NSSN 664: March together this Saturday for the #RightToStrike – ASLEF victory shows Tories can be defeated!

TUC demonstration against Tory Minimum Service Levels anti-union legislation – Saturday 27 January in Cheltenham assembles at 12noon at Montpellier Gardens for a march through the town centre to Pittville Park A5 leaflet A3 poster

NSSN Online Public Meeting against the new Tory anti-union Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (MSL) – 6.30pm Tuesday 30^th January

Zoom Meeting details:-

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85010588852  Meeting ID: 850 1058 8852

The TUC demonstration this Saturday is a vital step in the fight against the Tory anti-union legislation. It both commemorates the 40^th anniversary of Thatcher’s banning of trade union rights at GCHQ and kicks off the campaign of the TUC and the unions against Sunak’s Minimum Service Levels (MSL) law. The demo must be used to send a message of defiance to this crisis-ridden Conservative Government but also to prepare the whole union movement to enact the strategy of resistance set out in last December’s Special TUC Congress.

And the first test has been passed! The LNER rail company was reported to be considering using the MSL law against strike action called by ASLEF, just 6 days after the TUC march. The strike in LNER is part of a week of rolling action in ASLEF’s longstanding national dispute in the train operating companies. LNER is currently state-owned, raising the involvement of the Tory Government in this attack.

However, after ASLEF put on 5 more days of action, LNER bosses have retreated! The NSSN sends our congratulations to ASLEF and will continue our solidarity with the week of industrial action across the country, inclusion in LNER.  

This U-turn shows what is possible! Therefore, it is essential that this Saturday’s demo sends a clear message that any union targeted will be supported by the whole union movement.

We saw just last Thursday 18^th January the power of the organised working-class, when up to 170,000 public sector workers in Northern Ireland took part in a 24 hour public sector general strike. That was the equivalent of over 5 million workers on a UK basis.

The experience of the massive strike wave that has developed over the last two years against the cost-of-living squeeze, is that workers have the power. Mass action can defeat Sunak and his anti-union attack. That has to be the message on Saturday.

The main points of the statement against the MSL that was agreed by the Special TUC Congress in December 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 and now needs to be enacted.

Save Steelmaking at Port Talbot – nationalisation not devastation

The NSSN sends our support and solidarity to steelworkers and their unions as Tata Steel announce their intention to make 75% of the 4,000-strong workforce redundant. As we did in 2016, when the steelworks were under the same threat, we continue to demand that the works be nationalised to save jobs and communities

• Unite statement Port Talbot – Tata Steel (22 Jan)
• Tata’s pleas of poverty exposed as a ‘sham’, by Unite (22 Jan)
• Tata steel job losses: Unite will use “everything in its armoury” to defend steel workers and our steel industry (19 Jan)
• Statement Community and GMB: Tata Steel Port Talbot (19 Jan)

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.The next national demo in Central London is Saturday 3^rd February – assemble at 12noon

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, CSP, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)  

  

NSSN news  

Date for your diaries!! 2024 NSSN Conference  –  Saturday 22^nd June, 11am-4.30pm, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL

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 National Dispute Fund  

TXM workers seek protective award over redundancy (22 Jan) – RMT is pushing for a protective award for members made redundant at TXM after the company went into liquidation. The union has been in contact with TXM Plant’s administrators to understand what steps are being taken to find a new buyer, or funding for the company. However as the workforce were not consulted properly and only given statutory redundancy payments, RMT is now seeking a protective award for all its members. If successful, it means workers could get 8 weeks extra wages on top of the statutory minimum they will be paid. The Wigan-based supplier of road-rail vehicles was part-owned by private equity investor LDC and until recently had been making profits of £4m on turnover of £38.9m. RMT argues that the proposed government cuts to funding for maintenance renewals has a direct impact on the Network Rail supply chain which TXM was part of read more

Hitachi Rail maintenance engineers to take strike action (19 Jan) – RMT members at maintenance depots run by Hitachi rail will strike over 5 days next week in row over pay. Strike action will take place at  Craigentinny, Bounds Green & Doncaster maintenance depots with members at Outstations and Maintenance Control also taking action. Unite the Union members working for Hitachi Rail will be taking strike action at the same time across the country.

Bosses at Hitachi Rail have only offered 6% – well below RPI inflation at the time. This is despite the company making over £100m in profit last year read more

From national RMT website: Tube strike averted after progress made in dispute (7 Jan) – RMT have suspended their planned tube strike this week following talks with TfL. Planned action from Monday to Thursday will no longer go ahead after RMT made progress in discussions with TfL today. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Following further positive discussions today, the negotiations on a pay deal for our London Underground members can now take place on an improved basis and mandate with significant further funding for a settlement being made available. This significantly improved funding position means the scheduled strike action will be suspended with immediate effect and we look forward to getting into urgent negotiations with TfL in order to develop a suitable agreement and resolution to the dispute.”

From RMT London Calling website: Tube strike suspended following ‘significant improvement in funding for pay settlement’ (7 Jan) – STRIKE ACTION SUSPENDED

Dear RMT Member: RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2023 – LONDON UNDERGROUND

Following positive discussions this morning, I can confirm that a fresh development has been confirmed in writing to your Union which will enable a more constructive negotiation to be developed. This includes a significant improvement in the funding available for a pay settlement. In order to enter into fresh negotiations on this improved position, your union’s National Executive Committee has decided to suspend the scheduled forthcoming strike action and all members are instructed to report for work as normal from their next shift until further notice with immediate effect. The NEC will give consideration on the matter of those members who have already taken strike action. I will of course advise you of all further developments in the negotiations and remind you that we remain in dispute until we have negotiated a settlement.

Thank you again for your support.

Yours sincerely, Michael Lynch General Secretary

ASLEF
Train drivers to walk out again as government fails to act (15 Jan) – Train drivers who are members of ASLEF union will take strike action in January and February in a long-running dispute over pay. A series of strikes will take place between Tuesday 30 January and Monday 5 February 2024. Members will walk out at Southeastern, GTR Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, SWR Island Line and South Western Railway on Tuesday 30 January; at Northern Trains and Transpennine Trains on Wednesday 31 January; at Greater Anglia, C2C and LNER on Friday 2 February; at West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway on Saturday 3 February, and at Great Western, CrossCountry and Chiltern on Monday 5 February. The drivers will also refuse to work overtime from Monday 29 January until Tuesday 6 February read more

TSSA  

TSSA condemns ‘week of shame’ for Britain’s rail bosses (18 Jan) – TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, has described recent days as a “week of shame” for bosses on Britain’s railways in which one company bragged about free money and the issue of fair ticketing again came to the fore. The transport and travel union leader spoke out after bosses at Avanti West Coast were caught laughing about getting ‘free money’ from taxpayers. This was followed by news that LNER – which runs East Coast Mainline services – is changing its system for some tickets, a move which was met with criticism in some quarters. Also, findings from consumer group Which? show railway ticket machines charge passengers more than double what they might pay at a ticket office or even online. Last year TSSA – the union for ticket office staff – fought and won a high-profile national campaign to save rail ticket offices across England, which the government had sought to scrap read more

TSSA to ballot for industrial action over London Underground pay (5 Jan) – TSSA – the biggest union across Transport for London – is planning to ballot London Underground members for industrial action after rejecting a pay offer. Union reps met the company this week for talks, but again London Underground signalled their intention to impose a pay offer for 2023-24 (April ‘23 to March ‘24). The deal on offer – after months of talks – is a pay rise of just five per cent and a plan to freeze pay bands and salary ranges 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  

BREAKING NEWS!! Indefinite strikes at Hartlepool brake pad maker risks shortages for major car brands (23 Jan) – TMD Friction supplies brake products for Rolls Royce, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Bentley, McLaren. Pay strikes at the Hartlepool factory of TMD Friction, which supplies car makers with brake discs, pads and other products, have intensified, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). Around 150 workers began strike action over pay earlier this month. That number has since increased to over 180 as more workers join the union. The workers have now moved to continuous indefinite strike action, risking brake product shortages for TMD’s partners, which include Rolls Royce, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Bentley and McLaren. TMD Friction was previously owned by Nisshinbo Holdings Inc until it was sold to German-equity firm AEQUITA, whose automotive divisions account for €2 billion worth of sales. Even though TMD Friction reported loses of £4,000 (four thousand) in 2022, it had a turnover of £74.1 million and gross profits of £9 million read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Offshore working rota disputes widen to cover chemists, heating and ventilation engineers (23 Jan) – Unite the union confirmed today (Tuesday 23 January) that it is balloting over 50 members in the offshore sector including chemists, heating and ventilation engineers. The union is holding industrial action ballots at IES Callenberg and SGS UK Limited for the failure by both companies to improve the jobs, terms and conditions of the workforce. The IES Callenberg dispute involves over 40 offshore workers who provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services on offshore platforms operated by BP, TAQA, CNR, Repsol, Serica and CNOOC. Chemists who provide services to the offshore oil and gas industry employed by SGS UK Limited are also being balloted on industrial action. The dispute exclusively centres on chemists servicing BP’s platforms the Clair, Clair Ridge, ETAP and Glen Lyon. The ballots which are now open both close on 22 February read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Public transport unions in Northern Ireland to escalate strike action next month (23 Jan) – Joint Public Transport union release: The three public transport trade unions, Unite, GMB and SIPTU, will today (Monday 22 January) notify Translink of further planned strike action on Thursday (1 February). This is the first of a likely four further days of strike action to be taken in February. The notification marks a further escalation in the industrial action of bus and rail workers demanding secretary of state for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris release funding for public transport services and allow a cost of living pay increase read more

Support the Unite Barts NHS Strike – The next dates are as follows-

• on 29th January to 23.59 on 2nd February 2024 – All members employed by Barts and Synergy on strike
  • on 3rd February to 23.59 on 9th February 2024 – All members employed by Barts in Catering, Domestic, Patient Ambassador, Portering, Security, Sewing room and Ward host roles and Synergy members on strike

Pickets will be at The Royal London Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital and St Barts Hospital from 8am to 10am read more

Kaefer contractors resume strike action at Mossmorran gas plant (22 Jan) – Around 90 Kaefer maintenance and repair contractors based at the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant will resume strike action this week as part of an ongoing payment dispute. A 24 hour stoppage starts tomorrow (Tuesday 23 January) with a further round scheduled to start on Thursday (25 January) morning. There will then be further strikes next week and into February. Strike action took place between 27 November to 4 December last year in relation to the dispute. Picket lines will be held outside the Mossmorran plant from 07:00 on both mornings. 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 choice’ but to resume strike action. The union has taken aim at the operator Shell for the impasse stating it is refusing to support any negotiated deal with Kaefer at the Mossmorran plant read more

Unite statement Port Talbot – Tata Steel (22 Jan) – Over the past year Unite has been repeatedly warning that the steel industry in Britan is near to collapse. This is not down to external forces but to mismanagement and short termism by government and owners. UK crude steel production is already three times lower than the European average. Domestic steel production in 2021 was twice as much in France, three times as much in Italy and six times as much in Germany. Now we are on course to be the only country in the OECD that can’t make its own steel. Meanwhile global demand for steel – and especially low carbon green steel – is going up fast. This is a shameful situation. It puts jobs and communities at risk and makes us dependent on foreign steel when the UK should be growing a lucrative and essential industry read more

Tata’s pleas of poverty exposed as a ‘sham’, by Unite (22 Jan) – In-depth financial research by Unite, the UK’s leading union, has exposed Tata’s claims that it has to cut jobs and close its blast furnaces for financial reasons, as a sham. Tata Steel Limited, the direct parent company of Tata Steel UK Limited made £3 billion in EBITDA and £900 million in net profits in 2022/23. Tata Steel Limited has reserves of £1.6 billion and has paid out dividends of £1.4 billion to shareholders between 2019 and 2023. In the last five years Tata Steel Limited’s revenue has grown by 47 per cent and it has generated a combined profit of £9.7 billion during that period. Tata Sons – parent company of Tata Steel Ltd is the massive Indian holding company of Tata Steel. Its company returns describe 2023 as its “best ever” read more

Tata steel job losses: Unite will use “everything in its armoury” to defend steel workers and our steel industry (19 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has warned that the government needs to take immediate action to preserve large scale steelmaking in the UK. The union made its call after Tata steel announced plans to close both its blast furnaces with the proposed loss of approximately 2,500 jobs, principally at Port Talbot in South Wales read more

Unite secures ‘outstanding’ 17.4% rise for thousands of construction workers (19 Jan) – Win follows strike ballot of 3,000 oil refinery and power station NAECI workers. Thousands of engineering construction workers will benefit from a two-year pay rise worth a minimum of 17.4 per cent, following a campaign by Unite, the UK’s leading union. The deal, which includes a range of other benefits, was secured after Unite balloted 3,000 of its members who operate under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI). Unite’s NAECI members carry out essential repair and maintenance at oil refineries, power stations and pharmaceutical and petro-chemical plants. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This outstanding deal was achieved because our members knew the NAECI employers could not ignore their demands if they acted collectively. Across the construction industry and beyond, Unite’s unrelenting focus on improving jobs, pay and conditions is winning for our members.” The workers will receive an 11.3 per cent from January 2024 and at least 5.5 per cent from January 2025, a compound increase of at least 17.4 per cent. The deal is a substantial increase on the initial offer for 2024 and 2025, which was just 8.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. Improvements to sickness and accident benefit, the London overnight supplement and the introduction of a £1 an hour London rate enhancement as well as pension, productivity and apprenticeship reviews are also included in the deal read more

National strike by Hitachi Rail workers over pay (19 Jan) – Railway journeys on Great North Eastern and Great Western railways will be heavily disrupted from next week due to strike action by workers at Hitachi Rail, Unite the union announced today (19 January 2024). Over 300 Unite members and further members of the RMT who work as technicians, maintenance crews and engineers at Hitachi Rail Ltd were offered just a 5.5 or 6 per cent pay increase – a real-terms 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 and RMT members ensure that the trains are fit for service and without their work, trains cannot run safely read more

Public transport unions in Northern Ireland to meet tomorrow to agree next steps in their industrial campaign (18 Jan) – Strike action by roads service and education authority workers to continue in absence of movement from secretary of state. Workers have been left with no alternative but to extend and deepen their industrial action to defend public services and win a cost of living pay increase. Following today’s historic, one-day public sector strike in Northern Ireland, Unite has confirmed that industrial action by its members will continue in the absence of any move by the secretary of state for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris to release the funds necessary to provide a cost of living pay increase. Today’s strike action by public transport workers brought to a standstill all bus and rail services operated by Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport provider. Representatives of the three public transport unions participating in the action, Unite, GMB and SIPTU, will meet tomorrow (19 January) to agree the next steps in their industrial campaign. Public transport workers have been offered no pay increase whatsoever, after a punitive budget was imposed by the secretary of state on Translink’s funder, the department for infrastructure. Unite members working for the roads service and the forestry service will continue their strike action for a further six days during which time the union’s wider membership in the civil service will refuse to volunteer to provide winter maintenance cover (gritting) as part of their industrial action. Members of Unite working in the education authority are set to take a further six days of strike action over the next three weeks read more

100 Odfjell drillers to strike over three months for better working rotas (18 Jan) – Unite the union confirmed today (Thursday 18 January) that around 100 offshore drillers employed by Odfjell Technology (UK) Ltd working on Equinor’s Mariner platform are set to strike over three months to secure improvements to working rotas. Unite members voted unanimously in favour of strike action, and by 99 per cent in favour of a continuous overtime ban on a high turnout. The members involved in the dispute encompasses all deck crew. The industrial action entails a series of 24-hour strikes taking place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for 12 consecutive weeks. The action will begin on Monday 29 January and end on Saturday 20 April. A continuous overtime ban will also be in place throughout the 12-week period read more

Unite secures 10% pay win for Huddersfield refuse workers (17 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a 10 per cent pay rise for Huddersfield refuse and recycling workers employed by Suez. The deal was secured after the more than 100 workers voted for strike action. Following the successful industrial action ballot, an improved pay offer was put forward by Suez and accepted by the workers. The workers are responsible for sorting recycling and manning the waste-to-energy incinerator plant. The two-year deal consists of a 10 per cent rise for 2023, with the workers receiving backpay in their January wages backdated to April 2023 and an RPI inflation rise from April 2024 read more

NHS Northern Ireland: Unite survey reveals safe staffing shortages in frontline services, due to low pay crisis (16 Jan) – 76 per cent of health and social care workers report patient care being compromised or unsafe either regularly or occasionally as a result of staffing shortages. Only 21 per cent of health and social care workers did not consider leaving their job as a result of pressures from staffing shortage in last 12 months. Unite the union has released the results of a safe staffing survey conducted among health and social care staff which exposes the huge pressures on NHS staff in the region as a result of a crisis in recruitment and retention driven by low pay read more

Bus controllers strike to bring chaos across London (16 Jan) – Bus company staff in London are to strike this week after rejecting a poor pay offer, Unite confirmed today (16 January 2024). Around 40 staff who work in the control rooms for Abellio buses and who control the bus routes, instruct drivers on traffic jams or accidents and ensure overall safety on the routes are to take six days of action beginning on Friday 19 January. Control room staff, who use high-tech satellite GPS systems to monitor bus routes across London, have been offered just a five per cent pay increase for 2023 by Abellio, a substantial real terms pay cut. They already earn approximately £10,000 per year less than similar staff at other bus companies and have been offered a smaller pay increase than that offered to members doing the same job at competitor companies… Controllers, managers and supervisors based at both Battersea bus garage and Twickenham bus garage are staging walkouts on the following dates: 19 and 26 January and 2, 9, 16 and 23 February… The routes that affected by industrial action are primarily in South and South West London and include: 24, 27, 111, 156, 159, 267, 285, 322, 344, 345, 415 , 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, R68, R70 read more

Unite: ONS income figures show ‘workers having to fight hard to stand still’ (16 Jan) – Commenting on today’s ONS unemployment and labour market data, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Today’s ONS figures prove unions are delivering the goods. But with real wages still lower now than they were in 1997, workers are having to fight hard just to stand still…” read more

Roads Service and Forestry service workers to strike for a week commencing on 18 January (15 Jan) – Unite’s members across the civil service in Northern Ireland will refuse to conduct winter service for a week. Strike action on 18 January by civil service workers including in Strangford ferry, rivers’ agency, historical environment division, forestry service, roads service as well as staff in the PSNI who are paid on the same pay-scale. Unite has announced that all its members in the civil service as well as PSNI staff will be joining the one-day strike action by public sector workers in Northern Ireland on 18 January. In addition roads service and forestry service workers will continue their strike action for a week from 18 January to 24 January with action short of strike action being taken by other Unite civil service workers who will refuse to conduct winter services (gritting) during this period read more

Clyde shipyard strike off as contractors secure pay victory (15 Jan) – Type 26 Frigate CBL Cable contractors win increases worth up to 22.8%. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, confirmed today (Monday 15 January) that strike action involving over 30 members contracted to work on the new type 26 Frigate on the Clyde has been called off after a significant pay victory. The Unite members employed by CBL Cable Contractors Limited based at the BAE Systems Govan and Scotstoun shipyards on the Clyde secured a pay rise of £3.05 per hour. This means the lowest paid workers are set to receive a wage increase worth up to 22.8 per cent. By July, all workers will be paid the ‘shipyard rate’ depending on their role read more

400 Unite members at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis start two weeks of strikes (14 Jan) – Around 400 Unite members employed by Alexander Dennis will start a two week strike today (15 January) as part of a bitter pay dispute at the Falkirk based bus manufacturer. The strike action will continue until  29 January when the action will conclude. Unite represents coach builders and spray painters at the Camelon factory. The union’s members previously took two weeks of strike action between 4 to 17 December 2023… In December 2023 Alexander Dennis offered a penny-pinching additional 0.5 per cent on its original four per cent wage offer (4.5 per cent), and four per cent for 2024. The pay offer was emphatically rejected by the workforce read more

Long running Cardiff bin strike to extend into February (12 Jan) – Strike action by Unite members working within Cardiff council’s refuse and recycling department is being extended by a further four weeks. The current strike action which started on 28 December, was due to end on Thursday 25 January will now continue until Thursday 22 February. The fresh strike dates are in response to Cardiff council’s failure to make any progress in relation to Unite’s concerns on a number of local issues. The most prominent of these being the widespread bullying culture within the refuse and recycling department alongside the ingrained use of agency labour. Unite is concerned that Cardiff council are showing no desire to resolve the dispute, indeed the council leadership have disgracefully announced they intend to attack the annual leave accrual of striking workers read more

Drax canteen workers serve up more pay strikes (12 Jan) – Power station’s Baxter Storey food and drink facilities now at risk of ‘health hazard’. Strike action by Drax canteen workers employed by Baxter Storey has intensified, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The predominantly women workers began strike action in early December over poverty pay and a lack of union recognition. Since then, Baxter Storey has agreed to negotiate a voluntary recognition agreement and enter pay talks. The extremely profitable company’s offer of a one-off payment of £380, however, has been rejected as completely inadequate…The workers began their current round of industrial action on 8 January and will strike until 14 January. A further 14 days of strikes will begin on 22 January, with industrial action intensifying further if the dispute is not resolved read more

Unite education authority workers in Northern Ireland announce eight days of strike action (11 Jan) – Workers seek implementation of negotiated pay and grading review to deliver equality and pay improvement. In absence of move by secretary of state, education support staff will escalate their action over next three weeks. Unite the union has served notice to the education authority of further strike dates over the next three weeks. The workers will take eight days of strike action beginning on Wednesday 17 January. Unite members in the education authority who are paid under the NJC scale (the overwhelming majority) will be on strike on the following dates on Wednesday 17, Thursday 18 and Friday 19^th January; Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Friday 26th January; and Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd February. The industrial action which will involve approximately 800 Unite members represents an escalation of ongoing industrial dispute seeking implementation of a pay and grading review which will help address the chronic issue of low pay among education support staff read more

Bedford warehouse workers at Movianto head to picket line over trade union recognition (9 Jan) – Workers at Movianto, a specialised medical warehousing company in Bedford, are striking from Monday 8 January after their employer refused to recognise Unite for collective bargaining purposes. Over 85 Unite members have been campaigning for their union to be officially recognised but Movianto has strongly resisted such moves. Workers voted in favour of industrial action by nearly 80 per cent read more

Sanctuary housing workers balloting to strike – Repairs workers in strike ballot. An important group of London based repairs workers at Sanctuary Housing are balloting for strike action. Sanctuary do not recognise trade unions and have refused to negotiate with Unite members on pay over an extended period. In a recent consultative ballot members voted 100% for strike action but management have not taken the opportunity to enter negotiations. The workers want a pay rise of RPI inflation plus 1%, a £15.00 / hour minimum rate of pay and a four-day week. Sanctuary Housing’s surplus is 73% higher than last year with a pretax figure of £101.3 million with a healthy operating margin of 21.1%. There can be no doubts about Sanctuary’s ability to pay up read more

Slough parking strikes suspended following new offer (22 Dec) – Planned strikes involving parking attendants in Slough have been suspended following an improved offer by the employer. Over 30 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Saba Parking Services on the outsourced Slough council parking contract were set to walk out from 27 to 30 December in a dispute over low pay. However, following an improved offer by the employer and with further talks scheduled for the new year, the strikes were called off. If the talks fail to resolve the dispute then further industrial action could be announced next year read more

Brakes are off for industrial action at Hartlepool car part supplier (19 Dec) – Unite members at TMD Friction, a car parts supplier in Hartlepool, are staging strike action early in the new year over the low levels of pay being offered by their employer. Nearly 150 members of Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, will walk out at the TMD manufacturing plant. They will take part in an initial wave of five days of strike action (see notes to editors), beginning on Tuesday 2 January but more could be announced. The majority of the workers are highly skilled metal press operators but also include other factory and production staff. TMD Friction produces after-market brake products for high street retailers and garages 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

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

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

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

CWU

Clapham residents urge Post Office not to close Clapham “community hub” (16 Jan) – Local people and Post Office workers urged management in Clapham not to close down “the hub of this local community” in a protest. Scores of supporters of the Save Clapham Common Post Office campaign gathered outside of the threatened office on Clapham High Street last Saturday (13th January) read more

Santander ‘final’ pay offer out to ballot with strong vote ‘YES’ recommendation (15 Jan) – Members across Santander UK are being urged to accept a simplified one-year pay deal that delivers total average increases exceeding 6% for the vast majority of CWU represented grade employees, a cash lump sum and one extra day off for everyone in 2024. The Bank’s final offer – which emerged during intensive talks just before Christmas and is now subject to a consultative ballot which commences today (January 15) – includes a minimum pay award of the greater of 4.5% or £1,300 (pro-rata for part timers) for all S1-2 grade employees – notwithstanding the Bank’s existing Pay Progression arrangements 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]  

Online donations to strike fund pass £20,000 (22 Jan) – Supporters are continuing to help striking PCS members by donating and fundraising. Online donations to our strike fund were set up last year during the targeted strike action taken by PCS members as part of our national campaign over pay, pensions, redundancy rights and job security. The fund supports members taking targeted action, to ensure that they do not suffer financially while they are on strike. The donations now stand at nearly £21,000. It is easy to donate online. If you wish your donation to be directed to a particular group, you can put this in your reference read more

EFRA group campaigns for a four-day week (22 Jan) – PCS members in EFRA have seen the evidence, believe in the benefits and are asking for a trial to improve productivity and wellbeing. This Thursday (25) EFRA members from all over the UK will hold meetings as the next stage of their campaign for a four-day week. Following a hugely successful campaign launch in November, a petition was delivered to the permanent secretary in December. Now members will attend lunchtime education sessions to mobilise colleagues and allies read more

National Museums Liverpool replacement ballot deadline (18 Jan) – National Museums Liverpool members have until noon on 19 January to request a replacement ballot. PCS members at National Museums Liverpool (NML) are being balloted for strike action as their employer has not yet paid staff a £1,500 one-off cost-of-living payment. The ballot closes on 31 January. If you haven’t received your ballot paper yet, you can request a replacement read more

Vote yes in the National Museums Liverpool strike ballot (15 Jan) – National Museums Liverpool members will receive full strike pay if they vote for taking action in the ongoing ballot read more

Fujitsu workers on strike over pay (17 Jan) – Over 300 members, who work mainly on HMRC contracts, are walking out today in a dispute over pay. Over 300 PCS members employed by Fujitsu Services UK are on strike today (17) after being offered a pay rise almost ten times less than their Japanese counterparts. The members who are mainly employed on contracts for HMRC are taking strike action after they were offered a pay rise of between 3-4% while Fujitsu workers in Japan were offered up to 29%. Some members with crucial IT roles fixing HMRC computers and protecting critical HMRC high end user systems will be taking additional action from January 18 to February 15. The strike action is likely to disrupt people trying to complete their self-assessment tax returns by the end of the month. The PCS members are not connected with the Horizon scandal, which has seen calls for Fujitsu to lose UK government contracts read more

Pensions press pays special attention to regulator strikers (16 Jan) – Our ongoing strike in The Pensions Regulator has gained widespread coverage in the pensions press, placing pressure on the employer to pay up. Over 400 PCS members at The Pensions Regulator started their latest round of strike action last week, in a long-running dispute that will enter its fortieth day today (16). They will take action again on 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 30 and 31, plus February 1, after being offered a 3% pay rise while other civil service employers are paying 4.5%. And several media publications which cover the pensions industry have recently reported on the strike. As well as explaining why are our members are so angry, The Financial Times’ sister publication, FT Adviser, highlighted how the ongoing strike action is creating a backlog of work and systemic disruption to TPR’s ability to deliver on their statutory duties read more

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

Prospect  

Civil servants have kept the show on the road (21 Jan) – Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy, responding to a reported “crackdown” on “activists” in the Civil Service, said: “In a general election year, it seems clear that the current government are going to try to use civil servants as the people they can blame for all the problems that ministers have caused over the last decade. This isn’t going to wash with the public, they see that it is often civil servants who have kept the show on the road despite the failings of ministers…” read more

Prospect moves to strike action over pay at AWE (10 Jan) – Prospect members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) are moving to strike action after two months of action short of a strike have failed to produce any meaningful movement from the company read more

FDA

New guidance is asking “civil servants to break the law”, says FDA (18 Jan) – FDA General Secretary Dave Penman has strongly criticised new guidance issued to civil servants, as it puts them in an “invidious position” and calls into question the integrity of the civil service, which has an obligation to uphold the rule of law, whether that is domestic or international law read more

GMB  

BREAKING NEWS!! Northern Ireland transport strike escalates (23 Jan) – Unions GMB, Unite and SIPTU, will today notify Translink of further planned strike action. Up to 2,500 bus and rail workers will walk out in February 1 in anger that secretary of state for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris has not released funding for public transport services to allow a cost of living pay increase. This is the first of a likely four further days of strike action to be taken in February read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Defence manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce faces strike threat (23 Jan) – Rolls-Royce members working in the submarine sector will begin balloting for industrial action. The vote at the Derby-based company comes as workers rejected the latest offer in an ongoing dispute on pay. Rolls-Royce is a world leader in the field of submarine technology, as well as being the supplier to Britain’s domestic nuclear submarine fleet. In agreement with the company, any industrial action will not jeopardise the UK’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent, safety of submarines or operational submarines at sea. Workers will begin balloting on Monday 29 January with a result expected after four weeks. GMB is Britain’s largest union in defence and nuclear manufacturing read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Amazon industrial chaos escalates at new site (23 Jan) – Workers at the Birmingham warehouse will down tools on Thursday 25 January. The walk out marks the anniversary of the first ever official strike action at a UK Amazon warehouse. Amazon’s new £500 million Birmingham fulfilment centre opened it’s doors at the end of 2023 and will be the third Amazon workplace to face strike action. Amazon faced nearly 30 days of strike action in the last twelve months, with more than 1,000 workers downing tools to mark the retail giant’s Black Friday event in November. When: 6:30 – 8:30 and 17:30 – 19:30 Thursday 25 January.

Where: Amazon EMA4, Unit B, 24 Whitmoor Drive, Miniworth, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B76 9AH read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Brick workers head to Parliament over industry collapse fears (23 Jan) – GMB members working in brick manufacturing head to Parliament today [Tuesday 23 Jane 2024]. Dozens of employees of firms such as Wienerberger, Ibstock and Forterra will meet MPs amid fears the sector – which supports more than 10,000 jobs – could be on the brink of collapse. Workers will take part in a round table Shadow Levelling Up Minister, Mike Amesbury MP, and Tan Dhesi MP, Shadow Minister for Exports. Despite profits of more than £300 million in 2022, rocketing energy prices and missed housebuilding targets have seen company’s stockpile bricks, close factories and slash jobs this year. GMB has written to Michael Gove MP requesting a meeting to discuss the matter, but has received no reply read more

Joint GMB and Community statement on Tata announcement (19 Jan) – The steel unions met with senior representatives of Tata Steel. The company formally responded to reject the Multi-Union Plan that the unions presented to the company on the 17th of November. This is of course extremely disappointing. In one area the company did accept the Multi-Union recommendation, which is to keep the Hot Strip Mill open to roll slab over a transition period, supporting hundreds of jobs there, but Tata have rejected our broader proposals to safeguard production capacity and protect jobs read more

Mass energy construction strike off (19 Jan) – A strike involving thousands of construction workers at energy sites across the UK has been called off

More than 3,000 workers at Stanlow, Fawley, Valero, Grangemouth and Mossmorran Oil Refineries, as well as at Sellafield Nuclear Facility had voted in favour of industrial action. But today [19 January 2024] they accepted a pay deal worth more than 17 per cent over two years. The workers, who are covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI), will now earn an extra 11.3 per cent for 2024 and an additional 5.5 per cent for 2025, along with improvements to sick pay and other allowances read more

Swindon Council putting children at risk with cuts (19 Jan) – Council plan to reduce pay and status of key staff in child protection. GMB, the union for social workers is warning Swindon Council that their pay and grading review will cut pay and leave children at risk. The review, described repeatedly by the union as ‘botched’ will affect the pay of many front-line staff, including Independent Review Officers (IROs) and Local Authority Designated Officers (LADOs) from the council’s social work department. These staff deal with child protection and safeguarding and are now in dispute with their employer over this pay cut, which would result in some managers earning less than those working under them. The 9 affected GMB members have voted unanimously for strike action read more

GMB strike at Asda Gosport suspended after Acas talks (18 Jan) – GMB can confirm the strike at Asda’s Gosport Superstore has been suspended. Talks took place today between the union and Asda, arbitrated by Acas, the independent conciliatory service. A joint statement agreed by GMB and Asda reads: “Following discussions held under the auspices of Acas, on 18 January 2024, it has been agreed that industrial action is temporarily suspended to allow a ballot of GMB members on the proposals put forward by Asda.” Read more

GMB response as Birmingham City Council announces job cuts consultation (18 Jan) – GMB Union has responded to the announcement of up to 600 job cuts. Delcan Downes, GMB Regional Organiser, said: “Birmingham is already slashed to the bone after years of Government austerity. Job cuts on this scale will see vital local services suffer even more – particularly those staffed by the women workers the council has discriminated against for decades. After years of ignoring rampant pay discrimination, this is a crisis of the council’s own making. GMB won’t stand by as working Brummies’ are expected to pay the price.” Read more

Job cuts at iconic pottery giant an ‘urgent wake up call’ (18 Jan) – Portmeirion and Emma Bridgewater have announced over 70 job cuts across Stoke Potteries.

GMB union has today responded to the announcement that iconic Stoke pottery firms Portmeirion and Emma Bridgewater plan to cut over 70 roles read more

South Tyneside faces third round of bin strikes (9 Jan) – Council needs to deal with bullying and release independent report. South Tyneside refuse workers will begin a third round of industrial action next week. Full strike action will be taken 9-12 January. Workers will put their concerns direct to councillors at the next full council meeting on 24 January read more

Wiltshire Social Workers Vote For Strike Actions To Oppose ‘Fire and Rehire’ Pay Cut (9 Jan) – Social Workers join long-running dispute over unsocial hours pay cut. Wiltshire Council social workers at have voted to take strike action in a long-running dispute over proposed pay cuts for various front-line roles. The dispute centres around council plans to ‘fire and rehire’ certain roles, including care staff, social workers, traffic wardens, leisure centre workers, and highways, to remove a contractual unsocial hours pay uplift. The social workers who are members of GMB union are now joining the dispute, which has already seen traffic wardens across the county take 11 days of strike action. There are 25 social workers who face losing a 20 per cent uplift to their pay through this plan, of which 22 have now voted to strike read more

Amazon industrial chaos escalates as new site announces strike date (9 Jan) – 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 fulfilment centre have voted to join ongoing strike action at the company. Workers at the Birmingham warehouse will down tools on Thursday 25 January, the anniversary of the first ever official strike action at a UK Amazon warehouse. Amazon’s new £500 million Birmingham fulfilment centre opened it’s doors at the end of 2023 and will be the third Amazon workplace to face strike action. Amazon faced nearly 30 days of strike action in the last twelve months, with more than 1,000 workers downing tools to mark the retail giant’s Black Friday event in November read more

Swindon Borough Council leaders ‘asleep on the job’ over social work strike (21 Dec) – First group of social workers begin strike which will last through festive period unless talks take place. GMB, the union for social workers, calls for immediate talks with Swindon Borough Council to resolve pay disputes, as two separate groups of social workers strike over Christmas. The union has been proposing talks with the employer to resolve pay disputes since November, however council chiefs are not making themselves available for negotiations until January. Eleven social worker Assistant Team Managers started a two week strike on Tuesday and will be joined by the Emergency Duty Service which provides out of hours cover from Christmas Eve. A third group is also being balloted to join the strike, the team of Independent Reviewing Officers. The strikes are over a pay and grading review, described by the union as “botched”, which has led to managers in some cases earning less than those whom they supervise read more

Northampton’s ‘jingle-smells’ festive bin strike suspended (20 Dec) – Last minute breakthrough saves Northampton from a stinky Christmas, says GMB. GMB Union has today announced that planned strike action by refuse workers in Northampton has been suspended. Around 80 refuse and street cleaning workers were expected to down tools between Christmas and new year, with an over time ban throughout the Christmas period. The news comes after a refuse workers voted to accept an offer to re-start stalled pay talks with refuse provider Veolia along with a Christmas bonus scheme for workers read more

Coventry care home faces strike disruption as union slams culture of ‘poverty pay’ (20 Dec) – Workers at Coventry’s Victoria Park care home begin strike vote this week, says GMB. GMB union has today announced that workers at Victoria Park care home in Coventry will begin balloting for strike action. The news comes after the union accused HC One of failing to listen to workers’ concerns. Workers are furious after a popular local care home manager was sacked from the home after raising safety concerns about the referral of hospital outpatients to Victoria Park. A recent UK wide survey of workers in HC One Care homes found that staff were feeling the pinch of poor working conditions, with 40% of staff considering leaving because they don’t earn enough to live. Around 20 workers at the home are expected to join the ballot which begins on Thursday 21 December with a result expected after 4 January read more

South Wales faces festive Flogas shortage (20 Dec) – GMB Union members at Flogas at Llandarcy have downed tools for two more weeks of strike action

The move by workers has led to shortages of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquid Nitrogen Gas (LNG) shortages during the festive period across South West Wales, GMB has said. This is the second batch of action as nearly 20 workers at gas giant’s depot in South Wales downed tools back in November. 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

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

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 given go-ahead to join judicial review of government inaction over Windrush (22 Jan) – High Court will hear how former home secretary Suella Braverman reneged on key recommendations from the Windrush scandal inquiry read more

Blog: A strike of last resort that’s been forced on members (19 Jan) – On a freezing day in Northern Ireland, they walked out for the money they’ve been promised – but are still waiting for read more

Westminster government must unlock funding for Northern Ireland public sector pay rise now (18 Jan) – Health and education staff strike over absent pay rise. The government must release funding so health, education and other public sector workers in Northern Ireland can have their pay disputes resolved, says UNISON today (Thursday). The call comes as thousands of health, care, school and other public sector workers, belonging to UNISON and 14 other unions, are to take strike action today, following the Westminster government’s ongoing failure to provide the funding needed to resolve pay disputes, says the union read more

Barnet UNISON issues strike action notice for the next 5 months! – 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

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  

AFTER JANUARY 18 – WHAT NEXT? (19 Jan) – Dear Colleague, The 18 January generalised strike action by public servants was very successful. NIPSA members in all areas rallied to the call.  This gives us a strong basis to pursue our goals. NIPSA represents members in all parts of the public service in Northern Ireland.  Currently we are in dispute in the civil service, health service and the Education Authority.  We are taking industrial action in all these areas. In the civil service our action is for pay.  In health and education our industrial action is for pay, but the ballots also cover staffing and cuts to services. NIPSA has engaged with the Secretary of State, the Head of the Civil Service and other senior civil servants, the Assembly political parties – Sinn Fein, DUP, Alliance Party, UUP, SDLP, TUV and PBP – on all these issues. It is important to note that NIPSA, the wider trade union movement and the public have not yet been provided with a detailed breakdown on the financial package under discussion between the Secretary of State and the political parties read more

STRIKE UPDATE – JANUARY 18TH

  

Royal College of Nursing  

Strike action in Northern Ireland as nursing staff demand pay parity (18 Jan) – RCN continues to fight for nursing staff, patient care and the NHS. RCN members in all health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland will take strike action today (18 January 2024), for the 3rd time in 4 years, to demand a return to pay parity with nursing staff in England 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  

CSP

Second physiotherapy strike over pay takes place in Northern Ireland (18 Jan) – Physiotherapy staff working for Health and Social Care Northern Ireland are taking part in their second strike over pay today read more

SOR

Radiographers join today’s strike action in Northern Ireland (18 Jan) – The Society of Radiographers joins other unions in 12 hours of generalised strike action over working conditions in NI read more

BMA  

Donate to support striking junior doctors  

‘I’m voting “yes” to restore our pay’ (18 Jan) – Junior doctor Marcus Hollyer blogs about why he will be voting yes for strike action in Northern Ireland read more

Junior doctors in Wales send ‘powerful message’ at pay restoration rally in Cardiff

Thousands of doctors descend on Welsh Parliament in ‘act of self-respect’ (16 Jan) – Junior doctors in Wales gathered outside the Welsh Parliament to deliver a ‘powerful message’ to the devolved government about the need to restore pay and prevent doctors leaving Wales. Thousands of doctors descended on the Senedd Cymru on the second day of the 72-hour walkout by nearly 4,000 junior doctors in Wales read more

Junior doctors in Wales begin first strike of pay restoration campaign (15 Jan) – Workforce issues mirror those across NHS, but remuneration remains lower in Wales read more

Doctors begin longest single strike in NHS history (3 Jan) – Health secretary urged to make credible offer so juniors can return to work in England. ‘There is no good time to strike,’ says Rob Laurenson, BMA junior doctors committee co-chair, standing with dozens of BMA members at the picket line at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. However, as junior doctors in England begin the longest single strike action in NHS history on 3 January, he insists: ‘Strike action is the only thing that works.’ The Government has taken a stance that strikes must be called off for it to resume negotiations – while the BMA has consistently said it will resume talks at any time. When the Government failed to make a credible offer by the mutually agreed deadline in early December, this round of action – as well as three strike days before Christmas – were called. More than four weeks have passed since that deadline, with the Government refusing to make its ‘final offer’, which health secretary Victoria Atkins has said is still up her sleeve read more

HCSA

HCSA junior doctors vote yes to renew strike mandate (20 Dec) – HCSA Junior Doctors in England voted by over 96 percent today in favour of continued strike action over pay until at least June. Today’s Yes vote extends the current strike mandate and means HCSA junior doctor members in England will now join walkouts from 06.59am on January 3rd to 06.59am to January 9th. The result, which comes on the first day of winter strike action by doctors in training, is the third time this year HCSA members have backed walkouts over pay. The Yes vote in each case has exceeded 95 percent. Current law requires unions to renew a mandate for industrial action every six months read more

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

  

NEU  

Please find below details of forthcoming action and please send messages of solidarity to the email addresses below:-   Action Date Contact Duke’s Aldridge Academy / Haringey (Class Size) 24-25 January Edward Harlow [email protected] The Bulwell Academy / Notts (Terms & Conditions) 23-25 January Sheena Wheatley [email protected] Benson Primary School / Birmingham (Conditions of Service) 24-26 January Education unions respond to workload taskforce recommendations (15 Jan) – this update is only a very small part of the work needed to see the reductions in workload we all aspire to. Education unions today respond to the publication of initial recommendations by the Workload Reduction Taskforce to reduce workload for school leaders and teachers – including an end to performance-related pay read more

NASUWT  

Members take strike action across Northern Ireland (18 Jan) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union will take strike action today 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 November and February last year and a full day of strike action in schools and FE colleges in April last year. The latest strike action is expected to close the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s schools. This strike continues the NASUWT’s campaigning for a Better Deal for all teachers and lecturers. The NASUWT is highlighting the massive pay disparity across the UK for teachers. Damaging year-on-year pay cuts and the failure of salaries to keep pace with sky-high inflation have meant teachers, lecturers and principals have lost thousands of pounds since 2010 read more

Teachers at Pencoedtre continue to strike over severe pupil behaviour issues (18 Jan) – Following a day of industrial action last week on Thursday 11th January, teachers at Pencoedtre High School in Barry are on strike again today. Teachers at Pencoedtre have urgent concerns over violent and abusive behaviour from a small number of pupils at the school. Pencoedtre’s senior leadership team have suggested practical solutions to Vale of Glamorgan Council, but the Council still refuse to implement these solutions within a reasonable and safe timeframe read more

Teachers at Nottingham school take strike action over working practices (9 Jan) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at The Bulwell Academy in Nottingham will be taking strike action tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday over adverse management practices which are having a negative impact on teachers’ workload and working conditions 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  

Rethinking school inspection: NAHT’s latest report shows why Ofsted’s current inspection model is ‘unfit for purpose’ and calls for urgent systemic reform (17 Jan) – Findings from NAHT’s latest member survey into school inspection in England highlight the crisis within the current inspection system. The Rethinking School Inspection: Delivering fair, proportionate and humane school accountability report shows how Ofsted’s current inspection model is not just having a hugely detrimental effect on school leaders and their staff, it is also failing pupils and parents read more

EIS  

Scotland’s Teachers Submit Pay Claim, Emphasising Need for Pay Restoration (22 Jan) – Following the submission of this year’s pay claim for Scotland’s teachers through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), the EIS is calling for good faith negotiations from employers and the Scottish Government and the delivery of a fair agreement by the due settlement date of 1st August read more

Scotland’s College Lecturers Deliver Vote for Industrial Action on Pay (17 Jan) – College lecturers across Scotland have delivered a decisive vote in favour of industrial action on pay, as a long-running national dispute continues. The statutory ballot was organised by the EIS, and covers EIS Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-FELA) members in colleges the length and breadth of Scotland. In the ballot, 85% of those voting supported Action Short of Strike (ASOS) in support of the campaign for a fair pay settlement, while 77% supported Strike Action. The ballot comfortably passed the restrictive threshold set by the UK government’s anti-trade union law, meaning that both strike action and ASOS may be implemented when the EIS  decides to enact its renewed mandate for industrial action read more  

INTO  

INTO General Secretary hails massive teacher strike over fair pay (18 Jan) – INTO General Secretary John Boyle has today expressed his pride in the massive turnout of teachers across Northern Ireland who joined in today’s strike for fair pay read more

UCU  

Over 50 staff threatened with job losses at Tyne Coast College (18 Jan) – UCU today slammed Tyne Coast College for putting 54 staff at risk of redundancy. Earlier this week Tyne Coast College principal Mandy Morris emailed staff claiming the jobs are at risk because the college must make ‘efficiencies’ and blamed a ‘recognised national decline in higher education.’ The union has written to the college demanding it stops all individual consultation meetings with impacted staff and starts meaningfully consulting with UCU as required by law. Staff at Tyne Coast College took strike action over low pay earlier in the academic year in a dispute that has still not been resolved and the college recently shut down a sixth form campus read more

Further education lecturers in Northern Ireland to strike tomorrow (17 Jan) – Staff will strike act all six of Northern Ireland’s (NI) colleges tomorrow read more

Pace of change ‘far too slow’ in getting women & Black staff into senior university positions (16 Jan) – Commenting on the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency on staff in UK universities, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘The sector still has much to do to address gender and racial inequalities. The pace of change remains far too slow and university leaders need to work with UCU and remove the obstacles that stop women and Black staff from progressing into senior positions.’ Read more

Eight days of strike action begins today at London’s biggest college (16 Jan) – Staff at Capital City College Group (CCCG), London’s largest further education college group, begin eight days of strike action today in a long-running pay dispute. Staff are on picket lines on each of the eight days of action. The full strike dates are:-

• Week one: Tuesday 16 January, Wednesday 17 January, Thursday 18 January
• Week two: Monday 22 January 2024, Tuesday 23 January, Wednesday 24 January, Thursday 25 January, Friday 26 January 2024

CCCG has campuses across London, including in Westminster, Camden and Enfield. Staff at CCCG have already taken three days of strike action in what began as a national dispute over low pay and poor working conditions. UCU has now settled disputes at 60 colleges with pay awards of up to 10%. The union said CCCG is an isolated employer and must look to other colleges and settle the dispute by making an acceptable offer read more

Strikes on tomorrow and Wednesday at five colleges across the North East (8 Jan) – UCU has confirmed staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees will strike tomorrow and Wednesday in a long-running dispute over low pay. The strikes are going ahead at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy, and Redcar and Cleveland College after employer body the Education Training Collective (ETC) refused to make an improved offer on pay. Staff will be on picket lines on both days of strike action from 7.30am to 9.30am. Tomorrow’s picket line will be at Redcar and Cleveland College and Wednesday’s picket line will be at Stockton Riverside College. UCU members at the colleges have overwhelmingly rejected an offer of 3% for 22/23, and have also voted to reject a further offer of an additional 1% – which was only to be paid for three months of that financial year. Staff have already taken four days of strike action since November (2023), but ETC has responded by offering two “wellbeing days” and nothing on pay read more

Strike ballot opens at Aberdeen university in row over job cuts in modern languages (4 Jan) – A ballot for strike action has opened at Aberdeen university in a dispute over job cuts in the university’s threatened modern languages department. The ballot will run until Wednesday 7 February and could pave the way for strike action at the university. Members of the UCU branch at Aberdeen are being asked if they are willing to take part in strike action and action short of strike.  The ballot is being held because senior managers at the university are consulting on a proposal to end single honours degrees in modern languages meaning job losses.  In December the university’s senate, the body responsible for academic standards in the university, called for the consultation to be halted and for senate to be given the opportunity to consider the plans.  Despite this, senior managers drove their plan through the important university court meeting on 12 December 2023 meaning around 30 people remain at risk of redundancy and face a worrying start to the New Year read more

UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.  

  

FBU  

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 December 2023 read more 

  

NAPO  

VLO Job Evaluation Appeal Brings Welcome News (17 Jan) – At a meeting between Napo, UNISON, GMB/SCOOP and senior Probation management yesterday, we heard the result of the Job Evaluation Appeal for the Victim Liaison Officer (VLO) role previously submitted by the joint trade unions. The outcome is that Band 4 has been confirmed as the appropriate banding for this role, meaning that there will be a salary increase because of the VLO role obtaining an uplift of one pay band. Under the terms of the collective agreement on the Job Evaluation System (JES) between the unions and the Probation service, the result of the VLO appeal is final. Urgent discussions will be taking place between the unions and senior management on the implementation process and more news will follow at the earliest opportunity read more

New instructions regarding PSRs (17 Jan) – There has been on going changes within the Court forum and here is the latest information. The gatekeeping guidance was updated by the Central Court Team, November 2023 and was emailed to staff December 2023.  This is called Practice Guidance: Gatekeeping for written Pre-Sentence Reports read more

BFAWU  

Winter 2024 Foodworker

Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more  

Nautilus International

Nautilus reclaims £1.3 million in unpaid wages for yacht crew (22 Jan) – The figure represents a more than £350,000 increase on 2021, the last ‘normal’ year before the impact of Russian sanctions on the superyacht sector. The figure represents a more than £350,000 increase on 2021, the last ‘normal’ year before the impact of Russian sanctions on the superyacht sector read more

Employees locked out by Lloyd’s Register during protest over pay and conditions (18 Jan) – Staff members had travelled from Rotterdam to London to present the petition signed by 90 employees to chief executive Nick Brown. Workers are asking for a pay rise reflective of the high rate of inflation and union recognition. Nautilus members and Lloyd’s Register employees from the Netherlands were refused entry to Lloyd’s Register’s head office in London to deliver a petition on behalf of staff. Staff members had travelled from Rotterdam to London to present the petition signed by 90 employees to chief executive Nick Brown. Workers are asking for a pay rise reflective of the high rate of inflation and union recognition. The employees arrived at the pre-agreed meeting to find gates locked and a security guard in place blocking the entrance read more

NUJ   

NUJ calls for International Criminal Court investigation amid rising journalists deaths in Gaza (19 Jan) – The union’s National Executive Council motion urges the release of all hostages, a mutual cessation of violence and a permanent ceasefire read more

Journalists in Gaza (19 Jan) – Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motions tabled by members of the NUJ Parliamentary Group urging action from the UK government and International Criminal Court, over Israel’s targeting of journalists 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

Equity

English National Opera chorus vote YES in ballot on strike action (17 Jan) – Equity members in the ENO chorus vote to take industrial action starting on 1 February. Equity members in the ENO chorus have voted ‘yes’ in a ballot on whether to take strike action.

• The turnout among ENO chorus members was 94.11%
• 100% voted ’yes’ to full strike action
• 100% voted ‘yes’ to take action short of a strike

The ballot opened on Thursday 4 January and closed on Tuesday 16 January. The chorus are joined by the ENO orchestra, who are represented by the Musicians Union and who have also voted yes to industrial action. The first day of strike action for both unions is planned for 1st February. This date coincides with the opening night of the ENO’s production of The Handmaid’s Tale read more

Musicians Union

Musicians and Music Staff at English National Opera to Go On Strike (17 Jan) – Musicians’ Union members will be going on strike for the first time since July 1980 read more

Community

Statement Community and GMB: Tata Steel Port Talbot (19 Jan) – The steel unions – Community, Unite and GMB – met yesterday with senior representatives of Tata Steel, who formally responded to reject the Multi-Union Plan that the unions presented to the company on the 17th of November read more

USDAW

Sainsbury’s Bank ‘wind down’ is clearly concerning for staff – Usdaw seeks urgent clarification for members (18 Jan) – Retail trade union Usdaw represents members working in Sainsbury’s bank. They are clearly concerned by today’s media reports that the company is planning to wind down its banking division as part of plans to focus its efforts on the retail business. The union is seeking urgent clarification read more

UVW

Harrods’ hospitality workers ready to strike for third time if 2024 pay promise not kept (16 Jan) – Following two UVW victorious disputes for workers’ tips in 2017 and a huge 25 percent wage increase in December 2021, Harrods’s hospitality workers are ready for a third strike if Harrods doesn’t keep its 2024 pay rise promise. The London luxury store has offered them a pay review with an increase by 1 April 2024, following moves by UVW bar and kitchen staff. A majority of workers and UVW members voted positively in December over their willingness to declare a third pay dispute read more

“They don’t treat us cleaners like human beings, they treat us like rats”: cleaners at the Department of Education poised to strike for a living wage (20 Dec) – Exhausted cleaners, struggling to pay for the basics, working at the Department for Education (DfE)’s Sanctuary Buildings are asking to be paid a living wage, equal sick pay and annual leave with civil service workers, appropriate staffing levels and union recognition. Cleaners at the department took three days of strike action over the summer as part of a mass strike by UVW members demanding dignity, equality and respect. The DfE cleaners, who are members of United Voices of the World (UVW), have given their bosses at ISS UK Limited (ISS), until 8 January 2024 to reply. If there’s no reply, members have instructed UVW to declare a dispute and issue a notice of intention to ballot for industrial action read more

IWGB  

Donate to IWGB strike fund  

SIPTU

SIPTU NEC expresses support for striking workers across Northern Ireland (18 Jan) – The SIPTU National Executive Council (NEC) today (Thursday, 18th January) expressed their full support and solidarity for all striking workers across Northern Ireland. Speaking following a meeting of the NEC this afternoon in Liberty Hall, Dublin, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for the Public Service, John King, said: “All SIPTU members in Northern Ireland and all union members who are taking part in strike action today in defence of public services and for the pay justice and respect campaign for all public servants deserve great credit for the courage they have shown in their collective and determined resistance in the face of their brutal treatment by the Tory Government.” The NEC urged Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to intervene and release the funding required for public sector workers to get a much-needed pay rise in the absence of a functioning Stormont Assembly and executive read more

SIPTU driver members at Kerry Agribusiness to take strike action tomorrow (16 Jan) – SIPTU members employed by Kerry Agribusiness will begin a campaign of strike action at 9.00 a.m. on Wednesday, 17th January, due to the company’s decision to impose compulsory redundancies read more

Other news  

Strike Map: London launch of JT Murphy re-print of The Workers’ Committee with Manifesto Press – Friday 16th February 7.00pm at the Marx Memorial Library, London, EC1R 0DU, FREE/£5/£10 tickets

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 

STAMMA website  

  

  

Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps  

Hazards urgently need our support

Many workers were blacklisted because they raised complaints about health and safety or took on the role of a union safety rep. So when our blacklisting campaign was first starting back in 2009, Hazards magazine set up the Blacklist Blog on their website. Alongside our FaceBook page it is the go to online resource for what our campaign has achieved over the past 13 years. www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

Hazards is now in financial difficulty and needs the support of the union movement. Its major funding stream has vanished almost overnight. The magazine and the Hazards centres around the country need union branches or official unions to take out a regular subscription to keep the union movement’s flagship safety magazine in operation. If you or your union committee can afford it, please support Hazards:

https://www.hazards.org/friends/index.htm

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 17^th 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  

(From NUJ website) Israel: journalists blocked from entering Gaza (12 Jan) read more

(From NUJ website) Yemen: journalists remain under attack from government and Houthi group read more

(From NUJ website) Iran: journalists threatened by prison authorities

(11 Jan) read more

Solidarity with the striking textile workers at Ozak in Turkey – read more on Twitter of Solidarity with the People of Turkey @spotturkey

Diary   

2024 

January

27 TUC demonstration in Cheltenham against the MSL anti-union legislation on 40^th 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