action from Monday (12 June) lasting until 3 September. Unite’s members recently supported strike action by 93 per cent on an 88.6 per cent turnout. Unite members involved in the ballot included drivers, duty managers, platform staff, and administrative staff read more
GSK strike action escalates in pay dispute (8 Jun) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by pharmaceutical giant GSK are set to escalate their strike action in a dispute over pay. The 750 workers – who undertake a wide variety of roles including engineers, process technicians, laboratory analysts, warehouse workers and fire officers – have rejected a significantly below inflation offer of six per cent and a one off lump sum of £1,300. This is a substantially below the real inflation rate, RPI, of 11.4 per cent. The pay offer is in stark contrast to the huge salary of GSK’s chief executive Emma Walmsley, who received £8.4 million last year. It has been estimated that she only has to work a single day to receive the same pay that the employees striking receive for the entire year. GSK is an incredibly wealthy company. It’s latest financial results reveal it made an operating profit of £8.15 billion, a 26 per cent increase on the previous year. The cost of resolving Unite’s pay claim would be just 0.05 per cent of the company’s profits. GSK has said they can afford the workers’ pay claim but have decided to use the money in other areas. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a clear example of corporate greed on a grand scale. The company is hugely profitable, the chief executive is paid in millions and yet they won’t give the workers a fair pay rise. Make no mistake, Unite will be giving its members at GSK its total support. The company’s attitude is indefensible.” The strike action will involve workers at GSK’s plants at Barnard Castle, Irvine, Montrose, Ulverston, Ware and Worthing. The first strike this month will be at Ware on 9 June (full details of all the strikes in notes for editors). Further strikes will be announced in the coming days. Unite members took initial strike action in the dispute last month read more
Drax materials handling workers to begin pay strikes (7 Jun) – Around 100 Hargreaves workers being ‘ripped off’ over shift pay. Around 100 Hargreaves workers employed in a technical materials handling capacity at Drax power station in Selby in Yorkshire, will begin pay strikes later this week, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday). Workers employed directly by Drax performing the same role are paid £16,000 a year on top of their base pay for working shifts – ten times the around £1,600 a year Hargreaves staff receive for shift work. The pay deal currently on offer from Hargreaves, which includes an eight per cent increase in the workers’ basic rate, does not address the disparity in shift pay. It is also a real terms pay cut, with the real rate of inflation, RPI, standing at 11.4 per cent. In the six months to November 2022, Hargreaves made profits before tax of £18.7 million. The firm’s highest paid director has also received a 26.8 per cent pay increase to £246,000 a year. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Hargreaves is an extremely profitable company and can afford to pay these workers properly. It is disgraceful that they are being treated as second class employees compared to their colleagues employed directly by Drax. This needs to change. Hargreave’s workers have their union’s unflinching support as they strike for a fair wage rise and proper shift pay.” The workers will stage an initial 24-hour walkout beginning at 19.00 hrs on Sunday 11 June. Strike action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved. Strike action could impact electricity generation operations at Drax read more
Hayle Maen Karne protest to be held over company’s ‘disgraceful’ union-busting (6 Jun) – Demonstration supporting HGV drivers striking for union recognition. A protest will be held in Hayle in Cornwall on 7th June against concrete product supplier Maen Karne, whose HGV mixer drivers are striking over the company’s refusal to recognise their union. Pictures and video of the protests will be available on request. The workers requested a voluntary recognition agreement from Maen Karne, owned by the GRS Roadstone group, on behalf of Unite to allow for collective bargaining over pay and conditions, which was rejected. The drivers deliver fresh concrete across Cornwall and began strike action on 30 May, with the current round of industrial action set to last until Friday 9 June. If the dispute is not resolved strike action will escalate, causing further delays of concrete to construction sites across Cornwall read more
Striking workers attend first meeting of newly-elected Belfast City Council to raise need for inflation-proof pay increases (6 Jun) – Unite the union delegation demands politicians take the side of workers in coming strike wave. A delegation from Unite the union, including striking workers at the Dunmurry-based manufacturer Survitec, has addressed the first meeting of the newly-elected Belfast City Council [last night, 5th June]. The delegation warned councillors of an impending wave of strikes across Belfast as workers were forced to take strike action to win inflation-proof pay increases. The union has just confirmed that workers at Lisburn-based Creative Composites has voted by 100% on a 100% turnout for strike action on pay as well. Unite the union General Secretary Sharon Graham congratulated the striking Survitec workers on their initiative read more
Leeds pump manufacturer facing strike action across June which will disrupt supply (24 May) – Many of the UK’s largest companies are braced for problems and delays in acquiring specialist pumping products as workers at Leeds based Sulzer Pumps, have announced strike action following a poor pay offer. The approx 100 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, who are based at the company’s Manor Mill Lane factory have rejected a pay offer of 6.5 per cent and a £275 one off payment. The pay offer was in effect a substantial real terms pay cut with the current true rate of inflation (RPI) at 11.4 per cent. The workers will initially take strike action next month on 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 June as well as 7 July read more
Workers at ‘monstrously wealthy’ City of London Corporation strike over pay attack (22 May) – Local authority for Square Mile has over £1.2b in reserves but slashes pay by 8.5% in real terms. More than 250 workers at the City of London Corporation, the local authority for London’s Square Mile financial centre, are to strike over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). The City of London Corporation has imposed a lump sum pay increase for 2022/23 that is on average worth around 5 per cent. With the real rate of inflation (RPI) currently standing at 13.5 per cent, this is a real terms pay cut of 8.5 per cent. The workers also not see their wages rise during 2021/22, after the corporation reneged on the previous pay agreement. Unite’s members at the corporation are struggling with rocketing living costs and rents in London, one of the most expensive cities on the planet. Workers have reported using foodbanks, with one even sleeping in their car during the working week to keep travel costs down. Meanwhile, the local authority’s latest financial report shows it had reserves of over £1.2 billion in March 2022. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The City of London Corporation is monstrously wealthy but believes its already hard up workers should swallow a substantial real terms pay cut. The corporation does much to support and advocate for elite bankers earning millions. How can it possibly accept that its own staff should be driven to measures like using foodbanks and sleeping in cars just to get by? Unite never accepts attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions and the corporation’s workforce will receive Unite’s unflinching support during these strikes.” The striking workers are employed in a variety of roles including security, police staff, grounds maintenance and administrative functions. Members of the GMB union are also involved in the dispute. The workers will stage an initial 24-hour strike on Thursday 25 May, severely disrupting the corporation’s key services. More industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
Ferrari and Rolls Royce facing production delays during Gloucestershire and Somerset pay strikes (24 Apr) – Trelleborg workers in Tewkesbury and Bridgewater strike over ‘pay cut’ while firm brings in huge profits. More than 200 Trelleborg workers in Tewkesbury and Bridgewater supplying seals to aerospace, auto, medical, food and energy firms will strike over a real terms pay cut, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). The factory workers, who make seals for clients such as Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Air Bus, the Ministry of Defence and Carl Zeiss, are striking after rejecting a 5.2 per cent pay offer. With the true rate of inflation, (RPI), at 13.5 per cent this is real terms pay cut of 8.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Trelleborg Seal Solutions’ latest financial report shows a turnover of £96.6 million and gross profits of £28.8 million…The first round of strikes will take place from 2 to 5 May, with industrial action set to intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more
Construction contractors to strike at DSM’s Dalry plant (17 Apr) – 3 week-long strike set to begin over bonus dispute involving Kaefer and Altrad. Unite the union members are set to begin a three-week long strike tomorrow (18 April) at DSM’s Dalry plant. The dispute is over the failure by Kaefer Limited and Altrad Babcock Limited to pay a local bonus to engineering construction workers who operate under the National Agreement for Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) across the UK. The workers are demanding a local bonus under the terms of the NAECI agreement in recognition of flexibility and work being undertaken to assist with the delivery of a new manufacturing plant. Kaefer and Altrad along with DSM, who own the manufacturing plant, have refused to enter negotiations over bonus payments. DSM’s parent group – Royal DSM N.V. Group – recently recorded a net profit of €1.7bn (£1.5bn) for 2022. The strike action begins from 18 April and continues each day up to 8 May 2023 when the action will conclude at 23:59pm read more
Saica paper workers in Manchester to strike in pay dispute (12 Apr) – Workers employed at Saica Paper UK Ltd in Manchester are to begin industrial action this month in a dispute over pay. The 40 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are employed in production roles at the Manchester Road factory. The company produces 100 per cent recycled paper for corrugated cardboard. The workers recorded a 97 per cent vote in favour of strike action, having rejected a below inflation pay offer. They were offered a 9.5 per cent pay increase which is in itself a real terms pay cut with the inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 13.8 per cent. To make matters worse workers on average only received 6.5 per cent of the offer as a consolidated increase (permanent pay) with the rest being a one off lump sum payment…An initial series of six 12 and 24 hour strikes have been called for 21, 25 and 29 April, followed by 1, 5, 8 May read more
Rosyth dockyard workers to strike for 12 weeks threatening Type 31 Frigate contract (7 Apr) – 100 Kaefer contractors to down tools in pay dispute. Unite the union confirmed today (7 April) that around 100 members employed by construction contractor Kaefer Limited are set to take 12 weeks all-out strike action at the Rosyth dockyard. The Kaefer workers, which includes painters, cleaners, scaffolders and support service staff, are set to take the strike action from 17 April up to 10 July. Unite claims the strike action will directly threaten progress on the Type 31 frigates contract. Unite members emphatically supported strike action by 98.4 per cent over the failure by Kaefer to make a formal pay offer. The company following the strike vote made a 7.2 per cent pay offer which has been rejected by the workforce. Inflation currently stands at a forty-five year high of 13.8 per cent (RPI) read more
Newry Mourne and Down council services to be heavily impacted by industrial action from April 10th (6 Apr) – Members of GMB, NIPSA and SIPTU commence work-to-rule from Monday 10th April, to be joined by Unite from 12th April. Industrial action by members of all four trade unions at council proceeds after management renege on commitment to partnership-based job evaluation process. Trade unions at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council confirmed that industrial action is to commence at the local authority body. The action is set to commence with a work-to-rule by members of GMB, NIPSA and SIPTU on Monday April 10th with members of Unite the union joining the action from April 12th. The unions have warned that the industrial action, although confined to a ‘work-to-rule’ at this stage, is likely to result in significant impact to council services including those at leisure centres and with bin collections. The industrial dispute proceeds after members of all four unions voted for both strike action and action short of strike action in ballots. The dispute centres on attempts by management to ditch an earlier commitment reached in 2021 to a partnership-based approach for job evaluations. Management are also seeking to remove allowances for new staff members – creating a two-tier workforce. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is one of the last councils to meaningful engage with trade unions in the RPA process – despite the new councils coming into being 8 years ago. The work-to-rule will see workers refuse to take on overtime, tasks outside their job description, providing absentee cover or using their own vehicles for work purposes read more
Strike by over 300 Dundee City Council trades workers goes ahead (3 Apr) – Dispute over outsourcing and management failures. Unite the union can confirm today (3 April) that strike action by over 300 trades workers at Dundee City Council will go ahead tomorrow. All-out strike action is set to begin on 4 April for three weeks until 28 April, and then it will be followed by rounds of daily action until 23 June (see notes to editor). The dispute is centred on claims that public contracts to private contractors are being prepared for outsourcing by Dundee City Council read more
Unite blasts disgraceful Kingspan strikebreaking in effort to avoid fair pay (22 Mar) – Union escalates to round-the-clock pickets at Portadown site to defeat company greed. English workers get four star treatment while Polish workers left with hostels. Unite the union can reveal that Ulster Rugby sponsor Kingspan is flying in strikebreakers in a `disgraceful’ effort to undermine workers taking strike action for fair pay. Workers from Kingspan sites in Williton in Somerset, England and Rokietnica in Poland have been flown over in recent weeks and are now being used in an attempt to continue production onsite read more
CWU
Grim determination & solid unity among CWU Royal Mail reps (28 Jul) – Union at all levels must ‘take ownership’ of the new national agreement and make sure the employer honours its commitments. Hundreds of CWU divisional, branch, area and workplace representatives gathered in Leeds earlier this week for the union’s first national Royal Mail briefing since the Business Recovery, Transformation & Growth (BRTG) ballot result. Speeches from our general secretary Dave Ward, acting deputy general secretary postal (DGSP) Andy Furey and national officers Mark Baulch, Davie Robertson and Carl Maden were interspersed with 22 questions, comments and points of view from the speakers from the floor – as the union continued to collectively rebuild and reorganise for the challenging period ahead read more
Union vows to support beleaguered Rivus members (26 Jul) – Two weeks after the devastating announcement that 48 of Rivus Fleet Solutions’ 56 garages will close once the company’s service and maintenance contract for BT and Openreach vehicles expires on September 29, well over 600 individuals are desperate for answers about their immediate employment future. Yesterday (Tuesday) evening those questions came fast and furious at a special online mass meeting of the CWU’s beleaguered Rivus membership – but, extraordinarily, concrete answers are still in short supply for a workforce that remains unclear as to whether they will still have jobs in just over two months time. Attended by virtually half of the union’s entire Rivus membership – a participation rate that far exceeds normal attendance levels for such meetings – the scale of membership anxiety over what the coming weeks have in store was plain for all to see read more
Clarity needed for Virgin Media O2 members amid redundancy news announcement (26 Jul) – Following this week’s sudden disclosure of large-scale redundancies in VMO2 the CWU is preparing to meet the company again next week to understand further detail and, importantly, what roles are at risk across the company read more
Major new agreement on 999 call handlers’ attendance patterns out to ballot (21 Jul) – Members across BT Business Voice Services are voting on a major shake-up of attendance patterns that the union believes offer significant benefits over the arrangements that are currently in place. Placed before members in an e-ballot which commenced on Wednesday, the comprehensive menu of attendances contained in the new Attendance Collective Agreement go a long way to address long-standing CWU concerns over inadequate advance visibility of attendances across Voice Services. The consultative poll follows the company’s confirmation at the start of this week that, following a division-wide preference exercise, almost 98% of advisors are in line to receive their first choice of attendance pattern immediately – with the rest placed on a waiting list to transfer to their preferred option at the earliest possible opportunity 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
- New E-action in support of PCS national pay and pensions campaign – The E-action calls on MPs to support our demands over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security read more
PCS to launch national ballot on next stage in our campaign (12 Jul) – The NEC met today and discussed the next steps in our national campaign. The NEC received over 160 responses from branches to our consultation and based on that feedback agreed to run an online consultative ballot from 3 to 31 August. The ballot will ask members in the civil service and related areas to endorse the strategy proposed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) for the next stage in our national campaign read more
Strike threats force employers to pay £1,500 cost-of-living sum (28 Jul) – PCS members in two areas have already successfully called targeted strike action to force their employers to pay the £1,500 lump sum recommended in the UK Government’s pay concessions. One element of the union’s proposed next phase in the campaign strategy is that live industrial action mandates are used – or re-ballots organised – to call strikes in areas where the employer is refusing to pay the lump sum. Members at both the British Museum and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced several days of action in July, which brought about new offers to pay the money and other concessions. The strikes were then suspended read more
Defence Equipment and Support pay 2023 (26 Jul) – Performance related pay issues still holding DE&S back. The 2023 pay offer from DE&S is still the complex assortment of consolidated and non-consolidated pay, bonuses and performance that you are all too used to. Some DE&S workers will not even get the 4.5% that other civil servants in defence are getting read more
MOD releases pay 2023 details (24 Jul) – Pay award is below inflation and that of the Armed Forces. MOD has stated that it “understands that many of us are having a hard time financially in the current economic climate.” The result of the pay remit guidance from the Cabinet Office is that once again your pay will be below even the falling of inflation. This is the offer the department describes as “the highest increases to pay we have experienced in the civil service in the last 20 years.” This is set against the biggest fall in living standards in the last 60 years read more
PCS members in National Library and Museums in Wales to strike (21 Jul) – Members in the Library in Aberystwyth and at seven museums will strike over their employers’ failure to pay the £1500 cost-of- living payment. Nearly 300 PCS members at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and at the Amgueddfa Cymru- Museum Wales’ seven sites will strike for five days over their employers’ failure to agree to pay a one-off cost-of-living payment of £1,500. PCS members will strike on 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 August 2023 read more
Home Office pay offer 2023-24: PCS campaign getting results on pay (20 Jul) – The Home Office has published its pay offer for 2023-24 and civil servants, including Border Force Officers and Passport Officers, are to receive up to a 13% pay rise after a vigorous campaign by PCS read more
Union solidarity brings CQC to the table (19 Jul) – Staff at Care Quality Commission are suspending planned strike action (26 to 28 July) as management capitulate to talks, proving the power of workers united in a union as well as unions working together read more
Cost of living payment must be exempt from deductions and tax (19 Jul) – PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka has written to the Cabinet Office minister urging him to pay £1500 in full to public sector workers read more
ISS members in BEIS London vote for industrial action (30 Jun) – PCS members employed by ISS in the former department BEIS have voted overwhelmingly in a ballot to support industrial action on a huge turnout. The PCS BEIS London South Branch has voted by 98.51% to support industrial action on a 69.07% turnout, easily surpassing the required threshold. Security guards, cleaners, receptionists, porters and post workers employed by ISS are among the staff that were balloted for action. PCS is in dispute with ISS in BEIS over pay, improvements to conditions and union recognition for PCS. PCS have also demanded a no compulsory redundancy agreement and meaningful talks around an office move that takes place in the summer. It has also raised concerns over health and safety and equality issues, calling on ISS to conduct an equal pay audit and develop an action plan with PCS to reduce gender and ethnicity pay gaps read more
Prospect
Prospect members at the CAA to be balloted on industrial action (26 Jul) – Prospect members at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are to be balloted on industrial action over the employer’s refusal to provide a fair and affordable 2023/24 salary increase. This is the first time a ballot on industrial action has taken place at the CAA. CAA staff have been facing a cost-of-living crisis after more than ten years of pay degradation, with pay having fallen in real terms by 37.2% since 2011 read more
Prospect working tirelessly to make sure Virgin Media O2 workers rights protected (25 Jul) – As a leading union for workers in tech and telecoms, Prospect have responded to media reports that Virgin Media are planning to cut 2,000 jobs. The group which was formed by the merger of Virgin Media and O2 two years ago, provides broadband, TV and mobile services to both consumers and business read more
Prospect wins improved pay deal at Birmingham Airport (19 Jul) – Prospect union has won an improved deal for its members in air traffic control at Birmingham Airport after the prospect of industrial action prompted the employer to come back to the negotiating table. Following an overwhelming vote, Prospect was about to start action short of a strike when the employer, Birmingham Airport Air Traffic Ltd (BAATL), made an improved offer of 10.1% fully consolidated to settle the 1 April pay review. Prospect balloted its members on the deal and it was overwhelmingly accepted read more
Prospect secures cost of living payment at BAE Systems (19 Jul) – Prospect union has secured a renegotiated pay settlement with BAE Systems amounting to a £750 lump sum to help with the cost of living. The union had already agreed a two year pay deal but the employer agreed to reopen negotiations given the extreme nature of the inflationary crisis. The payment will apply to all BAE Systems employees at global grade 12 and below read more
Prospect union members vote for further industrial action at the Environment Agency (4 May) – A ballot of Prospect members in the Environment Agency has renewed the industrial action mandate for a further six months. Staff are taking ongoing action short of a strike and will join Prospect members from other Civil Service employers in taking strike action on Wednesday 10 May read more
GMB
Coventry Amazon Mass Strike Rally Saturday 5th August – 4.30pm BHX4 Warehouse, Lyons Park, Sayer Drive, Coventry CV5
Amazon faces biggest day of industrial disruption in its history (27 Jul) – GMB Union has today [Thursday] announced strike dates at Amazon’s Coventry and Rugeley fulfilment centres. The strike dates come on the anniversary of the first historic walkouts at Amazon in the UK, after workers were offered a pay rise of just 35p. Workers will down tools in Rugeley on 3 and 4 August, with the Coventry fulfilment centre seeing strike action on 4 and 5 August. This will bring the total days lost to strike action at Amazon this year to 26 read more
Second Amazon warehouse joins strike (17 Jul) – Amazon workers will walk out at a second warehouse after GMB union today [Monday] announced the outcome of a strike ballot at the company’s Rugeley fulfilment centre. More than 100 workers at the West Midlands site are now set to walk out after 86 per cent of those who voted backed the strike. The news comes as GMB reached 1,000 members at the Coventry fulfilment centre after twenty two days of strike action in the dispute over pay and union rights. GMB members will now plan strike dates at what will be only the second Amazon site in the UK where workers have taken industrial action read more
Tea bag shortage looms as Tetley workers vote on strike action (27 Jul) – Britain’s favourite tea could be in short supply after almost 150 Tetley workers begun a ballot for strike action in a dispute over pay. A majority of 88 per cent of GMB Union members at Tata Consumer Products Limited, in Teesside, turned down a pay deal from the company. The predominately woman workforce have suffered years of real terms pay cuts. GMB will announce the results of the ballot on 3 August read more
GMB tells Canenco to stop victimising striking refuse workers in Canterbury, Whitstable & Herne Bay over pay (26 Jul) – This is a vindictive move by Canenco, to penalise our members for having the courage to stand up for themselves, says union. GMB, the union for refuse and recycling, is accusing Canenco, Labour-run Canterbury City Council’s wholly-owned waste contractor, of victimising its members who are currently on strike over pay. The members have received payslips today and can see they will be docked pay not only for the days they have been on strike but also for days still to come. GMB believes this could constitute an unlawful deduction in pay and is seeking legal advice on the matter. GMB members have been on strike since Wednesday 5 July demanding £12 an hour for loaders and £15 an hour for drivers, the local market rate for both jobs. The strike has seen kerbside bin collections missed and rubbish piling up in the streets read more
Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable bin strike to continue through August (18 Jul) – Our members are not making unreasonable demands, just for the market pay rates agreed in neighbouring authorities, such as Dover, Folkestone, Ashford and Swale, says GMB. GMB, the union for waste and recycling workers, has given notice to Canterbury Council’s contractor Canenco for further strike dates. GMB members employed by the council’s wholly-owned company will now be taking industrial action until at least Sunday 20 August, unless councillors in Canterbury take action to resolve the dispute. The workers are demanding £15 per hour for HGV drivers and £12 per hour for loaders and street cleaners, to bring them in line with those doing the same jobs in neighbouring local authorities read more
Durham sealant factory faces 6th strike day (25 Jul) – Durham workers making parts for the aviation industry are set for their sixth day of strike action on Friday [28 July]] in their fight for fair pay. Dozens of GMB members at Nicholson’s Sealing Technologies, in Stanley, will are set to walk out a further nine times across July and August after rejecting the company’s pay offer of 6.7 per cent and a one off payment. Meanwhile Nicholson’s paid out £985,000 in dividends last year , an increase of £140,000 – more than 16 per cent – on the year before read more
Welsh farm feed workers strike (24 Jul) – Dozens of agricultural feed workers in Camarthen are preparing for a 2 day stoppage on 27 and 28 July in a dispute to get the same pay as their English counterparts. A majority of 85 per cent of GMB Members at Forfarmers voted to take strike action after the company failed to make an offer that would see them put on an equal footing with their colleagues at sites in England. GMB members took strike action on Monday 3 of July and are looking at future dates unless the company fails to make a fair offer that negates the shortfall. Workers providing the same role as their counterparts in England are paid up to 30 per cent more by the company read more
South London hospital strike suspended after ‘inflation-busting’ 17 per cent pay offer (25 Jul) – GMB members employed by outsourcing giant ISS at South London & Maudsley NHS Trust have been offered an inflation-busting pay rise of 17 per cent to call off their strike scheduled for this week. The strikers who work as cleaners and caterers have already taken 13 days of action and were due to strike again this Thursday for 8 days. The strike committee voted unanimously for members to be balloted on the offer with a recommendation that it is accepted. The strike is now suspended to allow for the ballot to take place across the trust’s four sites – Maudsley Hospital, Bethlem Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and the Ladywell Unit, Lewisham read more
Manchester removes private hire livery after GMB campaign (21 Jul) – GMB Union has welcome a move by Manchester City Council to remove livery on private hire vehicles. The council’s Licensing Committee agreed to remove operators’ names and bonnet stickers following a campaign by GMB reps. The local authority also agreed to improve vehicle testing procedures and emissions legislation, as well as amend age limits, to assist drivers. Manchester’s decision follow’s similar GMB wins over private hire livery in Southampton and Oldham read more
Industrial action to hit social housing giant slammed for ‘poverty pay’ (20 Jul) – GMB Union have today announced industrial action at Grand Union Housing, provider of 13,000 social homes across Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. The industrial action will see maintenance staff work to rule for three months, meaning overtime and extra duties will be refused in the maintenance department across the company’s housing stock. The action comes after the company refused to negotiate on a pay offer to staff of just 2.1% read more
Yorkshire public school faces strike over pension attack (20 Jul) – A public school in Yorkshire faces strike action over an attack on GMB members’ pensions. Almost 50 workers at William Henry Smith School, in Brihouse, are voting in a indicative ballot one whether they are ready to take industrial action. The William Henry Smith School Trustees have decided to scrap entry to the West Yorkshire Pension Scheme for all and move everyone over to a different pension scheme. This alternative pension scheme represents an immediate financial detriment to all those impacted. If GMB members vote to strike in the ballot – which closes 28 July – the union will move to a fill strike ballot read more
Asda called before Parliamentary committee for second time (19 Jul) –GMB, the union for Asda workers, responded to the supermarket’s appearance before a Parliamentary committee today [Wednesday] read more
Macquarie acquires further 20 per cent share of National Grid (19 Jul) – GMB, the energy union, has responded to Australian firm Macquarie acquiring a further 20 per cent share of National Grid. Gary Carter, GMB National Officer, said: “Macquarie’s stranglehold on gas transmission and distribution should send alarm bells ringing…” read more
Birmingham equal pay delay costing taxpayer £20,000 an hour (19 Jul) – GMB Union has today launched its Birmingham Equal Pay Clock, calculating the expected cost for Birmingham City Council to settle its equal pay liability. www.birminghamequalpayclock.co.uk. Figures released by the Council state that the council’s equal pay liability could be increasing by as much as £14,000,000 a month, £466,666 a day, £19,444 an hour and £342 a minute. This comes as the Council announced mandatory spending restrictions at the authority after the council leadership accepted the liability is already estimated to be as high as £760Million read more
Strike at missile depot threatens MoD supplies (16 Jul) – A strike at a Ministry of Defence missile depot will threaten munitions supplies, GMB Union warned. More than 50 workers at the Defence Equipment & Support (DES) munitions depot in Beith, Scotland walked out tomorrow [Monday]. A majority of 93 per cent of GMB members at the depot voted for strike action over a dispute on retention bonuses. Managers and craft workers are in receipt of bonuses whilst non-craft workers do not, meaning non-craft workers get less than many supermarket workers. DES is an arm’s length body of the Ministry of Defence which delivers equipment and support services to the UK armed forces read more
Durham sewage and water tank workers strike (10 Jul) – Sewage and water treatment tank workers in Durham have begun a week-long strike over pay. GMB members at Premier Tech, in Peterlee, will down tools from Monday [10 July] to Friday [14 July] after a unanimous vote for industrial action. Workers want £12.50 per hour, which amounts to a 12 per cent pay increase. The company has only offered 7.9 per cent, with potential real terms pay cuts in subsequent years read more
Three weeks of refuse chaos as workers down tools in Leicestershire’s ‘low pay capital’ (7 Jul) – GMB Union has today announced a three-week strike action of refuse workers at Blaby District Council. Fifty refuse staff at the authority are anticipated to join the strike action after council top brass ignored union attempts to initiate negotiations in the dispute. Strike action will see as many at 50,000 households go without refuse collections on Tuesday 1st to Friday 18th August read more
Dartford bin workers vote for strike action (7 Jul) – GMB union members have voted to reject Urbaser’s pay offer, with action to take place at the end of the month. GMB, the union for refuse and recycling, can announce that Dartford will be the next local authority to be hit with a bin strike. Members of the union have voted to take action over pay and will be walking out at the end of July. The members are employed by Urbaser, Dartford Borough Council’s waste contractor as drivers, loaders and street sweepers read more
Swindon social workers balloted for strike action (6 Jul) – Swindon Council following the same path as Wiltshire Council, whose proposal was successfully blocked by GMB in December 2021. GMB, the union for social workers at Swindon Borough Council, is balloting for strike action in the Emergency Duty Service (EDS), the out of hours service providing 24-hour emergency care to vulnerable people in Swindon. Swindon Borough Council employs seven social workers in the Emergency Duty Service, including two managers, half of whom are mental health professionals. The council has announced that these staff will lose around £700 per month from 1 September, following a recent pay and regrading review, due to the removal of a 20 per cent unsocial hours payment. The union is warning that such a huge pay cut will see workers forced to leave for similar roles in other authorities or with other employers, jeopardising the viability of the service going forward. The legal notification was served today [Thursday 6 July], with the ballot due to open on Monday 17 July and close on Friday 28 July read more
Croydon housing and homeless department workers strike over cuts (27 Jun) – Slashing jobs in this service raises severe concerns around safeguarding, provision and remaining legally compliant, says GMB
Croydon Housing and Homelessness Department workers have voted to strike over the current restructure plans. GMB members at the authority will walk out on 28 and 29 June after a 94 per cent majority voted to walk out. Workers are worried and angry over a restructure across this vital department. Croydon Council declared bankruptcy for the third time in November 2022 read more
St Helen’s glass factory faces strike (26 Jun) – A St Helen’s glass cord manufacturer faces industrial action over pay. More than 170 workers at NGF Europe have voted to down tools following a final offer from the company of 5.65 per cent plus as £850 non-consolidated payment. Workers at other nearby NGF sites have been given a 6.75 per cent pay rise. Initial strike dates are as follows: 0600 2 July – 0600 4 July; 2100 8 July – 2100 10 July;
2100 13 July – 2100 14 July. A majority of 90 per cent of GMB members who voted supported strike action read more
Serco allowing ‘waste to pile high’ as Sandwell refuse strike enters third week (20 Jun) – GMB union has today urged action from outsourcing giant Serco as Sandwell refuse workers enter their third strike week. The calls come as the union has requested urgent talks with Council leadership following Serco’s refusal to negotiate with representatives of Sandwell’s refuse workers read more
Hinkley, EDF & Rolls Royce supplier faces strike (9 Jun) – Workers at a Hinkley Point C, EDF and Rolls Royce supplier have voted to strike after turning down a pay deal. More than 150 platers, welders and sheet metal workers at Darchem Engineering, in Stockton-Upon-Tees, will walk out for seven days follows: 22 June, from 6am for 24 hours, 27 June, from 6am for 24 hours, 29 June, from 6am for 24 hours, 4 July, from 6am for 24 hours,
6 July, from 6am for 24 hours, 11 July, from 6am for 24 hours, 13 July, from 6am for 24 hours. Workers turned down a pay deal of 6 per cent from 1 February, with a further 4 per cent from 1 October read more
Solihull parks and cemetery workers to strike (2 Jun) – Solihull parks and cemetery workers are set to strike in a pay dispute. Dozens of ground maintenance crews working for contractor IDverde will walk out for two weeks from 3 July and 10 July. A strike ballot, which closed today (Friday) saw 100 per cent vote for strike action on a 70 per cent turn out. Workers are angry because IDverde – who took over the contract from Amey last year – are trying to impose a real terms pay cut read more
Park workers striking across Merton and Sutton (30 May) – Industrial action over pay set to disrupt annual cricket tournament this week, along with the plans of many local people. GMB, the union for public services, is warning of huge disruption to the parks within the London Boroughs of Merton and Sutton as their members take strike action today and tomorrow [Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 May]. Parks workers outsourced to Idverde are taking two days’ strike action after unanimously rejecting the 2.5 per cent offer the company made them. The union members carry out a number of roles connected to the maintenance of parks, including landscaping, litter picking and opening and locking the parks. This action will therefore mean that parks risk not being opened up at all and is set to disrupt the running of the International Masoor Cricket Tournament, due to begin today in Merton read more
Tourist attractions across London to close as workers strike today (25 May) – London tourist attractions including Tower Bridge, Old Bailey, Barbican, museums, gardens, parks and markets could be forced to close after workers voted to strike. More than 900 City of London Corporation workers will walk out for 24 hours on 25 May in a dispute over pay. Workers voted for strike action by a majority of 77 per cent read more
Wiltshire Traffic Wardens vote for further strike action in ‘Fire & Rehire’ dispute (22 May) – GMB would prefer an amicable, negotiated solution, but if the council don’t compromise, we are ready for the fight, with a fresh strike mandate. GMB, the union for Wiltshire Council staff, has confirmed that members have voted for further strikes in the ‘fire and rehire’ dispute affecting many frontline key workers. The dispute has already seen Civil Enforcement Officers (parking wardens) across the county take 10 days of strike action since plans were announced in 2021 to remove a contractual uplift for unsocial hours, which would cost hundreds of front-line workers up to 20 per cent of their salaries. GMB also understands that despite denials by council bosses that ‘fire and rehire’ was ever on the table, Wiltshire Council sought legal advice from a top legal firm in June 2022, on how to use the tactic to force through this pay cut. The strike ballot closed on Friday 19 May with 100 per cent of members who voted choosing to take action, thus extending the industrial action mandate read more
48 hour walkout begins at iconic Derbyshire glass firm (24 May) – GMB union members at glass manufacturer Pilkington Plyglass have begun a two day walkout in a dispute over pay. Workers at the firm have manufactured glass for iconic buildings worldwide, such as Dubai’s Palm Tower and the Stonehenge visitors’ centre. The company have been criticised for disparity in pay between Pilkington sites, with workers in Derbyshire reportedly offered a pay package £750 less than counterparts in other parts of the UK business. Workers will down tools on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 May read more
Scapa tape makers strike (17 May) – Tape manufacturing giant Scapa faces industrial action after more than 50 workers voted to down tools over ‘unreasonable’ shift changes. The Ashton-Under-Lyme company wants workers – who until now have either worked early or late day shifts – to work 6pm to 6am night shifts every other week. After months of discussions, GMB Reps proposed a voluntary night shift which met the business’s needs – however this was dismissed, and bosses told workers the night shifts would be enforced from the middle of June. After a successful strike ballot, Scapa workers will walk out for the first time on Thursday 1 June from 6am to 10pm. An overtime ban will also come into force on 1 June, lasting until November read more
Hartlepool metal company sacks workers after staff win pay rise (3 Apr) – A Hartlepool metal company is slashing jobs just weeks after workers won a pay rise. Just 51 days after GMB members resolved their pay dispute, the Expanded Metal Company has announced up to ten redundancies at Hartlepool. Workers were handed redundancy letters last week advising them that they are at risk of redundancy and inviting them to a meeting. Management appears to be trying to push through the redundancies within a week of first issuing redundancy notices. Despite citing a downturn in work as the reason for the redundancies, the company are advertising the role of a Finance Controller/Financial Director Designate role for 70K read more
Strike disruption looms at healthcare logistics giant Movianto (28 Mar) – GMB Union has today announced two dates of industrial action by drivers at Movianto in Coventry. The strike comes after a below inflation pay offer was made by company management at its West Midlands HQ. Movianto is a major healthcare logistics provider to private clients and the NHS. Drivers at the company are responsible for transporting essential and often lifesaving medicines, including individual prescriptions and NHS medical supplies.
The strike action is due to take place on Thursday 6 and Tuesday 11 April read more
Unison
Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
First guidance published to support NHS workers after a colleague suicide (25 Jul) – UNISON contributed to guidance being drawn up. Researchers from the universities of Surrey, Keele and Birmingham have today (Tuesday) published the first guidance to support NHS workers after a colleague dies by suicide. The recommendations are based on a two-year study identifying the impact on NHS staff who have been in this distressing situation, and the support they may need. The guidance has been developed specifically for the NHS and for health service staff who are affected by a colleague’s suicide, and for those who will be supporting them read more
Camden traffic wardens to begin strike over pay, says UNISON (21 Jul) – Messages of solidarity can be sent to [email protected]. More than 100 traffic wardens working in the London borough of Camden will walk out from Monday in a row over pay, says UNISON today (Friday). This follows a 4.5% pay offer from their employer, which amounts to an increase of just 57p an hour, the union says. The workers, mainly low-paid Black staff, are employed by private company NSL on a contract from Camden Council. The staff – formally called civil enforcement officers – will be taking part in continuous strike action until the employer improves its offer, says the union read more
Clarion Housing Group must raise pay and stop pension cuts to avoid strike action, says UNISON (20 Jul) – Clarion is threatening to sack staff and re-employ them on new contracts and an inferior pension scheme. Caretakers, sheltered housing wardens and other staff at Clarion Housing Group – the largest housing association in the country – have rejected a 5% pay offer, says UNISON today (Thursday). The union says this is essentially a wage cut that falls well short of inflation and that employees deserve more. Clarion also plans to cut the pensions of nearly 300 staff. The housing association has said it intends to close all its final salary schemes, which means employees will be significantly worse off, adds UNISON. The union says Clarion is threatening to sack staff and re-employ them on new contracts and an inferior pension scheme. Workers have been told that anyone who refuses to accept the new terms and conditions will lose their jobs, says UNISON read more
UNISON urges pensions regulator to press for stronger data safety (19 Jul) – Move comes after outsourcing firm Capita was hacked, affecting information entrusted to it by hundreds of pension schemes read more
Still time to vote on HE pay (20 Jun) – The higher education ballot is open until 31 July read more
EA workers renew strike mandate (31 May) – For the second time in this dispute over the 2022/23 pay offer, members at the agency voted to take industrial action. UNISON has announced that Environment Agency members have secured a mandate for strike action over the next six months after the recent industrial action ballot. The new mandate marks a continuation of the dispute, begun last year, where EA members voted for strike action over pay for the first time in the agency’s history read more
South Gloucestershire workers continue strike dispute (31 May) – Social workers and occupational therapists are taking their fourth and fifth days of strike action this week. Social workers and occupational therapists (OTs) working for South Gloucestershire council are to strike twice this week. Staff will walk out for two days of action, today (Tuesday) and again on Thursday (1 June) after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action in a dispute over pay. UNISON has been in dispute with the local authority since last summer. The new dates follow three days of strike action in April read more
Sign petition: Stop the closure of the Peak District National Park visitor centres! – The Peak District National Park Authority are considering closing all four of its visitor centres, making the staff redundant. Councillors will be asked to endorse the chief executive’s ill-thought out ‘money-saving plan’ which will not only affect staff but could very much harm the local economy. The visitor centres are not just shops. They are a key contributor to visitors being able to experience a safe and enjoyable time in the Peak District. This is especially the case with first-time or infrequent visitors. Far from being underused, the centres deal with around 400,000 visitors a year. Unless there is a public outcry, we will lose these centres from our national park, at a time when other national parks have rejected such ideas. Decisions will be taken from as early as May. Help Derbyshire UNISON stop them!
Protest as Hackney Unison chair amongst those handed compulsory redundancies in libraries shake-up – Council staff staged a protest on 17th May after several library staff, including Hackney Unison Branch Chair Brian Debus, have been handed compulsory redundancy notices. Hackney Unison have said it was “registering our disgust that three library workers including Hackney Unison Branch Chair Brian Debus are due to be made compulsorily redundant. This despite there being more than enough posts available in the restructured library service.” Read more on Hackney Citizen website
NIPSA
HSC Industrial Action Update: The Fight Continues! (26 Jul) – HSC Strike Action: An update to the ongoing Industrial Action Dispute in Health and ongoing Industrial Action around Pay, Safe Staffing and Travel read more
Serco 2023 Pay Offer and the Power of Collective Strength (24 Jul) – I hope this message finds you in high spirits as we celebrate a momentous victory that showcases the true strength of our collective voice. Today, I am proud to share with you the recent developments regarding the Serco 2023 Pay Offer (Invest NI Facilities Management contract), a testament to the power of unity and determination read more
Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of Nursing members employed by the Care Plus Group vote for industrial strike action (27 Jul) – The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) balloted members employed by the Care Plus Group in July on whether they would be willing to take industrial strike action for better pay and parity with nursing staff employed by the NHS on Agenda for Change terms and conditions of employment. A majority of RCN members who responded to the ballot voted in favour of strike action with 93% of those who voted, voting ‘yes’ read more
RCN Wales to ballot members on latest Welsh government offer (20 Jul) – The ballot will be open from Monday 31 July to Thursday 31 August for eligible members working for the NHS in Wales read more
Majority of Manx Care nurses vote to strike and reject latest pay offer (23 Jun) – Eighty per-cent (80%) of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members who responded to the ballot for strike action, have voted in favour read more
Members employed by the Care Quality Commission begin industrial action (17 Apr) – They’ll work to rule continuously until our mandate to take industrial action expires in September or a new formal pay offer is made 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
RCM pauses Northern Ireland strike action as pay talks scheduled (31 Mar) – Strike action set for Monday, 3 April by Royal College of Midwives (RCM) members across Northern Ireland has been paused. This follows an offer from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to meet the RCM and other unions next week to discuss HSC pay. The RCM will also be suspending action short of a strike planned for 3-10 April read more
CSP
Dates announced for Northern Ireland industrial action ballot (19 Jul) – CSP members working for Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) will be balloted for strike action between 7 August and 11 September read more
BMA
Support the Junior Doctors strike read more
Donate to support striking junior doctors
Junior doctors urge Government to come to the table as they announce fifth round of strikes (26 Jul) – The BMA junior doctors committee (JDC) has today announced the next round of monthly strike action by junior doctors in England. The four-day walkout will take place between 0700 on Friday 11th August and 0700 on Tuesday 15th August read more
Re-ballot for junior doctor strike action (19 Jul) – Re-ballot now open until noon 31 August. We’re re-balloting junior doctors to extend our mandate for junior doctor strike action. Due to anti-strike laws, we can currently only legally strike until late August read more
Consultants united in fight for fair pay (21 Jul) – As strikes continue, doctors at a London rally urged the Government to resume talks on pay and working conditions. Doctors are ‘united’ and ‘stronger than ever’, a rally heard, as consultants began 48 hours of industrial action over restoration of pay read more
Consultants’ strike ‘for the survival of the NHS’ (20 Jul) – Senior doctors want to protect pay and improve conditions for future colleagues. ‘We’re doing this for the survival of the NHS.’ The message from the consultants’ picket line at London’s University College Hospital was clear as consultants walked out in their first strike for almost 50 years. And while the mood was somewhat different to that at recent junior doctors’ strikes, without the emphasis on chants and with less pronounced anger, there was a defiance and determination from senior doctors taking action for the good of their patients, both now and in the future read more
Junior doctors strikes in Scotland suspended as improved offer to be put to BMA members (7 Jul) – Following an intensive series of negotiations the Scottish Government has put forward a new pay offer for Junior Doctors to BMA Scotland. Today this offer was reviewed by your Scottish Junior Doctors Committee (SJDC) in an emergency meeting. As a result SJDC has suspended strike action. This means the planned 72 hour walkout from 12-15th July will not go ahead read more
HCSA
HCSA Scotland members have suspended #JuniorDoctorsStrike action this – Members will now consider an updated pay offer from the Scottish Government follow @HCSANews on Twitter
Society of Radiographers
What next after radiography strikes across England? (27 Jul) – SoR thanks members for ‘fantastic’ support and explains next steps in pay campaign. Dean Rogers, SoR executive director of industrial strategy and member relations, has written to members following the strike action in England, with the following update on the dispute. “This week, we received unprecedented exposure and media coverage during the 48-hour strikes at Trusts across England. Now the strike action has concluded, we are considering carefully how to follow these up to further our strategic aims – namely, improving pay and reward as part of tackling recruitment and retention challenges fuelling the radiography workforce crisis. Today we wrote to health secretary Steve Barclay, asking to meet for constructive talks. He had refused to talk to us while strikes were scheduled but we hope he is now prepared to engage seriously. On Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 August, we will meet with other health trade unions to discuss their current position and where they are likely to be over the coming months…” read more
SoR urges the Government to invest immediately in pay and conditions (26 Jul) – Thousands of radiography professionals continue their 48-hour strike across 37 NHS Trusts in England. Today thousands of radiography professionals continue their 48-hour strike to urge the Government to invest immediately in pay and conditions and stop the recruitment and retention crisis which is driving huge waiting lists. Yesterday our members joined picket lines, spoke to patients and the press and lost a day’s pay to shine a light on the 10% gap in the workforce which leaves one million patients waiting for diagnosis and treatment read more
Radiographers demand ‘at least’ the same pay rise as doctors and teachers (14 Jul) – Recommended rises of between 6 and 8.8 per cent strengthen SoR case for strike action. The SoR has called on the government to re-open the NHS 2023-24 pay round following the latest rises for public sectors workers outstripping the 5 per cent award to radiographers in England. SoR members across 43 NHS trusts in England voted for industrial action in protest at the award, and a 48-hour strike is planned across the country from 25-27 July – following strikes by junior doctors and hospital consultants over the preceding two weeks read more
SoR announces radiography strike dates in England (7 Jul) – 48 hours of action planned across NHS trusts after ministers cut off talks. The Society of Radiographers has announced that it will be holding 48 hours of strikes, from 8am on Tuesday 25 July to 8am on Thursday 27 July 2023. The union sent a letter to affected NHS trusts on Thursday 6 July, notifying them of the dates when members will be withdrawing their labour, after ministers ruled out further talks while industrial action was proposed. Representatives from each trust will work with employers to provide life and limb cover for patients. This usually consists of the same staffing levels that would be provided on a bank holiday. Members in trusts including the Royal Marsden, University College London Hospitals, Liverpool University Hospitals and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, have a mandate to go out on strike if the government is not prepared to discuss urgent improvements to pay and conditions for the radiography workforce read more
NEU
STRB recommendations on teacher pay (13 Jul) – Government accepts STRB recommendation on teacher pay. Following the publication of the STRB recommendations on teacher pay the Government has offered:
- To fully implement the recommendations of the STRB report, awarding a 6.5 per cent pay increase from 1 September on all pay points and allowances.
- To provide extra funding for schools to pay for it, amounting to £900m per annum.
Guarantees that this extra money will not come from any frontline services, including Special Educational Needs (SEND) funding, schools’ capital, Maintained Nursery or 16-19 funding provision. A set of commitments – agreed with the Prime Minster – to take urgent measures to reduce teacher workload. The National Executive of the NEU having considered the offer have agreed that it should be put to our members and to recommend acceptance. Should members vote to accept the offer, strike action involving teacher members in the autumn term will not go ahead. The union will set up an electronic ballot of members, which will run from 18-28 July read more
NEU re-ballot (15 May) – NEU re-ballots members in continuance of dispute with Government for a fully funded teacher pay increase. Today (Monday) the National Education Union is commencing a new national ballot of teacher members in England. The dispute between Government and the National Education Union for a fully funded pay increase which stops the decline in teacher recruitment and retention remains unresolved. Therefore, the union is re-balloting teacher members working in England’s state-funded schools. Re-balloting of our members is necessary as the current ballot is only effective as a mandate for strike action during a six-month period. The legitimacy of the current ballot ends on 13 July 2023. This second ballot, opening today and closing on 28 July 2023 read more
NASUWT
Resolve of Jersey members leads to 7.9% pay award (21 Jul) – Members of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union will receive a backdated pay award of 7.9% and a commitment from the Jersey Government to enter into negotiations on a multi-year pay deal from 2024 onwards, the Union has confirmed. The news follows negotiations between NASUWT and the Jersey Government after members on the Island voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action last month. The Employer had been notified of proposed strike action in the autumn term which would have closed schools on the island. NASUWT balloted its members following the failure of the States to address the years of real terms pay erosion that teachers have suffered since 2008 or to address spiralling workloads. In state funded schools 86% of members voted in favour of strike action on a turnout of 51%. Pending progress in further negotiations, the Union remains in dispute over pay and workload read more
NASUWT statement on the teachers’ pay award (13 Jul) – Commenting on the announcement from the Prime Minister that he has accepted the recommendation of the STRB for a 6.5% pay award for teachers and school leaders in England, Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “We welcome that our ballot of NASUWT members has now unlocked months of prevarication and brought the government back to the negotiating table…The NASUWT National Executive has agreed to put this deal to our members with a recommendation to accept the STRB recommendation and we will now be consulting our members on it.” Read more
Teachers vote for industrial action (12 Jul) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union in schools across England have voted in favour of industrial action over pay, workload and working time. NASUWT members in state-funded schools in England have balloted in support of industrial action, with 88.5% of eligible members voting to support strike action and 94.3% voting in support of action short of strike action, based on an overall turnout of 51.9%. The Union has confirmed today that it intends to issue notice of a programme of continuous action short of strike action commencing in September, details of which will be announced shortly. Dates for strike action in the autumn term will also be considered by the Union, coordinated with other education unions where possible read more
Trade dispute – sixth form colleges (13 Jun) – In ballots of teachers in sixth form colleges, NASUWT – the Teachers’ Union, has today issued notice to the Education Secretary and employers of potential national industrial action, including strike action and action short of strike action across sixth form colleges in England. NASUWT members in 56 sixth form colleges secured ballot mandates with 87.6% of eligible members voting to support strike action and 93.7% voting in support of action short of strike action based on an overall turnout of 64.9% read more
NAHT
Joint statement on government pay offer (14 Jul) – The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, the General Secretaries of the four education unions – Paul Whiteman, Mary Bousted, Kevin Courtney, Geoff Barton, and Patrick Roach – and General Secretary Elect of NEU, Daniel Kebede, said: “This is the largest ever recommendation from the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). A 6.5% increase for teachers and school leaders recognises the vital role that teachers play in our country and ensures that teaching will continue to be an attractive profession. The Government has accepted the STRB’s recommendation and has agreed to bring forward wider reforms to reduce teacher and leader workload in partnership with all four unions…ASCL, NAHT, NASUWT and NEU will now put this deal to members, with a recommendation to accept the STRB recommendation. This deal will allow teachers and school leaders to call off strike action and resume normal relations with government.” Read more
NAHT Cymru welcomes ‘step forward’ on school workload and calls for resolution on pay and funding (13 Jul) – Responding to the Welsh government’s statement on reducing workload and bureaucracy for school staff, Laura Doel, director of school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said: “Our members across Wales are taking industrial action to take a stand over pay, workload and funding. Today’s announcement is a significant positive step forward in our negotiations to ensure school leaders are able to concentrate on what is important – leading teaching and learning in their schools, rather than being tied up in endless bureaucracy that has no positive impact for pupils…” NAHT Cymru members have been taking action short of strike since February as part of the ongoing industrial dispute read more
NAHT members in Jersey back industrial action in island’s schools (27 Jun) – Members of school leaders’ union NAHT have voted in favour of industrial action in Jersey. A resounding 86% of members voted in favour of strike action, with 98% supporting action short of strike (ASOS). Turnout was 68%. Following the ballot, NAHT’s Jersey executive has decided members should take action short of strike in the first instance. It will today serve the seven working days notice required, meaning the action will commence on Wednesday, July 5 read more
EIS
EIS-FELA Edinburgh College Staff Take Strike Action Over Compulsory Redundancies (26 Jun) – Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland – Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-FELA) at Edinburgh College have today (Monday) taken the first in a series of days of strike action in response to compulsory redundancies at the College. The EIS-FELA Branch at Edinburgh College has had an active strike mandate in place for some weeks in pursuit of a dispute regarding compulsory redundancies, which has been successful in reducing the number of jobs under threat, through negotiation. The EIS wrote to the College Principal last week urging further talks. Despite this, the College has rejected the appeal of one member of the lecturing staff against compulsory redundancy as of 30th June read more
EIS-FELA Dundee and Angus College Staff Balloting for Industrial Action (6 Jun) – Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland – Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-FELA) at Dundee & Angus College are balloting for industrial action, following a proposal by the college to begin compulsory redundancies by the end of June. The proposals come as part of a wider plan by college management to make savings, including cuts to the number of courses on offer to prospective students and staff in these areas. EIS-FELA has warned that the move will undermine the Scottish Government’s efforts to retrain young people in target industries and risks damaging the reputation of the college read more
EIS-FELA Responds to “Completely Unacceptable” Revised pay Offer from Colleges (2 Jun) – Negotiators from the EIS-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) met again, with College Employers Scotland, in an attempt to settle a long running pay dispute. Despite the EIS-FELA making significant movement, by revising their previous pay claim, college employers only tabled a marginally improved offer, asserted as their full and final offer, that still amounts to substantial real terms pay cut for the lecturing workforce. With college students due to complete their studies in the coming weeks, time is now running out to avoid large numbers of students failing to receive their results due to industrial action short of strike, in the form of a resulting boycott, being taken by the EIS-FELA membership. The EIS-FELA has made clear previously that in the absence of an acceptable pay offer, industrial action will be escalated to national strike action early in the new academic year read more
City of Glasgow College Lecturers take Strike Action (30 May) – There has been strong turnout on picket lines as lecturers at City of Glasgow College (CoGC) began a programme of strike action over planned cuts and redundancies. Lecturers at the college will be on strike for the rest of the week, with 4-days of strike action then set to continue each week for the following three weeks. The commencement of strike action is an escalation in the dispute, building on a programme of Action Short of Strike (ASOS) already in place at the college read more
INTO
Industrial Action Update (29 Jun) – As members prepare for their well-deserved and much needed summer break, it is now a full school year since you were balloted and voted for industrial action. Teachers and school leaders continue to demonstrate their capacity to fight for a salary that properly reflects their true worth to society, a salary that will allow them to feel properly valued and respected as the professional educators they are. While congratulating our members, and those teachers from the other unions that make up the NITC for their determination and resolve, I would like to take this opportunity to outline the proposed road of travel for the unions moving forward. The thirty-five individual pieces of action that make up our current action short of strike remain in place for September 2023. I would ask members to take some time to revisit these actions, and to ensure that they are embedded in their school practice going into the new school year. The five teacher unions have acted as one throughout this period of action, and this must continue. To this end, the NITC Industrial Action Sub-committee will meet prior to schools returning to prepare a calendar of further action for the 2023/24 school year. Once these dates have been agreed, we will communicate them to our members. This will happen in August so that the Committee will be acting against the background of the most up-to-date information regarding the political and educational situation and to allow for fully informed decisions to be taken. It is imperative that this fight continues read more
UCU
UCU slams University of Huddersfield for putting over 100 staff at risk of redundancy (27 Jul) – UCU has slammed the University of Huddersfield for large-scale redundancy proposals that could see staff lose their jobs by the end of September. The university announced the cuts just before the summer leave period making meaningful consultation practically impossible. The 105 staff at risk of redundancy include 39 in the school of applied sciences, 15 in the school of arts and humanities and 43 across the Huddersfield business school and the school of education & professional development. UCU estimates that around 50 of the 105 staff at risk of redundancy could lose their jobs. If the cuts go ahead it will be the fifth round of redundancies the university has forced through in the past four years and the third year in a row that the arts and humanities department has been cut. The university kick-started the redundancy process this month meaning many of the impacted staff are on holiday read more
University of Chichester’s axing of African history course an ‘attack on Black academia’ (25 Jul) – UCU has slammed the University of Chichester’s threat to cut a unique African history course and sack the UK’s first African-British professor of history as an ‘attack on Black academia’. The union was responding to news that the University of Chichester wants to axe its history of Africa and the African diaspora masters and make professor Hakim Adi redundant. The move is part of a wider review which has put four permanent academic staff under threat of redundancy. Professor Adi is the UK’s first and only professor of the history of Africa and the African diaspora. The course was created to train mature students of African and Caribbean heritage as historians. Just 1% of UK professors are Black read more
Protests to hit UK universities tomorrow (25 Jul) – Emergency protests will hit UK university campuses tomorrow ahead of UCU’s crunch talks with UCEA. The NUS is backing the day of protest and has called on UCEA to settle the dispute. UCU previously met with UCEA last week in an attempt to end the UK-wide university marking boycott and resolve the ongoing pay and working conditions dispute. Unfortunately, UCEA refused to table an improved pay offer or provide any redress for members who have been hit with punitive pay deductions read more
Trade unions to stage rally against mass redundancies at University of Brighton (20 Jul) – Staff at the University of Brighton today (Thursday 20 July 2023) announced a rally against cruel redundancies being imposed by the institution’s management. 23 academic staff at University of Brighton were issued with compulsory redundancy notices earlier today [Thursday 20 July 2023]. This comes on top of 80 staff having reluctantly accepted voluntary redundancy rather than face being sacked. UCU members at Brighton are on indefinite strike, fighting to stop the cuts. On Monday 24 July at 12.30pm, the Brighton University and College Union (UCU) branch will be joined by the union’s general secretary Jo Grady and trade union branches bringing solidarity from across the region. The job cuts will decimate subjects including art, literature, education, acute care and nursing, engineering, and sport science at Brighton. Of the 36 professors at the university, 10 are to be made redundant. University senior managers claim they need to make £17.9m in savings, yet have splashed more than £50m on building projects in the last two years. UCU said that the employer invoking financial difficulties as a pretext for the redundancies therefore strains credulity. Last week, with Brighton management doubling down on their plan to slash jobs, UCU announced a global boycott of the university, in which the union’s members, labour movement organisations, and the international academic community are expected to partake read more
USS on course for restored benefits and lower contributions (19 Jul) – Today, a consultation launched by the USS Trustee shows that the scheme is on track for full restoration of pension benefits by April 2024, which follows cuts that were imposed on staff in April 2022. Figures included in the consultation demonstrate that not only can pensions cuts – which saw members lose on average 35% from their guaranteed retirement income – be restored, but that the contributions members are required to pay into the scheme can be reduced. The turnaround is a vindication of UCU’s position that the April 2022 cuts were flawed, unnecessary, deeply irresponsible, and demonstrates that UCU members were right to fight and take strike action to protect and win back their pensions read more
College strike ballot looms over pay as sector gets new DfE funding (14 Jul) – England’s biggest-ever strike ballot is on the cards, confirmed UCU, after it entered into dispute with 88 English college employers over low pay and poor working conditions. The dispute comes as the Department for Education announced colleges will receive an additional £185m in 23/24 and £285m in 24/25. On BBC Breakfast this morning, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the funding is “equivalent” to that provided to schools for the 6.5% teachers’ pay award. UCU will launch a strike ballot in September if employers fail to meet the union’s demands. A successful ballot would pave the way for strikes this autumn at further education colleges across England read more
Staff to strike tomorrow at University of East Anglia over mass redundancy threat (11 Jul) – UCU members at the University of East Anglia will strike tomorrow over the continued threat of redundancy faced by more than 100 staff. UCU general secretary Jo Grady and president Justine Mercer will join UCU members on the picket line from 8am-11.30am at UEA’s campus on Earlham Road. The dispute is over cuts the university is forcing through because of its multi-million pound deficit read more
Strike ballot opens at five North East colleges over low pay (10 Jul) – A strike ballot will open on Monday 17 July at five colleges across the North East of England over low pay. The ballot will run until Friday 29 September. The colleges being balloted are:-
- Bede Sixth Form College
- NETA Training Group
- Stockton Riverside College
- The Skills Academy
- Redcar and Cleveland College.
They are all part of employer group Education Training Collective (ETC) and are based in Stockton on Tees, Redcar and Cleveland. The dispute is over the employer’s 22/23 pay award. UCU members overwhelmingly rejected the original 3% offer. The college then offered to add an additional 1% from May and to remove the bottom point of the lecturer pay spine, which UCU members again voted to reject read more
University marking boycott requires UK-wide resolution (28 Jun) – UCU called on UCEA to immediately commence negotiations to resolve the UK-wide marking boycott. The union was responding to the interim arrangement reached between Queen’s University Belfast management and UCU branch read more
Strike ballot opens at Stanmore College after ‘pitiful’ 1% pay increase (21 Jun) – A strike ballot over low pay and poor working conditions will open tomorrow at Stanmore College in London. The college has offered staff a paltry 1% consolidated pay increase alongside a £1.5k one off payment. It has also attempted to reconfigure its offer but the envelope of money available has not changed. The most recent college accounts show the number of senior management earning £60k-£160k doubled from three to six in 2022, representing a £165k increase to the wage bill read more
Nine days of strikes at University of Leicester over pay docking (19 Jun) – Staff at the University of Leicester begin nine days of strike action on Wednesday over the university’s enforcement of 50% wage deductions for staff taking part in the marking boycott. The full days of strike action are:
- week 1: Wednesday 21 June
- week 2: Monday 26, Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 June
- week 3: Tuesday 18 July, Wednesday 19 July, Thursday 20 July, Friday 21 July.
Management at Leicester plans to stop paying staff 50% of their salary from the first day marking becomes available until the boycott ends. The boycott covers all marking and assessment, including in writing, online, or verbally at 145 UK universities. It will continue until employer body the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) makes an improved offer in the ongoing pay and working conditions dispute, at which point UCU will decide whether to continue the action or call it off. In March UCU successfully renewed its mandate in the ongoing national pay and conditions dispute, allowing action to be called for a further six months at 145 universities, including Leicester. UCU members at 21 universities have now either taken or confirmed they will take strike action over pay docking read more
Strikes set for Liverpool John Moores University over pay docking (13 Jun) – Staff at Liverpool John Moores University will down tools on Friday in the first of eight days of strike action in response to the university’s enforcement of 50% wage deductions for staff taking part in the marking boycott. Friday’s strike will hit a key university open day, and staff will rally outside Metropolitan Cathedral, next to the university’s John Foster building from 1pm. The full days of strike action are:-
Week 1: Friday 16 June
Week 2: Thursday 17 and Friday 18 August
Week 3: Monday 18, Tuesday 19, Wednesday 20, Thursday 21 and Friday 22 September.
Management at John Moores has started docking the pay of staff who are boycotting marking by 50% despite the fact that staff continue to teach, support students, write references, provide pastoral care, undertake research and attend public events read more
Strike at University of Bristol amid ‘dodgy’ degree scandal (7 Jun) – Staff at the University of Bristol are set to strike on Friday 16 June during an open day in an acrimonious pay dispute, UCU announced today. UCU members are also boycotting marking. The university has responded by bypassing degree accreditation processes and confirming it will dock 50% of pay from staff participating in the boycott. Hundreds of staff and students have signed an open letter condemning management’s attempts to degrade the credibility of any degrees awarded by the university read more
Strike ON tomorrow at University of Westminster over 100% pay docking (6 Jun) – Staff at the University of Westminster will be on strike tomorrow after management confirmed it will dock 100% of the pay of staff taking part in the marking boycott. Striking staff will be picketing main entrances at 309 Regent Street and 35 Marylebone Road from 5pm to 7.30pm to coincide with the university’s postgraduate open day. UCU members are striking because Westminster is deducting 100% of the pay of staff taking part in the marking and assessment boycott, despite staff continuing to teach, lecture and support students as normal. The boycott covers all marking and assessment, including in writing, online, or verbally at 145 UK universities. It will continue until employer body UCEA makes an improved offer in the ongoing pay and working conditions dispute, at which point UCU will decide whether to continue the action or call it off. In March UCU successfully renewed its mandate in the dispute, allowing action to be called for a further six months at 145 universities, including Westminster read more
Indefinite strike action to hit University of Leeds over 100% pay docking (2 Jun) – Over 1,800 staff at the University of Leeds will begin indefinite strike action from Thursday 15 June after management confirmed it will be deducting 100% of the pay of staff taking part in the marking boycott. The strike could continue for months unless management stop docking staff pay. UCU said pay deductions of up to 100% are utterly unacceptable as staff taking part in the marking and assessment boycott continue to teach, lecture and support students as normal read more
Tyne Coast College faces two strike days next week in pay row (2 Jun) – Over 100 staff at Tyne Coast College will down tools next week in a fight over fair pay. Staff will strike on Monday 5 and Wednesday 7 June. They will be picketing outside main entrances from 7.30am to 9.30am on both strike days. The College has said it will be ‘closed for lessons’ during the strike days. The strike comes after 94% of those who voted backed strike action. Turnout was 54%. It is over the 2022/3 pay claim, which comes on top of multiple real-term wage cuts and a recent pay freeze (2019/20) read more
Strikes to hit four Yorkshire colleges during GCSE exams in pay & conditions fight (1 Jun) – Staff at Leeds City, Harrogate, Kirklees and Bradford colleges will strike for four days from Monday 5 June unless employers make an improved pay offer. The days of strike action taking place at all four colleges are: Monday 5 June, Wednesday 7 June, Monday 12 June, Wednesday 14 June. UCU said college leaders only have themselves to blame if strikes disrupt crucial GCSE maths and English exams set to take place next week. Staff at Kirklees and Bradford colleges already went on strike last month in their disputes. Bradford college staff also intend to take further action in June read more
Five days of strikes to hit Sheffield Hallam University in pay docking fight (30 May) – Staff at Sheffield Hallam University will resume strike action tomorrow (Wednesday 31 May) in the first of five days of action after the university began deducting 100% of the pay of staff taking part in the marking and assessment boycott. Staff at the university have already taken two days of strike action in response to the deductions, on 25 and 26 May. The further full days of strike action called are: Wednesday 31 May, no pickets; Thursday 1 June, no pickets; Friday 2 June, picket location: City Campus, Howard Street, S1 1WB; Wednesday 7 June, picket locations: Collegiate Cres, Broomhall, Sheffield S10 2BP; City Campus, Howard Street, S1 1WB; Thursday 8 June, picket locations: Collegiate Cres, Broomhall, Sheffield S10 2BP; City Campus, Howard Street, S1 1WB. Staff are striking because Sheffield Hallam is deducting 100% of the pay of staff taking part in the marking and assessment boycott, despite staff continuing to teach, lecture and support students as normal read more
UCU Congress votes for England wide college strike ballot (28 May) – Members attending UCU’s Congress have voted to ballot further education colleges across England for strike action. The ballot will be launched in September and if successful will lead to strikes from October, unless employers meet UCU’s demands over pay, workloads and the Living Wage. The decision follows an e-ballot of around 18,000 UCU members at 190 college branches in which 87% of members who voted said yes to strike action. Turnout was over 50%. UCU is demanding a pay offer in excess of RPI inflation, a national workload agreement and binding national pay negotiations. Earlier this month employer body the Association of Colleges refused to make a national pay offer read more
University of Winchester staff begin strike action tomorrow in fight against pay deductions (23 May) – Staff at the University of Winchester will begin strike action tomorrow as part of a fight back against 100% pay deductions for staff taking part in the current marking and assessment boycott. The University of Winchester has announced that they will make wage deductions of 100% for staff taking part in the boycott, despite staff continuing to teach, lecture and support students as normal. Strike action will last for at least 6 days in the first instance throughout May and June. Last month, UCU successfully renewed its industrial action mandate, allowing strikes to be called for a further six months. The current marking and assessment boycott covers all marking and assessment, including that in writing, online, or verbally. The boycott will also cover any assessment-related work such as exam invigilation and the administrative processing of marks read more
Staff at Manchester College and UCEN Manchester to begin strike action next week in row over low pay (12 May) – Staff at Manchester College and UCEN Manchester will take 12 days of strike action starting on Monday 15 May, UCU announced today. The strike comes after 94% of members who voted said backed industrial action in a ballot with a 59% turnout. This will be the fifth time that staff have been forced to take industrial action this year. An offer of 2.7% (the lowest for colleges in the North-West) was rejected by members against a backdrop of a cost of living crisis and inflation above 13% read more
Barnet & Southgate College strikes set to hit GCSE, BTEC & A-level exams (10 May) – Staff at Barnet and Southgate College will strike for three days from Friday 19 May in a long-running pay dispute. The strike dates will impact crucial GCSE, BTEC and A-level exams, including English and Maths. The full strike dates are: Friday 19 May, Monday 5 June, Wednesday 7 June. UCU said there is still time to call the strikes off and stop disruption to exams if the college makes a realistic pay offer. The strike comes after an overwhelming 96% of staff who voted backed taking action in a ballot to extend the union’s industrial mandate. UCU members have already downed tools for three days in the long-running dispute after college bosses imposed pay awards of just 1% for 2021/22 and 1% for 2020/21. The college has now imposed a further pay award of just 2.5% for 2022/23 read more
Strike ballot opens at Barnsley College over ‘unacceptable’ 2% pay offer (5 May) – A ballot for strike action opened today at Barnsley College over a consolidated pay offer for 2022/23 of just 2%. The ballot will run until Monday 12 June and if successful will pave the way for strike action during key admissions dates unless management comes back with a better offer. The industrial ballot comes after 97% of members who voted said they would back strike action in a consultative poll with a 70% turnout read more
City College Norwich staff on strike today in low pay dispute (5 May) – Staff at City College Norwich are on picket lines this morning in a strike over low pay, confirmed the University and College Union (UCU) today (Friday). They will also be on strike on Tuesday and are demanding that management urgently raise pay to meet the cost of living crisis. Staff have already taken two days of strike action this year after the college imposed a pay award so low it ended the college’s accreditation as a Real Living Wage employer. The lowest paid received an increase of just 5.1%, college lecturers were awarded a paltry 4% and other staff only 2.5%. Since 2009 pay for college staff has fallen behind inflation by 35%, which is now 13.4%. UCU is demanding a 14% pay rise to help staff meet the cost-of-living crisis read more
Bradford College staff to strike tomorrow over low pay (3 May) – Staff at Bradford College will strike tomorrow in a dispute over low pay and working conditions. Staff will be on picket lines outside college entrances from 7am, UCU confirmed. The strike will be the first of 14 days of action unless staff get an improved pay offer and movement from management on unmanageable workloads read more
More strikes at Darlington College after staff reject ‘offensive’ 3% pay offer (27 Apr) – Staff at Darlington College will strike for two consecutive days on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 May after rejecting a lowball 3% pay offer. The union said there is still time for the strike to be halted, but that the college must make staff a realistic offer that helps them meet the cost-of-living crisis. Staff have already been on strike for three days so far this academic year after the college imposed a pay award of just 1% for 21/22 and UCU is reballoting its members so it can call further action read more
Further strike action this week at Havant and South Downs College in row over low pay (24 Apr) – Staff at Havant and South Downs College (HSDC) will strike tomorrow and Thursday in an ongoing dispute over low pay amid the cost-of-living crisis. Staff will be picketing main entrances to the college each strike day. The college’s pay award is worth just 3% for most college lecturers, who earn £30k – £40k. It also made a one off payment, which was only £400 for most staff. Inflation is 13.5% meaning staff are suffering a huge real terms pay cut. The National Education Union (NEU) will be joining UCU on both days of strike action, following strikes at the college in February of this year read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
FBU condemns “inappropriate and unacceptable” practice endorsed by Kent fire service (24 Jul) – Today, the FBU has written to HMICFRS with reports of an “extremely inappropriate, unacceptable and unsafe practice” being carried out in Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS). This involves firefighters stripping down to their underwear prior to donning their fire kit in the workplace. The FBU reports this happening in full sight of colleagues, and at times, the public. Accepted practice is that fire kit is donned over cotton workwear (t-shirt and trousers). The union reports that this practice has been permitted by KFRS policy and senior management read more
Merseyside firefighters and control staff ballot for industrial action (24 Jul) – Today, 24th July 2023, Merseyside Fire Brigades Union Members will begin voting in a new ballot for industrial action, following six months of action short of strike. This is the latest action in an ongoing dispute with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, in relation to “attacks on terms and conditions” and a reduction in night-time staffing numbers in fire control. Merseyside FBU members outside of fire control will vote on whether to stop undertaking pre-arranging overtime, while members working within fire control will vote on taking discontinuous strike action. Merseyside Fire Brigade Union members will cast their votes until the ballot closes on Monday 21st August 2023. If a yes vote is returned, action will commence no sooner than Monday 4th September 2023 and could last for a period of up to 6 months read more
Fire Brigades Union calls on Fire Minister to respond to Northants fire chief fiasco (21 Jul) – The general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack, has written to Fire Minister Chris Philp requesting a government response to a fiasco around the appointment of an interim Chief Fire Officer for Northamptonshire. Nicci Marzec resigned from the role this Monday after just 10 days in post. She was appointed by Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, despite the fact that she lacked any operational firefighting experience, and without adequate consultation with the county’s PFCC scrutiny panel. The Fire Brigades Union has since called for Stephen Mold’s resignation read more
Firefighters’ union calls for Northamptonshire’s Police and Fire Commissioner to go after appointment fiasco (18 Jul) – The Fire Brigades Union has today called for the resignation of Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, following a fiasco around the appointment of an Interim Chief Fire Officer for the county. After Northamptonshire’s Chief Fire Officer, Mark Jones, resigned suddenly last week, Commissioner Stephen Mold appointed his own chief of staff, Nicci Marzec, to the role – despite the fact that Ms Marzec had never been a firefighter and had no operational experience of the fire service. After an outcry from the Fire Brigades Union and local politicians, Stephen Mold has now clarified that Nicci Marzec has ‘stepped back’ from the role. In a press statement, he accepted that he “acted too quickly and did not engage with the Police, Fire and Crime Panel”, and that his friendship with Marzec had “become the story”. The Fire Brigades Union has today called for Mold to resign as Commissioner following what it described as a “shambolic” series of events, in which the explanations for Mold’s actions “don’t appear to add up” read more
Firefighters reveal “terrifying truth” of under-resourced Fire Service in Albion hotel fire response (21 Jul) – Second fire breaks out in Albion Hotel, Brighton a week after initial blaze. East Sussex and surrounding areas left without adequate fire cover following initial incident as crews scrambled. Comparison with 1998 fire in the same building reveals large-scale cuts to fire service, putting lives and homes at risk. As the demolition of the fire-ravaged Albion hotel in Brighton was underway following the initial blaze last week, a second fire today broke out in the building. The Fire Brigades Union has condemned cuts to the fire service which have left firefighters and the public at risk read more
23 fire engines a day unavailable as London marks anniversary of record temperatures (19 Jul) – Data obtained by the Fire Brigades Union has revealed that, so far this July, an average of 23 of London’s fire engines have been unavailable every day due to understaffing. This amounts to around one in every six of London’s fire engines. A peak of 28 fire engines were unavailable on July 16th. London’s only fireboat, essential for river rescue and fighting fires, has been unavailable for 13 shifts this month. These figures only include appliances ‘off the run’ (unavailable) because of a lack of firefighters. The revelations come on the anniversary of the 2022 London wildfires, and follow the release of the London Fire Brigade’s Major Incident Review into the events of 19th July that year. On this date, the hottest day since records began, there were 822 fire engine mobilisations. 39 fire engines were unavailable due to understaffing as fires spread across Greater London, destroying 18 homes in Wennington. The LFB’s report acknowledges that this likely resulted in slower response times, an inability to provide adequate resources or firefighter numbers. Since 2010, London has lost 1,388 firefighters including control staff, 10 fire stations and 26 fire appliances to cuts read more
Tory anti-union laws could be met with mass campaign of non-compliance (3 Jun) – The government’s latest anti-union laws could be met with a mass campaign of non-compliance after they become law. The Minimum Service Levels Bill would give employers and the government the power to compel workers in some sectors to work on strike days despite having a democratic mandate for industrial action. In a letter to fellow trade union leaders today, Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said that the legislation was “one of the worst assaults on the rights of working people in Postwar Britain”, adding that “we have no choice but to build mass opposition to it, including developing a strategy of non-compliance and non-cooperation to make it unworkable.” He wrote: “This campaign cannot be won by any union acting alone. We must act together to build a movement to defy and defeat this law.” The Fire Brigades Union is now calling for a conference in the autumn to discuss the strategy and practicalities of such a campaign – putting the plan into action. Momentum is also now building behind a national demonstration against the new laws, initiated by the RMT at its conference last week. In his letter to fellow trade union general secretaries, Wrack argued that “with a national demonstration and a mass movement of non-compliance, we can build an alliance that can defeat this law in the streets and in the workplace.” Read more
POA
Deaths in custody raise alarm bells for POA union (26 Jul) – The Prison Officers Association have highlighted their concerns over the rising number of deaths in custody, particularly self-inflicted deaths, since Prison regimes have been expanded throughout the course of 2023. Since January 2023 to date there have been 185 recorded deaths in custody, and although some have been due to natural causes, a concerning number have been self-inflicted read more
Universal Credit and Pay Award 2023 (24 Jul) – It has been bought to the Executive’s attention that some members may be adversely impacted by lump sum and/or backdated payments if they are in receipt of Universal Credit. As Universal Credit awards are calculated on a month-to-month basis, members may lose out substantially if a large one-off payment is made all in one month. If you are one of these members in receipt of Universal Credit, and you believe that you will be adversely affected please contact [email protected] and the Executive will take this up with the employer read more
Asbestos in the workplace (21 Jul) – The POA are continually undertaking a process to determine asbestos exposure amongst members. The risk of asbestos exposure arises from the presence of asbestos in workplaces, particularly when it becomes damaged due to maintenance work or prisoner disturbances read more
Mark Fairhurst answers questions and discusses the Chief Inspector of Prisons Inspection Report on HMYOI Cookham Wood (19 Jul) – Watch Mark Fairhurst answering questions and discussing the Chief Inspector of Prisons Inspection Report on HMYOI Cookham Wood on Channel 4 read more
Steve Gillan on Talk TV: Prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded and a ticking “time-bomb” watch here
BFAWU
BFAWU members at Allied Bakeries in Liverpool are out on Strike! (31 May) – Our members at Allied Bakeries in Liverpool have taken the difficult decision to withdraw their labour this week over a pay dispute, the picket line over the last 24 hours has had plenty of support from the membership and the public with lots of drivers beeping their horns and waving and passers by passing on their support! Read more Donate to the strike fund
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
NUJ
NUJ welcomes Conservative party U-turn on admission fees (26 Jul) – Journalists attending party conference in October will no longer be charged a fee, following condemnation from the NUJ and industry read more
Online Safety Bill: Ofcom must consider journalistic content and sources when issuing notices (26 Jul) – The NUJ has welcomed action from the UK government improving protections for journalists when encrypted content is scanned read more
“Your local news may be affected by industrial action…” (23 Jul) – BBC local radio listeners had a taste of the future, as strikes across the network in England resulted in the reduced service they can expect under the corporation’s upcoming plans. NUJ members left their studios at 11am on Thursday for the 24-hour strike read more
National World journalists to be balloted for strike action (21 Jul) – The NUJ will ballot over 300 journalists at publisher National World in its ongoing dispute over pay. The union has been involved in negotiations with the company since an initial claim was submitted in February. The claim sought a pay rise that would help members cope with rising costs, as well as measures to address low pay and pay inequalities within newsrooms. National World has offered staff a below-inflation pay offer of 4.5 per cent, backdated to 1 April 2023 read more
BBC journalists strike for the third time to save local radio (18 Jul) – BBC journalists are out on strike again – from 11am on Thursday 20 July to 11am Friday 21 July – go along on visit them. The walkouts will affect the coverage of three by-elections. The placards, flags and posters will be dusted off for the third time this year for picket lines at England’s local radio stations. Despite the dispute winning huge support among the 5.4m loyal local radio listeners, MPs and councillors of all parties, a huge range of charities, non-league football fans, and community groups, the BBC is going ahead with plans to cut local content by almost half, with many popular presenters losing their jobs or choosing to go read more
NUJ ballots BBC journalists for further industrial action (10 Jul) – The union has informed the broadcaster of a new ballot to members at BBC Local (England) over changes to local radio services and jobs. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is in an ongoing dispute with the BBC over drastic changes to local radio services. Despite talks, the organisation has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies and major changes including to rotas and journalists’ terms and conditions. As the current mandate for industrial action expires in August, the NUJ is seeking members’ views on strike action, to inform next steps read more
Equity
Equity welcomes Arts Council shift on ENO relocation (27 Jul) – Campaigning by Equity and others forces a climbdown by Arts Council England that sees ENO secure an additional £24m funding and retention of a substantial London presence. Equity welcomes the announcement from Arts Council England that English National Opera will receive a further grant of £24 million to fund its work from April 2024 to March 2026. We particularly welcome the news that substantially more time has been granted to ENO to manage a proper transition to a new model which retains the company’s London presence whilst building on its successes to expand to new audiences elsewhere in the country. Our message remains clear: truly affordable and accessible opera requires sufficient funding, a specialist workforce engaged on strong terms and conditions, and all underpinned by a proper strategy read more
Save Our ENO campaign goes to the Proms (24 Jul) – Equity and Musicians’ Union members from the English National Opera ask audiences to sign a petition for additional funding to protect jobs. On Saturday 22 July, in between performances of the “‘Orrible Opera” children’s prom in which they were performing, Equity and Musicians’ Union members from the English National Opera lobbied audiences to sign a petition for additional funding to protect jobs read more
Equity release joint statement with SAG-AFTRA following industrial action announcement (13 Jul) – Equity UK have today released a joint statement with SAG-AFTRA following the announcement of upcoming US industrial action, vowing to support the action and its members by “all lawful means” as well as SAG-AFTRA’s refusal to issue new Global Rule One addenda read more
USDAW
Sainsbury’s and Usdaw sign a new national agreement to improve trade union organising and representation within the business (26 Jul) – Retail trade union Usdaw and retail giant Sainsbury’s are today launching a new partnership agreement to improve trade union representation for hourly-paid members working in supermarkets and convenience stores. The agreement marks a refreshed commitment to the long-standing union and employer relationship read more
‘Still struggling’ with the cost of living – Usdaw’s new survey lays bare the extent of the crisis for key workers (21 Jul) – Retail trade union Usdaw has today (Friday 21 July) released the latest findings of their cost of living survey of over 6,000 key workers in retail and associated industries. It shows that while wages are failing to keep pace with stubbornly high inflation, the cost of living crisis continues to have a devastating impact on low-paid workers read more
Double-digit inflation continues to devalue wages – Usdaw calls for a new deal for workers to tackle the cost of living crisis (19 Jul) – Retail trade union Usdaw is calling for the Government to address the cost of living crisis, after today’s statistics show that wages continue to be devalued by double-digit inflation. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate dipped to 10.7% and has now been in double-digits for well over a year, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) also fell to 7.9% read more
UVW
Rachel Keke: a fighter’s journey (27 Jul) – “Strike all the way until victory, support those striking and don’t be afraid” – Rachel Keke, former chambermaid-turned-French MP, at Casa UVW. In July we hosted an inspirational figure for us all at Casa UVW: Rachel Keke, former migrant chambermaid at a hotel in Paris who led and won France’s longest-ever hotel strike before she took her fight to parliament read more
Residents at luxury apartments support the striking cleaners and concierge workers (26 Jul) – “We were at the picket line again to show our determination to continue this fight and we won great support from the residents” – Francesco Lombardo, West End Quay concierge, UVW rep and striker. July saw the second round of strikes at West End Quays, the exclusive luxury apartment complex in central London. The 5 day strike action culminated in a picket outside the Hilton Metropole to coincide with the apartment complex’s Right To Manage (RTM) Annual General meeting (AGM). Our members, the outsourced cleaners and concierge workers, had no option but to call for this second round of strike action because invitations to further negotiate were rejected by the facilities contractor Lee Baron and by extension RTM, their ‘client’. The WEQ strikers wanted to appeal to the AGM attendees, WEQ residents, to use their vote at the AGM to authorise contractor Lee Baron to go back to the table to meaningfully negotiate with them read more
Local community comes out in full force to back La Retraite school’s cleaners striking to save their jobs (20 Jul) – “We are human beings like you, we have families like you, we need rest like you, we need a living wage – we work minimum 10 hours a day to make ends meet. We deserve respect” – Magaly, cleaner and UVW striker. This month cleaners at La Retraite Catholic Girls School in South London took two days of strike action against forced-through changes to their working hours that would lead to many losing their jobs. Over 120 students, parents and members of the local community signed a petition demanding justice for the cleaners, whilst the school management shamefully attempted to divert support for the valiant strikers who are standing together despite the sacking of one cleaner and suspension of three others. Students were particularly keen to sign the petition when the daughter of a cleaner informed them the proposed change in the timetable would mean that her mum wouldn’t get home until 9pm read more
If you want to support these brave workers, you can DONATE and or SHARE their strike crowdfunder.
You can also JOIN their action group for updates on the campaign and details of how to join a picket line.
Get to know the workers and their demands here and SPREAD THE WORD! Or send a letter of protest to their employers. Takes 1 minute!
- Equality now for Streatham and Clapham High School
- Give the Ogilvy night shift cleaners what they need and deserve
- London School of Economics pay your cleaners their holiday pay!
IWGB
Security Guards launch bus protest against UCL fire-and-rehire scheme (20 Jul) – All 256 UCL security guards, agency workers outsourced to subcontractor Bidvest Noonan, are facing a brutal fire-and-rehire over the summer, with 40 workers losing their jobs permanently and the remaining staff facing worse terms and conditions, including pay cuts of up to £13,500 per year. Today, security guards represented by the IWGB began strike action, and traveled across the city of London in a double decker “Protest Bus” visiting the workplaces of four members of the UCL council. The striking workers protested at the Bank of England, workplace of council member Tina Harris; Lincoln’s Inn Chambers, where council member Justin Turner is a lawyer; McKinsey, workplace of council member Tania Holt; and Nomura, where member Victor Chu is a board member. Protests are planned to continue throughout the next 10 days, including a rally outside parliament on Thursday, with MPs including Barry Gardiner set to speak read more
UCL Security Guards protest at Open Day after redundancies and pay cuts announced during cost of living crisis (30 Jun) – UCL’s outsourced security guards will protest to disrupt the university’s Open Day on Friday 30 June and Saturday 1 July, resisting plans to make 40 staff members redundant and drastically reduce the contractual hours for many of the remaining workers read more
Cycling instructors set for first ever strike after 14 year pay freeze (30 Jun) – London based cycling instructors representing the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain (IWGB) will go on strike for the first time ever after a 14 year pay freeze. The strike will take place on Friday afternoon, with further strike action planned for every week in July. Striking cycling instructors are demanding pay restoration, a fair cancellation policy and an end to unpaid admin time read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
Fire service management is to blame for chaotic scenes in fire stations nationwide, says SIPTU (27 Jul) – SIPTU representatives have said today (Friday, 28th July) that fire service management must take sole responsibility for the chaotic scenes seen in fire stations around the country following the commencement of strike action in the retained fire service read more
SIPTU says local authorities refuse emergency cover for strike by retained fire fighters (25 Jul) – SIPTU representatives have condemned the refusal by local authorities to agree an emergency cover plan for the strike by retained fire fighters which is to commence tomorrow (Wednesday, 26th July). They have claimed that it can only be interpreted as a cynical move to pit the public against the men and women of the retained fire service read more
SIPTU retained fire fighters to resume strike action after rejection of Labour Court recommendation (20 Jul) – SIPTU Fire Fighters across the country have voted by an overwhelming majority of 82% to 18% to reject the Labour Court recommendation which was proposed as ‘an interim solution’ to their dispute last week read more
Unions call on Government to immediately intervene on Section 39 pay dispute (19 Jul) – SIPTU, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Fórsa representatives, have today (Wednesday 19th July) expressed their deep and intense frustration with the Government over its failure to resolve a long standing pay dispute involving thousands of Section 39, Section 10 and Section 56 workers. The call comes following a last minute cancellation of a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) by the government employers hearing for the fourth time read more
Other news
Exciting Trade Union courses for Sept 2023 at Conel college in North London
Dear colleague, thanks for continuing to attend our trade union courses at Conel college. I attach our suite of courses we have planned for September. All are available to apply via the TUC courses website https://www.tuc.org.uk/TUCcourses. Just to note our Next steps – stage 2 course in-person is quite full. So are our diplomas. All are on first come basis. We do have a combination of online and classroom based courses. In January 2024 our union reps course will be online kind of alternating. We have also added some booster courses for ICT skills. We also have an excellent public speaking course to help you participate in discussions, debates and all round boosting confidence to speak either to management or at your union conferences. Understanding Pensions course this is to boost knowledge and understanding around this important subject. Please note we do bespoke courses for unions and branches. If you wish to speak about this do contact me directly [email protected]. Hope you and your union colleagues continue to use our facilities and courses. Have a good summer break.
Best regards, Jonathan
PS we will be advertising a communication skills course but dates yet to be advertised.
Jonathan Jeffries – Curriculum Manager for Trade Union Education Tel: 0208 442 3189. The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London www.conel.ac.uk
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
Support Lee Fowler – Another blacklisted construction worker sacked after making complaints about safety on site read more about Lee’s case
Support the ‘Murphy 4’ Campaign to reinstate sacked Unite members read more
Felixstowe 4’ protest demands justice at CK Hutchison AGM (18 May) read more
UK facing taps and pipes shortage as Warrington based GXO drivers strike over sacking of Unite rep (12 May) read more
Protest as Hackney Unison chair amongst those handed compulsory redundancies in libraries shake-up: 6pm Wednesday 17th May Hackney Town Hall Read more on Hackney Citizen website
#SPYCops Inquiry exposes state surveillance of workers movement
Construction blacklisting: Evidence sought in union officials’ collusion inquiry (11 Apr) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is stepping up its search for information into the possible collusion by trade union officials into the blacklisting of construction workers. In April 2022 Unite established an independent inquiry into allegations that some union officials may have colluded with the blacklisting of construction workers. Unite has instructed a legal team of Nick Randall KC (Matrix Chambers), John Carl Townsend (33 Chancery Lane Chambers) and Paul Heron from (Public Interest Law Centre), to examine and investigate whether any union officials from Unite or its predecessor unions (T&G, UCATT, Amicus, AEEU or MSF), were involved in the blacklisting of construction workers. The inquiry is now entering its next stage and an online portal has been launched to allow anyone who has any information relating to the inquiry to submit information read more
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: Afghanistan: abducted journalist released by Taliban (25 Jul) – An increase in arbitrary arrests and intimidation of journalists under Taliban rule has been condemned by the NUJ and the International Federation of Journalistsread more on NUJ website
Diary
July
29 Troublemakers at Work Conference 2023: Friends Meeting House, Manchester – supported by Workers Can Win!, Strike Map, NSSN and Organise Now!
September
10 NSSN TUC Rally Liverpool 1pm
October
1 Demonstrations at Tory Party Conference 12noon:-
- Peoples Assembly – Assemble on Oxford Road
- Stand Up To Racism – Assemble Central Manchester
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
