NSSN 665: After TUC Demo & ASLEF forcing LNER U-Turn, Zoom into NSSN Meeting tonight on how to defeat Tory MSL

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

About 5,000 trade unionists marched in Cheltenham last Saturday in opposition to the new Tory anti-union Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (MSL), and to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Thatcher’s banning of union rights at GCHQ in the town.

It was just days after the U-turn by the state-owned LNER train operating company that was reported to have signalled its intention to have used the MSL against ASLEF. The union had reacted to this threat by putting in 5 additional strike days. This apparent retreat was a defeat not only for LNER bosses but for Sunak’s Tory Government.

It showed that workers’ action can smash this vicious Tory attack on our right to strike. Come and take part in the NSSN Online Public Meeting tonight – Tuesday 30th January at 6.30pm to discuss how the fight against the MSL must be built.

It is now vital that the statement that was passed at the Special TUC Congress in December – setting out a campaign of defiance and non-compliance – is implemented and built upon:-

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.

Unite leader calls government “the real threat to national security” (27 Jan)

Unite leader promises “real support” to any union threatened by Minimum Service Level legislation (26 Jan)

PCS: Thousands attend GCHQ march in Cheltenham (29 Jan)

PCS to legally challenge government over anti-strike laws (27 Jan)

PCS: E-book about GCHQ ban available now (26 Jan)

Prospect attends Cheltenham rally to mark 40 years since GCHQ trade union ban (29 Jan)

UNISON joins Cheltenham rally to defend the right to strike (29 Jan)

FBU: Union leader vows mass resistance to anti-strike laws as TUC marches (27 Jan)

FDA marches to commemorate 40th anniversary of GCHQ union ban (29 Jan)

“How dare they?” CSP marches to protect the right to strike (29 Jan)

Nautilus supports UK right to strike rally (30 Jan)

Online Meeting: Troublemakers – How do we beat the MSL? – 7pm Thursday 1^st February. Details: https://troublemakersat.work/event/minimum-service-levels/

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 protest as Tata bosses appear at Parliament select committee on Port Talbot (30 Jan) – A demonstration will be held to coincide with Tata bosses giving evidence at a Parliamentary select committee hearing on Port Talbot this Wednesday (31 January). The demonstration comes as the Guardian reports that Tata is ‘open to more UK investment’ after it was handed £500 million by the government to shed 2,800 jobs and close both of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces. The move will leave the UK as the only G20 nation unable to produce virgin steel.

When: 0930 hrs, Wednesday, 31 January 2024

Where: Portcullis House, 1 Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JR read more

Lobby Woking Borough Council on Thursday 8^th February 6pm – Demand local councillors refuse to vote for cuts!

Stop the attack on Gaza

Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of 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 outside the BBC, Portland Place, W1A 1AA

#StandWithGaza London Trade Union Rally: Tues 6 Feb – 6.30pm, Mander Hall, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD

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 

London Overground workers to strike over pay (30 Jan) – Staff working on London Overground will take strike action over pay after a below inflation offer. More than 300 workers will take action which includes strikes and action short of strike.

The action will take place at the following times:-

00:01 on Monday 19th February 2024 until 23:59 on Tuesday 20th February 2024
00:01 on Monday 4th March 2024 until 23:59 on Tuesday 5th March 2024

Among the workers taking action will be security, station, revenue and control staff.

Arriva Rail London (ARL) who has the contract on London Overground have offered a below inflation pay offer and RMT members overwhelmingly voted for action in response read more

Hitachi Rail workers to take five days strike action (26 Jan) – RMT members working across East Coast mainline for Hitachi Rail will begin five days of strike action on Saturday. The stoppage will take place at Craigentinny, Bounds Green & Doncaster maintenance depots across the East Coast mainline and will conclude on Thursday 1st February. More than 400 workers will be taking part in the action on Hitachi Rail which maintains the rolling stock and signalling for LNER. Hitachi Rail have refused to make an acceptable offer despite the company making over £100m in profit last year and paying out a whopping £260,179,000 in dividends. The union has carried out a risk assessment of the safety regime of Hitachi in the event of a strike and have found it is not up to standard and poses risks to the travelling public read more

Cleaners on TPE suspend strike after new offer (24 Jan) – TransPennine Express (TPE) contracted out cleaners have suspended their strike action following an improved offer. Bidvest Noonan which employs cleaners to work on TPE services has offered more money backdated in the first year and from November have agreed to implement a “living wage” of £12 an hour. The improved offer also contains staff travel facilities which will save cleaners £1,000 a year for rail travel. And the company has pledged talks with the union and TPE to develop a roadmap for reaching £15 per hour. RMT is recommending members accept the offer and strike action scheduled for Friday has now been suspended 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

ASLEF picket lines

TSSA 

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

Unite 

Unite drives 11% JLR pay rise for over 20,000 workers (30 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a two year 11 per cent pay rise for over 20,000 workers. The workers voted to accept the two year pay deal of six per cent from January 2024 and an additional five per cent from January 2025 on Monday. The deal, which will benefit workers at JLR sites in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Warwickshire, Liverpool, Solihull and Coventry, was negotiated without the need or threat of industrial action read more

Security guards to strike at London’s Guys and St Thomas’ hospital (30 Jan) – Unite the union today (Tuesday) announced that 30 security workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital will take part in discontinuous industrial action from 07:00 Thursday 1 February after the NHS Foundation Trust refused to negotiate on several areas. The UK’s leading union said that its members will strike for a week until Thursday 8 February at 06:59 read more

When: 0930 hrs, Wednesday, 31 January 2024

Where: Portcullis House, 1 Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JR read more

Port Talbot demo calls on Tata to shelve closure plans and wait until general election (25 Jan) – Protest outside steel works after Labour tells Tata to wait for £3bn UK steel investment. A demonstration will be held outside of Port Talbot steelworks tomorrow (Friday). The protest, organised by Unite and attended by members of the public, will call on Tata to shelve its plans to close both blast furnaces and wait for this year’s general election read more

Unite secures commitment from Labour for serious investment in Port Talbot (23 Jan) – Tata must wait for general election as Labour pledges £3bn to UK steel. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed statements made by the Labour Party during an opposition day debate today in the Commons confirming its commitment to Port Talbot and calling on Tata not to make any “irreversible decisions” prior to the general election. Labour has further pledged to use a £3 billion green steel fund to develop an alternative plan for the entire sector read more

Huge surge in Northern Ireland potholes reflects more than a decade of underinvestment (29 Jan) – Roads Service suffering acute staffing crisis as low-pay undermines recruitment and retention. Unite the UK’s leading union has blamed a huge increase in potholes in Northern Ireland on chronic under investment in the Roads Service. Statistics unveiled today have revealed that potholes reported by members of the public have increased year on year over the last eight years. Rising from 3,206 reported in 2015 to 25,067 in 2023 – an increase of 780 per cent over the period. Unite the union members working in the Roads Service are currently in dispute in pursuit of a pay increase. Roads service workers took a week of strike action over pay last week. Employers’ imposed a pay increase worth between 1.65 and 2.3 per cent in 2022-2023 and are still to commence negotiations for the 2023-2024 financial year read more

Escalation in industrial action at Cambridge University (29 Jan) – Vital workers at Cambridge University are taking to the picket line in an escalation of strike action over the low pay they are receiving and the refusal to offer a fair increase. Despite being one of the world’s most prestigious institutes of learning, the university is trying to force through a real terms pay cut. Workers have only been offered an increase of between a five and six per cent increase. The pay award was due to come into effect in August last year when the real inflation rate (RPI) stood at nine per cent. Unite’s members, some of whom earn under £23,000 are demanding above inflation rises to cope with the cost of living in one of the most expensive parts of the UK outside London. 450 members working in the university library, the department of engineering, estate management, the Fitzwilliam Museum and information services will be taking strike action from Wednesday 31 January until Friday 2 February 2024 read more

Majority of Hitachi workers secure pay deal (29 Jan) – Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, has secured increased pay for workers at Hitachi trains working on Great Western Railways (GWR), resolving an industrial dispute. Some Hitachi engineers, repairs and maintenance crews at LNER remain on strike though as Hitachi has not made the same offer to these workers. Hitachi employees at GWR have secured the following two year pay increase following the threat of industrial action that would have led to trains remaining in the sidings without the repairs and maintenance necessary to run safely:

Year 1 – 6% on basic pay plus a £1,250 lump sum payment effective from 1 April 2023 covering FY 23/24
Year 2 – 5.2% on basic pay effective from 01 April 2024 covering FY 24/25

But Unite and RMT members at LNER who have not been offered the same deal are unhappy with their pay in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis when they perform highly skilled roles that are safety critical for the railway industry. The stoppages began on Saturday 27 January and will take place at Craigentinny, Bounds Green & Doncaster maintenance depots across the East Coast mainline and will conclude on Thursday 1st February read more

Supreme Court in Ireland lifts injunction preventing industrial action (28 Jan) – Decision removes obstacle to mechanical workers’ strike action. Unite leader: “We will leave no stone unturned to vindicate the right to take action”. January 28th: The Supreme Court has agreed to lift an interim High Court injunction obtained by HA O’Neil, part of the Jones Engineering Group, last March preventing Unite members continuing industrial action in pursuit of their claim for restoration of travel time. Unite had appealed last year’s High Court decision to the Supreme Court. While the full judgement will not be available for some time, the union said that the decision last Wednesday to lift the injunction is good news not just for Unite members but for the wider trade union movement. Unite also pointed out that the decision removes an obstacle to members in the mechanical sector taking strike action read more

Unite leader calls government “the real threat to national security” (27 Jan) – Speaking at the TUC’s right to strike rally in Cheltenham today (27 January) Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has labelled the government “the real threat to national security”. Sharon Graham said: “Let me say to the government today. You are the real threat to national security. You have crippled our industries, stopped us owning our own energy, handed our water supply to rampant profiteers. “And your latest act of industrial vandalism – watching our steel industry being decimated.” Directly addressing the government’s Minimum Service Level Act, which is designed to undermine the right to strike Sharon Graham said: “This legalisation puts this government at war with workers. We will use every tactic in our armoury to push back any employer who uses this anti-union legalisation. “And make no mistake, any employer who chooses to serve the first work notice – this will be seen as a hostile act. A stake in the ground. And we will escalate and we will win.” Read more

Unite leader promises “real support” to any union threatened by Minimum Service Level legislation (26 Jan) – Commitment made prior to TUC Protect the Right to Strike demonstration in Cheltenham: Ahead of the TUC’s protect right the strike demonstration in Cheltenham tomorrow (Saturday 27 January), Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham has committed to “real support” to provide any union threatened by the government’s minimum service level legislation read more

Gillingham workers to picket at PHINIA over removal of paid lunch break (26 Jan) – Unite the union today has announced that 60 Gillingham-based PHINIA employees will take part in discontinuous industrial action from 07:30 on Monday 29 January, as the company plans to remove staff member’s paid lunch break. Unite, the UK’s leading union, will be fully supporting workers throughout industrial action with the first strike beginning on Monday 29 January and running throughout February, with a total of seven days of strikes already announced. PHINIA features on the New York Stock Exchange as PHIN and recently reported a net revenue of approximately $800 million. Now the fuel systems company is seeking to revoke a contractually binding paid lunch break that was secured as part of negotiations 20 years ago…In a deplorable development, PHINIA has threatened to fire and rehire the entire workforce to try to force through its planned change read more

Unite secures Cheshire refuse workers pay deal worth up to 11.8% (26 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a pay rise worth between seven and 11.8 per cent for refuse workers employed by Cheshire West Recycling. The deal was secured after around 170 workers voted for strike action. Following the successful industrial action ballot, an improved pay offer was put forward by their employer and accepted by the workers. The deal comprises an increase of £1.25 on the hourly rate – worth between seven and 11.8 per cent depending on grade – and will be backdated to April 2023. The deal also includes an increase of two days annual leave read more

Imerys Cornwall clay mine workers to strike over pay (26 Jan) – Staff angry over bad faith pay deal. More than 400 Imerys staff, predominantly based at clay mines in Cornwall, are to strike over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). In 2022, Imerys workforce agreed to an initial six per cent pay rise from January 2023. The good faith agreement was on the condition that negotiations with Unite on increasing the 2023 pay award would continue during the spring. This was because the initial rise was a significant real terms wage cut, as RPI inflation at the time stood at 13.4 per cent. Since then, however, the company has refused to put forward an acceptable offer and is insisting workers will only receive backpay from April 2023 rather than January 2023 read more

Mid Ulster District Council Leisure workers to continue all-out strike for improved coaching payments (26 Jan) – Strike by leisure workers continues at both Cookstown and Greenvale Leisure Centres. Approximately 30 members of Unite the union employed at both Cookstown Leisure Centre and Greenvale Leisure Centre are taking strike action in demand of improved payments for coaching duties. The all-out (indefinite) strike commenced on Monday [22 January] and in the absence of movement by council management is set to continue into a second week. The industrial action follows a ballot of the workers which returned an 80 per cent mandate for strike action. The workers are seeking improved payments for coaching duties which are outside their standard contract of employment read more

Sandwell council building workers strike over broken pay promise (26 Jan) – Strikes after council refuses to pay market supplement rate. Around 100 Sandwell council building workers will strike in February and March over a broken pay promise, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers. roofers, glaziers, plumbers and painters and decorators are angry that an agreement made in August last year to pay a market supplement of £2,900 that the council itself calculated has been reneged upon. Negotiations for the market supplement had been ongoing for months before August 2023, with the workers increasingly frustrated that Sandwell council has still not resolved the issue after more than a year…The workers will strike on 5, 9, 12, 15, 19, 23 and 26 February and 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18 and 22 March. Further strike action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more

Strike action called off as Odfjell drillers secure new working rotation on Equinor’s Mariner platform (26 Jan) – Unite campaign delivers safer work and life balance for drillers. Unite the union confirmed today (Friday 26 January) that over 100 offshore drillers employed by Odfjell Technology (UK) Ltd on Equinor’s Mariner platform have secured a new working rotation bringing the dispute to an end. Unite members voted overwhelmingly in favour of an improved offer by Odfjell. The deal consists of the drillers now shifting to an improved working rotation of two weeks on and three weeks off, which was at the centre of the dispute. It also includes enhancements to pay, terms and conditions. The deal means the forthcoming overtime ban and strike action scheduled to start on Monday (29 January), which Unite announced last week, has now been called off read more

Hoyer tanker drivers vote for strike action in pay dispute (24 Jan) – A brewing industrial dispute involving Grangemouth based tanker drivers could severely impact fuel supplies to airports and forecourts across Scotland. Unite can confirm that over 30 members employed by Hoyer Gas and Petroleum Logistics Limited backed strike action by 100 per cent on a 97 per cent turnout, after the membership rejected a seven per cent pay offer. Unite says the current offer falls way short of the drivers’ aspirations, and the offer does nothing to bring them into line with industry standards including the pay levels of other Hoyer drivers based out of the Grangemouth oil terminal. If Hoyer fails to make a significantly improved offer then Unite will announce firm dates for industrial action. The union is also pointing out that the Hoyer drivers working on the gas and petroleum logistics contract have not had a pay increase since 2021 read more

Unite: Energy reform needed as Citizen’s Advice reveals 2 million to be cut off this winter (23 Jan) – Commenting on Citizen’s Advice’s warning that up to two million people will have their gas and electricity cut off this winter, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Nobody should be living in fuel poverty. But profiteering by energy providers over the last few years has resulted in unaffordable bills for millions. It’s time for government to protect households and businesses from the greed of the companies controlling our energy. Politicians need to make the right choice and start bringing the UK’s energy industry back into public hands.” Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big ‘YES’ to Santander pay deal worth 6% plus for most (26 Jan) – Members across Santander UK have voted by nearly nine-to-one to accept a CWU-brokered 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 settlement – which was ratified by 86.8% of members casting their vote in a consultative ballot that closed at noon today (Friday) – 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. For the majority of members that increase is fully consolidated – though for those already earning above the maximum of their pay range the award is either be unconsolidated or split into consolidated and non-consolidated elements as appropriate, unless special ‘protected arrangements’ apply 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]

PCS condemns attempt to reintroduce tribunal fees (29 Jan) – The UK Government has launched a consultation on the reintroduction of fees for submitting claims to the Employment Tribunal (ET) and Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in a move that will hit the lowest earners, women, disabled people and minorities read more

Thousands attend GCHQ march in Cheltenham (29 Jan) – The joint PCS/TUC march and rally on Saturday (27) commemorated the anniversary and showed opposition to restrictions on trade union rights. The joint PCS/TUC march and rally took place on Saturday (27) to commemorate the anniversary and also to show opposition to restrictions on trade union rights. Announced at the TUC special congress in London in December, a joint PCS/TUC march and rally took place on 27 January in Cheltenham to mark the 40th anniversary of the ban on trade union membership at GCHQ. As well as commemorating the GCHQ workers’ victory, thousands of trade unionists from across the UK came together to recommit the labour movement to defiant opposition to minimum service levels, trade union restrictions and any threat to the right to strike read more

House of Commons security guards to vote on negotiated offer (29 Jan) – After voting for strike action, talks with management have achieved a successful outcome. Last year over 250 PCS members working as security guards in Westminster voted for strike action over changes to their shift patterns. PCS suspended the strike action to allow for negotiations to take place. A working party of reps and management was established at the end of last year and has worked through the shift rosters in detail. The PCS team has worked hard to achieve changes that would be acceptable to our members, and we have reached a satisfactory conclusion judged against our objectives. Members will now be balloted on the offer and reps are recommending acceptance. The ballot will be online and run from 29 January until 11 February. The branch will be holding drop-in sessions between now and the closing date of the ballot to answer any questions members might have read more

PCS to legally challenge government over anti-strike laws (27 Nov) – PCS is to launch a judicial review against the government’s minimum service laws, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka announced today (27) at a rally in Cheltenham. At today’s joint PCS/TUC march and rally in Cheltenham to mark the 40th anniversary of the ban on trade union membership at GCHQ, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka announced that PCS will use the Human Rights Act to challenge the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. As well as commemorating the GCHQ workers’ victory, today’s march and rally were called to recommit the labour movement to defiant opposition to minimum service levels, trade union restrictions and any threat to the right to strike read more

E-book about GCHQ ban available now (26 Jan) – The digital reissue of GCHQ union ban book is available to purchase ahead of march and rally in Cheltenham to commemorate its 40th anniversary read more

51 days of strike action at The Pensions Regulator (26 Jan) – Today (26) marks the 51st day of strike action in the dispute over pay. Almost 400 PCS members at The Pensions Regulator (TPR) continue to take hard-hitting strike action as part of a long-running dispute that entered its 50th day yesterday (25). They will take action again on January 30 and 31, as well as February 1, after being offered a 3% pay rise while other civil service employers are paying 4.5%. The first day of strike action took place on 5 September and there has been ongoing strike action ever since. There have been picket lines with at least 30 TPR members in attendance on every day of strike action – apart from one day when the weather was extreme. Throughout this period of strike action, TPR have been totally intransigent and failed to accept PCS reasonable requests to attempt to resolve the dispute. Members remain totally resolute in their determination to win this dispute and get the money they are owed. It is clear that staff at TPR are fully behind the dispute. PCS membership has risen to 372 from 150 in September read more

Take action over the 60% return to offices (26 Jan) – We are encouraging individual members, reps and branches to get involved in fighting the government’s plans to force staff back into offices read more

PCS members working for DVSA to take strike action (25 Jan) – The members at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will strike for four days in February in the dispute over the Agency’s driver services recovery programme. PCS members working for DVSA will walk out on 8, 9, 10 and 11 February in their dispute. The ‘driver services recovery programme’ is a politically driven programme which seeks to recover backlogs to a national average of 7 weeks by 31 March 2024. The programme poses significant safety risks to test candidates and examiners, as well as an erosion of staff’s terms and conditions. It fails to address the root causes of the backlog and requires staff to deliver an additional 150,000 tests on top of their normal workloads. This is despite DVSA’s own admission that even 150,000 additional driving tests will still result in missing the target. Despite PCS’s best efforts, an acceptable agreement has not been reached through dispute resolution negotiation and our reasonable demands have not been met read more

ISS meets members ‘working under protest’ to hear their collective grievance (24 Jan) – On 1 November, ISS imposed an unlawful change to the pay frequency of some staff transferring from Mitie. Collective grievance meeting – decision expected next week. PCS members and reps at the Cabinet Office met with ISS management on 15 January to put forward a collective grievance claim. The grievance challenges ISS’s unjust and unlawful decision to pay housekeeping, cleaning and catering staff fortnightly, instead of monthly. The decision took effect from 1 November, when staff transferred employment from Mitie to ISS. ISS’s action is unlawful because the change was not agreed by individual employees or their PCS representatives and is therefore in breach of the affected staff’s employment contracts. The imposed change also treats this group of primarily Black, Asian and minority ethnic and/or female workers differently from other colleagues read more

Have your say on the 2024 Facilities Management Pay Claim (23 Jan) – Your representatives are conducting a consultation exercise for PCS members employed in outsourced Facilities Management (FM) roles on your 2024 pay demands 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

Prospect 

Prospect attends Cheltenham rally to mark 40 years since GCHQ trade union ban (29 Jan) – Prospect joined with other TUC unions for a protect the right to strike rally in Cheltenham on Saturday to mark 40 years since the ban of trade unions at GCHQ read more

Planning deadlines missed by Natural England because of staffing problems soars by a third (26 Jan) – The number of planning deadlines missed by Natural England because of staffing and resourcing issues has risen by almost a third in a year, from 1475 to 1952, and is more than double the level in 2020/21 which was 779 read more

Institute for Government’s Whitehall Monitor 2024 report lays bare the state of pay in the Civil Service (23 Jan) – The Institute for Government has published its Whitehall Monitor 2024 and it has some stark warnings on pay 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

FDA marches to commemorate 40th anniversary of GCHQ union ban (29 Jan) – The FDA marches to commemorate the 40th anniversary GCHQ trade union ban and demonstrate as the right to strike is threatened for millions of union members

On 27th January, FDA staff, Executive Committee and members took part in a march in Cheltenham to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the GCHQ trade union ban, and celebrate the campaign that saw the ban reversed by the Labour government in 1997 read more

GMB 

Wiltshire Social Workers announce 3 months of strike action (29 Jan) – Workers in the out of hours emergency service to strike every weekend until 19 May. Members of GMB, the union for Wiltshire Council, have today informed their employer that they will be taking strike action every weekend for three months. The dispute centres around a proposed pay cut by the council, which would see a contractual out-of-hours bonus removed, costing some staff up to 20 per cent of their annual salary. The strike is an escalation of a dispute by GMB members across the council which has been running for 2 years and has seen 11 days of strikes by traffic wardens read more

Amazon workers vote for six more months of strikes (26 Jan) – Workers at Amazon Coventry have voted to back an extension of industrial action. The news comes as strike action spread to a third Amazon warehouse this week, with workers at Amazon Minworth downing tools and joining strike action. Amazon workers have already taken nearly 30 days of industrial action in their fight for £15 and union rights. Over 1000 Amazon workers are expected to join the upcoming action with strike dates set to be announced in the coming weeks read more

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

Asda workers balloted over cuts and bullying (26 Jan) – Wisbech Asda workers will vote in a ballot over cuts in hours and management bullying. More than 150 GMB members at ASDA Wisbech asked for the vote to address these issues, along with poor training and support, their equal pay claim dragging on for years, and health, safety and fire safety issues being ignored. The consultative ballot opens today [Friday 26 January] and closes on 9 February. If workers indicate they are ready for industrial action, a full strike ballot will launch shortly after. More than 100 GMB members at Asda’s Gosport superstore voted for industrial action last month – the first ever vote of its kind. The strike was suspended thanks to last ditch talks, which are still on going read more

Blast furnace closure leaves UK underprepared for war (25 Jan) – The UK will be left ‘woefully underprepared’ for any potential conflict if steel blast furnaces are allowed to close, GMB has said. In a letter to Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, the union says losing the ability to make steel from scratch will ‘significantly impact the security of our essential defence supply chains’. New, or virgin, steel can only be made using the UK’s four blast furnaces – two at Port Talbot and two at Scunthorpe. Tata has just announced the closure of the two Port Talbot blast furnaces and plans to replace them with an electric arc furnace, which can only produce recycled steel. There are fears that British Steel plans to close the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, leaving the UK with no way to make virgin steel. Fresh steel is vital for warships and other parts of the defence industry. The Ministry of Defence previously intervened to secure the future of Sheffield Forgemasters, and GMB calls on the Defence Secretary to act again to safeguard this essential sovereign defence manufacturing capability read more

Sunderland carers launch historic equal pay claim (25 Jan) – Sunderland care and support workers begin historic legal action today. The mainly women workers will protest full council tonight [Wednesday 24 January 2024] as they launch historic legal action to recover the wages and pension contributions owed. Workers impacted by pay discrimination will be asking seven questions to councillors. The mainly women staff employed at Sunderland Care and Support (SCAS) have been denied access to a more generous Local Authority Pension Scheme, that predominantly male council workers use. And they are paid less per hour than male dominated jobs. Following Sunderland Council’s refusal to negotiate with GMB to deliver a fair wage for these women workers, the union is now moving to legal action against the council read more

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

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

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

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

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 

Unfair tribunal fees plan shows government is out of ideas, says UNISON (29 Jan) – Tribunal fees deny the poorest and most vulnerable access to justice. Commenting on the launch of a government consultation into tribunal fees, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The government should be tackling the real issues the country faces, not trying to pick another fight with working people. The fact that ministers want to reheat a failed and illegal policy shows that this is a government that ran out of ideas some time ago and needs to step aside…” read more

UNISON joins Cheltenham rally to defend the right to strike (29 Jan) – The Minimum Service Levels Act could restrict the right to strike for over five million workers. On Saturday 27 January, around 5,000 people took to the streets of Cheltenham against the Tories’ new anti-strike laws. The date marked the 40th anniversary of GCHQ’s ban on trade unions, when Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government attacked trade union rights in 1984. UNISON, along with other unions, say there are parallels between this historical event and the new Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. The Minimum Service Levels Act could restrict the right to strike for over five million workers. The new law stipulates that, when workers in certain public sectors vote to strike, they could be forced to attend work and sacked if they don’t comply read more

Council bailout cash not even a short-term fix, says UNISON (24 Jan) – Councils need proper and sustained funding, not panicked quick fixes to keep the wolf from the door in an election year. Commenting on government plans to provide councils with emergency bailout money announced today (Wednesday), UNISON head of local government Mike Short said: “Such is the desperate state of most councils’ finances that this cash injection merely staves off the immediate threat of bankruptcy for some. But others could still go under in the coming months. Sadly, ministers have yet to understand councils need proper and sustained funding, not panicked quick fixes to keep the wolf from the door in an election year…” read more

Join Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers #Solidarity Rally: Listen to one of our strikers – Outside Hendon Town Hall Tuesday, 30 Jan 6-7.30pm, nearest tube, Hendon Central, Northern Line, directions turn left out of station it is a 15-minute walk up hill turn right at traffic lights and follow the noise

strike timetable over 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 

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

“How dare they?” CSP marches to protect the right to strike (29 Jan) – Physiotherapy staff join Trades Union Congress rally in Cheltenham read more

BMA 

Donate to support striking junior doctors 

SAS doctors vote on pay offer (29 Jan) – After months of negotiation with the Government, SAS doctors in England are voting on whether to accept an offer to improve pay and conditions read more

Pay offer referendum results for consultants in England – Thank you to everyone who voted. The results are in and our members voted by a slim majority, 51%, to reject the offer. The vote demonstrates that consultants still have considerable concerns about the offer. From the feedback members have given us it was clear that they thought it did not go far enough and as a result they did not have confidence that pay would be restored over future years. They were also concerned both about the fairness of the deal and about potential changes to SPAs. The results have been discussed by consultants committee today and we have decided not to call strike action at the current time but instead enter discussions with Government to see whether we can secure improvement to address our members’ concerns. If, however, that is unsuccessful, consultants in England remain in dispute; as members demonstrated in the ballot before Christmas they remain committed to taking further strike action, should the need arise. We want this dispute resolved, but the ball is in the Government’s court to make a renewed offer that not only delivers for consultants, but crucially, for patients too, by retaining the NHS’s most experienced clinicians read more

‘I’m voting “yes” to restore our pay’ in Northern Ireland (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:- Duke’s Aldridge Academy / Haringey (Class Size) 30-31 January Edward Harlow [email protected] The Bulwell Academy / Notts (Terms & Conditions) 29-31 January Sheena Wheatley [email protected] Benson Primary School / Birmingham (Conditions of Service) Queen Mary’s School / North Yorkshire (TPS) David Room [email protected] Queen Mary’s School / North Yorkshire (TPS) 30-31 January Gary McVeigh-Kaye [email protected] Education Committee report on Ofsted (29 Jan) – This report suggests some important changes but does not grasp the true scale of the problem. Commenting on Ofsted’s Work with Schools, a new report from the House of Commons Education Select Committee, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The Committee’s report suggests some important changes but does not grasp the true scale of the problem. Any model of change must begin by understanding the deep crisis that schools are enduring in respect of workload, staffing, attendance and mental health. We don’t see such an understanding reflected in these recommendations. While we recognise the greater transparency they will bring to Ofsted’s work, they fall well short of the reform that we need. They will not significantly relieve the pressure on schools…” read more

NASUWT 

Reform of single-word judgements in Ofsted inspections would be a positive step, says NASUWT (29 Jan) – NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union welcomes the recommendation from the House of Commons Education Select Committee that Ofsted and the Department for Education should abandon the use of single-word gradings in school inspections read more

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 

Fair Funding for Wales: New report sounds alarm over budget cuts (23 Jan) – NAHT Cymru has launched a new report – Fair Funding For Wales: Ambitious Change Needs Real Spending. The report, based on a survey of our members, attempts to lift the lid on the crisis that is school funding in Wales. For too long, schools have suffered at the hands of austerity, unfunded pay awards and now spiralling utility costs have left many schools at breaking point. The report demonstrates the real impact funding cuts are having to staffing and the knock-on effect this will inevitably have on the delivery of education. We are calling for all 22 Local Authorities in Wales to meet with us, discuss the report and pledge to work together to ensure all that can be done to protect school finances 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 

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. 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 

Union leader vows mass resistance to anti-strike laws as TUC marches (27 Jan) – GCHQ TUC protest: The Trades Union Congress is today holding a national demonstration in Cheltenham against the government’s latest anti-union laws, the Minimum Service Levels Act. It marks the 40th anniversary of the Thatcher government’s attempt to ban GCHQ workers from being members of a trade union. Following a mass campaign of defiance and pressure, these moves were repealed under the incoming Labour government in 1997. Speaking ahead of the protest, Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “In its final months in office, this dying Tory government is seeking to prevent workers from striking even when they have a democratic mandate to so. In the fire and rescue service, as in other sectors, this could amount to a de-facto strike ban. The trade union movement cannot and will not accept this attack on basic democratic rights. The Tories’ agenda is about driving down wages and conditions while the rich get richer. The TUC is committed to a campaign of mass resistance to the Minimum Service Levels Act, up to and including non-compliance, and we look forward to a Labour government repealing both it and the 2016 Trade Union Act within its first 100 days.” Read more

Firefighters’ union to consult members in Scotland on strike action over cuts (13 Oct) – The Fire Brigades Union has today announced its intention to begin consulting firefighters across Scotland on strike action in opposition to a devastating package of cuts imposed by the Scottish government. A projected five-year flat cash budget until 2027 has already removed 10 wholetime fire engines, whilst 150 retained fire engines are regularly unavailable due to significant recruitment and retention issues. The Scottish Fire and Rescue service has announced that its own projections mean it will need to save a minimum of a further £14 million next year, which would result in the loss of a further 339 firefighters and 18 fire engines, with more to come. Scotland has lost 1200 frontline firefighters since 2012. The move marks the first formal step towards firefighters taking strike action. This was agreed unanimously by the union’s Scottish committee this week. A formal strike ballot could follow read more

POA 

National Chair Update December 2023 read more

NAPO 

Probation update (26 Jan) – Here is your latest probation update read more

BFAWU 

Winter 2024 Foodworker

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

Nautilus International

Nautilus supports UK right to strike rally (30 Jan) – The Cheltenham rally attracted thousands of workers who gave up their Saturday to march for the repeal of the anti-strike laws. The Cheltenham rally attracted thousands of workers who gave up their Saturday to march for the repeal of the anti-strike laws. Image: Jess Hurd

Nautilus joined thousands of UK trade union members on a march and rally in Cheltenham to protest new anti-strike laws. The rally was organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) which has warned that around 5.5 million workers across England, Scotland and Wales could have their right to strike threatened by the legislation – known as Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act read more

Members at Serco Ferries Crewing Ltd accept 5.8% salary increase (26 Jan) – In a recent consultation exercise, a majority of members employed by Serco Ferries Crewing LTD (Guernsey) cast their votes in favour of accepting the company’s final offer of a 5.8% salary increase, effective from 1 October 2023 read more

NUJ  

Israel must take “all measures within its power” to prevent genocide (29 Jan) –

The International Federation of Journalists will initiate legal action against Israel if it does not adhere with orders made by the International Court of Justice read more

NUJ Business Insider chapel statement on redundancies (26 Jan) – The chapel has expressed its shock and concern over staff mental well-being following the company’s announcement of job cuts read more

NUJ Irish Executive Council supports Mediahuis staff (25 Jan) – The council has vowed unwavering support for Mediahuis staff, after the company announced up to 30 editorial redundancies in Ireland read more

NUJ concern at Mediahuis redundancies (23 Jan) – Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish secretary, expresses “grave concern” over redundancy implications for staff and publications within the group read more

Historic moment for PA Media editorial staff in their push for NUJ recognition (23 Jan) – Editorial staff at PA Media (formerly the Press Association) have made a significant step forward in their bid for NUJ recognition read more

Equity

Equity reaches interim settlement with ENO for the chorus (29 Jan) – We are pleased to announce that Equity has reached an interim settlement with the English National Opera for the chorus. Although this does not mark the absolute end of negotiations, we are confident that constructive talks can lead to a full resolution in the coming weeks. Consequently, industrial action on the Handmaid’s Tale on the 1st February is suspended. This suspension also allows time for the ENO to complete its negotiations with the Musicians’ Union, who are also suspending their action, and to confirm the final details of both offers. Our mandate for industrial action remains live until such time a full settlement is reached read more

Spotlight’s Tax on Hope: Equity’s Lobbying and Potential Legal Action (29 Jan) – In October last year, the casting directory Spotlight launched a ‘Premiere’ tier of membership, offering additional services at an increased fee for Spotlight members. Equity opposed that plan, and following opposition from the union, our members, and others across our industry, Spotlight cancelled those plans read more

Musicians Union

Musicians’ Union Statement on Strike Action at English National Opera (29 Jan) – The MU and Equity are postponing strike action to allow time for urgent talks on improved proposals from ENO management read more

Community

Action needed on pay gap for Northern Irish teachers (29 Jan) – Community is pressing the Department for Education to take action on the growing pay gap between Northern Irish educators’ and their counterparts in other UK nations. It is now three years since Northern Irish teachers received a pay rise, with the average pay for a newly-qualified teacher in the province now averaging around £24,000 – some £6,000 less than the average in England read more

Statement from 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

Usdaw is angry and disappointed by changes to the Morrisons pension scheme (29 Jan) – Retail trade union Usdaw has today been advised by supermarket giant Morrisons that they will proceed with their original proposals to reform the pension scheme for hourly paid employees, after the company refused to adopt any of the union’s alternatives read more

Peterborough M&S proposed closure is devastating for staff, customers and the community says Usdaw (25 Jan) – Retail trade union Usdaw says members working at the Marks and Spencer store on Queensgate in Peterborough city centre are devastated after the company told them they plan to close the store in April read more

UVW

UVW migrant seasonal worker could be a victim of human trafficking and modern slavery, Home Office finds in preliminary decision (24 Jan) – The Home Office has decided that there are reasonable grounds (RG) to believe Julia Quecano Casimiro, a seasonal fruit picker recruited in Latin America to work at Haygrove farms over the 2023 summer, could be a victim of human trafficking and modern slavery. United Voices of the World (UVW) welcomes the Home Office’s preliminary decision, which suspects Julia was indeed subject to human trafficking and modern slavery, as an indictment of their own visa scheme, which we have been denouncing for long as an abomination. The Seasonal Visa Scheme seems to put people at risk of trafficking and labour exploitation. UVW and legal charity ATLEU are supporting and representing Julia as she battles the system to obtain justice and compensation for the alleged abuses committed against her read more

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 (Ireland)

Latest on public sector pay proposal (26 Jan) – Following protracted discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which commenced yesterday and broke up early this morning (Friday, 26th January), agreement was reached on a set of proposals read more

Major public transport strike action planned for February (24 Jan) – Workplace representatives in Translink have unanimously agreed an escalated schedule of industrial action including four further days of strikes in February. Starting Thursday 1st February. SIPTU will also seek to co-ordinate our action with that of the wider trade union movement to keep the maximum pressure on Chris Heaton-Harris so that we can win for workers and our public services 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) Colombia: journalist killed by hitmen in home (26 Jan) read more

(From NUJ website) Philippines: journalists under attack despite government commitments (26 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

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 