After the BMA was recently threatened by the Tories with their Minimum Service Levels (MSL) anti-union law when their consultant and junior doctor members took strike action together, Sunak’s government is now targeting education unions.
The UCU, NEU and NASUWT have all responded to this attack. Education workers, like those across all sectors in the continuing strike wave, have shown that they are prepared to fight against the cost of living squeeze and for the necessary staffing on every working day.
But the Tory MSL isn’t about protecting education – that’s what the staff do. It’s yet another attack on our right to strike – trying to force unions to organise its own strike-breaking operations.
It must be opposed by ALL the unions, acting together.
The TUC must enact its motion agreed at its Congress in September, that stated “Congress pledges 100% solidarity with any trade unions attacked under these MSL laws” and included to “support demonstrations and hold a national march opposing the legislation and calling for repeal of the anti-union laws.”
The motion that was passed at the TUC Congress includes:-
Congress calls on the next Labour government to immediately repeal MSLs, the Trade Union Act 2016 and take urgent steps to remove other anti-union laws.
Congress pledges 100% solidarity with any trade unions attacked under these MSL laws.
Congress agrees we must use all means necessary to defeat the unjust MSLs laws and calls on the General Council to proactively seek to:
- resist any further restrictive trade union legislation and demand:
- the repeal of the Trade Union Act 2016 and all other anti-trade union legislation;
- stronger rights for unions to access workplaces, win recognition, and establish collective bargaining rights; and
- the right for trade union members to vote online during industrial action ballots, and statutory elections for executive committees and general secretaries.
- build coalitions to campaign for non-compliance and against further restrictive trade union legislation;
- build an appropriate industrial response to defend workers’ right to strike;
- implement a campaign alongside others defending the fundamental rights of working people to resist MSLs;
- legally challenge the Minimum Service Levels (MSLs) legislation;
- coordinate demands from affiliates and call on employers, devolved governments, mayors, fire authorities, local authorities and other public bodies to refuse to implement the MSLs legislation and issue work notices and work with the trade union movement to render MSLs inoperable;
- support demonstrations and hold a national march opposing the legislation and calling for repeal of the anti-union laws;
- mobilise support for any affiliate seeking assistance, whose union and members are sanctioned for non-compliance;
- organise a Special Congress, size to be determined, to explore options for non-compliance and resistance.
The following supported lobbying the TUC. Send us details if your union also passes our model motion or the updated version below, and/or agreed to support our lobby of the TUC and we’ll include in this list:-
Nottinghamshire, Nottingham & Mansfield 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 TUC, Carmarthenshire Unison Local Government Branch, Basildon Unison Local Government Branch, Unison NCA Health, Knowsley Unison Local Government Branch, Caerphilly Trades Council, Wakefield Trades Council, Unison Mid Yorkshire Health Branch, Unite Merseyside Area Activist Committee, Unite Notts Area Activist Committee, Unite EM/NG32 Nottinghamshire Health Branch, Brighton Trades Council, Portsmouth Trades Council, Carlisle TUC, Winchester & Andover TUC, Hampshire County Associations of TUCs, Hackney Unison Local Government Branch, Hackney Trades Council, Plymouth Trades Council, Blackpool Fylde and Wyre TUC, Torbay TUC, Unite SW/008 Branch
Model Motion on Tory Minimum Service Levels Act
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.
This is an updated version after TUC Congress:-
This (branch, committee, trades council etc)
· welcomes the TUC decision for a fighting strategy to oppose the Tories’ new anti-strike law, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which will initially prevent nearly 6 million UK workers in health, education, transport, fire and rescue, and other public services from taking full industrial action;
· recognises the urgent need to build coalitions of non-compliance and against further extensions of the act by creating an appropriate industrial response to defend workers’ right to strike and protect any trade union attacked under this new law;
· supports the TUC call to coordinate demands on employers, devolved governments, mayors, fire authorities, local authorities, and other public bodies to refuse to issue ‘work notices’ under the act, which are discretionary and not mandatory, and will initiate and/or participate in national, local and regional demonstrations and lobbies of such employers in support of this demand.
Public Meeting: How do we defeat the anti-union laws? –
A public meeting organised by London trade union movement organisations, hosted by Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Council at the Bread & Roses
7pm, Wednesday 29 November
The Bread & Roses, 68a Clapham Manor Street, London SW4 6DZ
Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-do-we-defeat-the-anti-union-laws-tickets-737898312717?aff=oddtdtcreator/ OR https://bit.ly/29novantiunionlaws
Provisional speakers include (more info shortly):-
• Maria Exall, TUC President 2022-3 and Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) Greater London Combined
• Riccardo la Torre, National Officer and anti-union laws lead for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
• Jared Wood, RMT London Transport Regional Organiser
• Maisie Sanders, teacher and National Education Union (NEU) rep, Hammersmith and Fulham
• Plus reps / activists from unions including PCS and Unison
Stop the attack on Gaza
Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the daily bombardment on Gaza by the Israeli government
There are national and local protests, including this Saturday 28th October in Central London – assemble 12noon Victoria Embankment
A number of unions have issued statements, including: FBU, RMT, NEU, Unite, Unison, PCS, ASLEF, TSSA, UCU, EIS, Equity, BMA, NUJ, UVW, and the TUC
NSSN news
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
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RMT
Support Bidvest Noonan picket lines (24 Oct) – Bidvest Noonan cleaners on the c2c contract are taking one days strike action on 3rd November in pursuit of pay justice. East Ham 08.00 until 11.00 am.
- Fenchurch street 07.30 until 11.00 am.
- Shoeburyness 07.00 until 13.00 pm and for the night workers picket line it will 19.00 until 21.00 read more
Arriva sold to Cayman Islands registered company (19 Oct) – RMT has reacted angrily to the sale of Arriva rail company by German state railway to a firm registered in the Cayman Islands tax haven. Deutsche Bahn which is owned by Germany and has run Arriva since 2010 has sold the company to I Squared Capital for 1.6bn euros. I Squared Capital is registered in the Cayman Islands tax-haven and recently had a bid for First Group rejected. Arriva runs CrossCountry, Chiltern, Grand Central and London Overground rail services in the UK. Last year Arriva received dividends of £9.5 million from London Overground, reported profits of £8m at CrossCountry and £1.6m at Chiltern. Arriva has also been beset by fat cat profiteering, with the top director making more than £1m last year. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This sale of Arriva by German state railway to a tax haven registered company underscores what a perverse and corrupt system rail privatisation is in this country. Our members have not had a pay rise in over 3 years despite huge profits and dividends generated for shareholders…It is vital to end the racket of privatisation and put the railways into public ownership as a matter of urgency.” Read more
RMT secures fresh strike mandate in national dispute (19 Oct) – Rail union RMT has smashed the anti trade union legal thresholds to secure another 6-month mandate for strike action in their long running national rail dispute. Around 20,000 members were balloted across 14 rail companies with all of them individually achieving over a 50 percent turnout and overwhelming ‘yes’ votes for further strike action. Overall 89.9% of members voted ‘yes’ for more strike action on a 63.6% turnout. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “I congratulate our members for delivering a decisive mandate for future industrial action as we pursue a negotiated settlement of jobs pay and conditions…” read more
Defend Jobs, Pensions and Agreements (18 Oct) – Ballot papers have been sent to 10,000 London Underground members in their dispute over Jobs, Pensions and Agreements. Watch as Regional Organiser Jared Wood sets out the issues here
Rail Gourmet staff take strike action (12 Oct) – Contracted out caterers working on TransPennine Express services will take strike action on Friday over poor pay, pensions and sick pay. RMT members working for Rail Gourmet poorer terms and conditions and lower pay than directly employed colleagues who work on the train operator. Rail Gourmet made £1.4 million in profit last year but have refused to meet the expectations of members in terms of a pay offer read more
RMT slams Network Rail job cuts in track renewals (12 Oct) – RAIL UNION RMT has slammed short-sighted job cuts of nearly 500 posts in the crucial Track Renewal Service (TRS) organisation within Network Rail supply-chain operations as the latest act of the slash and burn culture developing within the rail infrastructure company. The union has warned that the latest cuts come on the back of massive government funding cuts for Control Period 7 which means a decline in renewals for the next five years. This is despite the fact that the Office for Rail and Road has made clear that Network Rail should increase planned spending on renewals by £600 million read more
Royal Fleet Auxiliary opens ballot for strike action (11 Oct) – Seafarers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) could take strike action later this year, the RMT has warned. On Wednesday a nine-week ballot will open after RMT members rejected a below inflation pay offer from RFA management. RFA have offered a one year deal of 4.5 percent which is unacceptable to RMT members. Over 500 RFA seafarers will now be balloted for strike action with the vote opening Wednesday 11 October read more
ASLEF
ASLEF: Train drivers’ union announces industrial action and asks ‘Where’s Wally?’ (15 Sept) – ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, has today [Friday] announced another two days of strike action – on Saturday 30 September and Wednesday 4 October – and an overtime ban across the UK rail network on Friday 29 September and from Monday 2 to Friday 6 October. The 16 companies affected include: Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; c2c; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway; Greater Anglia; GTR Great Northern Thameslink; Great Western Railway; Island Line; LNER; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Southern/Gatwick Express; South Western Railway; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains read more
TSSA
TSSA slams shambolic Avanti cuts (23 Oct) – TSSA rail union has branded Avanti West Coast a ‘specialist in failure’ after the train operator announced that it will drastically cut the number of services it runs in December. Avanti plan to reduce weekend frequency throughout most of December, with the company blaming staff shortages. The move to slash services on one of the country’s main intercity lines comes just weeks after Avanti were awarded a lucrative nine-year contract by the government to keep running services on the west coast main line. Avanti West Coast had previously been put on notice to improve its performance and rail unions and passenger groups were bitterly disappointed that the failing train operator had been awarded a new contract. The move will impact trains running between London, Birmingham, Manchester and north Wales. Because of the reduced service only two trains an hour will run between London and Manchester on Saturdays in December read more
TSSA warning over Arriva Rail sale (19 Oct) – Rail union TSSA has described as “very troubling” the sale of the Arriva Rail group to the private equity firm ‘I Squared Capital’. Arriva runs CrossCountry, Chiltern, Grand Central and London Overground rail services in Britain, having been owned by Deutsche Bahn (DB) the German national railway company, since 2010. DB have now sold the company to ‘I Squared Capital’ for 1.6bn euros read more
Issues at c2c show railway ticket office closures must be abandoned (18 Oct) – Rail union TSSA has called on the c2c train operator to urge the government to keep railway ticket offices open, following months of technology failures and customer complaints read more
Rail Safety warning from TSSA amid Network Rail cuts (13 Oct) – TSSA today warned of “wholly unnecessary safety risks” on the railways as Network Rail announced a cull of almost 500 jobs in cost cutting measures read more
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Winter of industrial action looms over Coventry after refuse workers vote for action (25 Oct) – Winter of industrial action looms over Coventry after refuse workers vote for action. Loaders who empty bins during heatwaves and hailstorms vote for action by a margin of 74%. Coventry Council refuse workers employed as loaders have overwhelmingly voted for strike action and action short of a strike. Coventry council is attempting to impose significant cuts to the workers’ terms and conditions. More than 40 HGV refuse lorry drivers employed by Labour-controlled Coventry council have already voted for strike action read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Oxfam workers poised to strike for first time over poverty pay ‘hypocrisy’ (25 Oct) – Workers at anti-poverty charity using foodbanks due to low pay. Hundreds of struggling Oxfam workers across the UK are balloting for strike action for the first time after rejecting a substandard pay offer. This is despite Oxfam having huge reserves and its public stance condemning UK poverty and real-terms wage cuts. Oxfam GB office and retail workers, most earning little more than the minimum wage, rejected a pay offer of £1,750 or six per cent (whichever is higher), plus a one-off payment of £1,000. Average wages at Oxfam have fallen by 21 per cent in real terms since 2018. The charity is now seeking to impose the offer and is refusing to engage in further negotiations with Unite, even though the union’s members rejected it by 79 per cent in a ballot. In response, Unite will ballot its members for strike action from 26 October to 16 November read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Ministers fail to read the room as “abhorrent” bankers’ bonuses are given the green light to let rip at the height of a cost-of-living crisis (25 Oct) – Commenting on the announcement from the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that the limit on bankers’ bonuses will be lifted on 31 October, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is abhorrent that this government is choosing to throw caution aside in order to fuel another bonus bonanza for some of the most highly paid people in the country while millions of ordinary families are struggling…” read more
Northern Ireland: Unite, GMB and SIPTU to ballot passenger transport workers for strike action in pay dispute (24 Oct) – Joint Transport Trade Union side press release:
Representatives and officials of three trade unions representing frontline bus and rail workers met yesterday and agreed unanimously to proceed with an industrial ballot, including for action up to and including strike, of their members over pay. All three unions will ballot their members working in Ulsterbus, Metro and the Glider. GMB and SIPTU will ballot members working in Northern Ireland Rail. All three trade unions have now given seven-day notice of the pending strike ballots to Translink, northern Ireland’s public transport provider and the ballots will open from 30th October closing on 17th November (GMB and SIPTU) and 16th November (Unite). If members of the three trade unions vote for industrial action, the first possible date for strike action on bus and rail would be Friday December 1st. Such coordinated industrial action by members of all three trade unions would be unprecedented in recent years and would bring to a standstill all bus and rail services in Northern Ireland. The strike follows consultative processes in all three trade unions. Unite conducted a full consultative ballot of its bus worker membership which returned a 98% vote rejecting a zero percent pay offer by Translink management and demanding a ballot on industrial action. Management at Translink have indicated that they are unable to offer any pay offer or a timetable for negotiations for an improved pay offer in light of the constrained funding for public transport. The situation has been precipitated as a result of the punitive budget imposed on the Department for Infrastructure by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris in the absence of a functioning Stormont Executive. All three unions are proceeding with an industrial ballot but are due to participate, alongside Translink management, in a crunch meeting with the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Infrastructure in coming days read more
Unite ballots Translink bus workers in pay dispute (9 Oct)
Unite secures 10.4% pay boost for Mitie Dungarvan cleaners (24 Oct) – Deal includes element backdated to April 2021. Union to seek further increase in 2024. Unite, which represents Mitie employees working as cleaners at Haleon sites in Dungarvan, today (Tuesday) said it had secured a 10.4% pay boost to the 2022/23 real Living Wage of €13.85 per hour. The union will be entering a new round of pay talks in February 2024, when it will be seeking the new real Living Wage of €14.80 per hour. The real Living Wage is calculated each year by the Living Wage Technical Group, to which Unite is affiliated, and is based on the cost of a basket of goods and services required to maintain a minimum essential standard of living. The deal negotiated by Unite includes a 2% increase on pay from the 1st April 2021, another 2.5% increase on pay from the 1st of April 2022, with the increase to the real Living Wage of €13.85 per hour backdated to 1st of July 2023. The backdating elements of the deal mean that members will receive lump sums of between €2500 and €3000 based on working a 39-hour week over the relevant period read more
Klarius Stoke-on-Trent strikes intensifies after inadequate sick pay offer rejected (23 Oct) – Workers angry over ‘disgraceful’ fire and rehire sick pay threats. Striking Stoke-on-Trent workers employed by Klarius Products have rejected an inadequate sick pay offer from the company and will intensify their strike action, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). The workers began a series of strikes in September in response to the company’s threats to fire and rehire them in order to drastically reduce sick pay for some of its most long serving and loyal workforce. The problems at the company are a result of the creation of a two-tier workforce. Workers on the traditional contracts receive a very fair company sick pay scheme, while workers on the inferior, newer contracts only receive statutory sick pay (SSP). Klarius’ solution is to introduce a new sick pay scheme, but it would result in many workers experiencing sizeable cuts in their entitlement. The workers have since rejected an offer from the company that would have seen their sick pay reduced over three years to just two weeks from five. This is not acceptable to Unite’s membership as they have sacrificed terms and conditions in previous years in order to retain the original sick pay scheme…The workers have taken 16 days of strike action since 12 September. They will now strike Monday through to Friday every week from 6 November to 1 December read more
Faith workers bearing the brunt of cost-of-living crisis (23 Oct) – Unite survey shows clergy struggling to pay bills and relying on food banks. A survey by Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, has shown that faith workers across various religions and denominations are struggling with the current cost of living crisis. Unite’s members are calling on their respective religious bodies to increase their pay and reduce workloads as the current conditions are leading to many wanting to leave their ministries read more
“General Election now” – clear message from working people in brace of by-election trouncings for the government (20 Oct) – Working people have sent a clear message that they want a general election now, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said of the humiliation at the polls in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth for the government read more
Public encouraged to show opposition to outsourcing of leisure services at Ards & North Down (19 Oct) – Trade unions warn of likelihood that outsourcing will lead to huge price hikes and corner-cutting on staffing. Representatives of GMB, NIPSA and UNITE are adopting a united front against proposals before Ards & North Down District Council which threaten to hand over leisure services to the private management company Serco. The unions highlight the poor track record of the controversial company and warn that experience in Belfast City Council where leisure services have been outsourced have been a huge hike to user charges and attacks on workers’ rights through introduction of a two-tier workforce. The unions pledged their full opposition to the threat and called on the public to attend a demonstration against the proposal which is to held at 6pm on Wednesday 25th October at Bangor Castle read more
Miller & Carter Steakhouses blasted for ripping off staff tips (19 Oct) – Restaurant chain’s tipping policy a ‘new low’ for hospitality industry. Steakhouse chain Miller & Carter has been blasted for ripping off waiting staff by making them pay up to two per cent of the sales they serve out of their tips to give to the kitchen, bar and management. The policy has led to waiting staff receiving no tips at all and even being in a tip deficit, where they owe money that has to be paid from tips made during future shifts to clear the debt. In many cases, workers are losing hundreds of pounds a month in tips to subsidise the low wages of back of house workers. One Unite member has also said they have been asked to stump up cash up front to cover the tip deficit, leaving them earning less than the minimum wage for their shift read more
Unite secures East Midlands Trent Barton bus engineers pay rise of between 20% and 26% (19 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a pay rise of between 20 per cent and 25.8 per cent for 100 Trent Barton bus engineers across five sites in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. The deal, which was secured without the need for industrial action, was agreed without changes to the workers’ terms and conditions. Trent Barton apprentice engineers have also benefited from the deal and will now receive seven per cent higher pay than the national minimum for apprentices read more
NHS Tayside estates workers escalate strike over ‘second class’ pay and conditions (18 Oct) – Dispute escalates as 60 workers intensify strike action at major hospitals across Tayside. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, can confirm that NHS Tayside estates workers will escalate their strike action in an ongoing dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. The dispute centres on the failure of NHS Tayside to locally implement recognised national conditions for trades’ persons which is contributing to an ongoing underpayment of wages. The action involves around 60 estates workers including electricians, joiners, and plumbers. The increase in industrial action includes additional strike action beginning at 16.00 hours on Wednesday 1st November, in addition to the ongoing industrial action. This will result in Unite members taking industrial action from late Wednesday afternoons until 08.00 am the following Monday read more
Poverty pay for Go North East bus workers prolonging industrial dispute (18 Oct) – Unite analysis shows bus workers in the North East earning far less than elsewhere. Workers at the Go North East bus company are stepping up their campaign for better pay and conditions with an all-out continuous strike from 28 October as new research from Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, shows they are among the lowest paid bus workers in the country. Over 1,300 Unite members are currently taking part in a second week of industrial action due to end on Friday but they announced last week that a new, continuous, strike would begin later in October. The average wage for a driver at Go North East is just £12.83 per hour yet drivers at Go North West earn £15.53 per hour. Workers in Newcastle and Sunderland would require a pay rise of over 20 per cent to earn the same as those in Manchester. This equates to a loss of £105 per week on a 39-hour week or £5,475 per year. Additional research by Unite shows that the pay of Go North East workers has actually fallen by five per cent in real terms since 2018. Meanwhile, the highest paid director at Go North East was paid £185,000 in 2022. This is six times the pay of the average employee. Go North East is part of the wider Go Ahead Group of companies. Their last accounts show their bus division made profits of nearly £85million read more
Strikes by Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice workers end in pay victory (18 Oct) – Strikes by more than 60 Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice workers have ended after an improved pay offer was accepted. The offer, secured by Unite, the UK’s leading union, includes a £1,500 consolidated payment across all grades for 2022/23, as well as a £425 non-consolidated payment. For 2023/24, the workers also received a £1,000 consolidated payment across all grades. In total, the workers have received an immediate payment of £2,925. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Well done to our Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice members, who took strike action for the first time in the organisation’s history and won. This is yet another result that shows how Unite’s unrelenting focus on improving jobs, pay and conditions is putting money in our members’ pockets.” The workers, who began strike action in July, will now return to work as normal after voting in favour of the deal read more
Wyeth Nutritionals: Management must engage immediately with unions to save jobs (18 Oct) – Latest job threat should spur Government to action. October 18th: Unite, which represents administrative, technical and craft grades at Wyeth Nutritionals in Askeaton, Co Limerick, said this evening (Wednesday) that workers were shocked to be told this afternoon that the plant is facing closure in 2026 with the potential loss of approximately 540 jobs, some of which the company proposes shedding as early as 2024. Wyeths is owned by the Swiss Nestle group, which in July upgraded its growth outlook on the back of a strong performance in the first half of 2023 read more
Vanderlande dispute resolved with improved pay deal (17 Oct) – Unite wins increased pay award for Heathrow members at baggage carousel engineering firm. Unite members at Vanderlande Ltd, the company that maintains baggage carousels at Heathrow airport, have resolved their dispute after winning an increased pay offer. As a consequence strike action scheduled for later this month has been called off read more
Huge rat attending British Ports Association conference due to union-busting by construction company J Murphy and Sons (17 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is holding several protests at the British Ports Association conference due to the union-busting activities of J Murphy and Sons Ltd read more
Unite protests across Paris due to union-busting by construction company J Murphy and Sons (6 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has held protests at the French offices of Bouygues and other prime targets in the French capital in a major escalation of its campaign to end union-busting at J Murphy and Sons Ltd read more
Unite members vote to accept COSLA pay offer (17 Oct) – Trade union warns against frontline service cuts. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, can confirm that its local government membership have voted to accept the revised COSLA pay offer. 71.38 per cent of Unite’s members in a consultative ballot voted to accept the offer made by COSLA on 21 September read more
Unite response to Rolls Royce job loss announcement (17 Oct) – Unite the UK’s leading union has responded to the announcement today (17 October) that Rolls Royce is looking to make over 2,000 redundancies, including potentially hundreds in the UK. Unite was very disappointed to learn about these redundancies via a leak to Sky News late last night. This morning, Rolls Royce released an official stock market announcement and subsequently briefed employees, however no additional clarity about the job losses or where they are likely to be made has been provided, despite announcing a figure of over 2,000 globally read more
Strikes off at Lincoln Lincat commercial kitchen appliance maker after pay deal (17 Oct) – Strikes by more than 100 workers at commercial kitchen appliance manufacturer Lincat in Lincoln are off after a pay deal was secured. Unite, the UK’s leading union, secured an eight per cent increase backdated from January for the majority of workers, with those on higher grades receiving tiered rises. All workers will see their wages rises by a further five per cent from January 2024, as part of the two year pay deal. The dispute has now ended and operations resumed as normal after the workers voted in favour of accepting the deal read more
Over 1,000 First Glasgow drivers to be balloted for industrial action (17 Oct) – Unite demands offer comparable to best paid drivers across the UK. Unite the union has today (Tuesday 17 October) confirmed that over 1,000 First Glasgow drivers are to be balloted on industrial action in a dispute over pay. The bus drivers have rejected an unacceptable pay offer by 99 per cent on an 85 per cent turnout on the basis that it falls significantly below the pay levels of other drivers across First Group’s UK operations. The ballot will open today (Tuesday 17 October) and close on 7 November. If the ballot is successful, then industrial action is likely to start during November. The drivers are employed by First Glasgow (No1) and at First Glasgow (No 2). The companies are part of First Group PLCs bus operations in Scotland. The drivers are based in the following bus depots: Blantyre, Caledonia, Dumbarton, Overtown and Scotstoun. There is also a similar dispute brewing involving around 150 Unite engineers at both companies read more
150 First Bus engineers across Glasgow and West Central Scotland vote for strike action (29 Sept) – Emphatic vote follows pay offer rejection. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, confirmed today (29 September) that around 150 First Bus engineers across Glasgow and West Central Scotland have emphatically backed strike action. The engineers at First Glasgow (No1) voted by 96 per cent, and by 100 per cent at First Glasgow (No 2) in support of strike action in high turnouts of over 80 per cent. The companies are part of First Group PLC’s bus operations in Scotland. The engineers are involved in an escalating pay dispute with both companies following the overwhelming rejection of a pay offer. The workers are based in the following bus depots: Blantyre, Caledonia, Dumbarton, Overtown and Scotstoun. Unite can further confirm that talks are scheduled with the companies through the auspices of the conciliation service (Acas) next week in a bid to make a breakthrough in the pay dispute. If there is no positive outcome then Unite will have ‘no option’ but to notify First Glasgow (No1) and First Glasgow (No2) of imminent industrial action. This could take place from the middle of October 2023 read more
Strike action threat at Chivas Brothers across Scotland (17 Oct) – Hundreds of Unite members reject ‘unacceptable’ pay offer. Unite has today (Tuesday 17 October) confirmed that its membership at Chivas Brothers across Scotland has emphatically rejected a pay offer with the union warning strike action is now on the cards. Unite, which is the main union at the company, represents hundreds of members at the company’s Kilmalid, Dalmuir, Beith, Strathclyde Grain and Strathisla distilleries, and Dumbuck warehouse facility among others. Unite members have rejected a 6.4 per cent pay offer by 97 per cent. The union is warning that it will have ‘no option’ but to ballot its Chivas Brothers membership unless there is a significantly improved pay offer. Inflation stood at 11.3 per cent when the workers’ pay increase should have been implemented. Chivas Brothers Limited made a profit after tax of £168.5 million in 2022. Chivas employs around 1,500 workers in Scotland. The company produces Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet read more
Unite secures Petrofac Ithaca ‘win’ over working rota (16 Oct) – Long-running dispute over after ‘clawback’ deal. Unite, Scotland’s leading offshore trade union, announced today (Monday 16 October) that around 85 offshore workers employed by Petrofac Facilities Management Limited have secured a ‘win’ in the working arrangements across offshore installations. Unite members on the FPF1 platform, Alba FSU, Alba North, Captain FPSO, and Captain WPP installations, which are operated by Ithaca Energy, have backed the move to a 10 days ‘clawback’ policy with no loss of pay. The Unite membership includes electrical, production and mechanical technicians in addition to deck crew, scaffolders and crane operators read more
500 Scottish Water workers emphatically back strike action (16 Oct) – Key frontline workers to down tools in pay and grading dispute. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, can confirm its 500-strong Scottish Water membership have emphatically backed strike action in an escalating dispute over pay and a new grading system. Strike action is now set to hit Scottish Water in a matter of weeks as Unite members voted by 89 per cent in support of strike action. Unite has accused Scottish Water bosses of bypassing long-standing collective bargaining processes involving unions. This concerns a new ‘reward system’ which Scottish Water bosses are trying to impose on the workforce is being tied to the 2023 pay offer. Unite’s membership includes waste water operatives, water treatment and burst repair operatives, maintenance engineers, electricians and sewage tanker drivers read more
Unite Education Authority workers in work-to-rule in Northern Ireland (16 Oct) – Industrial action to commence Monday 23 October in pursuit of a pay & regrading review. Unite the union’s membership concentrated in school bus transport, catering, admin, cleaning, classroom assistants and other school based members. Members of Unite the union employed by Education Authority will commence a continuous work-to-rule from 00.01am on Monday 23 October. This is the first step in a planned escalation by education workers to secure the implementation of a promised pay & regrading review. The failure to make meaningful progress is a touchstone issue as the commitment to hold the exercise was the primary reason why industrial action by education workers in 2022 was called off. Education Authority managers claim the lack of progress is not of their making as they have repeatedly engaged with the Department of Education without any progress on the matter read more
Unite ballots Oceaneering workers in escalating pay dispute (16 Oct) – Rosyth based company pay offer overwhelmingly rejected. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, confirmed that around 90 workers will be balloted on strike action in an escalating pay dispute with the Port of Rosyth based company Oceaneering. Oceaneering International Services Limited has made a 6 per cent pay offer plus a one-off payment which by 84 per cent has been overwhelmingly rejected by the workers. The pay offer rejection follows the workers having received a 1 per cent increase in 2022 which represented a massive real terms pay cut with inflation rocketing to hit 14 per cent last year…The ballot opens on 18 October and closes on 8 November read more
240 craft workers to strike in dispute with West Lothian council (16 Oct) – Unite demands overdue pay. Unite the union confirmed today (Monday 16 October) around 240 craft members employed by West Lothian council will take strike action in a dispute over money-owed to the workforce. Strike action will start tomorrow at 08.00 (17 October) until 19 October when the action stops at 16.30. The members previously supported strike action by 96.3 per cent. The dispute is due to the failure of West Lothian council to pay craft workers carrying out additional tasks under the terms of the existing craft agreement. The workforce includes joiners, plumbers, electricians, plasterers, bricklayers, skilled labourers, blacksmiths, and heating engineers read more
Exclusive poll reveals Wales Red Wall voters demand energy public ownership (13 Oct) – Voters embrace radical action to end energy privatisation. An exclusive poll by Survation of Wales Red Wall voters has revealed overwhelming support for public ownership of the UK’s energy system. An absolute majority (58 per cent) of Wales Red Wall voters supported bringing the UK’s domestic energy industry into public ownership. Support for bringing the National Grid, including both the supply of gas and electricity, into public ownership was even more popular, with nearly three quarters (73 per cent ) of respondents supporting this measure…This week, Unite took a motion calling for the energy industry to be returned to public ownership to Labour Party Conference. Despite the motion being overwhelmingly passed by delegates, Labour’s leadership has not committed to include the measure in its next manifesto read more
Kaefer contractors at Mossmorran balloted over strike action (13 Oct) – Unite hits out at operator Shell as workers offered ‘nothing’. Unite the union has today (Friday 13 October) confirmed that around 140 Kaefer maintenance and repair contractors based at the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant, in Cowdenbeath are being balloted for strike action. The dispute centres on the contractor Kaefer making no formal cost of living offer for 2023. Unite says it has been left with ‘no option’ but to launch the ballot in response to Kaefer’s failure to make a cost of living payment, and it is blaming the operator Shell for the stand-off. The ballot will open on 16 October and closes on 13 November read more
ShunkFest: Unite steel campaign to address Port Talbot music festival (13 Oct) – Unite campaigning with voters to demand politicians commit to workers’ steel plan. As part of Unite’s campaign to save Port Talbot’s steel industry, steel worker Malcolm Gullam will address festival goers at the town’s ShunkFest event from the stage at 1800 hrs on Sunday (15 October). Unite will also have a stall on it’s Workers Plan for Steel campaign at the popular festival, which begins on Saturday (14 October) and will feature bands, artists and DJs, as well as street food vendors and local distilleries. Unite is campaigning with voters in key steel towns, including Port Talbot, Scunthorpe, Sheffield and Middlesbrough, to demand politicians from all parties commit to the union’s Workers’ Plan for Steel. A petition calling on all UK political parties to support the plan has already reached more than 14,500 signatures read more
IAC Solihull strikes off after Unite secures 13.5% pay victory (13 Oct) – Strikes by nearly 250 workers at International Automotive Components (IAC) in Solihull due to begin yesterday (Thursday) have been cancelled after an improved pay offer was secured. The deal, negotiated by Unite, the UK’s leading union, means the workers will receive a 13.5 per cent uplift in their pay. The dispute has now ended after the workers voted in favour of accepting the offer read more
Cardiff Council Workers to march in Central Cardiff (12 Oct) – Cardiff council workers who are beginning a further six week period of strike action, will hold a major march in central Cardiff as part of their campaign to end poverty pay rates and achieve a fair pay rise for council workers. The demonstration will go from City Hall to Central Square read more
London Underground must up its game on pay or face a ballot for industrial action (12 Oct) – Unite members at London Underground Ltd are warning London’s tube operator that it must make a serious pay offer or face the prospect of industrial action. At a meeting with TfL at the conciliation service Acas today (Thursday 12 October) management tabled a pay offer substantially below inflation after six months of talks with Unite, TSSA, RMT and Aslef. The unions are meeting with TfL at Acas again on Monday 16 October. The pay offer amounts to just over four per cent, well below inflation and also lower than other public sector pay deals read more
UK Packaging Awards in London hit by Cepac ‘fire and rehire’ protest (12 Oct) – Unite demands Darlington-firm Cepac nominations rescinded over shocking dismissal of workers. A demonstration will be held outside of the UK Packaging Awards in London this evening (Thursday 12 October), over nominee Cepac’s attempts to fire and rehire workers striking over pay. The workers, who are based at the company’s Darlington factory, have been on strike over pay and the slashing of terms and conditions since Monday 14 August, with industrial action set to last until 6 November. Rather than enter into negotiations, Cepac threatened headcount reductions and fire and rehire for the remaining workers. On 6 October, the company issued redundancy notices for the striking workers with the intention of making them sign new inferior contracts read more
Striking Cornwall GRS drivers London protest at British Construction Industry Awards (12 Oct) – GRS-owned Maen Karne concrete mixer drivers striking over pay and union-busting. A protest by striking ready-mix concrete HGV drivers employed by GRS-owned Maen Karne in Cornwall was held at the British Construction Industry Awards in London last night (Wednesday 11 October). Photos are available on request. The drivers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are striking over vastly inferior pay rates. They currently earn just £12.30 an hour, even though the industry standard hourly rate for their role is around £14.42. The all-out strikes, which began on 18 September for 12 weeks, are also over the company’s complete refusal to recognise the right for the workers to unionise or to engage with Unite for talks. The protest at the British Construction Industry Awards targeted GRS, a nationwide group that supplies aggregates and building supplies of which Maen Karne is part. The company was nominated for an award for its Let Talks mental health initiative, which it did not win read more
Browns meat factory dispute over after pay victory (12 Oct) – 13.2 per cent wage increase for 350 Dumfriesshire based workers. Unite the union confirmed today (12 October) that around 350 workers based at the Dumfriesshire food manufacturer Browns have secured a 13.2 per cent wage rise bringing the dispute to an end. Unite’s production, distribution and maintenance members based in Kelloholm, Sanquhar, voted to accept a 13.2 per cent increase for 2023. The deal comprises the implementation of the real living wage backdated to April 2023 plus a £250 one-off payment. As part of a three year deal, Unite also secured the commitment for real living wage increases for 2024 and 2025. Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Unite’s members at Browns have secured an excellent wage deal. The pay increase of 13.2 per cent this year was only achieved through the brave stance our members took in taking on their employer through strike action. Unite will always stand up and support our members fighting back for decent jobs, pay and conditions.” The Brown’s workers participated in several rounds of industrial action during August and September. The Dumfriesshire based firm specialises in the production and manufacturing of quality cooked and sliced meats for a large range of businesses, supermarkets and schools read more
Unite suspends planned industrial action at Luton Airport (11 Oct) – Due to the serious fire at Luton Airport, Unite has suspended planned strike action by cleaners and parking attendants. Planned action by cleaners employed by Sasse scheduled between Saturday 14 October and Wednesday 18 October will be suspended as will the action by parking attendants employed by APCOA which was due to take place between Friday 13 and Friday 20 October read more
Strikes to go ahead at Cambridge University (11 Oct) – Facilities, library and IT staff to walk out over lack of improved pay offer. Essential workers at Cambridge University are to strike after the university cut their pay in real terms. The university, one of the world’s most prestigious institutes of learning, is only offering between a five and six per cent increase. With RPI currently sitting at nine per cent that represents a real terms pay cut of at least three per cent. Unite’s members are demanding above-inflation rises to cope with the cost of living crisis in one of the most expensive parts of the UK outside London. Over 450 members working in the university library, the department of engineering, estate management, the Fitzwilliam Museum, information services and many other departments are to take strike action, likely resulting in building closures and repairs not taking place. Strikes will take place on four days: 24, 26 October and 1, 7 November read more
Council inaction prompts Warrington refuse workers to announce more strikes (11 Oct) – Warrington the “do nothing” council is the cause of more strikes
Unite has accused Warrington council of “doing nothing” while wrongly claiming it can’t resolve the refuse strike when other councils are reaching local deals with Unite. Unite has now notified the council of more action from Tuesday 24 October until Monday 6 November. The first phase of strike action began action on Tuesday 3 October and ends on Monday 16 October. The 50 plus workers say the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925 is not good enough. The offer is below the rate of inflation and amounts to a real terms pay cut read more
Strike threat at Southwark council secures extra holiday and more pay (10 Oct) – Workers call off strike action after agreement is reached to increase annual leave and London weighting. 130 housing repair workers employed by the London borough of Southwark have called off strike action after securing an additional £400 on their London weighting payment alongside an extra day’s annual leave. The workers’ London weighting pay increase has been backdated to 1 April 2022 meaning they will get an extra £700 in their November pay packet. Strikes were due to take place on 12,13,18, 19 and 20 October read more
Workers launch campaign against low pay and zero hours at Greenwich Leisure Limited (10 Oct) – Workers in Bromley have voted for strike action by a margin of 86%. The controversial social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) is back in the spotlight after workers at Bromley libraries voted for a campaign of industrial action. The workers are fighting against a race to the bottom in local government by campaigning for better pay and an end to zero hours. The workers in Bromley voted for strike action by a margin of 86 per cent and Unite representatives will be meeting in the coming week to agree strike dates. GLL has a window of opportunity to avoid strike action read more
Collapse of Mechanical SEO opens door to industrial action (10 Oct) – Unite warns employers against attempting to cut pay and conditions. Trade union Unite, which represents workers throughout the construction and mechanical sectors, today (Wednesday) warned employers that any attempt to cut pay and conditions following the collapse of the Mechanical Sectoral Employment Order is likely to be met by industrial action. The state today accepted the argument of small contractors’ association APHCI that pension contribution provisions housed in the SEO are unconstitutional. The collapse of the Mechanical SEO means that the dispute resolution procedures provided for in the SEO, which could take between six and nine months to work through, have also collapsed. This means that workers can take industrial action after conducting a ballot and serving notice as required by industrial relations legislation read more
Sharon Graham urges Labour to bring energy into public ownership (9 Oct) – Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has told Labour conference that the party must bring energy back into public ownership. The call is backed up by new polling that shows an overwhelming majority of Red Wall voters agree that key energy utilities should be taken out of the hands of profiteers and nationalised. In a barnstorming speech that generated a standing ovation, Sharon Graham said that a Labour government must bring the energy companies into public ownership because they were guilty of excessive profiteering during a cost of living crisis and were: “Filling their boots by picking the pockets of workers.” Read more
Council workers across Haringey prepare for strike action (9 Oct) – Haringey director of housing services admits workers are underpaid. Housing repair workers employed by Haringey council are preparing for a winter campaign of strike action in a dispute over pay. One senior director has even admitted neighbouring boroughs are “offering a higher salary and are poaching our staff.” 130 housing repair workers from Haringey have rejected the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925. The offer is below the rate of inflation and amounts to a real terms pay cut. The council is also refusing to increase the London weighting for 2022 and 2023 and increase annual leave for housing repair workers in line with other council workers. The workforce will take strike action for six days in November (1,2,3 and 15,16, 17 November) and from 18 December until 24 December. The workers already took strike action on 25 September and 2 October read more
Unite launches “Who Should Our Economy Work For?” campaign (7 Oct) – Prior to Labour Party conference opening in Liverpool (tomorrow Sunday 8 October), Unite, the UK’s leading union, will launch the latest iteration of its Unite for a Workers’ Economy campaign by asking “Who Should Our Economy Work For?” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham and the union’s delegation will unveil the campaign slogan just before the conference gets underway read more
Industrial action brewing across 21 UK ports (6 Oct) – Unite, Britain’s leading union, is warning Associated British Ports (ABP) that strike action could be brewing across its 21 ports which handle around a quarter of the UK’s seaborne trade. Unite has lodged a dispute concerning maritime pilots who safely navigate ships in and out of the UK’s waterways and ports. Ships cannot leave or enter the UK’s ports without these skilled workers. Last July without any consultation, which is required under health and safety legislation and Unite’s recognition agreement, ABP introduced increased medical standards. Unite has no objection to improving standards but there has been no negotiations and no detail about how these medical tests will be done or what happens if a member fails. This is a serious concern as ultimately members’ jobs could be at stake. The main bulk of Unite members are in South Wales (Swansea, Port Talbot, Barry, Cardiff and Newport), Southampton and the Humber (Port of Hull and Immingham) although the dispute could be wider and impact all 21 ports operated by ABP read more
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PPG automotive paint workers in Suffolk head to picket line over low pay (5 Oct) – Stowmarket manufacturer offering real-terms pay cut will see workers walk out. Workers at the Suffolk factory of international paint manufacturer PPG Industries are to strike over pay, Unite the union announced today (5 October). Over 200 members of Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, have voted for industrial action over the low pay offer made by PPG. The employer has made an offer of just five per cent, but with inflation currently at 9.1 per cent this represents a real-terms pay cut for workers. PPG Industries is a worldwide paint and coatings conglomerate and the Stowmarket factory has many high-profile customers that include the Williams Formula One team, Lamborghini and Lotus…Strike dates are yet to be confirmed but are likely to be throughout the autumn read more
Unite announces escalation in A.G. Barr strike action (4 Oct) – Soft drinks giant pre-tax profits up 12.6 % to £27.8 million over first 6 months of 2023. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has today (4 October) announced an escalation in strike action as part of a long-running pay dispute with the soft drinks giant A.G. Barr. Unite represents truck and shunter drivers who are essential to the supply of the company’s world-renowned products including Irn-Bru – one of the nation’s most popular soft drinks. Unite’s members have overwhelmingly rejected the company’s five per cent pay offer for 2023. Unite can confirm that talks are scheduled with A.G. Barr tomorrow (Thursday 5 October) through the auspices of the conciliation service Acas in a bid to make a breakthrough in the pay dispute. If there is no breakthrough in these discussions, Unite has stated that its members will participate in further stoppages on 13 and 16 October, and then from 20 to 30 October. The workers are already scheduled to resume strike action from midnight on Friday (6 October) read more
Mitie healthcare workers in Dudley balloted over refusal to pay lump-sum (4 Oct) – Staff who work for NHS outsourcing company denied money owed to them. Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, announced today (4 October) that it is balloting its membership at NHS outsourcing company, Mitie, in its campaign to get the company to pay its workers the lump sum payment they are owed. Many of the Mitie workers were previously in the NHS and were transferred across and promised the same pay and conditions. But the “COVID payment” lump sum of up to £1,600 that NHS workers received as part of the NHS pay award this year has not been paid by Mitie to its workforce. Mitie’s staff work alongside the NHS workforce in the Dudley group of hospitals in the West Midlands…The Mitie staff work across three hospitals, Russell Hall, Corbett and Dudley Guest, and perform vital estate management services…Other private sector outsourcing companies including Equans and Skanska have paid their health workers the lump sum payment and Unite is fighting to get Mitie to do the same. 70 Mitie workers are being balloted. The ballot opens on 9 October and runs until 23 October. If the ballot is successful, industrial action is likely to take place from next month read more
NHS Confederation workers to strike over pay (3 Oct) – Unite members in London and Leeds to take industrial action after poor pay offer. Staff at the NHS Confederation, the membership body for organisations that commission and provide NHS services, are set to take industrial action over cuts to pay. Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, announced that its NHS Confederation staff members will walk out on Thursday 5 October. They work in policy, communications, managerial and administrative roles within the organisation. The strike, the first in the Confed’s history, coincides with a meeting of the organisation’s Board of Trustees. Following the introduction of a new pay structure which saw one-in-five staff hit by a take-home pay cut and opportunities for pay progression curtailed, Unite members will head to the picket line as part of a campaign to reinstate staff pay and progression opportunities. Nearly 90 per cent of members taking part in the ballot voted to take strike action. A Unite survey of all staff, before the pay cut was imposed, found 60 per cent already said they were struggling with the cost of living read more
Unite to hold fresh strikes and protests at NHS London trusts during pay and staffing strikes (29 Sept) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is undertaking a wave of fresh strikes and demonstrations in London next week as part of its campaign to increase pay and end unsafe staffing afflicting NHS workers. Over 1,000 workers at Barts Health NHS Trust are in dispute over pay, safe staffing levels, bank rates and lump-sum payments. Workers are experiencing staff shortages, which have reached such a level that they risk the health of patients and threaten staff welfare. Staff at Barts and Synergy (an outsourcing company providing linen services) taking industrial action includes nurses, biomedical scientists, clinical engineers, porters, cleaners and auxiliary staff are striking in a wider dispute over pay and safe staffing levels. They are being joined by members at East London Foundation Trust who are also taking part in a one-day strike over pay and safe staffing levels. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our NHS members are fighting for fair pay and to protest at the dangerous problem of staff shortages – something that puts patients in danger and which the government wants to ignore. It is intolerable that our members at Barts, who are some of the lowest paid staff in the NHS and who are living hand to mouth, have been denied the one-off payment they fully deserve.” The Barts and Synergy workers will be on strike on 2, 3, 4 October. East London Foundation Trust workers will be on strike on 4 October. Unite members will be on a picket line at all Barts Hospitals (except Mile End) on all strike dates and Mile End hospital on 4 October and will be joining the Junior Doctors, Consultants, Barts Unite Branch, TFL staff and train drivers for a day of action and protest beginning at 10:30am on 4 October at Royal London Hospital read more
Fresh Imperial College strikes after ‘abysmal’ pay offer rejected (29 Sept) – Imperial College offers pay cut but has £1.7 billion reserves and paid president record salary. More than 200 Imperial College workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, will strike over pay next week. The workers have rejected an ‘abysmal’ pay deal of 5.5 per cent, which is a real terms pay cut when the real rate of inflation, RPI, stands at 9.1 per cent. Imperial College’s latest financial figures shows it brought in an income of over £1.2 billion for 2021/22 and had cash reserves of £1.7 billion. Further, Imperial College has a record of being one of the best paying universities for senior leadership staff. Until July 2022, the university employed the UK’s highest paid executive leader with an annual pay package worth £714,000 – a massive increase of 35.5 per cent on the previous year…The workers, including technicians and maintenance and security staff, will strike on Monday 2 October, Tuesday 3 October and Wednesday 18 October. They are striking alongside colleagues who are members of the UCU and UNISON unions. More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
Warrington facing refuse strike as workers reject real terms pay cut (29 Sept) – Refuse workers at Warrington Borough Council are preparing for strike action in a dispute over pay. The strike will begin on Tuesday 3 October and end on Monday 16 October and Unite is not ruling out further action. The 50 plus workers have rejected the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925. The offer is below the rate of inflation and amounts to a real terms pay cut read more
Workers at BOC to strike over pay with workers demonstrating at the company’s Worsley site (29 Sept) – Workers employed by BOC, will begin strike action next week in a dispute over pay. There will be a picket line at the company’s Worsley site in Manchester. The strike will involve over 80 workers at BOC, who are employed in sales and marketing roles and are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union. The strike is a result of the workers having rejected a pay offer of 7.6 per cent for 2023. This is in effect a real terms pay cut, after suffering a nine per cent pay cut between 2018-2022 compared to other workers at the company. The pay increase was due to be made in April this year when the real inflation rate (RPI) stood at 11.4 per cent. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “BOC is a fabulously wealthy company. Giving our members a fair pay increase would barely scratch the surface of its huge profits. BOC’s failure to do the right thing is all about greed not need.” The initial strike action will last for 10 days beginning at 04:00 on Friday 6 October and ending at 03:59 on Monday 16 October. The strike action is the first time this group of workers have ever taken industrial action. Tensions have increased as it has taken three years for the workers to secure recognition, during which time the wages of the striking workers has fallen by 20 per cent compared to the RPIX inflation rate. BOC is part of Line PLC which is the largest provider of industrial, medical and specialist gases in the world. It is incredibly profitable. Its most recent accounts revealed it recorded a profit of £6.4 billion last year, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. Linde PLC has been able to significantly increase shareholder dividends and take in a shareholder buy back. BOC’s customers who will be affected by the strike action include GSK, Astra Zeneca, Ineos, Nissan, the MoD Coca Cola and the National Grid. There will be other picket lines in around the UK including but not limited to : Margam, St Helens, Motherwell, Teesside, Thame, Bristol and Wolverhampton read more
Deca Workers To Strike Following a Decade of Pay Erosion (28 Sept) – Unite members working for Defence Equipment & Support Deca at Sealand in Flintshire and Stafford have voted to strike over an imposed two per cent pay award for 2022. A series of 24 hour strikes will commence on Tuesday 3 October. Workers at DECA have endured over a decade of stagnant wages and extremely low pay increases. Pay restraint has seen wages fall significantly in real terms. Defence Equipment & Support Deca, is wholly owned by the MOD. The workforce is highly skilled and provide a vital role in maintaining military, avionic and electronic equipment read more
Darlington printers Cepac in fire and rehire, redundancy and legal dispute shame as strikes deepen (26 Sept) – UK Packaging awards urged to withdraw Cepac nomination. Darlington-based packaging printer Cepac is embroiled in a series of legal challenges as industrial action at the company, due to a pay dispute, intensifies. The workers have been on strike since Monday 14 August and industrial action has now been extended until 23 October (10 weeks of strike action). In response, rather than enter into negotiations, Cepac is threatening to make 61 redundancies at the company. In addition, the company has told employees that they will be fired and rehired on inferior contracts. Unite is also pursuing a legal case through an employment tribunal against Cepac for making illegal inducements to members. This is a result of Cepac making pay offers to individual members during negotiations, in contravention of the collective agreement with Unite read more
Willenhall steel coil workers strike over low pay (26 Sept) – ArcelorMittal workers reject real terms pay cut as firm brings in millions. West Midlands workers making steel products for the automotive and construction industry at the ArcelorMittal factory in Willenhall are striking over low pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). The workers earn an average of £11.24 per hour, with some receiving just the national minimum wage. They have rejected a pay rise of seven per cent. This is a significant, real terms pay cut when the true rate of inflation, RPI, stood at 11.4 per cent when the rise was due to be implemented in April of this year. The low wages at the factory stand in stark contrast to the money being made by their employer. ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions latest available financial returns show it had a turnover of £267.5 million and operating profits of £33.1 million in 2021 read more
Mass demonstrations at Norwich NHS AGM following Norse pay betrayal (22 Sept) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, will stage a major demonstration at the AGM of the Norfolk Community and Health Care Trust (NCH&C), in support of its members employed by Norse who are striking over pay. The workers, who are employed by Norse Commercial Services but contracted to undertake critical maintenance on all of NCH&C’s hospitals and health centres, began strike action last month after only being offered a four per cent pay increase, which is a substantial real terms pay cut with the current true rate of inflation (RPI) standing at 9.1 per cent. Gambling Close, Norwich NR6 6EG…the Unite members at Norse will be striking on 26 September and 5 October then for a further week from Monday 9 October, which will result in disruption to patients and staff at NCH&C NHS Trust read more
Pay strikes at Kings Lynn’s largest social housing provider escalate (22 Sept) – Freebridge housing workers on poverty pay despite £3.6m surplus and huge executive salaries. Strikes at Freebridge Community Housing over poverty pay will intensify from next week, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Thursday). Many of the workers, who perform a variety of roles, including in cleaning and maintenance, are paid little more than the national minimum wage and many are struggling to pay their bills. They are angry that Freebridge, the largest social housing provider in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, has offered them a five per cent increase and a £500 non-consolidated payment, despite the association’s robust financial health. This is a significant, real terms pay cut when the real rate of inflation, RPI, stands at 9.1 per cent. The workers are asking for a seven per cent pay rise. Freebridge had a total turnover of £32 million and a surplus of £3.57 million in 2022 and increased its rents by seven per cent this year read more
Glasgow rally for Scottish university and college workers (18 Sept) – Around 1,000 Unite members on strike this week. A rally in Glasgow will be held tomorrow (19 September) in support of Scottish university and college workers on strike in disputes over pay read more
Heathrow baggage carousel workers to strike over poor pay offer (13 Sept) – 170 workers to walk out and bring baggage services to a halt. Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, has announced today (Tuesday 12 September) that its members at Vanderlande Industries are to strike over pay, bringing travel disruption to Heathrow Airport this autumn. Around 170 workers who conduct high-end maintenance and servicing of baggage carousels, ensuring passengers’ luggage is delivered into the terminal buildings safely and on time, are to walk out in October following a failure by the employer to improve their derisory pay offer. Vanderlande Industries has made two below-inflation pay offers of just five per cent and 2.5 per cent that have been roundly rejected by Unite members. Vanderlande is pleading poverty and yet their last accounts at Companies House show profits of £3.7 million. Its parent company has increased revenue by 32 per cent to €2.4 billion. Industrial action will take place in two waves on the following dates:-
- 17:30 on 6th October – 06:00 on 9th October
- 05:30 on 20th October – 06:00 on 30th October read more
GH London strikes at Luton Airport suspended for last minute talks (12 Sept) – Strike action involving ground handlers employed by GH London at Luton Airport due to take place tomorrow (Wednesday 13 September) has been called off to allow last minute peace talks to take place. The workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, who undertake the ground handling functions at the airport for the airline Wizz, have already staged two days of strike action because of a complete breakdown in industrial relations at the company. However, following a last minute offer of talks by GH London, Unite has called off tomorrow’s industrial action, as an act of good faith read more
100 DuPont workers strike in pay dispute (11 Sept) – Dumfries based plant to be hit by five stoppages. Unite the union has served notice on a series of stoppages to hit the Dumfries based DuPont Teijin Films (DTF) plant. Five rounds of 12-hour stoppages, involving around 100 Unite members, will take place on 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 September. A continuous overtime ban has also been in place since July. DTF is a major supplier of polyester films for electrical, medical, photo, print and photovoltaic uses to UK supermarkets, as well as institutional catering for hospitals, schools and home-meals for the elderly. Unite has accused DTF management of by-passing the agreed collective bargaining procedures, and the workforce’s trade union representatives, to impose a 3.3 per cent wage offer in April. The broader rate of inflation (RPI) has remained stubbornly high throughout the year, and currently stands at 9 per cent read more
Manufacturing workers in Chesterfield to strike over parity pay and real terms pay cuts (8 Sept) – 100 per cent of the workforce voted for action. Skilled manufacturing workers based in Chesterfield undertaking repairs for companies ranging from British Steel to Thames Water will begin strike action this Monday in a dispute over pay. The action being taken at ERIKS Industrial Services will have a dramatic effect, causing delays for customers. 8 days of strikes will take place on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 September, Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 September, Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 September and then on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 October read more
Unite urges employer to pay a fair wage and avoid nuclear plant shutdown (6 Sept) – Electricians who certify tools for use in nuclear power stations are taking strike action. Unite, the country’s leading trade union, announced today (Wednesday 6 September) that its members at Altrad Babcock Ltd are taking strike action following a dismal pay offer from the employer. Electricians at Altrad Babcock, based in Tipton in the West Midlands, are responsible for certifying that electrical tools are safe to use in nuclear facilities across the country. Yet this safety-critical role is not being valued by the employer, with some members earning as little as £13.62 per hour. Members ensure that equipment including welding machines, compressors, winches and even site vehicles are certified as electrically safe to use in potentially hazardous environments. Failure to have such certification will mean that the tools and machinery cannot enter the nuclear plants to maintain the facility. Eventually, this could lead to nuclear power plants having to shut down. Strikes are likely to take place in waves across the autumn and into winter, just as demand for nuclear power stations increases. Dates are as follows: Wednesday the 20th /Thursday the 21st September at 08:00am until 16:00pm then Monday the 25th & Tuesday the 26th September followed by every Monday: October 2nd 9th 16th 23rd 30th, November 6th 13th 20th 27th, then December, 4th 11th and then on Tuesdays October, 3rd 10th 17th 24th 31st October, then November 7th 14th 21st 28th then December 5th 12th read more
Westminster libraries workers to strike in pay dispute (4 Sept) – Members of Unite, employed by Westminster City Council across the borough’s libraries, will begin strike action this Wednesday (6 September) in a dispute over pay. The workers have rejected the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925. The offer is below the rate of inflation and amounts to a real terms pay cut. The workers will initially take four days of strike action on 6th, 8th, 13th, 15th September. Strike action will disrupt services across the borough read more
North Tyneside council workers to strike in pay dispute (30 Aug) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by North Tyneside council will begin strike action next month in a dispute over pay. The 260 plus workers have rejected the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925. The offer is below the rate of inflation and amounts to a real terms pay cut. The workers will initially take strike action on Wednesday 6 and 13 September. Strike action will affect services across the council however, Unite members are predominantly in building trades, health visitors, school and nursery nurses, admin roles and bereavement services read more
180 workers at Browns meat factory to strike over poverty pay (28 Aug) – Dumfriesshire based company to face weeks of industrial action. Unite the union confirmed that around 180 members based at the Dumfriesshire food manufacturer Browns are starting strike action today (28 August) in a dispute over poverty pay. Unite’s production, distribution and maintenance members based in Kelloholm, Sanquhar, emphatically rejected a pay offer from the company which equals the real Living Wage of £10.90 an hour. The workers will participate in three days of industrial action over a period of three consecutive weeks. The first round begins today and ends on 31 August. An overtime ban is also in effect until 18 September (see notes to editor). The Dumfriesshire based firm specialises in the production and manufacturing of quality cooked and sliced meats for a large range of businesses, supermarkets and schools read more
Carey Glass must intervene to resolve Lurgan Vista Therm dispute (25 Aug) – Nenagh-based Carey group warned dispute may shatter ‘Best in Glass’ claim. Unite highlights reputational risks to group if dispute not resolved. Unite members in dispute with Vista Therm travelled to Nenagh, headquarters of the Carey Glass group of companies, today (Friday) to highlight Vista Therm’s refusal to talk to workers about a cost-of-living pay increase. Vista Therm workers set up stalls in Nenagh town centre and gathered signatures for a petition asking people to support the workers’ demands that management recognise their union Unite, negotiate a cost-of-living pay increase, and treat workers with dignity and respect. Unite is calling on Carey Glass to intervene and resolve the long-running dispute which has seen production at the Lurgan plant severely curtailed read more Sign the Vista Therm solidarity petition!
Chesterfield council housing workers strike over pay (25 Aug) – Over 100 housing maintenance workers employed by Chesterfield council will begin strike action next week in a dispute over pay. The workers who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, will take strike action next week on Tuesday 29 August and Wednesday 30 August. The dispute is a result of the workers not having received a pay rise for 15 years…The Chesterfield strike is part of a wider local authority dispute over pay, Unite has industrial action mandates for 23 councils across England and Wales. The union has rejected this year’s local government pay offer of £1,925 as it amounts to a real terms pay cut read more
Rail network facing signalling shortages as Unipart workers in Crewe strike over pay (25 Aug) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has warned rail companies including Network Rail to be braced for a delay in the supply of signalling equipment as workers at Unipart Rail strike next week in a dispute over pay. The workers have rejected a 4.75 per cent pay increase, which is a sizeable real terms pay cut with the true rate of inflation (RPI) currently standing at nine per cent. The workers will take strike action beginning at 00:01hrs on Tuesday 29 August and continuing until 23:59 on Friday 1 September. An overtime ban will also be in place beginning today (Friday 25 August)and ending on Monday 4 September read more
Drivers at Greater Manchester Accessible Transport forced to strike over ‘poverty pay’ (22 Aug) – Industrial action to take place over failure of company to improve pay offer or sign up to Good Employment Charter. Bus drivers in Greater Manchester who transport the elderly and disabled have been forced to take strike action over the low pay by Greater Manchester Accessible Transport (GMAT). Members of Unite, the country’s leading trade union, are paid just minimum wage to do a physically and mentally demanding job. They provide an invaluable service, transporting the elderly, infirm or disabled from their homes across Greater Manchester to vital medical appointments, for essential shopping or for leisure and entertainment. GMAT pays the lowest wages of all bus companies in the region and the registered charity has not signed up to the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, despite being run by Transport for Greater Manchester and owned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), both of whom are members of the charter. The charter aims to raise employment standards across Greater Manchester through factors like security of work and fair pay – including a commitment to the real living wage. Around 7000 users depend on the service and Unite has encouraged the employer to come back to the negotiating table with improved terms above the below-inflation offer made to-date. Currently drivers receive just £10.42 per hour. Following a successful industrial ballot, members will be taking strike action in the coming months with dates to be announced in due course read more
Strike action targets penny-pinching Porsche and Audi deliveries firm (16 Aug) – A miserable 3.2 per cent is to blame for months of strikes. Deliveries of VW vehicles including, Audi, Porsche and Skoda models will face significant delays for months to come unless the profitable GBA Group improves its miserable pay offer of just 3.2%. The strike will mean new VW car deliveries in the Southeast, London and beyond face significant delays as workers at Sheerness Docks prepare to strike for two weeks, beginning the 17 August and then in September and October read more
Tesco facing dirty Didcot depot as Atalian Servest caterers and cleaners strike over pay (14 Aug) – Workers based at Tesco’s depot in Didcot have been warned to be braced for a dirty depot and canteen closures as workers employed by Atalian Servest have announced strike action over pay. The dispute involves cleaning and catering staff employed on an outsourced contract and is a result of Atalian Servest refusing to even negotiate over a pay increase. The cleaners are on pay rates of as little as £11 an hour, which includes weekend and bank holiday work at no additional rate, they operate in the main Tesco warehouse which is only heated to one degree. Meanwhile the catering staff are paid the minimum wage of £10.42 an hour. The workers who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have announced two initial 24 hour strikes beginning on Friday 1 September and Thursday 7 September, followed by a three day strike beginning on Friday 15 September and a further three day strike beginning on Thursday 21 September. Atalian Servest is very financially healthy; its latest accounts for 2021 reveal that it made gross profits of £84 million read more
Glasgow Parking wardens and Emirates Arena workers strike over poor pay (2 Aug) – Disruption set to impact Cycling World Championships and traffic enforcement across Scotland’s largest city. Around 70 Unite members employed by Glasgow Life at the Emirates Arena and City Parking are set to take strike action tomorrow (Thursday 3 August). Unite members will walk out across both organisations at 7.30am to begin 48-hour strike action over the current local government pay offer. There will be pickets held outside the Emirates Arena and Cadogan Square Car Park to coincide with the strike action. A rally involving both groups of workers is also being held at midday at the Donald Dewar statue on Buchanan Street read more
Kings Lynn Cooper Roller Bearings workers to strike over pay (2 Aug) – Profitable company offering strings attached deal that amounts to ‘pay cut’. More than 100 workers employed by Cooper Roller Bearings in Kings Lynn are to strike over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday 2 August). The workers have rejected a 5.5 per cent pay offer. With the true rate of inflation, RPI, standing at 10.7 per cent, this is a real terms pay cut. The offer also comes with a ‘strings attached’ performance related bonus of up to six per cent. Cooper Roller Bearings made a profit before tax of more than £7 million in the year ending 31 December 2022…The workers will strike for one day on 21 August. After that a continuous overtime ban will commence, with strike days doubling every week until the dispute is resolved read more
Irish Water: Lack of engagement by employer representatives’ forces dispute escalation (1 Aug) – Unite the union seeks engagement with LGMA over shortcomings in proposed Framework. Pickets set for eight local authorities from 00.01 Wednesday [2nd August] to 23.59 Friday [4th August]. Unite members working in water delivery services for eight local authorities around the country will escalate their industrial action this week with a further three days of stoppages. Water workers will take strike action at Carlow County Council, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Fingal County Council, Kerry County Council, South Dublin County Council, Tipperary County Council and Waterford County Council. The action is due to the continued refusal of local authorities and its representative body, the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) to meaningfully engage with the union over its members’ concerns regarding shortcomings to the ‘Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services’ document put forward by the Workplace Relations Commission last year. The Framework document was rejected overwhelmingly by Unite members employed in water services delivery as essential workers, as it failed to address their concerns read more
CWU
CWU intervention wins more pay for GXO members (24 Oct) – Hundreds of members in GXO are in the process of having their 2023 pay award recalculated, with some in line to receive hundreds in back-payments, following the intensive and protracted request of the CWU. The union’s intervention followed a barrage of complaints from ex-BT Supply Chain members who eagerly opened their June pay slips only to discover that their pay rise and back-payments bore no relation to the CWU-brokered settlement they had overwhelmingly accepted at the start of that month. Not only had some employees not received the minimum increase of 9.9% that had been precisely detailed by the company prior to members’ four-to-one acceptance of the deal: Worse still, a significant number of the driver workforce – who should have been in line for base pay uplifts averaging 19% as a result of the promised removal of the ‘temporary’ allowance that had been introduced by BT prior to their transfer to GXO to stem a full blown driver exodus, replaced with a new salary point – were appalled to find they had either received no rise at all or, in some cases, actual cuts in take home pay read more
Battle goes on for Highlands BT Business jobs (24 Oct) – The CWU has pledged to maintain the fight for badly needed high quality employment in Alness amid a fast growing backlash against BT’s planned abandonment of the remote Scottish town. Following on from BT Business’s outright rejection last Thursday of carefully considered CWU proposals to save quality jobs to in an area of high unemployment, an entire community is uniting in disgust at the company’s refusal consider flexible working options. At the eye of the storm are just over 80 CWU-represented grade employees at the Ardroy House and Culgraggie House customer service contact centres which are scheduled for closure on February 29 read more
Capita’s ‘final’ pay offer to VMO2 and Tesco Mobile contract members out to ballot (19 Oct) – Members across Capita’s VMO2 and Tesco Mobile contract centre operations who are covered by the CWU collective bargaining agreement have two weeks to deliver their verdict on a belated pay proposal that delivers some but not all of the union’s negotiating objectives. Thrashed out against the difficult backdrop of large-scale redundancies that are looming across the VMO2 contract, management’s ‘final’ offer – which comes a full six months after the pay review’s due date, reflecting the challenges and complexity of the negotiations – comprises a £1,400 flat rate pay rise (pro-rata for those working more or less than 37.5 hours). The proposed deal, which is now the subject of a consultative e-ballot that commenced on Tuesday, is fully consolidated for all those earning less than £30,000 pa – fulfilling, for around 70% of the workforce, one of the CWU’s key negotiating aims that any settlement should flow through to redundancy entitlements. Despite intensive pressing by the union, however, Capita has steadfastly refused to consolidate the rise for those earning more than £30,000, proposing instead that, if accepted, it will be paid in two lump sum instalments – the first in November’s wages and the second in the January 2024 pay cycle read more
Protections for all and big wins for some in Santander harmonisation deal (16 Oct) – Comprehensive safeguards and a number of important gains have been secured for nearly 1,000 CWU-represented employees across what was formerly known as Santander Technology in a new agreement aligning terms and conditions across the bank’s IT operations with those in the rest of the Bank read more
Dismay at Alness closure announcement triggers job-saving CWU counter-proposal (10 Oct) – A detailed CWU counter-proposal has been lodged with BT Business in a bid to maintain badly needed high quality employment in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands. Following on from the division’s shock announcement late last month that the Ardroy House and Culgraggie House sites in Alness will close on February 29 next year, the union has been grappling with the exceptional challenges presented by the customer service contact centre closures in a remote part of the country where no obvious redeployment opportunities exist. In the eye of the storm are just over 80 CWU-represented grade employees – 23 of whom are agency workers employed on the CS workstream by Blue Arrow and the rest directly employed by BT read more
76% YES from TV Licensing members in pay deal ballot (10 Oct) – Over three-quarters vote for CWU-negotiated agreement which will raise wages for TVL workers at sites in Bristol and Darwen read more
CWU wins £5,000-plus increase in earning potential for 154 Flex FND controllers (9 Oct) – Nearly two years of determined CWU campaigning has delivered the prospect of four-figure pre-Christmas pay rises for 154 TMDE2 graded Fibre Network Delivery (FND) controllers following Openreach’s agreement that the work they conduct is ‘complex’ rather than ‘core’ 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]
Sign the petition against low paid key workers facing hardship this Christmas (23 Oct) – Mitie members are facing 7 weeks without pay and having their benefit payments disrupted or stopped in the run up to Christmas because their new employer has decided to change their pay date and frequency. Outsourced cleaners, catering, maintenance and facilities staff employed at the Cabinet Office, Downing Street, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Canary Wharf civil service hub by Mitie are facing this when their employment transfers to outsourcing giants ISS and OCS on 1 November. Sign the petition to ISS, OCS and government decision makers calling on them to intervene and drop these unfair plans read more
Outsourcing chaos leaves PCS members seven weeks without pay (19 Oct)
Strike action to escalate at ISS (20 Oct) – Members working for outsourced company ISS at three government departments plan to take a further 36 days of action in their dispute. PCS members working for outsourced company ISS provide cleaning, security and support services at The Department for Business and Trade, The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in London. Strike action impacts those departments and the staff who work there. The members are in dispute over pay, terms and conditions and are demanding recognition of PCS as their trade union. ISS have made a pay offer of just 2.2%, well below the current rate of inflation. The low-paid workers have already taken ten days of well-supported strike action in September and October. The 36-day strike will start on 1 November and continue until 15 December and comes because of the employer’s failure to enter into meaningful negotiations. PCS industrial officer Kim Lowes said “Escalating the dispute and taking this amount of strike action was not an easy decision but members want to make it clear to ISS that the current offer is simply not enough read more
ISS members back on strike over pay (9 Oct) – A loud and lively picket line today (9) on Victoria Street in London kicked off five further days of action by PCS members working in three major Whitehall departments. Around 100 PCS members working for the outsourced facilities management company ISS are taking industrial action this week (9-13 October) after being offered an insulting below-inflation pay rise read more
Parliamentary security action suspended (19 Oct) – A strike by House of Commons security guards planned to take place on 31 October and 1 November and 6 and 7 November has been suspended. Management have withdrawn their proposal to introduce an imposed roster, due to begin on 1 November, which would have seen our members work extra night shifts. PCS and management will now enter negotiations to seek to create a revised roster that members can accept. These discussions will continue until 31 January 2024 read more
House of Commons security guards strike dates announced (13 Oct)
House of Commons security staff vote for strike action (9 Oct)
Strike action at The Pensions Regulator going from strength to strength (18 Oct) – PCS members at The Pensions Regulator are continuing to take strike action, which they expect will soon bring some of their operations to a standstill. Over 300 PCS members working for The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in Brighton took strike action on 11, 12 and 17 and 18 October. Two more weeks of action are planned from 23 to 27 October and 30 October to 3 November. This round of action builds on the strike taken by members between 5 and 18 September in pursuit of our national campaign demands read more
TPR members outraged at imposition of shoddy pay offer (12 Oct)
Break down of ACAS talks in Pensions Regulator dispute (11 Oct)
Getting ready for the next steps in the national campaign (13 Oct) – The national executive committee has met to discuss progress in our national campaign and what needs to happen next read more
Major step forward on HMRC Inland Pre-Clearance dispute (13 Oct) – HMRC accepts more than 90% of IPC staff are shift workers and entitled to Shift Disturbance Allowance (SDA). Positive meeting held with HMRC, with commitment made to back-pay SDA. A members’ meeting is set for 18 October. In the recent strike and action short of a strike ballot, PCS members in HMRC’s Inland Pre-Clearance site in Milton Keynes easily broke through the 50% turnout demanded by the government’s anti-union laws. In that ballot, more than 90% of responding members voted for both forms of industrial action read more
HMRC Inland Pre-Clearance: Industrial action ballot result (11 Oct) – Inland Pre-Clearance members meet the legal threshold and vote overwhelmingly for action. PCS continues to hold talks with HMRC and will keep members informed read more
PCS concerned only option facing Marine Management Organisation staff is fire and rehire (9 Oct) – PCS is concerned that MMO contracts will be forcibly changed due to Defra instruction. We are defending members rights and this updates on the current position following a Civil Service World article read more
OCS strike: severely disrupted courts lead to meeting with employer (3 Oct) – PCS members in OCS forced closures and caused severe disruptions in courts across England and Wales during a hugely effective four-day strike action over pay. Security officers in 149 courts across England and Wales took this action for four days (22, 25, 27 and 29 September) after being offered just 38p above the National Living Wage. They are currently paid the national minimum wage of £10.42 by OCS, an outsourced contractor. Due to the action undertaken by members, OCS has agreed to meet with the union to discuss pay next week read more
Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to strike over pay (7 Sept) – Nearly 100 PCS members working for MOPAC will take five days of strike action later this month. PCS members at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) will strike on 20, 21, 22, 25 and 26 September after management refused to negotiate on their pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms. MOPAC staff are responsible for the London equivalent of a regional Police and Crime Commission. They oversee financial scrutiny of the London Metropolitan Police and are directly accountable to the mayor, Sadiq Khan read more
Prospect
Prospect members at AWE vote for industrial action (23 Oct) – Prospect union members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) have voted strongly in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay. Headquartered in Aldermaston, Berkshire, AWE supports and maintains the UK nuclear deterrent. 67% of respondents voted in favour of strike action, with 33% voting against. 82% voted in favour of action short of a strike, 18% voted against. Turnout was 61%, well over the legal threshold…The exact nature and timing of industrial action will be determined after consultation with members read more
FDA
Chancellor’s announcement on civil service recruitment “straight out of the Rees-Mogg playbook”, says FDA (3 Oct) – After Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced a cap on civil service expansion at the Conservative Party Conference, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman responded: “Jeremy Hunt may pride himself on being on the pragmatic wing of his party, but his announcement on civil service numbers is straight out of the Jacob Rees-Mogg playbook…” read more
GMB
1000s of NI school staff being industrial action (24 Oct) – Cooks, cleaners, drivers and classroom assistants and other staff began taking action short of strike on Monday [23 October]. The action includes overtime bans, the removal of goodwill and the refusal of work outside of job descriptions. Thousands of workers employed across 1,800 schools are in dispute with the Education Authority over pay and grading. A majority of 92 per cent of GMB members backed strike action, with 94 per cent backing industrial action short of strikes. If the dispute Is not resolved, industrial action will be stepped up, with prolonged period of all out action potentially closing most schools read more
Croydon Hospital cleaners to stage 48-hour strike (24 Oct) – G4S workers set to take action from Monday. Cleaners and porters employed by outsourcing giant G4S at Croydon University Hospital are to stage a 48 hour walkout from 12am on Monday 30 October. Members of GMB, the union for healthcare workers, are demanding the same pay and conditions as staff employed by the NHS, including one-off payments and bonuses. The workers were balloted by their trade union earlier in the month and voted overwhelmingly for strike action read more
Medical plant moved to Costa Rica costing 100 jobs (24 Oct) – A Merseyside medical plant producing vital NHS equipment is to be shipped to Costa Rica at the cost of more than 100 jobs. Terumo Europa NV, in Knowsley, employs 110 people make specialist cardiovascular and oncology equipment for the NHS. But on Thursday [24 October] it is set to close after more than 25 years read more
Net-A-Porter faces Christmas strike (23 Oct) – GMB, the union for retail and distribution, has this morning announced that luxury fashion brand Yoox Net-a-Porter will be rocked by twenty-two days of strike action at their Charlton depot. As previously announced, GMB members are in dispute with their employer about pay, with current proposals leaving members without a pay rise for the first six months of the financial year. Hundreds of workers are now set to take a total of 22 days of action over November and December, which will affect the distribution of online purchases in the run up to Christmas:-
- Tuesday 7 November 2023 from 0630am until Saturday 11 November 0800am
- Monday 20 November 2023 from 0630am until Saturday 25 November 0800am
- Monday 4 December 2023 from 0630am until Saturday 16 December at 0800am read more
Rhondda careworkers call out council over outsourcing (23 Oct) – Care workers today demonstrated outside the civic offices of Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough council against plans to privatise hundreds of care jobs. Dozens joined the demo after a cabinet report recommended outsourcing the domiciliary home care service into the private sector. The plans would see hundreds predominantly women care workers affected. The union has called on the council to defer its motion to outsource care, pending further consultation and further talks with the unions read more
GMB responds to Channel 4 Amazon documentary (23 Oct) – ‘The Great Amazon Heist’ shines a light on union busting tactics. GMB Union, representing over 1000 workers at Amazon’s BHX4 fulfilment centre in Coventry, have today responded to the release of Channel 4’s ‘The Great Amazon Heist’ by journalist Oobah. The film exposes drastic and serious breaches of workers rights at the fulfilment centre, as well as shining a light on the retail giant’s union busting tactics against GMB read more
Amazon faces black Friday strikes as industrial action escalates (12 Oct) – Amazon faces the biggest day of strike action in company history, GMB Union warns
Amazon faces Black Friday strike action as GMB members announced four fresh industrial action dates at Coventry. More than 1,000 Amazon workers are set to walk 7, 8 and 9 November, as well as Black Friday – 24 November. GMB yesterday criticised the retail giant’s pay offer of just £1, after Amazon spent millions fighting their own workers over union rights at the company read more
Amazon rise ‘little comfort for striking workers’ (9 Oct) – GMB Union has responded to the pay announcement by Amazon today read more
Wiltshire Traffic wardens to strike over fire and rehire (19 Oct) – GMB, the union for Wiltshire Council, has issued further strike action for traffic wardens who have previously taken action over their employer’s controversial ‘fire and rehire’ plans. Wiltshire traffic wardens took ten days of action in 2022, before suspending the dispute when the employer agreed to shelve plans to cut their pay by up to 20 per cent. The council has now resumed their plans to use the controversial practice and GMB members will be taking strike action on Saturday 4 November, with further strike dates not ruled out read more
Thousands of energy construction workers vote to strike (17 Oct) – Thousands of construction workers at energy sites across the UK have voted to strike. The action could include up to 3,000 workers at Stanlow, Fawley, Valero, Grangemouth and Mossmorran Oil Refineries, as well as at Sellafield Nuclear Facility have voted in favour of industrial action. Strike votes are also expected at Drax and Hartlepool nuclear power station in the coming days. The workers, who are covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI), voted to turn down a pay deal 8.5 per cent for 2024 and 3.5 per cent for 2025. More than 50 GMB and Unite reps from across the industry will now meet to discuss next steps read more
Pay win for Notts refuse workers as strike called off (17 Oct) – Nottinghamshire workers at French contacting giant Veolia have voted to accept a cost of living pay boost. GMB Union have today announced the end of strike action at outsourcing giant Veolia. The news comes after three weeks of strike disruption to Nottinghamshire refuse services, with collection for 250,000 residents impacted. Strike action had hit Mansfield’s Materials Recycling Facility, Ashfield’s Welshcroft Close site and Bassetlaw’s Claylands Avenue site. GMB members have voted to accept a one-off cost of living award along with commitments from Veolia to confront issues with workplace culture read more
GMB welcomes important first step towards Birmingham pay justice (13 Oct) – Today’s decision by councillors on a process for job evaluation is the first step on a journey to ending discrimination and delivering pay justice read more
GMB union writes open letter to Swindon council cabinet members over crisis in emergency social work provision (5 Oct) – We need Swindon Council need to meet us for constructive talks because the service is struggling after the loss of highly skilled, specialist mental health practitioners, to the detriment of clients and service users, says GMB. GMB, the union for the Emergency Duty Service (EDS) in Swindon has written an open letter to Swindon Councillors over the ‘crisis’ within the service, which the union is blaming on the council’s ‘confrontational’ approach. The union is in dispute with the council over the removal of the unsocial hours allowance paid to workers on the team, who provide emergency out-of-hours social work support to some of the most vulnerable people in Swindon. GMB members had previously been on strike over the contract changes, but had to suspend their industrial action on safety grounds, as they felt Swindon had not provided adequate emergency cover read more
Local Government and Schools Pay Ballot 2023 (29 Sept) – The ballot is well underway – let us know when you vote or if you haven’t received your ballot in the post read more
More than 50,000 school and council workers vote on strike action (19 Sept) – More than 50,000 school and council workers will begin voting on strike action today [Tuesday 12 September]. Ballots will take place at almost 3,000 schools and local authorities across England and Wales. School workers such as teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors, caretakers and administrative staff and council workers including social workers, refuse collectors, grounds staff and care workers will take part the ballot which closes on 24 October. Workers have rejected the NJC’s pay offer for 2023/24 on a consultative ballot. If workers vote to strike, walkouts at schools and councils across England and Wales could begin as soon as 9 November read more
Quarter of a million Nottinghamshire homes hit by refuse chaos as Veolia strike action begins (26 Sept) – Neighbouring Derbyshire risks becoming Nottinghamshire’s waste bin, says GMB. Members of GMB Union have today began five days of strike action at Veolia waste and recycling plants across Nottinghamshire. The industrial action comes after service provider Veolia refused to negotiate a pay offer that reflects the cost of living crisis. Mansfield’s Materials Recycling Facility, Ashfield’s Welsh Croft Close site and Bassetlaw’s Claylands Avenue site will all be impacted by strike action. These plants process household waste and recycling for over 250,000 homes in north Nottinghamshire. Refuse collections for Mansfield, Ashfield and Bassetlaw are now being forced to make a gruelling 50 mile detour to drop off sites in Derbyshire. GMB and local residents have also raised alarm at the prospect of Veolia using temporary agency staff to cover the impact of the dispute read more
Penrith faces bin chaos as workers vote to walk out (25 Sept) – Refuse workers in Penrith will down tools for two weeks in a dispute over pay. Dozens of staff at Urbaser, who hold the contract for refuse collection, will take industrial action from October 2 to 13. Workers including drivers, loaders and cleaners are calling for a pay rise to help ease the cost-of-living crisis read more
Northern Ireland faces ‘Winter Disruption’ as strikes begin (22 Sept) – GMB Union has warned of ‘winter disruption’ as civil servants and health workers being strike action. Up to 1,000 GMB members across working within the Road Service, Rivers Agency, Forest Service, Environment Agency and Driver Vehicle Agency are now on strike until Wednesday 27 September. Health workers will be on strike 21 and 22 September. Workers have walked out after the UK Government failed to address their 2023 pay claim. Civil Servants across all departments in Northern Ireland have been offered just £552, while health workers have yet to get anything unlike their colleagues in England and Wales read more
Man Utd, Subway and Five Guys face food shortages (20 Sept) – Manchester United, Subway, Five Guys and Stonegate pubs face food shortages as workers begin a strike vote. Thousands of staff at Bidfood – a company which also delivers food for P&O Ferries, Haven holiday sites and German Donner Kebab – will begin voting on industrial action in the coming weeks. The strike vote comes after pay negotiations broke down. Any industrial action will also lead to schools and prisons not having food delivered and will raises further safety concerns following the escape of Wandsworth prisoner, Daniel Khalife, under a Bidfood lorry read more
Manchester tram workers vote for strike action (19 Sept) – Manchester faces travel chaos after tram workers voted for strike action. Dozens of GMB members working for Great Manchester’s Metrolink service delivered a unanimous yes vote for industrial action. Workers will take industrial action on Strike 29 September and 6,13 and 20 October. Workers are angry about the erosion of their terms and conditions since the contract, currently operated by Bidvest Noonan, was outsourced read more
Croydon hospital workers in strike vote (19 Sept) – Croydon University Hospital workers have today [Monday 18 September] begun voting on strike action. Cleaners, caterers and porters, employed by outsourcing giant G4S, demand full NHS pay, terms and conditions and for all pay rises NHS staff have received to be passed on to them. The ballot, which closes on 2 October, could see a mass walkout of domestics and porters at the hospital read more
Social housing giant slammed for ‘strike breaking’ as workers down tools over low pay (15 Sept) – Staff at social housing provider Grand Union Housing are struggling to pay their own rent, says GMB union. GMB Union have today announced strike action at Grand Union Housing, provider of 13,000 social homes across Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. The strike will see maintenance staff down tools on 22, 25 & 29 September and 2, 6, 9, 13 & 16 October. The action comes after the company refused to negotiate on a pay offer to staff of just 2.1%. Grand Union Housing has come under fire after confirming in an email to staff that contractor FSG Property Services LTD will be used to cover the work of striking workers read more
WATCH: Southampton bus drivers poised to strike over ‘dangerous’ diversion (15 Sept) – Question of when, not if, a serious incident happens, warns GMB Union
Southampton bus drivers are poised to strike over a ‘dangerous’ diversion route. GMB members working for Unilink – Southampton’s bus service provider – has today [Friday] begun a consultative industrial action ballot over management’s insistence on the enforced use of an unsafe diversion route which could endanger staff, passengers and the public. The change to the U6 route now means a dangerous sharp right turn for buses at the city’s Six Dials junction, causing buses to cross two lanes of fast flowing oncoming traffic to gain access to the bus lane heading into the city centre read more
North Bristol NHS maternity staff to take strike action (7 Sept) – Fed up with being treated and told that they are ‘second-class’ employees, GMB Midwifery support workers have voted for strike action. Maternity support staff in working in Southmead Hospital have voted unanimously for strike action. GMB members working in the Women’s and Children’s Division will walk out on September 14th and 15th for 2 days of strike action. The moves came after North Bristol NHS trust refused to provide Midwifery support workers, housekeepers and receptionists the same shift enhancements that their colleagues in the same department have been given. For 10 months GMB has been trying to seek a fair resolution, with the trust agreeing to pay enhancements back in June – only to then u-turn read more
Durham aviation manufacturer strike hits sixth week (22 Aug) – A Durham factory that finishes parts for the aviation and automotive industries faces its sixth week of strike action. Dozens of GMB members will walk out on Thursday [24 August] and Friday [25 August] after turning down the company’s pay offer of 6.7 per cent and a one-off. The industrial action the first time workers at Nicholson’s Sealing Technologies, in Stanley, have walked out in the company’s 100 year history read more
Scotland school staff to walk out for two days (17 Aug) – Parents and pupils have been warned of disruption after GMB Scotland announced essential staff in schools and early years will strike for two days next month. The industrial action will affect almost a third of councils across Scotland and comes after local authority workers overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer. GMB members in Scotland’s councils voted to support industrial action after Cosla, representing local authorities, refused to revise the offer or ask the Scottish Government for support. The union, which represents more than 21,000 workers across Scotland’s 32 councils, today served notice on ten local authorities telling them staff in schools and early years working across catering, cleaning, pupil support, administration and janitorial services will strike next month. Industrial action involving the staff but not including teachers will take place on Wednesday 13 September and the following day, in Aberdeen, Clackmannanshire, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Orkney, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire. Sister unions are also likely to call strikes in schools and early years in September with the members of one already voting for industrial action while another is currently balloting members. The ballot came after 94 per cent of the GMB Scotland’s members rejected the councils’ offer of 5.5% in April branding it unacceptable when inflation has surged triggering a cost-of-living crisis. The union said the Cosla offer would mean a rise for the lowest-paid workers in Scotland’s councils £700 less this year than that offered to colleagues in England and Wales 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
Thousands of staff will be left behind after real living wage rise, says UNISON (24 Oct) – Increase is good news for many, but others need help. Commenting on the increase in real living wage rates – to £12 (and £13.15 in London) – announced today (Tuesday) by the Living Wage Foundation, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “This is good news for hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers whose employers do the right thing. That’s pay them a decent wage. But many more providing essential public services will miss out. These employees include care workers, who’re often on poverty pay, in a sector already struggling to fill record vacancies. And today’s increase means thousands of workers employed by the NHS on the lowest pay bands – like porters, cleaners, domestics and security staff – will be significantly short of the new rate. The government must follow suit and boost the minimum wage so millions are better able to weather the cost of living pressures causing such deep financial pain.” Read more
The cash crisis in councils is worsening by the day (20 Oct) – That will mean even more cuts to services and further hardship for communities everywhere. Commenting on a new report from the Local Government Association published today (Friday), which suggests councils in England face a funding gap of £4bn over the next two years, UNISON head of local government Mike Short said: “The cash crisis in local authorities is worsening by the day. That will mean even more cuts to services and further hardship for communities everywhere…” read more
Ministers must come clean on the full scale of crumbly concrete (19 Oct) – This will only add to the uncertainty and anxiety already being felt by pupils, parents and staff. Commenting on the news today (Thursday) that another 40 schools and colleges have been identified by the Department for Education as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), UNISON head of education Mike Short said:
“This will only add to the uncertainty and anxiety already being felt by pupils, parents and staff…” read more
Schools set to close again in Scotland as UNISON announces further strike dates (18 Oct) – The union is committed to resolving this dispute as soon as possible. UNISON has today (Wednesday) served notice of further strikes in its dispute over local government pay at Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde councils. Staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools, within the four local authorities will walk out on Wednesday 1 November. This is the first part of a rolling programme of action that will take place over the forthcoming weeks, with further strike dates and other councils being announced in due course, says UNISON. The move comes after workers represented by the union voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer. More than 21,000 people took three days of strike action in September, resulting in the closure of 75% of Scotland’s schools read more
UNISON votes for further school strikes in Scotland (16 Oct) – As much as this is about pay, it’s also about standing up for local services. UNISON, Scotland’s largest local government union, has today (Monday) announced a rolling programme of strike action in schools across the country in the coming weeks. It comes after UNISON members voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s pay offer, with nine in ten workers (89.92 %) voting against the offer in a consultative ballot. UNISON will now move to a rolling programme of action in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools, from Shetland to Stranraer. Dates will be announced in the coming days read more
UNISON issues strike action notice for the next 5 months! (24 Oct) – Today, UNISON sent the strike notification letter to Barnet Council laying out the dates of strike action to be taken by Mental Health social workers starting in November right through to March 2024. The first day of strike action will start Tuesday 7 November 2023. We are pleased to report that Brighton UNISON Adults social workers will be taking strike action on the same day (Tuesday 7 November 2023) Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers are taking strike action. Their demand is similar to our demand, they want parity for Adults social workers with Family Services social workers who have retention payments. Barnet UNISON has proposed a solution to this dispute which is based on rates (7.5% to 25%) that are already paid out to other social workers in Family services. According to evidence seen by Barnet UNISON, the numbers of staff leaving Mental Health social work teams exceeds those leaving Family Services social work teams who are all receiving recruitment & retention payments. Barnet UNISON is clear that recruitment & retention payments are likely to help stabilise the high turnover of staff across Mental Health social work teams and help retain existing staff. The strike timetable for the next FIVE months is as follows:-
- 7/8/9/14/15/16 November 2023.
- 4/5/6/7/8/ December 2023.
- 15/16/17/18/19 January 2024.
- 5/6/7/8/9 February 2024.
- 4/5/6/7/8 March 2024 read more
Picket line – 2 Bristol Ave, London NW9 4EW. Send messages of support to [email protected]
Support staff to strike at 17 universities this week over pay (2 Oct) – Coordinated action in England over ongoing dispute. Support staff at 17 universities in England are striking today and tomorrow in an ongoing dispute about pay, says UNISON today (Monday). Cleaners, IT technicians, administrators and library staff will be among those walking out in coordinated action aimed at disrupting the start of the new academic year, says the union. Staff rejected a below-inflation pay deal in February and voted to strike. They are yet to receive a better offer and say they have little alternative but to take industrial action. More than 5,000 staff are expected to walk out over the two days, as the pay row escalates. There are also demonstrations and rallies taking place across the country read more
Health members in Northern Ireland to strike over lack of pay parity (19 Sept) – Two-day action this week comes as members have yet to be made pay offer in absence of devolved government. UNISON health members in Northern Ireland will be taking strike action over two days this week, in protest at the continued lack of a pay offer for 2022/23. The walk out, over the 48-hour period of Thursday 21 and Friday 22 September, will involve ambulance crews, nurses, health care assistants, pharmacists, radiographers, porters, admin and technical staff, and domestic assistants. Payroll staff will strike for a shorter period, to ensure their co-workers receive their pay on time – a decision commended by their union colleagues. The action is due to increasing frustration that NI health workers are falling behind their colleagues in England and Wales, who accepted an NHS pay offer from their employers in April. That offer included an extra lump sum for 2022/23 and a new offer of a 5% increase for 2023/24. However in the absence of a devolved government in Northern Ireland, and without funding being made available by the secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris, no offer has been made to health workers there read more
Support Wirral NHS clinical support workers: Let’s stick together to win the proper pay for the job (12 Sept) – ‘Wirral NHS clinical support workers just want to be paid the proper rate for the work they do and the responsibilities they take’. Christina McAnea on the picket line with striking clinical support workers at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Across every UNISON region, we’ve got live campaigns to get health workers the fair pay they deserve. Dedicated staff have been regularly performing important duties above the level of responsibility their employers pay them for. This expectation has been put on them for years, but the salary they should be earning has been held back for years too. Today in Liverpool, clinical support workers went on strike at Arrowe Park Hospital 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
Education members to protest at Secretary of State offices (25 Oct) – NIPSA Education members to protest at Secretary of State’s Office Erskine House 20-32 Chichester Street Belfast BT1 4GF Wednesday 25th October – 12:30pm. NIPSA, the largest union from the non-teaching workforce in Education, representing over 8,000 members across the Education Service will take part in a protest today to highlight the impact of the austerity budget imposed on the Department of Education and Education Authority and call for an immediate resolution of their Industrial Disputes read more
NIPSA, UNISON, GMB and Unite announce protest over education industrial action dispute (24 Oct) – The Joint Negotiating Trade Union Side consists of NIPSA, UNISON, GMB and UNITE representing over 20,000 Support Staff employed across the entire Education Sector, are to hold a protest on Wednesday 25th October at the offices of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Erskine House, Belfast read more
Public Demonstration in Opposition to Outsourcing of Leisure Services by Ards and North Down District Council (20 Oct) – We are seeking your support for a protest to oppose the planned outsourcing of leisure services by Ards and North Down District Council. The proposal could see leisure services handed over to the private management company, Serco. NIPSA and other unions have highlighted the experience of Belfast City Council where outsourced services have led to a huge hike in user charges and attacks on workers’ rights through introduction of a two-tier workforce. NIPSA has pledged its full opposition to the threat of outsourcing and is calling on members and the public to attend a demonstration against the proposal. The protest will take place at 6pm on Wednesday 25 October at Bangor Castle. You may also wish to make your views known by signing the petition, which can be signed by clicking the link here. Save our Leisure Services in Ards, Comber, Portaferry, Londonderry Park and Sports Development – Carmel Gates, General Secretary read more
Strike Action in Ports, Meat and Poultry Plants and Veterinary Services DAERA (19 Oct) – Members who work in Veterinary Services Animal Health Group will be taking selective strike action for 5 days from Monday 30 October. This action will begin with a walk-out by portal members at Midnight on Sunday 29 and will last 5 full days from Monday 30 to midnight on Friday 3 November. This action, which has the potential to be the most significant and far-reaching targeted action ever undertaken by NICS members, is the next part of the strategy to address the derisory £552 pay award imposed for 2022/23. This follows on from the one-day strikes in April and September that were taken with our sister public service unions read more
Strike Action in Ports, Meat and Poultry Plants and Veterinary Services DAERA (19 Oct) – Members who work in Veterinary Services Animal Health Group will be taking selective strike action for 5 days from Monday 30 October read more
Royal College of Nursing
General practice nursing staff in England should receive pay increase (23 Oct) – The RCN is demanding all GP practice employers provide their staff with pay increase now funding has been confirmed read more
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
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
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
Maternity staff fight for fairness and safety as they take to picket lines across Northern Ireland (22 Sept) – Midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) across Northern Ireland will be taking to the picket lines this morning (22 September), as the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) takes strike action in frustration at the ongoing political stalemate read more
CSP
Northern Ireland trust CEOs demand action on pay (17 Oct) – The chief executives of Northern Ireland’s six health and care trusts have appealed to the UK government for improved pay for Health and Social Care staff read more
Striking CSP members in Northern Ireland make their voices heard (21 Sept) – CSP members working for Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) turned out in big numbers today for their first ever strike over pay read more
BMA
Support the Junior Doctors strike read more
Donate to support striking junior doctors
RCN and GPCE joint statement on GP practice staff pay uplift 2023/24 (23 Oct) – The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and BMA General Practitioners Committee England (GPCE) have issued this joint statement to alert their respective members to the details of the recently announced pay increase for salaried general practice staff. We welcome the increase, but it does not go far enough to address the impact of the current cost of living crisis and workforce attrition across General Practice. We are committed to working together to achieve better for the general practice workforce read more
Government agrees to return to SAS doctors’ pay talks (20 Oct) – BMA ballot overwhelmingly affirms members’ willingness to strike. The Government will resume talks with the BMA on improving pay and conditions for SAS doctors, after an indicative ballot resoundingly backed the possibility of strike action. The association’s specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors committee announced on 20 October it will enter negotiations with the Department of Health, following the decisive passing of an indicative ballot for possible industrial action by SAS doctors in England. The ballot, which ran between 25 September and 16 October, resulted in 88 per cent of respondents affirming they were prepared to go on strike over worsening pay and working conditions. Emphasising that SASC would return to the table in ‘good faith’, committee chair Ujjwala Mohite (pictured above) warned that failure to make meaningful progress would see SAS doctors move to a formal ballot on strike action from 6 November read more
‘We shall fight on’ (18 Oct) – Consultants and junior doctors came together to show their commitment to pay restoration and to urge the Government to resume talks. Ben Ireland reports. Doctors have sent the strongest warning yet to the Government that they intend to continue striking up to the next general election as the fight for fair pay intensifies. Thousands of doctors gathered in Manchester as the Conservative Party conference took place in the city this month, with consultants and junior doctors travelling from all corners of England on buses provided by the BMA. Health secretary Steve Barclay made no mention of plans to resolve the strikes in his speech to his party’s conference on the same day and has not met with either consultants or junior doctors for months. BMA consultants committee chair Vish Sharma wrote to prime minister Rishi Sunak to say no new strike dates would be announced for four weeks from the latest three-day joint action, which took place from 2 to 5 October, because the Government has refused talks as long as strike dates have been called. Dr Sharma also urged the involvement of arbitration service ACAS read more
SAS doctors in Wales, the time for action is now (10 Oct) – We need to act now to put a stop to pay erosion, writes BMA Wales SAS doctors committee chair Ali Nazir read more
Junior doctors in Wales announce dates of industrial action ballot (6 Oct) – Junior doctors in Wales are to be balloted for industrial action from next month. The six-week ballot by BMA Cymru Wales will run from 6 November to 18 December. If members vote in favour of industrial action, it will lead to a 72-hour full walkout by participating doctors. Junior doctors in Wales have experienced a pay cut of 29.6 per cent in real terms over the last 15 years. This year, they received another sub-inflationary pay offer from the Welsh Government. The 5 per cent offer is below the recommended amount made by the DDRB, and lower than that rejected by junior doctors in England read more
Doctors in Northern Ireland to be balloted on industrial action (4 Oct) – Consultants and junior doctors to vote after devolved government denies pay uplift. Consultants and junior doctors in Northern Ireland will be balloted on industrial action, the BMA has confirmed. The Department of Health in Northern Ireland, which has essentially been left to run the health service since the collapse of devolution in February 2022, said there would be no pay awards at all this year as a result of funding shortfalls. This is despite the Doctors and Dentists Review Body recommending a 6 per cent uplift, which has been offered to colleagues in England. As a result, both groups of doctors will be balloted over whether to take industrial action. A date for the ballot has not yet been set. An indicative ballot of consultants in Northern Ireland found 77 per cent were willing to take industrial action read more
Society of Radiographers
Northern Ireland health executives’ call for action on health worker pay welcomed by SoR (18 Oct) – The heads of the six trusts in Northern Ireland have written a letter to the Secretary of State in hopes of ending the pay dispute. A call from Northern Ireland’s health executives for urgent action on health worker pay has been welcomed by the Society of Radiographers. On Tuesday, 17 October, the heads of six Northern Ireland health and social care trusts highlighted the need for “urgent action” on pay awards for staff, following strike action last month read more
Society pens letter to health secretary calling for urgent talks to end radiography workforce crisis
In an open letter, SoR CEO Richard Evans called for pay restoration and emergency recruitment to settle dispute (12 Oct) – The Society of Radiographers has written to the health secretary calling for urgent discussions to end the radiography workforce crisis. In an open letter to the Secretary of State for Health Steve Barclay, SoR CEO Richard Evans said he hopes to avoid further industrial action, and set out measures to end the current dispute. Earlier this month, SoR members in England held 24-hour strike action over the workforce shortages and pay stagnation blighting radiography read more
SoR joins trade unions calling for removal of asbestos from all public buildings (9 Oct) – A coalition of 27 trade unions has penned a letter to all major political parties, urging them to address the ongoing safety hazard read more
Video: Striking radiographers protest outside Belfast City Hall (22 Sept) – SoR’s Northern Ireland national officer Cora Regan gives powerful speech at union rally. Northern Ireland’s striking radiographers joined a union rally outside Belfast City Hall on the second day of industrial action in their fight for improved pay and conditions’ read more
“We need to address the chronic staff shortages, our patients deserve better” (21 Sept) – As our 48hr strike action across HSCNI begins, hear from our members about why they are taking a stand read more
New pay offer for radiographers in Wales – SoR members asked to vote now (8 Aug) – SoR recommends acceptance of improved offer following earlier strike threat. New pay talks with the Welsh government have resulted in a revised package around non-pay elements of the original offer to radiographers. SoR members in Wales had rejected that offer by an overwhelming number and called for a ballot on strike action. The Welsh government then agreed to re-open talks with the SoR on the proviso that the Society paused balloting. These talks have resulted in a new offer around non-pay elements of the original offer with the aim to improve Terms and Conditions of Service within the NHS in Wales and for radiographers read more
NEU
NEU Cymru members at Caldicot Comprehensive to take strike action over school’s inability to tackle student behaviour (24 Oct) – NEU Cymru members at Caldicot Comprehensive school will be taking strike action on Wednesday 25th October following concerns over violent and abusive behaviour by pupils towards staff, which the school has not dealt with appropriately. Discussions between the school and both the NEU and NASUWT have failed to make any progress in addressing the school’s approach to behaviour, and addressing the adverse management practices that are affecting the health, safety and welfare of their members and the pupils they have a duty of care towards read more
Support strike action at Connaught School Leytonstone Waltham Forest – the 6th week of Connaught strike is on again next week over proposed job cuts and forcing them into a MAT. Send messages of support to Paul Phillips – [email protected] and Sandra Faria [email protected]
A million children experiencing destitution in the UK (24 Oct) – This Joseph Rowntree report should be an alarm for Government to finally take action. Commenting on the fourth report in the series Destitution in the UK from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which highlights around one million children experiencing destitution in 2022, an 88% increase since 2019, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “That one million children are experiencing destitution must surely sound an alarm for Government to finally take the action needed. The research published today provides yet more evidence that families are faced with a perfect storm of economic mismanagement by the Government leading to a fall in living standards at the same time as support through the welfare system is falling further short of meeting their needs. Rising hardship is a problem that pre-dates the cost-of-living crisis…” read more
Government sneaks out latest reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) update (19 Oct) – The number of schools with RAAC continues to rise. The Government have released their latest “fortnightly” RAAC update more than two weeks late. This shows that the number of schools with confirmed RAAC has risen to 214 schools. Essex is by far and away the worst hit local authority with 63 schools with confirmed RAAC. The worst hit constituencies are: Harwich and North Essex, Saffron Walden, Witham, Clacton, and South Basildon and East Thurrock. The Secretary of State has still not answered the six important questions the NEU and other unions asked at the beginning of September read more
Union leaders call for an end to deadly asbesto legacy
Coalition of Trade Unions calling for the removal of asbestos from all public buildings within the next 40 years (8 Oct) – A coalition of Trade Unions, representing more than four million UK workers, are calling for the removal of asbestos from all public buildings within the next 40 years, to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of school pupils, hospital patients and all workers who use non-domestic buildings read more
NASUWT
Caldicot School faces a third day of strike action as NASUWT calls on the Local Authority to intervene (24 Oct) – Members of NASUWT – the Teachers’ Union will take strike action at Caldicot Secondary School in Monmouthshire on Wednesday 25th October. This is the third day of strike action by NASUWT members at the school. Industrial action at Caldicot Secondary School has been ongoing throughout September and October as NASUWT members urgently seek safe working conditions read more
Sixth form colleges pay offer accepted (20 Oct) – The body representing teachers working in sixth form colleges has agreed to accept the pay offer for 2023/24. The Staff Side of the National Joint Council for Sixth Form Colleges has today accepted the offer which represents a 6.5% pay rise for the majority of staff and an 8.44% increase for those on the lowest pay point. Following a consultation with NASUWT members, 92% of those who responded stated they were in favour of accepting the pay offer read more
SNP must deliver on promises to teachers (13 Oct) – The Cabinet Secretary for Education will be challenged to prove her party can deliver on its promises to tackle the rise in pupil violence and abuse in schools and address excessive teacher workload at this weekend’s SNP Conference read more
Union leaders call for end to deadly asbestos legacy (9 Oct) – A coalition of Trade Unions, including the NASUWT, are calling for the removal of asbestos from all public buildings within the next 40 years, to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of school pupils, hospital patients and all workers who use non-domestic buildings read more
Education Secretary must reverse staggering budget error (8 Oct) – Commenting on reports that Department for Education officials made an error in school funding allocations for next year, meaning schools will now have £370 million less than promised, NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “The revelation that schools could be left with shortfalls in their budgets of potentially tens of thousands of pounds because of incompetence is staggering. This will heap more uncertainty on school leaders and teachers who are already facing worsening financial pressures, with budgets already slashed over the last 13 years…” read more
Caldicot School plans six days of strike action (18 Sept) – Members of NASUWT – Teachers’ Union will take strike action at Caldicot secondary school in Monmouthshire on Thursday 21 and on Thursday 28 September 2023. A further four days are planned during October. Talks with the school have failed to make sufficient progress in addressing adverse management practices affecting the health, safety and welfare of its members and the pupils in their care. The NASUWT has been in negotiations with the school since 2019 in a bid to resolve ongoing concerns about the management of the school. The employer is failing to provide appropriate support to staff in dealing with violent and abusive behaviour. In the strike ballot, 85% of members voted to support strike action and 92% voted to support action short of strike, which includes the refusal to teach pupils who pose a risk to staff read more
New industrial action campaign at schools and colleges in England (18 Sept) – The NASUWT is instructing members to take part in a programme of action short of strike action following ballots for industrial action last term. The action is part of the Union’s campaign to secure real terms improvements to pay and bring downward pressure on workload and working hours. The NASUWT National Action Committee is initially instructing members in schools and colleges to limit their working time by working to rule from today. These include instructing members to refuse to undertake extracurricular activities, midday supervision, working during lunch breaks, being directed to work on weekends or Bank Holidays, not doing other tasks during PPA time and refusing to take part in mock inspections read more
NAHT
School leaders to strike for first time on Jersey (11 Sept) – School leaders’ union NAHT will join teachers in a day of strike action across Jersey’s schools tomorrow, Tuesday 12 September, after it said that revised proposals aimed at resolving the dispute were too little too late. Late last week, the States Employment Board (SEB) agreed to backdate its previous 7.9% pay offer, which NAHT members had overwhelmingly rejected in a ballot, to January. But NAHT said that was not enough and put its own proposals on the table on Friday designed to end the dispute. Today, the Government tabled alternative proposals which NAHT said fell well short of resolving the dispute read more
EIS
City of Glasgow College lecturers deliver overwhelming mandate for continuing industrial action (24 Oct) – College lecturers at City of Glasgow College (CoGC) are set to continue their programme of industrial action, following the closure of a statutory industrial action ballot yesterday. In the ballot, organised by the Educational Institute of Scotland – Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-FELA), a massive 87% of members voted in favour of continuing their programme of industrial action in a long-running dispute over redundancies and working conditions, with 81% backing continuing strikes as part of the industrial action read more
City of Glasgow College seek to cut number of Learning Support Lecturers (18 Oct) – The EIS-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) local dispute with City of Glasgow College continues with a reballot to extend the industrial action mandate read more
EIS-FELA Raise concerns over the potential discriminatory nature of redundancies at City of Glasgow College (11 Oct) – EIS-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) representatives have raised concerns over what is believed to be the discriminatory nature of redundancies taking place at City of Glasgow College. Redundancies are decided using a scoring-criteria based on gathering evidence such as continuing professional development, industry links and other work which highlights a lecturer goes ‘above and beyond’. However, staff who have been absent due to maternity leave are not having this considered when the management of the college are looking at the past three years of evidence. This has been reported by the EIS-FELA Branch as a potential breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty to the Equality and Human Rights Commission read more
First Minister must not abandon promise of public sector ‘no compulsory redundancy’ in colleges (4 Oct) – Members of the EIS-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) have been on strike at Glasgow Clyde College, Dundee & Angus College and Fife College this week in a long running dispute over job security and pay. Today marks a third day of strike action in the constituencies of key Scottish Government ministers. These three colleges are linked to the constituencies of the First Minister, Deputy First Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Minister for Further Education respectively read more
Lecturers Commence Targeted Strike Action in Constituency Areas of Key Scot Govt Ministers (2 Oct) – Lecturers in three Scottish colleges will start three days of targeted strike action, in colleges based in the constituencies of key Scottish Government decision makers. The targeted action is the latest step in a national industrial action campaign in a long-running dispute over pay and job security. The action will take place at Glasgow Clyde College, Fife College and Dundee & Angus College, which sit within the constituency areas of the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Minister for Further Education read more
INTO
UNISON Action Short of Strike (17 Oct) – INTO Member Update:-
INTO is aware that members of the UNISON Union will be engaging in action short of strike (ASOS) from Monday 16th October 2023.
- INTO reminds all members that they should refuse to accept any direction to undertake any additional work that may arise from the industrial action of another trade union.
- INTO reminds school leaders that they should not direct staff to undertake any duty that would normally be carried out by a colleague who is taking part in legal, legitimate industrial action.
- INTO would further remind school leaders of the previous communication from Management Side in relation to strike action which stated read more
UCU
UCU wins five year long USS pension dispute (20 Oct) – UCU’s members have voted to end their dispute with university employers over the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which is the UK’s largest private pension fund. Over 99% of the 19k UCU members who took part, voted to bring the dispute to an end after employer body UUK made an offer of full restoration. The vote brings the dispute, which has seen a total of 69 days of strike action since 2018, to a close. Pension benefits are now set to be restored by Monday 1 April 2024 read more
Strike action at Tyne Coast College off after management agree to ACAS talks (19 Oct) – Strike action at Tyne Coast College has been called off after the employer agreed to enter talks with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), UCU announced today. Staff took a day’s strike action last month and had been due to walk out on Monday 23 October as part of a long running dispute over pay. The action came after management imposed a paltry pay award of just 3%, which staff had overwhelmingly rejected read more
Strike on tomorrow at University of the Highlands and Islands in dispute over cuts and job losses (16 Oct) – UCU members at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) will begin the first of six days of strikes tomorrow. The strike is over £4 million cuts the university is making, including £3 million from the staffing budget meaning that up to 44 roles are being made redundant. In the ballot approving strike action, turnout was 86% with 77% of UCU members backing going on strike to defend jobs and oppose cuts. The union said the high turnout showed the strength of feeling against the cuts and redundancies read more
Staff at 32 colleges vote to strike over low pay (11 Oct) – UCU today called on college bosses to begin negotiating after its members voted to strike over low pay and poor working conditions. An overwhelming 90% of staff who voted in the England wide further education college ballot said they would back strike action. Ballots were held locally, and UCU beat the restrictive 50% turnout threshold at 32 colleges. UCU members at a further 13 colleges have voted to settle their disputes after receiving pay offers of up to 8.5% (at Bury College). Due to anti-trade union laws, staff at 43 colleges are not able to strike. The union’s further education committee will meet within two weeks to decide next steps and, if employers refuse to make realistic pay offers, strike action could be called as soon as November. UCU is demanding a pay offer in excess of RPI inflation, a national workload agreement, and a commitment to binding national pay negotiations. The employer body, the Association of Colleges (AoC), has recommended a pay uplift of 6.5% but colleges do not have to follow it, and many have failed to do so in previous pay rounds read more
Ten days of strikes set to hit the University of Sheffield over pay docking row (15 Sept) – Staff at the University of Sheffield will strike for ten days beginning on Monday 18 September in a dispute over 100% pay deductions following the marking boycott, the University and College Union (UCU) confirmed today read more
Strike to hit all further education colleges in Northern Ireland (11 Sept) – Staff at all six Further Education colleges across Northern Ireland will strike for five days next week and continuously for the next three months in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. UCU said it has been forced to take action after a decade of their members being subject to pay freeze, followed by pay restraint, which has seen lecturer pay awards limited to between 1 % and 2% per year read more
Four days of strikes set to hit Kirklees College in pay dispute (8 Sept) – Staff at Kirklees College will strike for four days beginning on Monday 11 September in a long running dispute over low pay, announced the University and College Union (UCU) today. The full strike days are:-
- Monday 11 September
- Tuesday 12 September
- Wednesday 20 September
- Thursday 21 September
The strikes will hit the first teaching week of the new academic year. Staff will be on picket lines at the Huddersfield Centre in Huddersfield and the Pioneer Higher Skills Centre in Dewsbury from 8am till 12pm on all four days. Staff at the college have already taken six days of strike action across May and June but management has refused to budge from a pay award for 22/23 of just 1% plus a £500 non-consolidated lump sum. To add insult to injury college management unilaterally imposed a ‘cost of living’ pay award of just 2.5% for 23/24 during pay talks for 22/23. The college’s financial accounts show it has over £10m cash in the bank yet is hiring teachers for as little as £25k (full time equivalent salary). UCU Branch Officers made themselves available over the summer break to meet with college management to find a way to resolve this dispute but management was not interested 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
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
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
FBU National Rally: ‘Join the Fight For Our Future’ – 12pm Wednesday 1st November, Westminster Central Hall London – On Wednesday 1 November, firefighters will come to Westminster for our national rally. We will be unveiling The Firefighters’ Manifesto to demand a resilient service with the resources it needs. Check out the campaign here
A decade of cuts has created the perfect ‘Firestorm’ says damning Fire Brigades Union report (24 Oct) – An explosive report published today by the Fire Brigades Union has exposed the crisis facing the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). The report says that a combination of cuts, a lack of recruitment, the crisis in the ‘On Call’ service, declining training standards and the climate emergency have created the perfect conditions for a devastating ‘Firestorm’. Since its inception just over a decade ago the SFRS has cut over 1200 jobs with fire service bosses predicting another 780 could go in the near future due to a 5 year, flat cash budget settlement from the Scottish Government read more
“Homes and lives still at risk”: FBU responds to latest North Wales cuts announcement (16 Oct) – The Fire Brigades Union has responded to today’s North Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s announcement that the Fire Authority has agreed to scrap two of three options for proposed cuts to the service. This follows months of campaigning led by the Fire Brigades Union. The remaining option outlines cuts that will reduce fire cover, particularly impacting Rhyl and Deeside. A decision on these plans will be made at the Fire Authority meeting on 18 December read more
Firefighters’ union to consult members in Scotland on strike action over cuts (13 Oct) – The Fire Brigades Union has today announced its intention to begin consulting firefighters across Scotland on strike action in opposition to a devastating package of cuts imposed by the Scottish government. A projected five-year flat cash budget until 2027 has already removed 10 wholetime fire engines, whilst 150 retained fire engines are regularly unavailable due to significant recruitment and retention issues. The Scottish Fire and Rescue service has announced that its own projections mean it will need to save a minimum of a further £14 million next year, which would result in the loss of a further 339 firefighters and 18 fire engines, with more to come. Scotland has lost 1200 frontline firefighters since 2012. The move marks the first formal step towards firefighters taking strike action. This was agreed unanimously by the union’s Scottish committee this week. A formal strike ballot could follow read more
Firefighters vow to fight cuts to Avon’s fire and rescue service (5 Oct) – Yesterday, Avon Fire Authority voted through proposals to cut 40 wholetime (full time) firefighter posts and reduce fire engine crews from 5 firefighters to 4 across the service. Representatives of the Fire Brigades Union condemned the cuts as ‘dangerous and irresponsible’ in an address to the Fire Authority, with firefighters attending in opposition to the plans. The recommendations passed by vote are the result of Avon Fire and Rescue Service commissioning a project seeking to make budget cuts read more
‘No firefighter should be put in this position’: Cambridgeshire firefighters protest crews of three (4 Oct) – Firefighters in Cambridgeshire held a rally outside a meeting of the Cambridgeshire Fire Authority on October 4th, protesting a ‘dangerous’ reduction to fire crews. Since January 1st 2023, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has cut the number of on-call firefighters attending incidents in Cambridgeshire to three per crew. A minimum number of five firefighters are recommended to respond to incidents where lives are at risk. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has condemned these lower crewing levels, with 88% of members who are on call firefighters in the region signing a letter to the service opposing the new practice. A crew of three firefighters in an appliance (fire engine) means there is one driver, one officer overseeing operations, and one crew member. Firefighters are trained as crews of four or five, with roles assigned within these larger teams read more
TUC backs campaign of non-compliance with new anti-strike laws (11 Sept) – The Trade Union Congress (TUC), which brings together 5.5 million workers in 48 trade unions across the UK economy, has today adopted a motion committing it to a strategy of resistance against the new anti-union laws. The Minimum Service Levels Act passed into law into law in July. Under it, employers in fire and rescue, health, education, transport, nuclear decommissioning, and border security will be able to require named workers to work on strike days – despite a democratic vote for strike action. The motion states: “We have no choice but to build mass opposition to the MSLs laws, up to and including a strategy of non-compliance and non-cooperation to make them unworkable, including industrial action.” A link to the full text is here. It passed overwhelmingly
Merseyside fire control staff vote to strike as firefighters vote for continued industrial action (Aug 21) – Today, 21st August, results from ballots for industrial action in Merseyside fire service have gone live, with FBU members voting in response to a reduction in night-time staffing numbers in fire control, and attacks on terms and conditions. FBU members in Merseyside fire control have voted overwhelmingly for strike action, with 100% voting Yes on a 92% turnout. Fire control are the team who answer calls from those who need the fire and rescue service and make sure firefighters and appliances get to the right place read more
POA
National Chair Update October 2023 read more
Scotland: a failing contract (by John Cairney SNC Chair 12 Oct) – “Our members need to pick up the slack of a failing private contractor, it’s not acceptable and things must improve. Around 2000 when the decision was taken to outsource the prisoner escorts in Scotland, I’m sure the contract was secured on broken promises, unachievable service levels being pledged and that it would reduce the cost to the public purse. The reality is – and it can be said with confidence – that from the first day a private firm took on this role it has been, at best, a second-rate service. For as long as a anyone can remember, and whoever the contract provider is, be it Reliance, G4S or current contract holders GEOAmey, the level of service is not as it should be, but good old Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will pick up the pieces. Before I go further, I want to be abundantly clear, this article is in no way reflective of the hard-working staff involved with the contract providers. Many of them we have as members, and I can confidently say that they too share the frustrations of being part of a company that consistently fails to uphold agreed service levels…” read more
Political posturing on the Criminal Justice System (by Steve Gillan POA General Secretary 12 Oct) – The country must be heading for a general election soon as the political rhetoric is being ramped up. A recent example is the politicising of the rights or wrongs of non-appearance at court for sentencing, particularly in high-profile cases. It appears that everyone has a view on this including so-called experts who don’t, and have never, worked in the criminal justice system. In my view, it is quite wrong for leading politicians of all parties to attempt to score political points off each other as to who can be the toughest on crime and stating that they will bring in tough legislation to ensure that it is mandatory to appear in the dock for sentencing read more
Back us don’t blame us (Mark Fairhurst National Chair 12 Oct) – As we take stock of the recent pay award that is yet again delayed, it has not been missed by anyone that closed grades are rightly angered and bitter about the employer’s recommendation – supported by the Pay Review Body and agreed by the Government– that they will not receive any award now or in the future. The very people who bring a wealth of invaluable experience to the landings, have kept this service afloat for the past decade and remain loyal have been ignored. Our closed-grade colleagues feel even more devalued, neglected, demotivated and demoralised than ever before. Their only option now to gain a pay award is to opt into Fair and Sustainable pay scales that will see them, in most cases, but not all, uplift their pay by a measly 4 per cent. I have tried my best to alleviate concerns by putting out a factual circular, responding to emails and attending branch meetings. This is not the responsibility of the union – it’s up to our employer. But once again our employer has completely failed its staff and so it was important that, as speedily as possible, my colleagues were afforded the facts rather than listening to social media experts who, in reality, get it all wrong and know nothing read more
NAPO
Unions register formal NNC dispute on ‘One HMPPS’ (9 Oct) – At last week’s engagement meeting with HMPPS management, the Probation trade unions announced that they would need to carefully reflect on the disappointing outcomes and the worrying lack of clarity that has emerged from the consultative process so far, and that we would be revisiting our position of a pre-dispute. Since then, the unions have met and discussed a number of other concerns and have now decided to formally register a dispute under the NNC Dispute Resolution Procedures. This was submitted to the Head of HMPPS Employee Relations on the 4th October 2023 read more
Probation Unions lodge formal dispute on ‘One HMPPS’ (6 Oct) – This week Napo, UNISON and GMB formally lodged a dispute with HMPPS over the ‘One HMPPS’ programme read more
CAFCASS Pay Ballot 2023/2024 (6 Oct) – Napo members employed by Cafcass have the opportunity to vote on the employers pay offer which was sent out to preferred e-mail addresses a fortnight ago. If you have not voted yet please ensure that you do so and return your electronic ballot before next Thursday 12th October read more
BFAWU
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
NUJ
National World dispute: action postponed (17 Oct) – Next week’s five-day strike has been put on hold. Members of the NUJ’s group chapel working for National World have voted to suspend five days’ strike action due to begin next week, following the flat refusal of the management to hold talks with the union. The union’s national executive council had called on the general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, to seek the urgent intervention of the conciliation service ACAS with a view to encouraging the management of National World to agree to urgent negotiations to spare further damage to the business. However, the company has categorically refused to hold further talks with the union. The members working for the publisher of the Scotsman, Yorkshire Post, Portsmouth News, Sheffield Star, Belfast Newsletter, Derry Journal and 100-plus regional titles took part in three days of strikes last month (September) after the company refused to implement improved minimum salaries, address pay disparities and imposed a below-inflation pay rise. The dispute brought together the members across the UK concerned about pay unfairness, low pay and the refusal by management to listen to staff about a whole range of issues within the business read more
Find out more on the campaign and sign the NUJ’s petition read more
Send your messages of support to journalists at National World striking for fair pay to #NationalWorldStrike or email [email protected] read more
NUJ calls for protection of journalists covering the situation in Israel and Gaza (14 Oct) – A national executive council statement says the human rights of all journalists must be respected so they can report freely on the conflict read more
NUJ starts formal ballot for industrial action over compulsory redundancies at the BBC (29 Sept) – The NUJ has voted to move to a formal ballot of all members at the BBC for industrial action in opposition to any compulsory redundancies at the corporation. There are currently NUJ members facing the prospect of compulsory redundancy in the World Service, the News Channel, and across England at BBC Local. The NUJ believes with redeployment and flexibility these can be averted read more
BBC journalists vote to renew their industrial action mandate over cuts to local radio (10 Aug) – The union now has a mandate for strike action, but will continue talks with management. Under the UK’s onerous and restrictive legislation governing industrial action, the NUJ was required to have another ballot to keep the action alive – members at BBC Local in England, in local radio, regional TV and online, have taken strike action on three occasions and are continuing to operate a work to rule. On a turnout of 64 per cent, 70 per cent said they were prepared to take part in strike action and 83 per cent said they were prepared to take part in industrial action short of a strike. This positive result was despite many members being away over August and means the work to rule will seamlessly roll on until a resolution is reached. The BBC’s plans will cut local content by almost half read more
Equity
Equity statement on the cancellation of Doctors (18 Oct) – This is a devastating loss. The BBC must do better to represent and serve the Midlands. Equity is extremely disappointed and saddened by the decision from the BBC to cancel “Doctors” after 23 years. We are devastated for our members who have worked incredibly hard over the years and with great loyalty to the show and are now faced with this profound loss of work. This is enormously detrimental, not only for those regularly engaged on the show, but also those who are being deprived of an opportunity of work – particularly in the Midlands, where there are very few job prospects due to continuing underinvestment in the region read more
Save Our ENO Campaign opposes dramatic proposed cuts to singers’ contracts (16 Oct) – ENO’s Music Director resigns in protest as drastic cuts threaten members’ livelihoods and the ENO’s artistic output. ENO campaigners gather outside London’s City Hall in June 2023. Credit: Equity. Equity members of the English National Opera (ENO) Chorus were informed last week that the company is proposing a catastrophic reduction in contract length and salary, and a further reduction in the size of its chorus. The devastating proposals, which Equity rejects, include reducing the length of members’ contracts to cover just six months of the year, a 40% cut in salary and a proposed reduction in the size of the chorus. These plans will impede the quality and scale of ENO’s output, which is reliant on a highly specialist workforce. Chorus members were already struggling to maintain their livelihoods on only a 10-month contract and the further reduction down to a six-month contract may force many to leave the opera profession altogether. Martyn Brabbins, ENO’s Music Director, resigned last night in protest at the cuts, which will impact Equity’s members in the chorus as well as others across the organisation read more
Equity announce house agreement with Northern Opera Group (9 Oct) – The Equity House Agreement includes guarantees around minimum levels of pay, working hours and holiday provision for those working at Northern Opera Group. Equity is delighted to confirm our first House Agreement with Northern Opera Group.
This Agreement ensures that performance and stage management professionals working with Northern Opera Group are protected by the terms of the Equity House Agreement, which includes guarantees around minimum levels of pay, working hours, holiday provision, and other areas read more
Equity Northern Ireland resist arts cuts (6 Oct) – Today Equity’s Northern Ireland committee have written to the Department for Communities against arts funding cuts. Equity Northern Ireland has been campaigning throughout 2023 to resist cuts to the Arts Council NI budget, assigned via the Department for Communities. Although the proposed 10% cut was successfully resisted, a 5% cut has now been implemented by the Permanent Secretary. This week the DfC made its final announcement about the budget, including the mitigations to be taken to reduce the negative impact on communities which will come about due to the cuts. Today Equity’s Northern Ireland Committee have sent an open letter to the Colum Boyle, Permanent Secretary for the DfC read more
Community
Union offers support to Rhondda UKWDG workers facing redundancy (20 Oct) – This week Community Union officers participated in a jobs fair in the Rhondda to support workers being redundant at UK Windows and Doors Group read more
General Secretary meets Port Talbot steelworkers following bad deal for steel (26 Sept) – Community General Secretary Roy Rickhuss CBE will meet with steel union representatives and officials at Port Talbot today (26 September 2023) following the bad deal for steel agreed by the UK Government and Tata Steel on Friday 15 September. The UK Government’s deal with Tata for £500 million takes an unnecessary electric arc furnace-only approach to decarbonisation, which could cause the loss of 3,000 jobs across Tata Steel UK and have drastic consequences for the wider UK Steel industry and economy. Roy Rickhuss is expected to reaffirm Community’s support for the steelworkers, and that Community will do all it can to stop this bad deal read more
USDAW
Real Living Wage uprating welcomed – Usdaw continues to campaign for it to become the legal minimum for all workers (24 Oct) – Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed a much-needed increase in the real Living Wage rates. The Living Wage Foundation has today announced a 10% increase, making the new rates £12 per hour and £13.15 in London for over 18s read more
‘Super Saturday’ will leave retail workers exhausted – they deserve a decent break over Christmas and New Year says Usdaw (19 Oct) – Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw has called on retail employers to give their staff a decent break over the Christmas and New Year festive season, after research suggests that 23 December 2023 is set to be busiest in-store shopping day of the year and has been dubbed ‘Super Saturday’. Usdaw has long called for retail staff to have a proper break over Christmas and New Year. The union has secured legislation to restrict shop opening hours and negotiated improvements with employers, but there is much more to be achieved and the campaign continues read more
IWGB
RSA staff vote overwhelmingly for first ever strike in the organisation’s history (5 Sept) – Staff members at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) have voted to go on strike for the first time in the charity’s 270 year history. With a 78.95% turnout and 93.33% vote in favour of striking, staff have given notice of strike action for Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st of September, which will see the RSA host its president, Anne, Princess Royal, for its Design For Life awards ceremony, celebrating 100 years of the RSA Student Design Awards read more
UVW
Concierge, cleaners and maintenance win union recognition at luxury apartments (18 Oct) – “The cleaners, concierge and maintenance workers at WEQ want to make our workplace better, with clear and constructive dialogue we can do this” – Francesco Lombardo, West End Quay concierge, UVW strike leader. Today the CAC (Central Arbitration Committee) has declared that United Voices of the World, UVW, has won recognition at West End Quays forcing the contractor LB Navana (formerly Lee Baron) to negotiate with UVW on behalf of all cleaners, concierge and maintenance workers – 95% of whom are UVW members. This win follows last month’s win at WEQ when our members secured an 8% pay rise and a Christmas bonus equivalent to one weeks’ pay following 2 rounds of strikes over the summer read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
SIPTU calls for Jobseeker’s safeguards for Tara Mines workers (19 Oct) – SIPTU representatives have called on the Government to extend emergency legislation to safeguard Jobseeker’s Benefit for workers in Tara Mines, county Meath. The union has written to Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, to prevent any diminution in social welfare payments in light of the company’s commitment to continue to pay the €65 retention payment read more
SIPTU calls for “urgent” meeting as 542 jobs at risk in Nestlé Askeaton plant (19 Oct) – SIPTU representatives have called for an urgent meeting with Nestlé Wyeth Nutritionals management following today’s shock announcement that the company plans to close the Askeaton plant in county Limerick in the first quarter of 2026 with a potential loss of 542 jobs read more
SIPTU radiographers in Galway vote for industrial action (9 Oct) – radiographers in University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park University Hospital have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action up to and including strike action in a dispute over safe staffing levels. The result follows months of frustration over recruitment and retention issues at the two hospital sites which have left SIPTU members facing a significant extra workload amid a 20 percent staffing deficit read more
SIPTU and other trade unions threaten strike action over Translink funding fears (3 Oct) – SIPTU and other trade unions at Translink have written to Denis McMahon, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Infrastructure, to express the union’s concern over the financial sustainability of Northern Ireland public transport company. The move comes after Translink management indicated that, due to the company’s poor financial position, they would be unable to table a pay offer for 2023/24. This, the union warned the Permanent Secretary, “may force us to initiate an industrial ballot” unless meaningful discussions were forthcoming. SIPTU, along GMB and Unite with its sister unions in Translink, also expressed fears that the company may have difficulty sustaining the operation of public transport in Northern Ireland without departmental funding read more
Other news
Book launch: Betteshanger Colliery – ‘They didn’t take it off the wind!’ by Terry Harrison
Tuesday 7th November 7pm at The Betteshanger Sports & Social Club, Cavell Square, Deal CT14 9HR Reserve your place via Eventbrite
Affiliate with STAMMA – STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
UCU condemns ‘baffling’ dismissal of University of Sussex lecturer (25 Aug) – UCU has today condemned plans by the University of Sussex to make a member of teaching staff redundant after having advertised a new permanent post that includes all his current duties. Philosopher Lecturer James Furner has been employed at the university on consecutive fixed term part-time contracts since 2021, but on 22 August the university wrote to him to say that his employment will come to an end this month. Yet on July 7 it advertised a new full-time post of Lecturer in Philosophy stating that the post-holder ‘will be expected’ to teach the same four undergraduate modules that James taught in 2022-3. A petition has been launched in protest against the plans read more
Sign petition: Reinstate Anne Howie RMT Activist – Anne Howie RMT activist at Manchester Piccadilly is facing dismissal with no due process
UVW to sue LSE for disability discrimination and trade union victimisation after sacking strike leader (24 Aug) – “My condition has got something to do with it, but I think there’s more to it. I’ve always been at the forefront of the fight… because I consider myself a union leader” – Geovanny Moreno Buitrago, LSE cleaner and UVW member. UVW strike leader Geovanny Moreno Buitrago, a migrant cleaner from Colombia at the London School of Economics (LSE), was sacked after being off sick with a herniated disc as he tried to return to work. UVW is appealing and suing for his dismissal on grounds of disability discrimination and trade union victimisation. In spite of two expert medical opinions, Geovanny’s willingness to come back to work, his own recommendations on what he is capable of doing, and LSE’s own health policies, LSE sacked him read more
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. You can catch up on disputes at Strike Map UK. Also, check out Organise Now! – Support for new worker organising.
International
USA: read the latest about the ‘Stand Up Strikes’ at the ‘Big 3’ car companies on the UAW website here
From the NUJ website:-
Philippines: student journalists harassed by army (4 Oct) – NUJ supports call for an investigation into actions by armed forces threatening press freedom read more
Diary
October
8 NSSN Surrey Public Meeting: ‘How can trade unionists prepare for the battles ahead?’ – 2pm The Guildford Institute, Ward St, Guilford GU1 4LH
14 Reading Trade Union Council Strike Rally – 1pm Assembling in Forbury Gardens Facebook event
CONTACT US
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