The NSSN sends season’s greetings to all our supporters and affiliates. The year is ending just as it begun, with workers taking action. We have seen the continuation of the Strike Wave against the cost of living squeeze. And the festive season will see a whole number of workers on picket lines. Please show your support to all these strikes.
We’ll see you all in 2024, as action on pay and jobs will continue, as well as the fight against the Tory attack on our right to strike. Solidarity!
Date for your diaries!! The 2024 NSSN Conference is on Saturday 22nd June – 11am Conway Hall, Holborn, London
The NSSN welcomes the decision of the recent TUC Special Congress to agree a strategy to oppose the new Tory anti-union legislation, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (MSL). This is a blatant attack on workers’ right to strike by instructing unions to police their own strikes, even organising their own strike-breaking!
The main points of the statement that was proposed by the TUC General Council and agreed by the Congress were:-
- We will develop practical solidarity plans for unions actively engaged in strategies of non-compliance.
- Support any worker subject to a work notice, including with support from across the trade union movement, if their employer disciplines them in any way.
- Ensure that where any affiliate is facing significant risk of sanctions because of this legislation, we convene an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee to consider options for providing practical, industrial, financial and/or political backing to that union.
- Call on all employers and public bodies with oversight to oppose this counterproductive legislation. Employers and public bodies from across the public sector and the country have already signalled their opposition to the Strikes Act. All employers and public bodies must reject it
- Refuse to tell our members to cross a picket line.
- Call an urgent demonstration in the event a work notice is deployed and a union or worker is sanctioned in relation to a work notice.
This is the basis for the fighting strategy that workers and unions need.
The statement also included to ‘Mobilise the whole trade union movement to march with the sacked GCHQ workers through Cheltenham on Saturday 27 January, to commemorate their struggle, and to recommit ourselves to defiant opposition to Conservative minimum service levels, trade union restrictions and any threat to the right to strike.’
The TUC demonstration assembles in Cheltenham at 12noon at Montpellier Gardens for a march through the town centre to Pittville Park A5 leaflet A3 poster
We welcome this but we also believe that the TUC should call a national Saturday demonstration in London in the New Year which could be a mass union mobilisation against the MSL. This is a weak and divided Tory Government that can be defeated.
The NSSN held a successful lobby of the Congress.
Vigil to mark the death of a construction worker in Leytonstone – A minute’s silence will be held at 11am on Thursday 21 December at the building site in Pevensey Rd, Leytonstone where a construction worker lost his life when a roof collapsed on a house refurbishment there last week on 12 December. There are scant details available of the person who died as we are given to understand no information is being made public until his family have been informed and they are overseas and as yet haven’t been contacted. Kevin Parslow, Secretary, Waltham Forest Trades Council (WFTC) said: “We will hold a respectful vigil at the site and mark the deceased’s passing with a minute’s silence. We have a long history of marking those who die at work and the preventable nature of most of this. Our thoughts will be with the deceased’s family and friends and for all those who die at or because of their work.” Every year on April 28 WFTC marks Workers Memorial Day remembering those historically killed working in the borough and all those millions killed every year around the world. Kevin adds: “Sadly we now have another person to add to the list of those killed in Waltham Forest we remember every April 28.” The victim’s death comes just after our health and safety police, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), reported a massive rise in construction worker deaths up to 45 in 2022/23 from 29 in 2012/22. Kevin adds: “In our de-regulated, anti-health and safety society where our safety police are shackled to virtual inaction by the government we call for an urgent change of policy from government and HSE that will see preventative, pro-active actions that will lead to an end to all deaths at work.” (See link below for further detail). For further information contact Kevin Parslow, Secretary, Waltham Forest Trades Council 07446 344 662
Critique of HSE’s role and performance in Hazards magazine
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
See Stop the War website for info on protests
A number of unions have issued statements on the situation in the Middle East, including: the TUC, FBU, RMT, NEU, Unite, Unison, PCS, ASLEF, TSSA, UCU, EIS, Equity, BMA, NUJ, UVW, GMB, SOR, RCM, RCN, IWGB, Prospect, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)
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
RMT slams rail performance while company profits remain high (18 Dec) – Rail union RMT today criticised rail companies and Network Rail bosses for recent unacceptable failures over service delays and cancellations. Avanti West Coast which is owned by First Group has come in for particular criticism from Northern Transport leaders who have described the levels of service as “unacceptable” and “inadequate.” First Group has published its latest yearly profits to March 2023 showing that Avanti had made profit before tax of £12.8m and paid dividends of £11m to shareholders. Network Rail bosses have also come in for criticism over several reports of cracked and buckled train tracks throughout the country. RMT has highlighted the need to stop possible cuts to maintenance in order to prevent delays and future accidents on the Network read more
RMT responds to Just Transition Commission report (13 Dec) – The Just Transition Commission has released their Annual Report for 2023 claiming that Scotland is not on track to deliver a just transition in energy, and “significant” further action and support is needed for the workforce read more
RMT responds to Bibby Stockholm fatality (12 Dec) – Maritime union RMT, has responded to tragic news that there has been a death on the Bibby Stockholm barge off the coast in Dorset. General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “RMT is deeply disturbed to learn of a fatality on the Government’s quasi-prison barge, Bibby Stockholm. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of the person who has lost their life. “Maritime vessels operating under flags of convenience, should not be being used as part of this controversial policy…” read more
RMT today marks 35 years since the Clapham Junction rail crash (12 Dec) – RAIL UNION RMT today marks 35 years since the Clapham Junction rail crash which left 35 dead and hundreds injured. Senior representatives of the union joined a memorial service at the scene of the crash in Battersea, south London, and lay flowers on behalf of RMT. The crash took place on December 12 1988 when a crowded train from Poole to London Waterloo crashed into the back of a stationary Basingstoke service, which had stopped at a red signal. A third train, travelling empty in the opposite direction, hit the wreckage only minutes later. Wreaths will be laid by London Fire Brigade, British Transport Police, train companies, the local school whose pupils helped the injured on the day of the crash, and by ASLEF union branches read more
Bus workers suspend strike action following new offer (21 Nov) – Stagecoach East Midlands workers at Mansfield and Worksop depots will be balloted on the new pay offer in a referendum. The union suspended the 48 hour strike action planned for 27 November after Stagecoach produced an offer which if accepted would take bus drivers wages to £15 an hour. It is worth 18.7% as part of a multi-year deal for all grades in the company with significant back pay and marks an improvement on previous offers made by the company. RMT is recommending acceptance of the offer and the referendum will close on November 30 read more
Tube strike ballot over pay begins today (21 Nov) – London Underground workers will start to receive ballot papers today asking them whether they want to take strike action over pay. RMT is unhappy at the latest pay offer from London Underground when Transport for London(TfL) has created a bonus pot of £13m for senior managers and the commissioner took an 11% pay rise in 2023. The union wants to see full staff travel facilities for all tube workers restored and has criticised bosses for freezing pay bands, saying it will create a two tier workforce. Tuesday 19th December is when the ballot will close read more
Video: Carlos Barros & Jared Wood – LU Pay Ballot 2023
Caledonian Sleeper staff ballot for strike action (30 Oct) – RMT members working on the Caledonian Sleeper service will be balloted from tomorrow (October 31) for strike action over insufficient staffing levels. The ballot for train hosts and train host team leader grades will open on October 31 and close 21 November. Union representatives have accused the company of causing adverse stress and anxiety to the workforce by refusing to crew passenger services adequately. Management has also failed to adhere to a dispute resolution agreement reached in 2019, putting a further strain on industrial relations. Workers will be asked if they want to take strike action and action short of strike, which would include no rest day working and an overtime ban 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
Support the ASLEF industrial action (30 Nov) – Train drivers at 16 TOCs [train operating companies] begin a week of industrial action tomorrow [Friday 1 December] in a long-running dispute over pay. The action is likely to bring Britain’s railways to a standstill. Members will walk out at EMR and LNER on Saturday 2 December; at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern Thameslink, and WMT on Sunday 3 December; at C2C and Greater Anglia on Tuesday 5 December; at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, SWR main line, SWR depot drivers, and Island Line on Wednesday 6 December; at CrossCountry and GWR on Thursday 7 December; and at Northern and TPT on Friday 8 December. All members will also refuse to work any overtime from Friday 1 to Saturday 9 December read more
TSSA
TSSA Comment on resignation of Michelle Handforth (17 Dec) – TSSA today (Sunday) commented on the resignation of Michelle Handforth, Network Rail Network Rail managing director for the Wales & Western region after the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) launched an investigation into “performance issues” on lines in her region read more
Strike looms in ScotRail as long-running TSSA dispute deepen (12 Dec) – Rail union TSSA is warning of strike action after managers across ScotRail voted in favour of industrial action in a long-running dispute over on-call working. Managers working in Operations Team Manager and ScotRail Operations Manager grades have voted by 70% in favour of taking strike action, in a dispute on on-call working which dates back to 2021 read more
Unite
Construction workers vote for strike action after rejecting national pay deal (18 Dec) – Engineering construction workers based at Exxon Mobil’s Mossmorran plant, Altrad engineering’s Torness power plant, GSK’s Montrose site and Wilton International’s Redcar plant have voted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers, who operate under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI), have rejected a two year pay offer of 10 per cent for 2024 and five per cent for 2025. The offer, from the employers who negotiate the NAECI agreement with unions, does not go far enough to restore years of falling wages for engineering construction workers. Since the pandemic, pay for engineering construction workers has fallen in real terms. During Covid, a pay freeze was imposed on the workers even though they provided essential services throughout the crisis. In January 2022, they received a two year pay deal of 2.5 per cent for 2022 and the same percentage increase for 2023 – even though inflation was soaring into double digits…Strike action will be conducted in conjunction with other NAECI workers operating at oil refineries, power stations and pharmaceutical and petro-chemical plants across the nation. Workers at Drax, Sellafield, Stanlow, Pembroke, Grangemouth, Teesside Sabic TIP and Runcorn Project Summer Vynova have also voted for strike action. Due to the strength of feeling amongst NAECI members, Unite is balloting even more workers at other sites across the country to join any industrial action read more
Health workers from across England rally at Department of Health in protest of pay and staffing (18 Dec) – A Grinch delivered a signed Christmas card to Victoria Atkins MP, Secretary of State for Health, today (Monday 18 December) to highlight the issues NHS staff are facing. Unite members from the Barts Health NHS Trust in East London, members working for Together Support Solutions (2SS) a wholly owned subsidiary of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and members employed by contractor Mitie based at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust in the West Midlands protested outside the Department of Health. Unite members at all three trusts are currently taking industrial action in frustration, concern and anger over pay and safe staffing levels. The workers principal dispute and the reason for their strike action is due to the failure of their employers to pay them the lump sum payment of £1,650 that their colleagues working alongside them on NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions received in June read more
Unite announces Christmas strike dates in dispute with London NHS trust (7 Dec) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is ramping up its dispute with Barts NHS Trust as its members undertake a wave of fresh strikes in London this month. The strikes are part of Unite’s 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. The latest strikes include Christmas Day and Boxing Day and will cause significant disruption to catering, portering, cleaning and facilities maintenance over the festive period… Additional staff from the East and South East London pathology partnership employed by Barts are also joining the dispute due to anger over an imposed restructure that they believe will put patient safety at risk. Having achieved victory in a dispute with Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust over the lump sum payment, Unite is also in dispute with a number of other trusts and contractors who are refusing to pay the owed money, despite members working during the pandemic. Workers have been taking part in strike action this week and have been on picket lines earlier in the autumn, yet the trust and at Synergy are refusing to acknowledge the reasonable demands of their workers read more
Cardiff bin strikes to go ahead to stop bullying culture within council (15 Dec) – Unite members working for Cardiff council’s refuse and recycling department have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action for four weeks from Thursday 28 December 2023 – until Thursday 25 January 2024. The fresh strike action relates to a number of local issues which the council has failed to address, the most prominent being a widespread bullying culture within the department. Unite members have previously taken 12 weeks of strike action over poverty pay rates this autumn. The new strike action will come at the busiest period of the year for refuse collections and will cause huge disruption to post-Christmas collections across the city. Unite is calling for the leadership of Cardiff council to urgently enter discussions with the union to seek a resolution to the issues raised by workers. Throughout the current dispute the council’s leadership has abjectly failed to acknowledge Unite’s concerns and secure a resolution read more
300 craft workers resume strike action in dispute with ‘Scrooge’ West Lothian Council (15 Dec) – Unite demands overdue payments and COSLA pay rise. Unite the union confirmed today (Friday 15 December) around 300 craft members employed by West Lothian Council will take several rounds of strike action in an increasingly bitter dispute over money owed to the workforce. Strike action will take place on 19, 20 and 21 December followed by a further two days of action on 3 and 4 January 2024. The membership supported strike action by 96.3 per cent, and previously took strike action from 17 until 19 October. The dispute centres on the 2007 agreement covering craft workers employed by local authorities and outsourced workplaces who maintain council buildings and housing. The agreement covers a range of trades including joiners, plasterers, bricklayers, labourers, painters, and electricians. West Lothian Council, to date, has refused to apply arrangements that ensure pay progression for craft workers who have undertaken, and continue to undertake, additional tasks which they entitled to under the terms of the agreement. Industrial action will directly impact housing services and council buildings. Council house repairs will be significantly delayed, and empty houses will remain unfit to be let out read more
Poor pay offer to send GWR and LNER trains off the rails (14 Dec) – Trains across England and Wales could be forced to remain in the sidings as Unite members employed by Hitachi Rail are balloted over industrial action. Over 300 members who work as technicians, maintenance crews and engineers at Hitachi Rail Ltd are being balloted after they were offered just a 5.5 per cent pay increase – a real term pay cut when inflation is taken into account. Workers are unhappy at such a low pay offer in the middle of a cost of living crisis when they perform highly skilled roles that are safety critical for the railway industry. Unite’s members ensure that the trains are fit for service and without their work, trains cannot run safely. The ballot will close on 4 January 2024. Should the ballot be successful, strike action across a number of dates would follow in the new year read more
Unite secures offshore recognition agreement with Repsol Resources (14 Dec) – 350 workers jobs, pay and conditions enhanced by trade union. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union for the oil and gas industry, has signed a major new recognition deal with the offshore operator Repsol Resources UK Ltd. The voluntary agreement negotiated with Repsol Resources covers around 350 workers on the Arbroath, Auk, Bleo Holm, Claymore, Clyde, Fulmar, Montrose, Piper, and Tartan offshore platforms. The recognition agreement covers various jobs roles on the platforms including supervisors, control room operators, electrical and production technicians, process control specialists, and fire and gas technicians read more
Public transport workers at Translink to commence 48-hour strike action in absence of pay offer (14 Dec) – Joint trade union press release: Strike action by members of UNITE, GMB and SIPTU will mean no bus or rail services on Friday or Saturday. Blame for disruption rests wholly with secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris who is punishing workers in political stalemate. Public transport workers employed by Translink will commence fresh strike action in pursuit of a pay increase tomorrow. The strike will commence at staggered times in the morning of Friday 15 December and last for 48 hours ending on Sunday 17 December. The industrial action follows a previous one-day strike by bus and rail workers held on Friday 1 December. Members of all three trade unions on Ulsterbus, Metro bus and Glider will strike and those of GMB and SIPTU on Northern Ireland Rail. The industrial action follows ballots across all three unions with yes votes in the high 90s for strike action in the face of a pay freeze instigated by the secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris, which amounts to a real-terms pay cut of 11.4 per cent when RPI inflation is factored in. Due to the involvement of all three frontline unions, all bus and rail services across Northern Ireland will be halted read more
Merseyside shipbuilders at Cammell Laird secure improved pay and conditions deal (14 Dec) – Workers at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside are celebrating a deal which will see them receive improved pay and conditions after a campaign by the Unite and GMB trade unions. More than 400 members had been preparing to take industrial action following a 5.5 per cent pay offer from their employer, deemed unacceptable during a cost of living crisis. After hard fought negotiations, an improved offer of eight per cent on all rates of pay backdated to July 2023, a two per cent increase in employer pension contributions and a new 100 per cent sick pay policy has been overwhelmingly accepted by workers. Cammell Laird is contracted to build Royal Navy Dreadnought submarines and Type 26 frigates which could have experienced significant delays had the industrial action gone ahead read more
Greenwich Library workers to throw the book at employer over pay (14 Dec) – Library workers in South East London have reacted with anger over the low pay offer from their employer and are to strike in the new year. Around 70 Unite members are to head to the picket line after their employer, Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), failed to offer a 2023 pay increase that is acceptable and which addresses the cost-of-living crisis for members living in one of the most expensive parts of the country. GLL has completely refused to negotiate with Unite. The workers have had a five per cent pay increase imposed on them which is a significant real terms pay cut as at the time the pay increase was due the real rate of inflation (RPI) stood at over 11 per cent. The workers are experiencing very low rates of pay with staff on as little as £12.10 an hour which is substantially below the real London living wage rate of £13.15 an hour. GLL has also refused to implement an occupational sick pay scheme that is acceptable to Unite members, failed to offer parity with other local government terms and conditions and refused to offer permanent contracts to temporary staff who want them. GLL, a “social enterprise” claims to be worker-owned and worker-led, but has refused point blank to negotiate on pay. This has left Unite members little choice but to head to the picket line. Unite is in a similar dispute with GLL library workers in the London Borough of Bromley. Strikes will lead to widespread closures of libraries across the borough and prevent their use by students, pensioners, children and groups that use their facilities for meetings…Dates for industrial action will be announced in due course read more
Unite the union piles on the pressure against Vodafone-Three merger as Parliamentary debate over blighted deal takes centre stage (14 Dec) – The controversial plan to merge mobile giants Vodafone and Three hits another snag today as Parliament stages a key debate over the proposal. Unite the Union has been actively leading the campaign against the blighted deal, warning of £300 a year on consumers’ bills, the risk of thousands of jobs cuts and a serious threat to national security read more
Chivas Brothers dispute over as workers agree new offer (14 Dec) – Unite confirms 500 members secure two year wage deal. Unite the union can confirm today (Thursday 14 December) that its 500-strong Chivas Brothers membership have overwhelmingly accepted an improved pay offer over two years. The deal consists of a 6.4 per cent pay increase effective from 1 July 2023 along with a one-off £500 payment. In year two, the pay increase will consist of the average inflation figure over the course of the year running until July 2024. A rolling programme of 24 hour stoppages across various Chivas Brothers facilities between Monday 11 to Thursday 14 December was suspended following the new pay offer. The dispute is now over read more
Workers at Synthite secure big win at employment tribunal (14 Dec) – Unite members working for Synthite in Mold have secured compensation totalling over £223,000. This follows an employment tribunal deciding their employer had unlawfully imposed a pay award, ignoring existing collective bargaining arrangements. The win benefits 49 Unite members who work for the chemicals manufacturer in North Wales…The employment tribunal heard how Synthite tried to implement a pay award despite it being rejected by the workforce. The company unsuccessfully argued that there was no trade union recognition at the site. The employment tribunal rejected these arguments and found in favour of the Unite and the workers read more
Workers raise a glass to new Greene King pay deal (13 Dec) – Unite members who deliver beer for the Greene King brewery have secured a significantly improved pay deal following their industrial action, it was announced today (13 December 2023). Around 30 Unite members, who are employed by logistics giant GXO on an outsourced contract, took part in industrial action over six days at the Runcorn factory where they are based. The workers involved in the dispute were HGV drivers, drivers’ mates and warehouse staff. Following the strikes, GXO agreed to increase pay by between 8-9.4 per cent backdated to July 2023 and a further increase of six per cent in April 2024. Unite members voted unanimously to accept the pay offer. They had previously been offered just four per cent prior to taking strike action read more
GDP figures highlight “lost decade” of stagnation says trade union leader (13 Dec) – Responding to today’s monthly GDP figures for the three months to October 2023, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It’s no surprise that growth continues to stagnate after two years of interest rate hikes and an autumn statement promising more spending cuts. When politicians tell workers that they have to wait for growth before they can have a pay rise, we know that’s just an excuse for another lost decade of falling living standards…” read more
Unite members in Haleon secure 9.5% pay uplift over two years (13 Dec) – Dungarvan workers to also benefit from €2,000 in tax-free vouchers. Deal follows vote to reject Labour Court recommendation. Trade union Unite, which represents around 800 members in Haleon’s Dungarvan facility, said today (Wednesday) that members have voted overwhelmingly to accept a deal which will see pay increase by 5.5 per cent on 1 January 2024 and by 4 per cent on 1 January 2025. The deal negotiated by Unite will also see members receive a €1000 tax free voucher before Christmas this year, followed by two €500 vouchers at Christmas 2024 and 2025 read more
ASDA HGV drivers in Rochdale put brakes on strike action after securing pay deal (12 Dec) – Unite today announced that HGV drivers based at ASDA’s Rochdale distribution centre, working on the outsourced Wincanton contract have called off strikes following an improved pay offer of 8.25 per cent, plus premium overtime rates. The UK’s leading union had warned that ASDA and its customers were facing nationwide shortages of chilled goods due to the proposed walkout from workers. As a result, the planned strikes due to take place on the following dates: 13, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28 and 30 December and 2 January have been called off and the dispute is at an end read more
Bedford warehouse workers at Movianto to strike over union recognition (12 Dec) – Workers dealing with specialised medical devices and medication want Unite representation. Workers at Movianto, a specialised medical warehousing company, are to take strike action after their employer refused to recognise Unite for collective bargaining purposes. Over 50 workers, who are Unite members, have been campaigning for their union to be officially recognised but Movianto have strongly resisted such moves. Workers voted in favour of industrial action by nearly 80 per cent. Movianto, based in Bedford, is a storage warehouse and distribution centre for medical equipment and medication. Unite’s members carry out warehouse functions such as pickers and fork-lift truck drivers. Strike action is likely to cause significant disruption to the medical centres Movianto supply…Dates for strike action are to be announced in due course and will take place in the new year read more
ONS Wages: No festive cheer in latest earnings data, warns Unite (12 Dec) – Responding to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data on pay and earnings Unite the union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Although collective bargaining is delivering higher wagers for our workers – with Unite securing hundreds of millions through negotiations – these improvements are being undermined by high inflation rates. Moreover, it’s abhorrent that millions of workers are forced to stretch their payslips to simply live, while big corporations continue to fill their coffers…” read more
West London Christmas bus misery as strikes intensify (11 Dec) – RATP-owned London Transit workers anger worsened by ‘insulting’ new offer. Christmas bus strikes in West London will now begin a day earlier following an insulting new offer from RATP-owned London Transit, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). Strikes by the 350 drivers and engineers will now begin on 21 December, as well as on 22 and 23 December, as previously scheduled. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved. The workers are striking after they rejected a 6.8 per cent pay offer. This is a significant real terms pay cut as the real rate of inflation, (RPI), stood at 11.4 per cent when the pay increase was supposed to be applied in April. The dispute is also over the company’s attempt to reduce terms and conditions, including removing a longstanding £500 meal relief payment and attacking arrangements for how workers take days off in lieu. The company’s latest offer only included extremely minor changes that did not include an increase in hourly pay. Furthering bad feeling at the company is the fact that it takes workers seven years to reach the full rate of pay, even though at most other bus companies it only takes three years of service read more
Drax canteen workers threatened as strike hits food services (11 Dec) – Baxter Storey sends intimidating messages after power station’s Christmas dinner cancelled. Striking Drax canteen workers have been sent threatening messages from their employer Baxter Storey, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). The company sent the predominantly female workforce threatening messages saying they had to fill in a form to say they were on strike or they would lose the legal protections afforded to staff taking industrial action. The workers, who are the lowest paid at Drax, are under no obligation to carry out Baxter Storey’s demands and will not lose any legal protection by failing to comply. The strikers and Unite view the messages as an intimidation tactic. The strikes, which are taking place throughout December, led to the cancelation of Christmas dinner at the power station on Tuesday 5 December. Out-of-date sandwiches have also been left in vending machines as stock has not been replenished or changed over. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Baxter Storey’s intimidation tactics won’t work. Our members are rock solid – they know Baxter Storey can more than afford to table a reasonable offer. They have Unite’s total backing as they strike for a fair pay rise.” The strike action, which will last until 18 December, is over poverty pay and a lack of union recognition read more
Oxfam strike suspended following improved offer (10 Dec) – Strike action being taken by members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by the charity Oxfam has been suspended after talks resulted in an improved pay offer being made. More than 500 workers began strike action on Friday (8 December). Strikes scheduled for 14, 15, 16 and 17 December have been postponed as an act of good faith while Unite ballots its members on the revised offer. If the pay offer is rejected, strike action will begin again on 20 December read more
Unite claims Alexander Dennis “fuelled the flames” in pay dispute (8 Dec) – Around 400 Unite members on strike action after rejecting latest ‘tokenistic’ wage offer. Unite the union claimed today (Friday 8 December) that Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has “fuelled the flames” in the escalating pay dispute after making a ‘tokenistic’ pay offer. Around 400 Unite members based in Camelon, Falkirk, are in the midst of a fortnight-long strike which started on (Monday 4 December) and ends on 17 December. Unite represents coach builders and spray painters at the Camelon factory. Unite can confirm that ADL offered a further 0.5 per cent on the 2023 wage offer to increase it to 4.5 per cent, and four per cent in total for 2024. This offer was emphatically rejected by the workforce by 81.4 per cent. The ongoing strike action is a result of workers at ADL rejecting previous pay offers that amounted to a real terms pay cut read more
Maintenance workers at Crawley Borough Council to strike over pay (7 Dec) – Unite members who maintain and repair social housing for Crawley borough council will begin strike action this month as they step up their battle for better pay and conditions, it was announced today (Thursday 8 December). Twenty plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, painters and other craftworkers who are employed by two subcontractors – Mears and Liberty Gas – are requesting a 10 per cent pay increase on their hourly rates to reflect the rate of inflation over the last year and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Instead Mears has merely offered a lump sum payment that equates to just a five per cent, one-off increase, which is even below the seven per cent National Joint Council (NJC) local council workers offer. Liberty Gas have made no pay offer at all. Liberty Gas also gives fewer holidays to its employees than the other contractors and Unite is calling for harmonisation for all contracted workers. Given the reluctance of the contractors or Crawley Borough Council to improve the offer, workers will head to the picket line on Wednesday 11 December 2023 and 8 January 2024 read more
Iceland warehouse workers to walk out as South West face store shortages (4 Dec) – Warehouse workers in Swindon announce strike dates – threat of empty shelves at supermarket. Warehouse staff in Wiltshire working on behalf of the Iceland supermarket chain have announced dates for strike action, it was revealed today. Unite members employed by the logistics contractor, GXO, work in the cold storage warehouses that supply Iceland supermarkets across the South West of England. The majority earn the minimum wage and have rejected a below-inflation two-year pay deal offered by GXO. Despite further negotiations by Unite, GXO has refused to offer a fair pay rise to workers who endure sub-zero temperatures throughout their shifts. Close to 150 Unite members across two sites in Swindon will now walk out on the following dates: 14 December – 18 December and then 27 December – 30 December. The industrial action will cripple GXO’s ability to transport stock to Iceland supermarkets and could see a shortage on shelves and freezers in the run-up to Christmas read more
Striking Haringey council workers protest at cabinet meeting (4 Dec) – Striking housing repair workers will stage a protest on 5 December during the Haringey council cabinet meeting tomorrow, ahead of renewed industrial action over pay later this month. Haringey council’s leadership is falsely claiming it is not possible to open pay talks as rates are agreed nationally. While the national bargaining agreement for local government sets out minimum standards, local authorities can agree better terms and conditions for workers if they wish. Unite has already agreed deals with a number of local authorities including three other London councils (Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets) this year…The workers began striking in November, with the next phase of industrial action beginning on 18 December and ending on 24 December. More strike action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
Strikes impacting Christmas Amazon, Cadbury and Direct Wines deliveries to intensify (4 Dec) – DS Smith drivers delivering cardboard packaging striking over pay. Strikes by a fleet of DS Smith LGV drivers delivering packaging cardboard and paper to major retailers, including Amazon, have escalated to cover the entire Christmas period, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The strikes will compromise the ability of DS Smith clients, which also include Direct Wines, Cadbury and Haribo, to package items for mail order delivery to customers during the festive season. The drivers, based in Launceston in Cornwall, Sittingbourne in Kent, Avonmouth in Bristol and Tuxford in Nottinghamshire, have rejected a five per cent pay offer. This is a significant real terms pay cut when the real rate of inflation, RPI, stood at 11.3 per cent when the pay rise should have been implemented in May. An initial seven days of strikes took place between 20 and 27 November. The next round of strike action begins on 11 December and lasts until 23 December read more
Warrington council loses High Court case against bin worker strikes (1 Dec) – Unite blasts Labour council for wasting taxpayers’ money as new strike dates confirmed. Warrington council has lost its High Court attempt to block industrial action by its refuse drivers. The council’s case was that the workers’ strike action was unlawful as the dispute was no longer about pay. The council tried to use the extra hurdles placed in the way of legitimate strike action by the Conservative’s Trade Union Act of 2016. The High Court ruling however confirmed that there was an “industrial reality” and the union had not, in seeking to find alternative and innovative ways to settle the dispute, breached the law. This means that the council workers who have been in dispute for many months have the right to continue their struggle to secure a fair pay settlement from their employer read more
Unite members at Glasgow East Women’s Aid start strike action after major legal victory (30 Nov) – Five members dismissed awarded interim relief by employment tribunal. Unite can confirm that its Glasgow East Women’s Aid members will start strike action tomorrow (Friday 1 December) following a major legal victory secured on behalf of five dismissed workers. Unite members will begin the first stoppage tomorrow – the first of twenty one days in total – which will continue until 16 February 2024 (see notes to editor). Unite’s members at Glasgow East Women’s Aid emphatically supported strike action with a 100 per cent yes vote. In a major new development in the dispute, the union can further reveal that in partnership with Allan McDougall’s Solicitors, it has successfully secured ‘interim relief’ on behalf of five workers dismissed on 28 November read more
Healthcare workers at NHS Trust to take strike action over “moneybags Mitie’s” failure to pay lump sum owed to them (28 Nov) – Mitie workers in three Dudley hospitals head to the picket line while the firm announces huge profits. Healthcare workers in the West Midlands are taking strike action over the failure of their employer to pay them the lump-sum payment they are owed, Unite announced today (27 November 2023). Around 60 members of the Unite trade union who are contracted to work for Mitie at three NHS hospitals in Dudley are to head to the picket line after Mitie failed to honour the government’s commitment to pay a lump sum (Covid) payment worth between £1,655 and £3,789. Meanwhile, in today’s half-year financial statement, Mitie have announced they are on track for profits of £190 million this financial year, with its chief executive Phil Bentley receiving a salary of £900,000. Yet the workers taking strike action earn as little as £11.45 per hour…Staff will now begin 17 days of strike action during December, January and February to bring pressure on Mitie and the Dudley NHS Trust to make the payment they are owed. Unite has a campaign for all workers across the NHS, regardless of contractual arrangements to be paid the lump sum payment. It was initially successful at the Yorkshire Ambulance trust in ensuring the payment was made, has secured the payment for workers other trusts and is pursuing other cases read more
Glasgow based Waukesha Bearings workforce set for strike action (27 Nov) – Unite members rejected pay offer linked to removing workplace benefits. Unite the union can confirm that over 80 manufacturing workers employed by Waukesha Bearings based in Polmadie, Glasgow, are set for strike action tomorrow (28 November) following the rejection of a pay offer. Unite’s members overwhelmingly rejected a 6.25 per cent increase that was conditional on the removal of the employer income protection sick scheme. Without the removal of the scheme, a 4.75 per cent offer tabled by the employer was also rejected on the basis it represented a real terms wage cut. The workforce are involved in the development and manufacturing of thrust and journal bearings and pads. The components are made mainly for the oil and gas, and defence sectors. The strike action at Waukesha Bearings will begin tomorrow at 00.01am and end at 23.59 pm on 30 November 2023 when the action concludes at 23.59 hours. A continuous overtime ban has been in place since 10 November. Unite members previously voted in favour of industrial action by 89 per cent on a 77 per cent turnout read more
Kaefer contractors at Mossmorran and St Fergus energy plants start week-long strike action (26 Nov) – Unite hits out at operator Shell amid multi-billion pound profit bonanza. Around 150 Kaefer maintenance and repair contractors based at the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) and St Fergus energy plants started strike action today (Monday 27 November). The industrial action which ends on Monday 4 December also involves a continuous overtime ban for 12 weeks. Unite’s members returned a 75 per cent yes vote for strike action. Picket lines will be held outside both plants on the days of action – see notes to editor for further information. The dispute centres on the contractor Kaefer not making a cost of living payment for 2023. Unite says its membership has been left with ‘no option’ but to take strike action in response to Kaefer’s failure to make such a payment, and it is blaming the operator Shell for the stand-off. Shell PLC reported profits of £7.6bn for the first three months of the year, £3.9bn for the three months to the end of June, and profits of £5.1 billion for the third quarter of 2023. Profits at Shell rocketed to £32.2bn in 2022, double the previous year’s total read more
Unite announces strikes by Education Authority workers on Friday 1 December (23 Nov) – Industrial action by school support workers, including bus drivers, set to coincide with wider public transport strike. Unite the union has today notified the Education Authority of a further 24-hour strike by school support staff commencing at 00.01am on Friday 1 December. The strike action follows two days of industrial action last week and is timed to coincide with a strike by public transport workers on bus and rail services. The industrial action follows a ballot of Unite members which returned a 94 per cent majority for strikes in pursuit of a pay and grading review to help address the chronic issue of low pay among education support staff. The strike is likely to cause significant disruption to many schools given the concentration of Unite membership in school bus transport, catering, admin, cleaning, classroom assistants and other roles. The timing of the strike will mean that Unite members working as school bus drivers are taking strike action alongside Unite members in Ulsterbus, Citybus and the Glider who also provide school transport services. The strike is the latest development in Unite’s ongoing industrial dispute over the failure to deliver a 2018pay and grading review for education workers which was subsequently negotiated on the back of industrial action by Unite in 2022 read more
New pay offer for 1,200 First Glasgow drivers on table (22 Nov) – Unite confirms industrial action suspended. Unite the union, today (Wednesday 22 November) confirmed that over 1,200 First Glasgow drivers have received an improved pay offer leading to the suspension of scheduled industrial action. The new pay offer was formally put to Unite this morning following a further round of talks held at the conciliation service Acas. Unite said that that the strike action scheduled to start on Friday 24 November continuing until Friday 1 December is now suspended to allow the membership to be balloted on the new offer. The bus drivers previously voted by 99 per cent in support of strike action on a turnout of 77 per cent read more
Biomedical scientists in East Lancashire to walk out over patient safety (22 Nov) – Staffing levels dangerously low in Blood Sciences Department putting patients at risk. Members of the Unite trade union working in the Blood Sciences Department at the East Lancashire Hospital Trust (ELHT) will take industrial action as a result of dangerously low staffing levels. Biomedical scientists at two hospitals (in Blackburn and Burnley) have been escalating their dispute with the ELHT since February this year. Having been promised an increase in staffing which has failed to materialise they will now take part in strike action on 12 separate occasions in November through to February 2024 read more
CHC Scotia workers across UK set for strike action in pay dispute (22 Nov) – Major offshore operators impacted by helicopter services company standstill. Unite the union can confirm that workers employed by helicopter services firm CHC Scotia are taking part in strike action today (Wednesday 22 November) as part of an escalating pay dispute. Unite represents over 60 workers at the Aberdeen airport based company which also has operations at Humberside and Norwich airports. Unite members across the three airports voted in favour of industrial action by 80.4 per cent on a 95 per cent turnout. The strike action at all three airports starts today with the rolling programme ending on 17 December at Aberdeen airport (see notes to editor). There is also a continuous overtime ban in effect from 00.01am on 29 November read more
Luton braced for bus disruption as Centrebus drivers’ strike (17 Nov) – Drivers striking for pay parity as Luton Arriva pays £1.91 an hour more. Centrebus drivers in Luton are to take strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The drivers are angry that they are paid £1.91 less an hour than their counterparts working for Arriva in Luton…The drivers, who are based at the Bilton Way Centrebus garage, will strike on 28 and 29 November. The industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved read more
NHS Tayside estates workers escalate industrial action over ‘second class’ pay and conditions (15 Nov) – Workers to down tools for five days a week at major hospitals across Tayside as health board refuses independent review. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, can confirm that strike action by NHS Tayside estates workers will now escalate this week as part of a protracted dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Strike action will begin today (Wednesday 15 November), and is in addition to the current two days scheduled on Thursday and Friday each week. The latest development increases the number of strike days to three per week – every week. Unite members are also withdrawing weekend cover. This means that the workers will not return to work until Monday 20 November at 08:00. The dispute centres on the failure of NHS Tayside to locally implement recognised national conditions for craft workers. Unite claims this is contributing to an ongoing underpayment of wages. The action involves around 60 estates workers including electricians, joiners, and plumbers read more
Warrington’s Own Buses on verge of strikes after worker dismissed for ‘union activities’ (14 Nov) – 83% of workers in favour of striking due to ‘bullying culture’ and ‘unjustified’ sacking. Warrington’s Own Buses are at risk of serious strike disruption due to the sacking of a union rep on ‘trumped up charges’ and the company’s ‘bullying culture’, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). Unite believes the sacking was a targeted attack related to the worker’s legitimate trade union activities. In response, a consultative ballot was carried out that resulted in an 83 per cent vote in favour of strike action at the council owned company. The worker was sacked after his bus broke down because he took a picture of the vehicle’s undercarriage to show the fault more clearly to the engineer who had been called out. The company dismissed the worker for breaching health and safety rules as the engine was still running when he bent down to take the picture. This is despite the company admitting other workers had done similar things and not been sacked for them. During the worker’s appeal, the company then changed its reason for dismissing him. This time, the company claimed it was because it was believed that the worker, who had previously worked as a mechanic, would have tried to fix the fault himself if given the opportunity, although the worker did no such thing. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Warrington’s Own Buses’ trumped up charges are nonsensical and spurious. This is a barely disguised attempt to get rid of this worker for carrying out his legitimate trade union duties. Warrington’s Own Buses need to reinstate this worker immediately, otherwise this issue will be resolved through industrial and legal action. Unite never tolerates attacks on our workplace representatives and this worker has the full force of the union behind him.” Warrington’s Own Buses is wholly owned by Labour controlled Warrington borough council, which is already embroiled in a pay dispute with its refuse workers, who are currently on strike read more
SQA workers back strike action over pay (14 Nov) – Dispute at nation’s education qualifications body centres on ‘unacceptable’ pay offer. Unite the union can confirm today (14 November) that its members at the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) have overwhelmingly voted to support strike action. Hundreds of members backed strike action by 72 per cent on an 80 per cent turnout. The union’s members work in all grades and job roles at the nation’s education qualifications body including administrators, managers, processors and researchers. The pay dispute centres on the SQA’s two-year pay offer for 2023 and 2024. For the majority of Unite’s members, the current SQA offer equates to no more than 5.75 per cent in 2023, and 3.15 per cent in 2024. Broader inflation (RPI) in contrast has varied between 8.9 and 13.8 per cent throughout 2023 read more
Imperial Logistics lorry strikes threaten Mini car production (9 Nov) – Imperial Logistics lorry strikes threaten Mini car production. Lorry drivers working at the Mini car plant in Oxford are to walk out over proposed changes to their pay and conditions. Members of the Unite union will begin a ban on all overtime beginning on 14 November and then take part in 14 days of strike action in November and December at the BMW Mini car plant in Oxfordshire, it was announced today (9 November). Strikes could be a threat to plant production at the famous Mini factory as LGV drivers are angry at the proposals to potentially cut pay by 20 per cent due to a reduction in working hours being introduced with new shift patterns or job cuts as an alternative. Imperial Logistics which runs the LGV operation at the plant, owned by BMW, has recently been taken over by DP World – the company responsible for sacking 800 P&O Ferry workers in 2022. They are seeking to change the shift patterns for LGV drivers and impose a 20 per cent cut in pay or cut jobs. Forty one drivers will now be heading to the picket line later this month unless Imperial, and their parent company, come back to the table and ensure no reduction in pay, no job losses, and no abuse of the banked hours scheme read more
Striking Cornwall GRS concrete mixer drivers protest at Nuneaton HQ (8 Nov) – Workers striking over low pay, union-busting and intimidation. Striking ready-mix concrete HGV drivers from Cornwall will hold a protest outside their employer GRS’ Nuneaton headquarters on Friday read more
West Midlands steel coil workers poverty pay strikes intensify (7 Nov) – ArcelorMittal workers angry at real terms pay cut while firm rakes in millions. Poverty pay strikes by West Midlands workers making steel products for the automotive and construction industries at the ArcelorMittal factory in Willenhall have intensified. The workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, 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. The workers have already taken 17 days of strike action since strikes began in September. Beginning today, they will strike for a further 11 days during November and a further four days in December. The current round of strike action will end on 8 December, however further strike action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved by then. ArcelorMittal is sending work to sister plants and competitor companies as a result of the strikes, with the large costs of diverting the work about to significantly increase as the dispute escalates…Strikes will take place on 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, 24, 28 and 29 November and 1, 4, 5 and 8 December read more
Strathclyde university workers strike in pay dispute (6 Nov) – 400 Unite members walk out for five days. Unite the union has today (Monday 6 November) confirmed that around 400 members employed at the University of Strathclyde will take strike action over five days this week. The Strathclyde workers will strike from Monday 6 November until close of the working day on Friday 10 November as part of a UK wide pay dispute. Unite’s members involved in the pay dispute includes technicians, cleaners, security officers, and janitors. The vast majority of Unite’s members in higher education across Scotland have had a five-six per cent pay offer imposed on them by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) pay body. The pay imposition follows a derisory uplift of three per cent for the majority of members in 2022. Despite local negotiations with the University of Strathclyde to secure an improved pay deal, Unite confirmed that ‘insufficient progress’ has been made to avert the latest round of strike action. This follows previous rounds of strike action at the university on 13, 14, 15, 18 and 19 September, and 5 and 6 October read more
Vista Therm workers to commence new wave of industrial action tomorrow (5 Nov) – Strike action to recommence by the workforce at Vista Therm after Unite reballoted over management union-busting. Industrial action follows previous twelve-week strike for cost of living pay increase and union recognition. Unite the union has served notice on Vista Therm, a specialist glass manufacturer based at Silverwood Business Park, Craigavon that a new wave of industrial action by its members will commence with a 24-hour strike from 00.01am tomorrow, Monday [November 6th]. Workers will be establishing pickets outside the workplace from 7am to 8.30am in the morning and between 3pm and 4.30pm in the afternoon. The latest action occurs after the union’s membership voted with a 97 per cent majority for strike action over management union-busting activities. During the previous period of strike action, management dismissed two young workers and suspended another two, including a Unite shop steward. The Vista Therm workforce overwhelmingly comprises foreign nationals including a large majority of workers whose first language is Polish or Ukrainian. The industrial dispute represents a touchstone case for the wider exploitation of foreign national workers read more
Clyde shipyard type 26 Frigate contractors balloted over strike action (3 Nov) – CBL Cable Contractors in pay and conditions dispute. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, confirmed today (Friday 3 November) that over 30 members contracted to work on the new type 26 Frigate on the Clyde are being balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions. The Unite members including electricians, labourers and cable hands are employed by CBL Cable Contractors Limited based at BAE Systems on the Clyde. The contractors are demanding to be paid the BAE Systems yard rate, or an additional £1 per hour on top of the current rates of pay. The dispute also relates to travel related payments which Unite’s members are due as the BAE workplace falls under the scope of the Joint Industry Board Agreement. The agreement sets the standards for employment, grading and apprentice training in the electrical contracting industry. This includes travel time and the use of a personal vehicle to travel to work which entitles workers to a mileage allowance. The industrial action ballot opens on 7 November and closes on 20 November. If the ballot is successful then strike action could take place from early December read more
DuPont Teijin Films workers to resume strike action as Unite warns to disruption ‘last months’ (26 Oct) – Dumfries based plant to be hit by further stoppages in escalating pay dispute. Unite the union can confirm today (Thursday 26 October) that it has served notice on a further round of stoppages to hit the Dumfries based DuPont Teijin Films (DTF) plant. A new round of strike action involving around 100 members of Unite covering all shifts at the plant will start tomorrow on 27 October and conclude on 5 November (see notes to editor). The trade union has warned that unless DTF get back round the negotiating table with a ‘serious offer’ then disruption at the plant could last for months. 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) hit 11.4 per cent at the time of the pay offer. 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…The new wave of strike action follows the stoppages taking place on 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 September. A continuous overtime ban has also been in place since July 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
CWU
Royal Mail ‘Xmas Truce’ after interim solution reached in talks (15 Dec) – CWU postal executive withdraws planned industrial action by Customer Experience members after joint statement agreed. A dispute over changes to working arrangements may be heading towards a resolution, with sufficient progress being made in negotiations between the union and company to enable a ‘truce’ to be called over the festive period read more
Resounding ‘YES’ to BTPSA pay deal worth an average of 9.4% in 2023 (15 Dec) – BT Pension Scheme Administration Ltd (BTPSA) members have unanimously accepted a CWU-brokered pay deal which will deliver fully consolidated average increases of 9.4% in December pay packets. The settlement – which was ratified by every single member casting their vote in a consultative ballot with a 70% turnout – sees all CWU-represented grades receive a 5.5% fully consolidated pay increase on December 1. Crucially, however, that is on top of the simultaneous consolidation into base pay of an exceptional £1,000 cost of living crisis payment that was made by the company in July. BTPSA’s offer to consolidate that payment into basic wages equates to an average 3.9% increase in itself – meaning that the 5.5% headline increase negotiated in this year’s pay talks provide for cumulative consolidated average base pay increases for the Chesterfield-based team members worth well in excess of 9% read more
Tech workers say: ‘We’ve got to keep an eye on AI’ (14 Dec) – Matt Buckley, from the CWU tech workers branch UTAW, asks why trade unions were not invited to last month’s high-profile international gathering called to discuss the impacts of artificial intelligence 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]
DVSA members vote for strike action (13 Dec) – 90.5% of members who voted said yes to taking action over changes to their terms and conditions. PCS members in DVSA (Driving and Vehicle Services Agency) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action over changes to their terms and conditions. DVSA members have voted for action by 90.5% on a turnout of 59.21%. Strike dates will be announced in due course read more
Join us in Cheltenham for 40th anniversary of GCHQ union ban (11 Dec) – On 27 January, 2024, we are marking the 40th anniversary of the ban on trade unions at GCHQ with a joint PCS/TUC event in Cheltenham. On 25 January 1984, all Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) workers were ordered to leave their trade unions by 1 March or face dismissal. Those who signed away their rights received a payment of £1,000 less tax. Over 100 GCHQ workers refused to sign away their union rights, but it wasn’t until late 1988 that the government sacked the last 14 workers who were still holding out read more
Join us in London on 18 December to call for Safe Passage (8 Dec) – End the year with a celebration of unity over division at a demonstration outside the Home Office in London. Taking place symbolically on the UN’s International Day of Migrants (18 December), PCS is joining a large number of other trade unions, charities and campaign groups at a demonstration against the government’s poisonous anti-refugee agenda. The demonstration will start outside the Home Office in London, at 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF read more
PCS strikers at The Pensions Regulator remain determined (6 Dec) – Entering their thirty-first day of strike action today (6), members at The Pensions Regulator are determined to fight until the employer improves its offer. PCS members working for The Pensions Regulator (TPR) are currently on strike after being offered just a 3% pay rise. Members are also furious as the employer last week imposed an insulting and unagreed pay offer on November’s payday. The more than 300 PCS members working for TPR are on strike again this week and next on 6, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14 December. This comes after 11 days of action in October and 9 days in November, building on the 10 days of strike action taken between 5 and 18 September in pursuit of our national campaign demands. The branch – which has increased PCS membership by 135% since these actions began in September – is determined to keep the pressure up on TPR read more
Replacement ballots available for ballot in Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (24 Nov) – DVSA members, who can request replacement ballots through PCS digital until 8pm on 29 November, tell us why they will be voting yes. More than 1900 members working for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) across England, Wales and Scotland are being balloted from 16 November until noon on 13 December for strike action in a dispute over an attempt by management to erode their terms and conditions. They are being asked if they are willing to take industrial action in response to the driver services recovery programme. This is an attempt by the DVSA, whose staff carry out driving tests and approve people to be driving instructors, to recover backlogs to a national average of 7 weeks by 31 March 2024. As part of this recovery programme, the DVSA has imposed mass changes to members’ terms and conditions read more
OCS security strike leads to pay talks (31 Oct) – PCS members show once again, that building strong workplace union organisation is the best way for workers to improve their pay and conditions. PCS members employed by OCS on the Courts and Tribunal Service contract forced closures and disruptions to courts during a four-day strike over pay. Security officers in 149 courts across England and Wales took strike action on the 22, 25, 27 and 29 September after receiving a below inflation pay offer that would increase their pay by just 38p above the National Living Wage of £10.42. The strike saw hundreds of PCS members form lively picket lines in sixteen locations, including Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Yorkshire, Birmingham and Brighton. The action led to a large number of court cases being cancelled or disrupted and courts were forced to operate with inadequate staffing levels or used contingency labour. The strongly supported collective action taken by PCS members has forced further talks with OCS to attempt to settle the dispute 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
Prospect
Prospect announces commencement of industrial action at AWE (30 Nov) – Prospect members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay, having voted strongly in favour of the measure. Action short of a strike commenced on 13 November and includes members working to rule, working to contract, and withdrawing from voluntary roles. The timing of any possible strike action will be decided in due course read more
Prospect ballots Pilots at NHV Helicopters UK on industrial action over pay (10 Nov) – Prospect is currently balloting its pilot members on industrial action over pay at NHV Helicopters UK Ltd. Operating out of bases in Aberdeen, Blackpool, and Norwich, NHV UK supports the transport of crews and loads to and from Oil and Gas platforms across the North and Irish Sea. The ballot opened for Pilots at all bases last week and comes after NHV failed to make an acceptable pay offer despite months of negotiations and attempts at resolution through the ACAS conciliation service read more
FDA
Announcement on risk-based exclusion in Parliament a “significant victory”, says FDA (14 Dec) – The House of Commons Commission have released updated proposals on a risk-based exclusion policy.
FDA National Officer for the House of Commons Jawad Raza responded to these updated proposals: “Today’s announcement on risk-based exclusion represents a significant victory for the FDA and our fellow trade unions. We have long campaigned to ensure that Parliament, like any other workplace, is a safe place to work for our members…” read more
GMB
Southampton Christmas chaos avoided as bus drivers cancel strike (18 Dec) – GMB union members vote for a 7 per cent pay rise in time for the most expensive time of year. GMB, the union for Southampton bus drivers, can announce that its members have accepted a pay offer, cancelling any proposed strike action over Christmas. Bus drivers working for Unilink were being balloted for strike action over the festive period, before the company tabled an improved pay deal which the union membership voted to accept. The increased pay deal will see drivers earn £15 per hour normally and £20 per hour for overtime, an increase of 7.2 per cent, and will be backdated to 1 October read more
Asda bosses face second MP grilling (15 Dec) – Questions still to answer about the £2 billion hole in Asda accounts. Asda bosses are set to the be grilled by MPs for the second time, but the ‘shadowy’ co-owners TDR capital have escaped scrutiny again. Representatives from the supermarket giant are being recalled by the Business and Trades Select Committee on Tuesday [19 December 2023] – after the committee chair raised questions over evidence presented during their previous appearance in July. However, TDR Capital the private equity firm which co-own the supermarket, have refused to appear, despite invitations from the committee read more
Third group of Swindon social workers balloted to join strike action (14 Dec) – ‘It’s three strikes and you’re out’, GMB tells Swindon Council bosses. GMB can announce that it has notified Swindon Borough Council of a third separate industrial dispute ballot for a group of social workers. The union is balloting 8 out of 10 of the social worker Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) who work for the borough, again over pay. There are already two other disputes in progress relating to social worker pay, one involving Assistant Team managers, and another involving the out of hours, Emergency Duty Service. GMB members who are social workers in Swindon will be on strike over Christmas read more
Swindon social work managers to strike over Christmas and New Year (5 Dec) – The strike action, beginning on 19 December and continuing into the new year, will cause ‘Christmas chaos’, says GMB. GMB, the union for social workers, is calling a two-week strike of Assistant Team Managers starting on Tuesday 19 December. The strike will remove a critical layer of management through the Christmas and New Year holidays. The dispute relates to a pay and grading review, described as ‘botched’ by the union, which has left these managers earning less than some of the staff they supervise. 11 Assistant Team Managers will be striking, out of the team of 16 read more
London schools must end ‘egregious’ unfair pay (12 Dec) – Cleaners, cooks, teaching assistants and more get £1,000 less. London schools must end the ‘egregious’ unfair pay which sees some staff miss out on more than £1,000, City Hall has said. A motion passed by London’s Assembly calls on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to lobby for greater parity in London weighting rates for school support staff. As things stand London Weighting – a wage supplement designed to help workers cope with the cost of living in the capital – is applied differently for teaching and non-teaching staff. This means in some boroughs school support staff, including cleaners, cooks, teaching assistants, business managers and caretakers, are paid London Weighting of more than £1,000 less than teaching staff in the same school. The London Assembly motion also agreed to push for the introduction of an independent pay board to fairly set London weighting. The motion is the result of a campaign by GMB school staff members and was proposed by Unmesh Desai AM read more
Northampton braced for ‘yuletide bin mayhem’ as strike looms (12 Dec) – Poverty pay is driving Northampton’s refuse workers to the breadline this Christmas, says GMB. GMB Union has today announced strike action by refuse workers in Northampton. Workers employed by Veolia delivering refuse services for West Northamptonshire Council will down tools in the dispute over pay and conditions. The action will impact household, business and hospital waste collections as well as street cleaning services delivered from Veolia’s Westbridge depot in Northampton. Currently the majority of Veolia refuse workers at the depot, including drivers, loads and admin staff, earn just 3p above minimum wage. GMB union is calling for a £15 an hour wage for Northampton’s refuse workers. Workers will down tools on 28 – 30 December and 2 – 5 January with an over time ban throughout the Christmas period. Around 80 workers are expected to join the strike action read more
Nottingham already ‘cut to the bone’, warns GMB (12 Dec) – Services would grind to a halt without the staff who deliver them. GMB union has today warned decision makers in Nottingham against driving through job cuts. The warning comes as Council leaders consider cost cutting measures in the wake of the authority’s Section 114 notice read more
Strike threat hits Birmingham on eve of crunch budget meeting (11 Dec) – Thousands of workers could down tools across the city after council bosses announced further delays to ending the equal pay crisis. GMB Union, Birmingham City Council’s largest staff union, has today announced that thousands of workers across the council will begin a ballot for strike action. The news comes on the eve of crunch budget talks at the authority after council bosses announced a further delay to settling outstanding equal pay claims. GMB has called on council leaders to urgently announce a timetable for settling the authority’s £780 million equal pay liability, only for council representatives to respond that settlement talks would be pushed back. The ballot will begin on Tuesday 12 December and run until mid-January 2024 with more than 3,000 Birmingham City Council workers being asked to have their say on strike action read more
GMB issues Christmas strike dates for Gosport waste workers (6 Dec) – We remain ready to meet at any time to negotiate a deal, we just need Urbaser to call us, says GMB. GMB, the union for refuse and recycling, has issued strike notice to Gosport Borough Council’s waste contractor Urbaser Ltd after union members voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action over pay. The action is due to start on Boxing Day and continue for an initial 12 days through the Christmas and New Year period. The members voted 92 per cent in favour of taking strike action off a turnout of almost 90 per cent, with members willing to strike to secure a pay rise to £15 per hour of HGV drivers and £12 per hour for all other operatives. The union is warning residents that their normal kerbside collections, as well as any additional Christmas and New Year waste collections, will be halted unless the company returns to the negotiating table read more
ASDA faces strike vote at Gosport superstore (5 Dec) – Up to 100 GMB members to take part in industrial action ballot. Asda workers at the Gosport superstore are set to vote on strike action over a litany of grievances. Up to 100 GMB members at the Hampshire store will take part in the vote, which begins on Friday 8 December and closes on Friday 22 December. The dispute centres around the staff’s treatment at the hands of store management including constant wage errors, pressure to work extra shifts and numerous health and safety issues. GMB members report numerous fire safety complaints, including fire exits being constantly blocked and are not satisfied with how the issues and grievances have been resolved. If workers vote to strike, industrial action could take place as early as January read more
Amazon strikes spread as new warehouse joins strike (29 Nov) – Workers at Amazon’s new flagship fulfilment centre have voted to join industrial action just weeks after opening. GMB union has today announced that workers at Amazon’s new flagship Birmingham fulfilment centre have voted to join strike action. In total, 100 per cent of GMB members voted for industrial action at the fulfilment centre in Minworth, which opened its doors in October 2023. More than 1,000 Amazon workers downed tools last week as part of GMB Union’s Black Friday industrial action at the retail giant. Strike dates will be announced in the coming weeks read more
University of the Arts London hit by further cleaner strikes (29 Nov) – Two demonstrations are planned as part of two days of strike action by outsourced cleaners at the university. Cleaners employed by OCS at University of the Arts London (UAL) will be taking two days of strike action this week on Thursday 30 November and Friday 1 December read more
Wiltshire emergency social care to face strike ballot over ‘fire and rehire’ (23 Nov) – Our members are furious not only with the proposed pay cut but that their employer is threatening to actually fire them to force this through, says GMB union
GMB, the trade union for Wiltshire Council, is balloting 21 social workers who work in Adult Social Care and Childrens Services, for strike action. These social workers provide the out of hours service for child protection and to support vulnerable adults, particularly those needing mental health support. Wiltshire Council is proposing to remove a 20 per cent contractual uplift from 25 social workers for evenings, nights, early mornings and weekends. Traffic Wardens in Wiltshire have already conducted 11 days of strike action since March 2022 over the same issue read more
Strikes loom at whisky giant (22 Nov) – GMB Trade Union – Strikes loom at whisky giant. Workers at Chivas Brothers have overwhelmingly backed industrial action. Workers at whisky giant Chivas Brothers have overwhelmingly backed strike action after pay talks collapsed. Around 800 members of GMB Scotland and sister unions will walk out before Christmas after a formal ballot backed industrial action. The strikes in December could disrupt orders to shops, hotels and bars over the festive period with workers preparing to strike in bottling halls in the weeks running up to Christmas. The action comes after the company behind global brands including Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, Ballantine’s and Royal Salute refused to revise a pay offer of 6.4% despite surging sales. GMB Scotland revealed the results of the strike ballot today with 89% support for action after an earlier consultative vote revealed overwhelming levels of support for action as Chivas and French parent company, Pernod Ricard, record unprecedented sales. The Ricard family, owners of the multinational which produces other well-known brands including Absolut vodka, Martell cognac, and Mumm champagne, is worth an estimated £5.8billion read more
Royal Navy subs set for delays after shipyard strike vote (21 Nov) – Type 26 frigates built at Cammell Laird could also be delayed. Royal Navy Dreadnought submarines and Type 26 frigates built at Cammell Laird shipyard are set for delays after workers today [Monday 20 November 2023] voted to strike. More than 400 members of GMB and Unite unions are ready to walk out in a dispute over pay and conditions. Workers include welders, pipefitters, electricians, fitters, labourers and cleaners as well as office staff voted to strike with a majority of 94 per cent [GMB] and 96 per cent [Unite]. They had been offered a pay increase of just 6 per cent – a real terms pay cut when inflation has been over ten per cent earlier this year read more
Fears of brick shortages as workers announce strike action (16 Nov) – Workers at Blockleys bricks have voted for walk outs. GMB Union has today announced that workers at Telford’s Blockleys Bricks will walk out in a dispute over pay. Blockleys, part of the construction giant Michelmerch, is a major provider of construction materials across the Midlands. The announcement comes after workers overwhelmingly backed strike action after two years of consecutive real terms pay cuts for workers. As much as 80 per cent of the company workforce is expected to walk out, with four strike days set for 28 November and 4, 11, 18 December read more
2,500 education workers to strike in Northern Ireland (10 Nov) – Almost 2,500 education workers across Northern Ireland are set to strike this month over pay. Cooks, cleaners, drivers, classroom assistants and other staff across 1,800 schools will walk out on 16 November in anger at the failure to address disparity in pay among grades dating back to 2018. This action will have a huge impact on schools with many, if not all, having to close. GMB members voted to strike by a majority of 92 per cent read more
Festive Ferrero Rocher shortage looms (9 Nov) – Spectre of Christmas without beloved yuletide treat devastating. The UK faces a festive Ferrero Rocher shortage after workers voted to strike. More than a dozen staff at Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate are set to walk out in a dispute over pay. Workers rejected a real terms pay cut at the confectionery giant’s site in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate is one of the UK’s largest supplier of coco products to the confectionary industry, including to the manufacturers of Ferrero Rocher. 100 per cent of workers balloted voted to back strike action, with dates for the walk outs to be announced in the coming days read more
Refuse workers disciplined for helping elderly and disabled people (9 Nov) – South Tyneside refuse workers have voted to walk out for four days after being disciplined for helping elderly and disabled residents. The industrial action takes place during ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ on 14 – 17 November. Refuse workers were given warnings for supporting a lost, elderly, distressed woman living with dementia and for carrying a wheely bin back up steep front steps for a disabled resident. More than 80 per cent of the workforce are, or have just been on, a formal warning. In total, 100 per cent majority of GMB members working at South Tyneside Refuse voted to strike in anger after years of inaction from the council to tackle a well known toxic work atmosphere. Despite every effort being made by the GMB to resolve this issue members now feel that they have no option other than to take strike action read more
1000s of engineering construction workers ready to strike (9 Nov) – More than 3,000 workers have voted for industrial action. Thousands of construction workers at energy sites across the UK have said they are ‘ready to strike’ – but have called on bosses to make a fresh pay offer. More than 3,000 workers at Stanlow, Fawley, Valero, Grangemouth and Mossmorran Oil Refineries, Sellafield Nuclear Facility and nuclear power stations have voted for industrial action. At a crunch meeting this week, workers indicated they were ready to walk out, but called on bosses to make a fresh pay deal and avert industrial action. Last week, workers turned down a pay deal of 10 per cent for 2024 and a further 5 per cent for 2025 read more
South Wales faces Flogas shortage (2 Nov) – A week long strike by Flogas workers has led to shortages of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) shortages across South West Wales, GMB has said. Flogas workers at the Llandarcy depot are in the midst five-day strike in a dispute over pay. Up to 20 workers at gas giant’s depot in South Wales have downed tools after a below inflation pay offer. After months of negotiation, workers voted to strike with a majority of more than 80 per cent. The following day, Flogas announced redundancies at the site 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
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
Unison
Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
UNISON joins Brussels protest against austerity
“We are marching united with unions from across the European continent in a powerful display against austerity and for a fair deal for workers” (13 Dec) – On Tuesday 12 December, a delegation of UNISON representatives joined thousands of people at a rally in Brussels to demand an end to austerity, better public services and fairer working conditions. The Europe-wide mobilisation, On the Road for a Fair Deal for Workers, was organised by The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). It took place during EU negotiations over the new Stability and Growth Pact, which aims to limit debt and deficits for member countries read more
Education workers across Northern Ireland take action for pay justice (17 Nov) – ‘Education workers in Northern Ireland are not prepared to sit and wait while you sort out all the political problems. Working people need pay justice now’. UNISON members in Northern Ireland on strike. As UNISON prepares to celebrate the incredible Stars in Our Schools this Friday, more than 6,000 UNISON schools support staff members in Northern Ireland took to picket lines for a day’s strike action for fair pay. From Belfast to Omagh, Downpatrick to Ballycastle, members demanded long overdue reform to the education authority’s pay and grading structure read more
Poole education members strike over low pay (2 Nov) – Members at the Victoria Education Centre voted for action by 97% in an 81% turnout. UNISON members at The Victoria Education Centre in Poole are taking strike action today, after their employer failed to deliver a pay rise for staff. The special education school is run by disability charity Livability, but it has not made a pay offer that addresses historic low wages by comparison to other school settings across Dorset and nationally. A membership recruitment campaign began in 2021 and saw a recognition agreement signed with the employer in March 2022 read more
Scottish Water staff to strike for four days in November (31 Oct) – UNISON says the action will have serious implications for water and sewage services. UNISON sent notices to Scottish Water this week, to inform it that members will be taking strike action for four days starting on 10 November. The strikes come after UNISON members at Scottish Water voted overwhelmingly (78%) for action over a pay and grading dispute earlier this month read more
More Scottish schools to close as UNISON sets further strike dates (25 Oct) – Four more local authorities will be affected in second wave of action over pay. UNISON has today served notice of further strike action in the dispute over local government pay, to South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife councils. Staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools, within those four local authorities will walk out on Wednesday 8 November. This will be the second week of a rolling programme of action that will take place. UNISON has already notified Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde councils, that staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools in those authorities will be taking strike action on Wednesday 1 November. Further strike dates involving other councils will be announced in due course read more
Barnet 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 Brighton & Hove & Barnet UNISON social worker strike
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
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
NIPSA announces strike action for BSO Health Workers (8 Dec) – NIPSA members who work in Business Services Organisation (BSO) in Health Social Care will begin targeted action, including a week long strike, from Saturday 16th December 2023. The selective action will commence with action short of strike and be followed by strike action from Monday 18th to Friday 22nd December. Members in BSO warehouse operations within the Procurement and Logistics Service (PaLS) will walk out in response to the continuing failure of the government to settle the long running dispute over pay and safe staffing. NIPSA Deputy General Secretary Patrick Mulholland said “These workers, like all others across the health and social care sector, have endured successive years of below inflation pay increases. They provide a vital service to the hospitals across the country and are recognised by everyone bar those who hold the purse strings as essential workers read more
Education Industrial Action (14 Nov) – NIPSA members are currently engaged in a campaign of industrial action in the Education Authority. Our members democratically voted for both action short of strike action and strike action. The action is around four points:-
- Pay and Grading Review
- Job Evaluation
- Pay Differentials
- Education Cuts
We do not believe that this dispute will be easily resolved so we are ensuring we use intelligent, focused and strong industrial action that is applied at appropriate times. Action started on 6 November with action short of strike action. We will take two hours strike action on 16 November 2023, this will take effect from your normal start time. We are preparing for selective action in late November/December by members who provide critical services. Members on selective action are acting on behalf of all members so this action is fully funded by the union. NIPSA has approached our sister unions, UNITE, GMB, UNISON with selective action proposals read more
Royal College of Nursing
Act now to protect your freedom to strike (15 Dec) – Email your MP to demand they vote against strike restrictions for hospital staff 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
‘Midwives and Maternity Support Workers have every right to strike’ say RCM (9 Dec) – Midwives and Maternity Support Workers (MSW’s) have every right to strike – that’s the message coming from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) at the TUC Special Congress. Speaking at the Special Congress RCM’s General Secretary Gill Walton outlined the RCM’s support for the TUCs campaign against minimum service levels in the event of industrial action. Expressing indignation at the suggestion that Midwives and Maternity Support Workers (MSW’s) would take strike action that endangers the safety of women read more
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
CSP joins campaign to resist anti-strike laws at special TUC congress (11 Dec) – The CSP vowed to campaign against new “draconian, anti-democratic” legislation at a special TUC Congress held in London on Saturday read more
SOR
Radiographers to strike in Northern Ireland in January (15 Dec) – The Society of Radiographers has announced strike action will take place unless a solution can be found to current political deadlock. Radiographers in Northern Ireland will be taking strike action again in January, the Society of Radiographers has announced, unless a solution to the current political deadlock can be found. The SoR has confirmed the NI members will walk out on Thursday 18 January 2024, over the dispute with government around the working conditions radiographers are currently facing read more
BMA
Donate to support striking junior doctors
(From BBC website) NHS Wales: Junior doctors to go on three-day strike (18 Dec) – Junior doctors in Wales will strike in January after a huge majority voted for industrial action. A 72-hour full walkout will take place from 15 January over a pay dispute. The walkout could see more than 3,000 doctors withdraw their labour from hospitals and GP surgeries across Wales. The Welsh government called the decision “disappointing” and said it could not meet pay demands without more UK government money. Of the doctors eligible to vote in Wales, 65% responded and 98% of those supported the strike. The Welsh junior doctors committee made the decision to ballot members in August after being offered a below-inflation pay offer of 5% read more
First among equals (12 Dec) – A year on from the first industrial action ballot being called, BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Rob Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi speak to Ben Ireland about how far they have come and what lies ahead read more
Junior doctors plan further strike action (5 Dec) – Five weeks of talks with government end with ‘no credible offer’. The BMA junior doctors committee have announced more strike dates after the Government was ‘unable to present a credible offer on pay’ despite ‘more constructive’ talks. Fresh strike dates in England announced this afternoon are from 7am on the 20 December to 7am on the 23 December 2023 and from 7am on the 3 January to 7am on the 9 January 2024. The six-day strike in January would be the longest walkout in NHS history. Members of the JDC voted unanimously for further strikes after five weeks of walks with government did not produce a breakthrough. The last strikes, in October, were followed by ‘weeks of delay by the Department of Health and Social Care in restarting the negotiations’, according to the BMA, which stressed it had been keen to reach a settlement read more
Consultants to vote on fresh pay offer (27 Nov) – Extra investment in pay on top of existing uplift would change pay scale structure. The BMA consultants committee has put a new pay offer from Government to members which could draw a close to continuing industrial action in England. Following a month of ‘intense negotiations’ the Government has offered a 4.95 per cent investment in pay. If the offer is accepted, the changes will be applicable from January 2024, in addition to the six per cent pay uplift already awarded for this year, and paid retrospectively in April 2024 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
HCSA
Consultant reform package: ballot of consultants in England – It’s time for HCSA members to have their say on the consultant reform package. The electronic ballot is now open to all HCSA consultant members. It will ask whether you ACCEPT or REJECT the offer. Next steps will be guided by the vote of the membership. If members vote to accept the offer, this effectively closes the pay dispute for HCSA. If members vote to reject, HCSA executive will consider this carefully in light of the live strike mandate read more
HCSA junior doctors announce December strike dates in pay dispute (5 Dec) – HCSA – the hospital union junior doctors in England urged members to return their ballots with a Yes vote as they announced new strike dates in their continuing dispute over pay. Members will stage a full 72-hour walkout from December 20th-22nd. The union intends to call further strikes in early January pending the outcome of a current re-ballot which closes on December 20th. Should members vote Yes to strike action this will extend HCSA junior doctors’ strike mandate for a further six months from January read more
NEU
Please support the following action:-
| Action | Date | Contact |
| Benson Primary School /Birmingham (Conditions of Service) | 19-20 December | David Room [email protected] |
| South Chingford Foundation School / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service) | 19 December | Pablo Phillips [email protected] Sandra Faria [email protected] |
Lords Committee call for EBacc to be scrapped (12 Dec) – The current curriculum is not fit for the challenges and realities of our times. Commenting on a report by the Lords Education for 11-16 Year Olds Committee which criticises the current education system for its overloaded curriculum, disproportionate exam burden and declining opportunities to study creative and technical subjects, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “This report is comprehensive in assessing the problems but also in offering solutions. What this cross-party committee has found chimes with what NEU members see at the chalk face, as well as the findings of New Era Assessment and the assessment inquiry of the APPG for Schools, Learning and Assessment…” read more
Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council announce strike day (20 Nov) – Teachers’ Strike: 29 November 2023. Given that there has been no progress toward a resolution to the ongoing teachers’ pay dispute, the constituent members of the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council, (NITC), today informed the Managing Authority of their intention to instruct members to engage in strike action beginning 00:01 on Wednesday 29 November 2023 and ending at 12 noon on Wednesday 29 November 2023. As a further escalation to the action, NITC has announced that they are planning an additional four full day strikes to take place in the Spring term on dates to be agreed read more
NASUWT
Northern Ireland teachers and FE lecturers to strike in January for fair pay (18 Dec) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union will take strike action In Northern Ireland on Thursday 18 January 2024 over the failure to offer teachers and further education lecturers a fair and decent pay award. The strike action follows a half day strike in schools on the 21 February, a full day on the 26 April, and a half day on the 29 November. NASUWT members in Northern Ireland’s further education colleges will join their school teacher colleagues in taking strike action. NASUWT members in schools and FE colleges are already taking action short of strike action. The Union has now announced a full day of strike in furtherance of our campaigns for a Better Deal for Teachers and Lecturers read more
Government game playing leaving teachers in limbo on pay (13 Dec) – The Secretary of State appears to have admitted she is no longer in charge of the school teachers’ pay review process, in a move which NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union believes is deliberately designed to pave the way for further real terms pay cuts for the profession. Last week the Union opened a dispute with the Secretary of State over delays in issuing a remit to the School Teachers’ Pay Review Body (STRB), the body which makes recommendations to the minister on teachers’ pay. Gillian Keegan’s response to the Union states that the timing of the pay remit is a matter being dealt with across Government, leading to the assumption that she is no longer in charge of these extremely important matters at the DfE read more
Members take strike action across Northern Ireland (29 Nov) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union will take strike action this Wednesday 29 November over the failure to offer teachers and Further Education lecturers a fair and decent pay award. The strike action follows a half day of strike action in schools in February and a full day of strike action in schools and FE colleges in April. These strikes are expected to close the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s schools. The half day strike is being carried out in furtherance of our campaign for a Better Deal for Teachers and Lecturers. The NASUWT is calling for a fully funded 12% pay award for 2023/24. The union is highlighting the massive pay disparity across the UK. Teachers have already lost thousands of pounds as a result of year-on-year pay cuts and the failure of salaries to keep pace with inflation since 2010. For example, a teacher at the start of the classroom main pay scale M1 has lost £44,669, while a teacher at the top of the classroom main pay scale M6 has lost £65,288, and an experienced teacher at the top of the Upper Pay Scale UPS3 has lost £76,064. According to NASUWT research, the last 13 years have seen cuts of 38% to teachers’ pay in real terms read more
Darland High School teachers strike over adverse management practices (28 Nov) – Teachers at Darland High School in Wrexham are taking two days of strike action on the 29th and 30th November. NASUWT members at the school are in dispute with school management over widespread adverse management practices. Striking is a last resort for teachers. Since the last two days of strike action in March, there has been insufficient progress on the adverse management practices which make Darland teachers’ working lives intolerably difficult. Members are concerned for their safety at work as a result of teaching in poorly maintained and potentially dangerous buildings. Teachers are also concerned about excessive workloads and victimisation read more
Members at Cambridgeshire school to strike over behaviour policies and management practices (30 Oct) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at St Ivo’s Academy in Cambridgeshire are due to begin the first of five days of strike action on Wednesday over working conditions, adverse management practices and behaviour policies adopted by the employer, Astrea Academy Trust. Contrary to assertions from the employer, the NASUWT does not endorse the approach to managing pupil behaviour adopted by St Ivo Academy. NASUWT supports its members who are in dispute with this and other policies implemented centrally by Astrea without consultation 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 in Northern Ireland announce further strike action (18 Dec) – In an industrial dispute that has been escalating for over a year, members of school leaders’ union, NAHT, have announced their intention to engage in a further full day of strike action in pursuit of a resolution. NAHT has taken unprecedented strike action already in the same dispute and will on Thursday 18 January 2024, be joining workers from across education and the wider public sector, in a significant act of protest read more
Holiday pay and entitlement reform (Harpur Trust v Brazel judgment) (12 Dec) – Following the outcome of the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Harpur Trust v Brazel (one of the most significant holiday pay cases of recent years), the government released a consultation earlier this year on the calculation of holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular-hours workers. The government has now released its response to the consultation, as part of wider EU legislative reforms read more
Northern Ireland school leaders visit Downing Street to urge PM to intervene in pay dispute (29 Nov) – School leaders from Northern Ireland this afternoon took their fight for fair pay to Downing Street. A delegation of NAHT members from Northern Ireland delivered a letter for the prime minister to Number 10. The letter, signed by 444 school leaders from across Northern Ireland, calls on Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to intervene and provide the funding needed to deliver a pay increase for school leaders and teachers. NAHT members joined teaching unions in strike action in Northern Ireland this morning. They are angry that while school leaders and teachers elsewhere in the UK have received a pay increase for the current school year, the government says there is no funding for a similar salary uplift in Northern Ireland. This is in addition to a widened disparity in pay across the UK. The teaching profession in Northern Ireland has now not received any increase in pay for over three years, during which time teachers and school leaders in Northern Ireland have been granted successive increases. Employing authorities in Northern Ireland have blamed their inaction on pay on the political stalemate and continued absence of an executive in Stormont. While school leaders and teachers in England received a 5% pay rise for 2022/23 and 6.5% increase for 20023/24 following an industrial dispute, the UK government has failed to replicate this in Northern Ireland under the so-called Barnett formula read more
EIS
A resolution has been reached in the long-running industrial dispute at City of Glasgow College (18 Dec) – Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland – Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) have overwhelmingly backed the resolution in a ballot, bringing to an end the dispute and the programme of industrial action at the college. 86% of members voting in the ballot backed the agreement reached between the EIS and the college read more
Another Year of Declining Teacher Numbers is Bad News for Scottish Education (12 Dec) – Commenting on the publication of this year’s Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland by the Scottish Government, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: “The figures released today by the Scottish Government reveal a second successive year of declining teacher numbers in Scotland’s schools. This comes at a time when we need more teachers in our schools rather than fewer to support education recovery for Scotland’s young people…” 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
Full day of strike action planned for January (18 Dec) – On the back of the decision taken by the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) to call a full day of strike action on Thursday, 18 January 2024, INTO Northern Secretary Mark McTaggart stated that: All those who hold the purse strings have agreed with the teaching unions that the issue of the vast differential in teachers’ pay in the north compared to teachers across these islands is unsustainable and must be addressed…” read more
Industrial Action: Why Are We On Strike? (29 Nov) – Why is our strike action necessary? Read the INTO INDUSTRIAL ACTION PRESENTATION (pdf) here
Teachers Strike Over Pay (28 Nov) – Following the decision taken by the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) to call a half day of strike action on Wednesday 29 November 2023, INTO Northern Secretary Mark McTaggart said: “While no teacher wishes to take such action, the employing authorities, the Department of Education [DE] and the Northern Ireland Office [NIO], continue to ignore our teachers’ reasonable demands regarding an annual cost of living increase. INTO are therefore left with no option but to use the only avenue available to escalate our action and instruct our members to strike…” read more
UCU
UCU rally to defend modern languages at University of Aberdeen (12 Dec) – Staff and students from the University of Aberdeen took part in a rally last night to defend modern languages at the university. The rally was organised by the University of Aberdeen branch of the University and College Union (UCU) and Aberdeen University Students Association and held in New Kings Buildings on the university’s campus. It took place as over 12,000 people have signed a petition calling on the university’s senior managers to rethink their plans read more
Union calls on University of Portsmouth to reverse punitive sanctions on staff (6 Dec) – UCU members at the University of Portsmouth are calling on the university to refund the deductions it made from the pay of staff who took part in industrial action in the summer and autumn. Staff participated in a boycott of marking and assessment as part of the union’s campaign to improve pay and conditions for university staff. They withdrew labour equivalent to less than 10% of their annual workload but have seen some 72 days of pay deducted from their wages. For some individuals the total deduction is close to £10,000 read more
New round of strike action set to go ahead at five North East colleges (28 Nov) – UCU today announced three new days of strike action at up to five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton on Tees in a long running dispute over low pay. The first strike in this round will take place on Wednesday 13 December if UCU does not receive an improved pay offer. Further strikes are also set to go ahead on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 January 2024 at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy and Redcar and Cleveland College. All the colleges are part of employer group the Education Training Collective (ETC). The new strikes come after management refused to make an improved offer despite staff striking for three days earlier this month. At the start of this year, UCU members at the colleges overwhelmingly rejected an offer of 3% for 22/23, and then also voted to reject a further offer of an additional 1% – which was only to be paid for three months of the financial year read more
Strike ballot threat in fight against Oxford Brookes cuts (20 Nov) – UCU said a strike ballot could be on the cards as it vowed to fight brutal cuts at Oxford Brookes University. In a packed emergency branch meeting last Friday, an overwhelming 98% of Oxford Brookes UCU members in attendance voted for a possible strike ballot if the university refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies. It also passed a vote of no confidence in vice-chancellor Alistair Fitt and the vice-chancellor’s group. The union was responding to a threat from the university to axe up to 48 academic staff in mathematics, the arts, humanities, and social sciences as soon as January 2024. The university claims the cuts will allow it to save £2m per year 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
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
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
Union celebrates as Fire Authority rejects plan to downgrade fire stations (18 Dec) – Today, Monday 18 December, North Wales fire authority has announced that plans to downgrade two fire stations in North Wales have been scrapped following opposition from firefighters and the public. Rhyl and Deeside fire stations both faced being closed at night under cuts to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The Fire Brigades Union had warned that this would impact firefighters’ ability to keep people and homes safe in two of the region’s busiest areas, as well as decreasing capacity across North Wales at night. The Fire Authority has now voted to reject all proposals from fire service managers to downgrade coverage and is expected to meet in the new year to consider what happens next read more
Firefighters slam new plans to cut Hereford and Worcester fire service ‘to the bone’ (14 Dec) – The Fire Brigades Union has today condemned fire authority plans to cut the number of fire engines and on-call firefighters across Hereford and Worcester. On Tuesday, the fire authority discussed a proposal to remove 8 fire engines across the region, downgrade fire cover in Wyre Forest, and axe 45 on call firefighters. Firefighters have warned that reducing fire engines by 20%, from 41 to 33, will put the public and firefighters at serious risk. A public consultation on the proposals is now scheduled to open in January read more
Avon firefighters protest cuts to 40 firefighters (13 Dec) – Avon firefighters rallied outside a fire authority meeting in Bristol, protesting cuts to 40 firefighter posts and a ‘dangerous’ reduction to fire engine crews. In October, 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. The latest report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found Avon fire service “inadequate” at responding to fires and other emergencies. Firefighters have requested permission to address one of the meeting’s sessions with a joint letter from the Avon FBU Brigade committee calling for a stop to the cuts. The Fire Brigades Union has condemned the cuts as ‘dangerous and irresponsible’ read more
Government plans for fire service “dangerous and ill-conceived”, says union (12 Dec) – The government has today set out its plans for the fire and rescue service. Its response to the consultation on its white paper ‘A profession we can all be proud of – Reforming our Fire & Rescue Service’ was published this afternoon read more
Fire Brigades Union calls eight days of strike in Merseyside control room (12 Dec) – Fire control staff in Merseyside are to take eight consecutive days of strike action from 27 December. Control staff delivered an overwhelming mandate for strike action in August, with 100% voting Yes on a turnout of 92%.The dispute centres on the imposed reduction in night-time staffing numbers from the agreed level of 6 to 5; and the introduction of a duty shift system that was never subject to negotiation with the Fire Brigades Union. Following the ballot result, negotiations were ongoing between the union and Merseyside fire employers at the National Joint Council (NJC). But FBU members in Merseyside fire control voted overwhelmingly to reject an offer from employers last week. The offer failed to address some of the issues relating to the proposed duty shift system, and employers refused to even discuss the imposed reduction in night-time staffing numbers. The FBU has now notified the employer of eight solid days of strike action, which will seriously disrupt the fire and rescue service, both in Merseyside and across the U.K, with the control room fulfilling the national resilience responsibility 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
POA
National Chair Update November 2023 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
BFAWU
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
NUJ
MPs rally behind Reach journalists (12 Dec) – NUJ parliamentary briefing garners support from MPs concerned about the publisher’s latest round of job cuts and its impact on journalism. On 12 December, NUJ reps and officials met with cross-party MPs in Westminster to update on the third round of redundancies announced by Reach this year read more
Ballot opens on BBC Local offer (2 Nov) – NUJ members working across BBC Local are urged to vote before 13 November on a new proposal put forward in the ongoing dispute. The NUJ is balloting members across BBC Local on acceptance or rejection of a new offer brokered through Acas. If the offer is accepted, the industrial dispute and associated industrial action will end, while the NUJ will continue to campaign for truly local programming which serves the needs of local audiences across England. NUJ members across BBC Local (covering radio, TV and online) have been involved in a protracted dispute challenging cuts and changes that led to over 800 journalists put at risk of redundancy and editorial changes including the axing of local programmes, sharing of content across regions and pre-recorded news bulletins in some radio stations. Members have taken four days of strike action, along with a long-running work to rule, with two strike ballots won and significant political and campaigning activity read more
AEP
AEP members vote to accept Soulbury Pay Offer (11 Dec) – In the recent consultation, AEP members overwhelmingly voted to accept the current offer from the employers (dated 22 November 2023), with 85.5% voting to accept the pay offer. The AEP, in collaboration with the other Soulbury unions has now relayed this acceptance to the Local Government Association (LGA). This decision ends the dispute with the employers, meaning that all industrial action ends. Members will not go out on strike as originally planned this Wednesday. Soulbury unions are now seeking implementation of the offer, and payment of appropriate back pay for members as soon as possible. The latest offer still does not nearly redress the years of below-inflation pay increases for EPs and the AEP will persist in the campaign to Save our Services and ensure better investment in EP services and training to ensure the future of quality EP services for children, young people and communities who need them read more
Community
Urgent reform of Ofsted needed (13 Dec) – Educators’ union Community has called for urgent reform of Ofsted following the tragic death of head teacher Ruth Perry. Last week a senior coroner’s report ruled that an Ofsted inspection carried out at Caversham Primary School in Reading in November 2022 had been a contributing factor in Mrs Perry’s mental health deterioration and subsequent suicide in January this year. The coroner noted that Ofsted’s inspection at the school had “lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity.” Read more
USDAW
Shopworkers speak out about violence, threats and abuse – Usdaw asks customers to ‘keep your cool’ at Christmas (13 Dec) – Retail trade union Usdaw is asking customers to ‘keep your cool’ as the busy pre- Christmas shopping gets underway, which will culminate in what the retail industry has already dubbed ‘Super Saturday’, with 23 December being the last full shopping day before Christmas read more
UVW
A Xmas bonus: UVW cleaner members force exclusive Hurlingham Club to sack bullying manager and give them a pay rise! (14 Dec) – “We are very happy to have received a pay rise and our first Xmas bonus, as well as relieved for having got rid of a bullying and disrespectful manager“ – Akwasi, cleaner and UVW member. Christmas arrived early this year for the UVW cleaner members at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in London, when their bosses dismissed one of their managers for perceived bullying, intimidating behaviour and lack of respect and gave them a pay raise and a Xmas bonus! Read more
“I want to be free from so much oppression” – UVW women meet to talk about violence (14 Dec) – “I want to be free from so much oppression”. These were the words of one of the participants at the United Voices of the World union (UVW) & IWGB “Let’s talk about violence” meeting that took place on Saturday 9 December that saw women workers meet to share their experiences of violence at work and the home, and ways to collectively fight back read more
IWGB
SIPTU (Ireland)
SIPTU member awarded €38,500 for unfair dismissal from Inland Fisheries Ireland (15 Dec) – The SIPTU Workers’ Rights Centre has secured an award for a member employed by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) following his unfair dismissal after 37 years of service read more
Other news
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
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
Québec: Support unions’ call for dialogue and negotiations read more
Diary
2024
January
27 TUC demonstration in Cheltenham against the MSL anti-union legislation on 40th anniversary of banning trade rights at GCHQ – assemble 12noon Montpellier Gardens
June
22 NSSN Conference 2024 – 11am Conway Hall, Holborn, London
CONTACT US
PHONE 07952 283 558
EMAIL mailto:[email protected]
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/NSSN_AntiCuts
FACEBOOK NSSN GROUP or STOP The CUTS Likes page
ADDRESS NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE
