The NSSN stands in solidarity with steelworkers as steel unions ballot their members for industrial action. Both Unite and Community unions have now voted for industrial action. We will support any action that they take against Tata Steel’s intention to make 75% of the 4,000-strong Port Talbot workforce redundant. This would also result in thousands more losing their jobs at other Tata steel plants, contracting companies, and threaten related jobs such as on the rails and the wider local economy.
And as we did in 2016, when the steelworks were under the same threat, the NSSN continues to demand the works be nationalised to save jobs and working-class communities. Recently, the struggle to save Port Talbot steelworks reached a new stage when Tata announced the closure of the coking ovens. The whole of the union movement must come behind the steelworkers and their fight to save steel jobs and defend communities, in Port Talbot and in other steelmaking areas.
From BBC website: Community union votes for strike action over Tata job losses (9 May) – Community said 85% of its members backed industrial action. Members of the largest steelworkers’ union, Community, have voted in favour of industrial action over Tata Steel’s restructuring plans. The union said 85% of those who voted supported the move. Workers were balloted after Tata Steel announced 2,800 job losses across the UK as part of the closure of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces and a transition to greener steelmaking read more on BBC website
Unite: Tata’s insulting offers to workers are just adding insult to injury ahead of industrial action (3 May) – Tata has been making increasingly derogatory offers to workers’ that will be hit by its plans to cut steel production in Port Talbot and Llanwern. Now, talks in London between Tata and trade unions over redundancy terms and conditions have collapsed read more
Unite: Tata plan confirmation will be answered with industrial action (25 Apr) – Other options available to Tata – it must be forced to change course. Tata’s confirmation today that it is ending national union consultations and will begin enacting its devastating plans for south Wales will be answered with industrial action, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said. Around 1,500 Unite members employed by Tata in Port Talbot and Llanwern have an industrial action mandate against plans to shut both blast furnaces and shed 2,800 jobs, with strikes to be announced soon read more
Find out more about the campaign: www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/the-fight-for-steel
NSSN Conference 2024 Saturday June 22nd: Tories Out – fight for a Workers’ Manifesto
NSSN Conference 2024: Saturday 22nd June, 11am-4.30pm, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL Facebook event. Attendance fee – £8. You can pre-register here https://forms.gle/WjFYyvrn1BXSMJHg9. Email us for more info – [email protected]
This year’s NSSN Conference will be the last before the General Election. Trade unionists are rightly desperate to see the back of the Tories. Over the last 14 years, we’ve been on the receiving end of vicious austerity, pay cuts, the cost of living squeeze and continued attacks on our right to strike through ever more restrictive and undemocratic Tory anti-union laws. And the unions still have to be prepared to fight together if Sunak looks to implement his Minimum Service Levels (MSL) legislation before the election.
But this has also been a period when workers and their unions are increasingly showing that it’s possible to fight back and win. In March 2011, over 750,000 workers marched against the brutal cuts of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne, and that November, the N30 pensions strike saw up to 2 million public sector workers strike together. Over the last two years, we have seen the strike wave – the biggest sustained level of strikes for over 3 decades, with many workers taking action for the first time. Workers want the Tories out, but they also demand real change.
The NSSN has played our part in all the many strikes that have taken place. But in these disputes, we have also argued for policies to defend workers’ interests. This year’s NSSN Conference is an opportunity for union reps, members and activists to again share experiences about our struggles and disputes, but also to set out the programme that we need – a workers’ manifesto.
To repeal Sunak’s MSL and Cameron’s Trade Union Acts, and all the rest of the Tory anti-union laws, going back to Thatcher and Major. To re-nationalise Royal Mail, BT, the energy and utility companies and steel. To end privatisation in the NHS and our public services. For a real inflation-proof pay rise for workers, that protects our living standards. And there is much more to discuss and fight for. Come to NSSN Conference and join the discussion.
RMT responds to New Deal dilution media briefings (1 May) – Reacting to media reports that suggest there could be attempts to water down the New Deal for workers to ease business concerns, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Any dilution of the New Deal for workers is wholly unacceptable read more
Labour’s draft New Deal for Workers now “unrecognisable” (8 May) – Responding to the recent New Deal documents sent to the trade unions by the Labour Party, the leader of Unite Sharon Graham said: “It looks like all the warnings Unite made earlier about the dangers of Labour rowing back on its pledges for the New Deal for Workers have been proved right. This new Labour document on the New Deal, issued to the unions on Monday, is a row back on a row back” read more
Firefighters’ union leader raises alarm over Elphicke defection in letter to Starmer (13 May) – In a letter to Keir Starmer, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has raised concerns about Natalie Elphicke’s admission to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Elphicke has spoken in favour of new anti-unions laws, branded “one of the most vicious attacks on workers rights in living memory”. During a debate in parliament, Elphicke blamed striking firefighters for the deaths of three people during a past national firefighters’ strike read more
FBU urges Labour to implement New Deal for Working People in full (7 May) – The general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union has warned Labour against watering down commitments to strengthen workers’ rights. Labour’s ‘New Deal for Working People’ includes plans to reverse anti-union legislation, expand collective bargaining, and ban zero hours contracts. Trade unions have voiced alarm in response to press reports that Keir Starmer may row back on delivering the new deal within the first 100 days of government read more
PCS urges Labour not to water down new deal for workers (2 May) – PCS General Secretary says it is a “major blow” for members that Labour may be considering weakening its new deal for workers read more
Fight the Tory attack on our #RightToStrike
About 5,000 trade unionists marched in Cheltenham on 27th January 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.
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.
PCS: Legal go-ahead to fight anti-union laws (9 May) – The High Court has granted PCS permission to pursue a judicial review of the UK government’s decision to impose minimum service levels during strikes. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 gives new powers to employers in certain sectors to impose minimum service levels during strike action read more
Defend The Right to Strike – Strike Map and the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) have launched a ‘write to your council campaign’ to seek their commitment to not issue work notices and defend the right to strike as key employers read more in the Morning Star
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 demonstration in London is this Saturday 18th May – assemble 12noon BBC Portland Place (near Oxford Circus)
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, CWU, Equity, BMA, NUJ, UVW, GMB, SOR, RCM, RCN, IWGB, Prospect, CSP, NAPO, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)
FBU advises firefighters not to take part in law enforcement activities around protests (8 May) – The Fire Brigades Union is aware that pro-Palestine protesters are holding further demonstrations in Leicester. During previous demonstrations, the police have requested support from the Fire and Rescue Service to assist in the removal of protestors. The FBU is clear that the role of firefighters is a humanitarian one, and advises its members not to be involved in law enforcement activities read more
NSSN news
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it and/or making an additional donation to help our work. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month via a standing order.
You can either pay online to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790.
Or you can pay by cheque to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’ and post to NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.
Feel free to use this affiliation letter.
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Katrine on [email protected]
The NSSN is developing a campaign pack for social care, which we hope to make available in the not-too-distant future for supporters to use in their localities. As part of this, communications officer Dave Gorton is keen to hear from supporters who:
(1) work in social care (either local authority, private or independently provided)
(2) represent social care workers for a trade union
(3) are in need of social care provision themselves or act as an (unpaid/underpaid) carer for a family member
Dave can be contacted in the first instance via [email protected]
Union News
You can receive this bulletin via email or you can choose to unsubscribe and stop receiving them. Like everyone else, the NSSN has to adhere to new data protection regulations. Therefore you must click here to subscribe/unsubscribe. Reports from unions do not necessarily reflect NSSN’s views.
RMT
Rail companies and cleaning contractors failing on cleanliness standards (11 May) – RMT has exposed rail companies and their cleaning contractors for failing to keep trains and stations clean, in a damning new report and survey. Analysing publicly available data and result from an RMT survey of 800 members working as contracted out cleaners on the railway, the union has found a series of shortcomings read more
RMT calls on Scottish First Minister to support Scotrail and CalMac workers (8 May) – Rail and ferries union, RMT has called on SNP first minister John Swinney to solve outstanding issues around Scotrail and the future of CalMac. RMT calls on Scottish First Minister to support Scotrail and CalMac workers. Rail and ferries union, RMT has called on SNP first minister John Swinney to solve outstanding issues around Scotrail and the future of CalMac. Scotrail members will take strike action over the role of the guard on services along the Barrhead and East Kilbride routes on May 18,19,25 and 26 May. Strike action is also scheduled for June 1 and 2 read more
P&O boss should be in the dock (7 May) – Maritime union, RMT today condemned P&O head Peter Hebblethwaite over his Parliamentary Committee performance where he admitted staff were paid under £5 an hour. Mr Hebblethwaite who is CEO of P&O Ferries company, unlawfully sacked over 700 seafarers just over 2 years ago, was grilled by the Business and Trade Committee over his role at the disgraced ferry outfit. He admitted dreadfully low wages of £4.87 were paid to his workers but admitted he did not know how long seafarers worked on board ships without a break read more
Conductors to strike on Barrhead and East Kilbride route (3 May) – RMT members on Scotrail will take strike action over the role of the guard on services along the Barrhead and East Kilbride routes. A series of 48-hour strikes will take place on the following days:
- Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May
- Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May
- Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June
RMT has concerns over the responsibilities of the conductor, including dispatch, opening and closing doors and their safety critical role. Scotrail members voted overwhelmingly for strike action with 96.7% voting ‘yes’ on a 79% turnout read more
RFA seafarers to take strike action (3 May) – Seafarers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) will take strike action on May 19 in a row over pay. RFA have implemented a one-year deal of 4.5% which is wholly unacceptable to RMT members. RMT members work as civilian merchant seafarers onboard the fleet of Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels which provide the Royal Navy with vital logistic and operational support including humanitarian operations around the world. Up to 500 RFA seafarers are prepared to take action unless a negotiated settlement can be reached read more
London Underground Jobs, Pensions and Agreements dispute: RMT members smash Tory anti-union ballot thresholds once again (25 Apr) read more
CrossCountry trains strike suspended after progress (11 Apr) – RMT has suspended planned strike action on CrossCountry this Saturday, after management agreed to intensive talks to resolve the dispute. CrossCountry had refused to recognise RMT at all grades within the company. This is despite written evidence to the contrary. Now the company has agreed to sit down with RMT to address our concerns with no changes to agreements in this period read more
RFA members vote for industrial action over pay (9 Apr) – Seafarers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action over pay. RMT members working as civilian merchant seafarers onboard the fleet of Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels which provide the Royal Navy with vital logistic and operational support including humanitarian operations around the world, have rejected a below inflation pay offer from management. RFA have implemented a one-year deal of 4.5% which was totally unacceptable to RMT members. Up to 500 RFA seafarers were balloted for strike action by RMT union, and we will now consider our next steps read more
Eurostar Rail Gourmet workers to take strike action over pay (6 Apr) – RMT members working for Rail Gourmet on the Eurostar contract will take strike action from 19-23 April in a dispute over pay. This follows a magnificent 95% yes vote in our strike ballot, which has given the union a mandate to pursue industrial action to win better pay for low paid members working within the continental rail service read more
Gateline workers to take strike action (15 Mar) – Contracted out gateline workers at Northern will take strike action on Saturday in a dispute over pay, union recognition and working conditions. RMT members working for Carlisle Support Services on the Northern contract will set up picket lines in Manchester, Leeds and Wigan. The strike action will start on Saturday at 12.01am and finish 11.59pm the same day. Among the demands of workers is the ending of zero hours contracts and the removal of the Timegate app which has failed to accurately calculate pay and leave allowance read more
Bidvest Noonan cleaners begin 48 hour strike action (4 Mar) – RMT members working for Bidvest Noonan on Alstom NTL and TPE contracts will take strike action from Monday. The cleaners are taking action over pay and working conditions having rejected the latest offer from the company. Strikes will take place in Glasgow and Manchester. Following the conclusion of the strike, RMT members will take industrial action short of strike from Wednesday by not undertaking any biological hazard cleaning read more
Hitachi Rail strike spreads from East Coast to Great Western Mainline (17 Feb) – RMT members at Hitachi Rail will take 48 hours strike action at the end of the month over a pay dispute. Workers who maintain rolling stock and the signalling system will take the stoppages between Thursday 29 February and March 2. The depots that will be taking action are the London North Pole, Doncaster Train Maintenance and Bounds Green and Craigentinny Train Maintenance. Hundreds of workers will join the action which follows a referendum where Hitachi workers rejected a pay offer from the private company. Strike action will now be taking place on depots on the East Coast and West Coast mainlines read more
ASLEF
Support ASLEF strikes picket line details
Train strikes announced for May Bank Holiday week – Rail passengers are being warned of disruption during the week of the May Bank Holiday after drivers announced more strikes and an overtime ban. Staff at 16 train companies will take part in rolling one-day walkouts between 7 and 9 May over pay and working conditions. An overtime ban will also take place between 6 and 11 May. Passengers are advised to check before they travel, with the action likely to lead to delays and cancellations. The Bank Holiday falls on 6 May this year. Aslef, the train drivers’ union, said it is seeking better pay for its members and claimed drivers are being asked to sacrifice working conditions in exchange for a wage increase. Drivers from several train companies will strike on different days.
- Tuesday 7 May: c2c, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line and Island Line
- Wednesday 8 May: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains
- Thursday 9 May: LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express read more on BBC website
Train drivers at LNER to strike in row over terms and conditions – Rail services from London King’s Cross will be disrupted by the walkout on Saturday read more on Independent website
TSSA
London Underground – Further Strike Action (25 Apr) – TSSA will take strike action at London Underground on 26 April. TSSA rail union has announced a further day of strike action on Friday 26 April at London Underground by members working as Customer Service Managers. The walkouts will take place on Friday 26 April where members will not commence work on any shift starting between 00:01 to 23:59 on Friday, 26 April 2024. Accordingly, strike action will also take place on Saturday 27 April 2024 in respect of any members expected to commence shifts before 23:59 on Friday 26 April 2024 whose shifts run into Saturday 27 April 2024. When TSSA Customer Service Managers took strike action on 10 April stations closed at short notice. Similarly, the strikes this week are likely to cause stations to close at the last minute, including late night and into Saturday morning (night tube on Friday night). TSSA Customer Service Managers at London Underground will also take part in an overtime ban from 29 April to 5 May. This overtime ban will again lead to station closures at very short notice read more
Easter weekend strikes at ScotRail (29 Mar) – Members of rail union TSSA will hold strike action at ScotRail over the Easter weekend in a long running dispute over on call working arrangements. The walkouts take place on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st of March by Operations Team Manager (OTM) grades in the latest stage of a dispute going back to late 2021. Similar action took place last December. Since discussions were last held with ScotRail, including in person talks with TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, the company has offered no solution or means to end the dispute which is already having an impact on the network. As part of the dispute TSSA members have withdrawn from the ‘out of hours’ on call period – generally between 23:00 and 07:00 hrs. During this period ScotRail have no first line on call coverage. Earlier this month the safety implications of this situation were highlighted when the driver of an Aberdeen to Inverness train passed a red signal – and therefore had to immediately be relieved of duties while appropriate checks were carried out. With TSSA’s Driver Team Managers staff in dispute, passengers had to remain in the stationary vehicle for three hours until the driver was relieved. The union has now met Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop, to urgently highlight concerns, stressing that ScotRail must act to stop this happening again read more
TSSA warns of ‘crippling’ industrial action at Transport for Wales (22 Mar) – Rail union TSSA is to ballot dozens of members in Fleet Management at Transport for Wales (TfW). TSSA warns of ‘crippling’ industrial action at Transport for Wales. Rail union TSSA is to ballot dozens of members in Fleet Management at Transport for Wales (TfW) for possible strike action and action short of a strike. The union is in dispute with the company over so-called ‘bolt-ons’ – additional payments which cover shift work. These have been awarded to other staff outside Fleet Management, and without them, managers would effectively miss out on the accruement of pensionable pay. The ballot will open on the 28th of March and conclude on the 18th of April. The union is warning that a walkout or work-to-rule would seriously hamper the ability of TfW to run trains across Wales. Fleet Management are responsible daily for signing off safety critical work across TfW read more
Looming industrial action at South Western Railway (15 Mar) – Rail union TSSA is warning South Western Railway (SWR) that potential industrial action, including a strike could be on the cards after the two sides have formally failed to agree in an escalating dispute over the imposition of changed working arrangements among Control staff. The union has now officially served a ‘Failure to Agree’ notice to SWR —the first stage of an official process that, without an agreement in the short term, could lead to industrial action by its Train Service Managers. This is despite the union’s efforts to engage in meaningful dialogue over several months and because the company has undermined TSSA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with SWR read more
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Gatwick easyJet refuellers secure Unite recognition (14 May) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a recognition agreement for workers at Redline Oil Services Gatwick, which provides refuelling services for easyJet. The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which is the government body tasked with overseeing the regulation of UK labour law, awarded recognition to Unite on the basis of overwhelming membership numbers and support shown by Redline workers read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Croydon Tramlink strike impact still being felt with reduced services (14 May) – ‘Hugely unfair pay disparities’ causing strikes and staff shortages for vital repairs. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has laid the blame for the ongoing disruption to Croydon Tramlink directly at the door of Transport for London (TfL). The disruption has been caused by essential engineering delays because of strike action and staff shortages due to ‘hugely unfair pay disparities’. Around 60 tram, stores and infrastructure engineers, who are members of Unite, took five days of strike action from Sunday (5 May) because their colleagues on the London Underground, who require the same qualifications and perform the same roles, are paid up to £10,000 more a year. Since the strike action ended, Tramlink services have been severely impacted and will likely not resume normal service until well into the summer because of wheel damage across the fleet. Disruption will become significantly worse if TfL does not engage in good faith negotiations with Unite to resolve the pay disparities, the union warned read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Unite seals hefty pay rise for north east National Express drivers (14 May) – Drivers working for National Express in the north east of England are set to receive a significant pay increase of nearly 20 per cent over the next two years, Unite the union announced today. Following prolonged negotiations between the union and the employer, including the threat of industrial action when negotiations stalled, workers will be benefitting from an increased pay-packet. Drivers will receive an over 10 per cent pay rise back-dated to July 2023 and then further rises in July of this year and January 2025 bringing the total increase to 19.6 per cent over two years until the next anniversary in July 2025 read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Unite achieves pay victory for Transport UK bus controllers in London (14 May) – Unite the union has won a significant pay victory for bus controllers working for Transport UK in south west London it announced today. Following a hard-fought battle, including extended strike action, the controllers have won a pay rise of 12 per cent including an 8 per cent rise backdated to January 2023 and a further 4 per cent for this year. Bus controllers use sophisticated technology to control the bus network, ensuring buses run on time and avoid heavy traffic or accidents. Controllers at Transport UK were unhappy about earning less than their counterparts at other operators read more
BREAKING NEWS!! NI: School support staff at Education Authority to take strike action (14 May) – School support staff to recommence strike action after Stormont fails to fund six-year overdue pay and grading review. Some school workers are paid less than the national minimum wage when their pay is calculated over 12 months. Unite the union has informed the Education Authority of upcoming strike action to be taken by school support workers. The strike will commence at 00.01 on Monday 20 May and continue for three days until 23.59 on Wednesday 22 May; with further strike days planned in June. The strike will involve more than one thousand special educational needs assistants, classroom assistants, bus drivers, bus escorts, catering, cooks, admin and other school support staff read more
Drax canteen strikes end after Unite wins 19% pay uplift (13 May) – Long running strikes by Drax canteen workers employed by BaxterStorey have ended after Unite, the UK’s leading union, secured a 19 per cent pay uplift. After taking six weeks of industrial action beginning in December last year, the workers secured an additional £1 per hour site bonus, on top of winning the real living wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation from January this year. This is equivalent to a pay rise of up 19.2 per cent from 1 January for the predominantly female workforce. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “A huge congratulations to Drax’s canteen workers who fought hard for a fair pay rise and won. Their determination on the picket line and refusal to back down is an inspiration, particularly to other women workers. Their victory is at the core what of Unite is about: Defending and improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions.” Negotiations with BaxterStorey on signing an agreement recognising Unite as the workers’ union are still ongoing but moving forward constructively. Unite workplace reps will meet with the company in October to begin their next annual pay review. Unite rep at the Drax canteen, Diane Power, said: “Most of us at the canteen had never really considered getting organised in a union before. But the last couple of years have been difficult for all of us because of the cost-of-living crisis. Everyone is really pleased with the pay deal and it’s such a great feeling knowing we stood up together and supported each other to achieve it.” Read more
Unite announces Dounreay power station strike action back on (13 May) – Over 500 Nuclear Restoration Services workers reject latest wage offer. Unite the union confirmed today (Monday 13 May) its 500-plus strong membership employed by Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (NRS) based at Dounreay power station will take strike action this week. The union’s membership by 80 per cent on a 92 per cent turnout overwhelmingly rejected a revised pay offer which proposed a one-off £500 payment on top of a basic 4.5 per cent increase. Unite maintains the offer amounts to a substantial pay cut as the true rate of inflation, RPI, stood at 11.4 per cent when the pay increase was due in April 2023. The union confirmed that 24-hour strike action is back on for Wednesday (15 May) with an overtime ban set to come into effect from the following day. A further day of action is also scheduled on 29 May but Unite has confirmed that it is now ‘actively’ preparing to add further strike dates if no movement is made by NRS read more
Tyne and Wear British Engines workers strike over pay (13 May) – Workers angry over profitable firm’s 3% offer after wages plunge by 18% since 2019. Around 170 workers employed in Newcastle and South Shields by historic North East engineering firm British Engines will strike over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). The strikes will impact three British Engines businesses: BEL Engineering in Newcastle and Rotary Power and Michell Bearings in South Shields. The workers are angry at being offered a three per cent pay rise, with each workplace voting overwhelmingly for strike action in three separate ballots. The offer is a real terms pay cut given that the real rate of inflation, RPI, is still above four per cent. Making matters worse, due to five years of below inflation pay deals, the spending power of the workers’ wages has fallen by 18 per cent since 2019. Meanwhile, according to British Engines’ latest financial report, the company made a profit after tax of £5.6 million in 2022. The year before, British Engines’ after tax profits were £5.4 million…Strike action will take place from Friday 24 May to Thursday 30 May. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more
Oil and Gas | No ban without a plan petition read more
Ford managers in nationwide strike action ballot (10 May) – 500 workers balloting over company’s “unacceptable” pay offer and refusal to negotiate under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. Around 500 Ford managers at sites across the country are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The ballot, which closes on 30 May, came after Ford refused to improve their pay offer and Unite’s request to attend talks with the conciliation service ACAS. The workers, who have recently organised and achieved union recognition in 2023, have been offered a performance related bonus payment, which provides no guarantee of a cost-of-living increase read more
‘Ethical’ van courier Packfleet denounces gig-economy while firing drivers so they are self-employed (9 May) – ‘Ethical’ electric van courier Packfleet is attempting to fire its 30 employed drivers and force to them to become self-employed, despite its claims that it refuses to “take advantage of the gig economy”. Until recent days, Packfleet’s website stated: “We refuse to take advantage of gig economy workers to deliver your parcels. We fully employ all of our permanent drivers, meaning they get our full benefits packages…” The decision to fire its drivers was announced shortly after Packfleet secured $10 million in expansion funding in March from venture capitalists, including General Catalyst, Voyager Ventures, Creandum, Entree Capital, and Founder Collective read more
Unite hopeful about Brewdog’s future following resignation of James Watt, CEO (8 May) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, today said its members across Brewdog were celebrating the departure of James Watt – the founder and CEO of the craft beer company. The union recently led a public backlash against Watt as he chose to expand the company across India and America, while abandoning its real living wage promises on home soil read more
Labour’s draft New Deal for Workers now “unrecognisable” (8 May) – Responding to the recent New Deal documents sent to the trade unions by the Labour Party, the leader of Unite Sharon Graham said: “It looks like all the warnings Unite made earlier about the dangers of Labour rowing back on its pledges for the New Deal for Workers have been proved right. This new Labour document on the New Deal, issued to the unions on Monday, is a row back on a row back. It is totally unrecognisable from the original proposals produced with the unions. Unrecognisable. Workers will see through this and mark this retreat after retreat as a betrayal…” read more
Unite brands TSB decision to cut jobs and close branches “a grave mistake” (8 May) – Unite the union, representing workers at TSB has said the decision to cut 250 roles at the bank is “a grave mistake.” The job cuts announced today (8 May) will be in the fraud operations of the bank, central operations as well as job losses in the bank’s branch network because of 36 branch closures read more
Workers at Feltham GXO Logistics site to strike over abysmally low pay (8 May) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has announced that over 100 of its members employed by GXO Logistics are to strike for 15 days from Monday 20 May, in a dispute over alarmingly low pay. The logistics company boasted a revenue of over seven billion pounds last year, but it continues to pay its warehouse workers lower than the London living wage. The affected warehouse workers take home just over £12 an hour and are suffering from the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis as a result, while rates for delivery drivers are also below market rates. Despite its wealth, GXO has failed to make any form of pay offer to its workers read more
Basildon CNH facing tractor shortages as factory stops work over pay betrayal (8 May) – 500 workers striking over super-profitable company’s broken pay promises. More than 500 workers at Basildon’s largest employer, the CNH Industrial tractor factory, will begin pay strikes in May, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers are angry that the company has reneged on an agreement struck during 2022, stating pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year. CNH is instead offering four per cent for 2024, rather than the 7.4 per cent it should be under the original agreement. For 2025, the company is offering the rate of inflation as of December 2024. CNH Group reported record profits of £2.4 billion in 2023, and profits are forecast to stay high for the next three years. CEO Scott Wine received a total compensation package of £19 million in 2022, which was 310 times the pay of the average worker at CNH Group…The workers, comprising nearly the entire shopfloor of the factory, will strike on 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 May. More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
Tata’s insulting offers to workers are just adding insult to injury ahead of industrial action (3 May) – Tata has been making increasingly derogatory offers to workers’ that will be hit by its plans to cut steel production in Port Talbot and Llanwern. Now, talks in London between Tata and trade unions over redundancy terms and conditions have collapsed read more
Heathrow strike suspended for two days (3 May) – Strikes over proposed outsourcing plans at Heathrow Airport have been called off to allow meaningful, last-minute talks, Unite the union announced this afternoon (3 May). Strikes due to take place on 7 and 8 May have now been called off following discussions between Unite and the airport. The remaining days of strike action from 9-13 May are still due to go ahead pending the outcome of any further negotiations read more
Bus strikes in South West London suspended following new pay offer (2 May) – Industrial action due to be taken by 40 bus company staff in control rooms in Battersea and Twickenham beginning on 8 May has been suspended, Unite the union announced today (2 May). Following extensive negotiations a new improved offer was tabled by the employer and, as a result, the impending strike action was suspended to allow members to consider and vote on the latest offer read more
Croydon tram strike misery as TfL negotiations breakdown (2 May) – TfL accused of entering talks in ‘bad faith’ over massive pay disparities. Strikes by engineers crucial to the running of Croydon Tramlink, which carries 22 million passengers a year, will begin this Sunday (5 May) after negotiations with Transport for London (TfL) broke down. Around 60 tram, stores and infrastructure engineers are angry that their colleagues on the London Underground, who require the same qualifications and perform the same roles, are paid up to £10,000 more a year. Strike action in March was postponed to allow for talks with TfL. Negotiations collapsed, however, because TfL refused to be transparent about the process it was using to identify pay disparities and broke its word on how they would be resolved… The workers will strike from 20:00hrs Sunday 5 May to 06:00hrs Thursday 9 May. Industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved read more
Bosch Rexroth workers back strike action in pay dispute (2 May) – 250 Glenrothes based workers set for 12-weeks strike. Unite has confirmed today (Thursday 2 May) that around 250 members working at Bosch Rexroth in Glenrothes have backed strike action in a dispute over a massive real terms pay cut. Unite’s membership overwhelmingly supported taking strike action by 83.2 per cent on a 66.8 per cent turnout. The trade union can further confirm that the workforce is now set to take 12 weeks of continuous strike action starting on 20 May until the close of play on 11 August. The dispute centres on the German-owned global tech and engineering giant making a rejected 1.25 per cent pay offer which represents a massive real terms pay cut. Bosch Rexroth engineer parts for the construction industry including gears and brakes, as well as parts for forklift trucks read more
Unite chief blasts Labour’s watering down of New Deal (1 May) – Responding to newspaper reports that Labour is preparing to water down its New Deal for Workers Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite said: “Choosing May Day to give notice of watering down your promise to overhaul one of the worst sets of employment rights in Europe is beyond irony. If Labour do not explicitly recommit to what they have already pledged, namely that the New Deal for Workers will be delivered in full within the first 100 days of office, then a red line will be crossed…” read more
Stormont budget failure risks strikes during school exam period (28 Apr) – Unite calls on four education unions to stand and strike together for improved pay. Unite officials and workforce reps have begun coordinating the union’s industrial response, due to the Stormont budget failing to provide anything for low paid education workers. The pay and grading review that the education department was instructed to implement to tackle low pay and inequalities in 2018, is set to remain unfunded for a seventh year threatening an even worse staffing crisis in the sector read more
Unite to coordinate on strikes after finance minister fails to deliver pay and grading review (25 Apr) – School support staff in Unite prepare to recommence strike action. Unite’s members in education have responded with disappointment and anger after being informed by the education minister that the Northern Ireland executive has adopted a budget that fails to provide the funding needed for the long awaited pay and grading review for school support staff. The decision comes despite the department of finance having accepted the department of education’s business case for the review. The national joint committee, the body which sets pay for education workers in Northern Ireland, first instructed the pay and grading review should be delivered six years ago in 2018, to address equality and low pay concerns. Unite members employed by the education authority have taken strike action repeatedly over the last two years about the issue. Unite represents education workers across a variety of low paid positions including classroom assistants, bus drivers, bus escorts, catering, admin and other school support staff. Pay rates in 2023-24 for workers who provide personal care to special educational needs children, including on occasion having to conduct medical and life-saving procedures, can be as low as £11.92 an hour read more
New wave of strikes in Haringey as housing repair workers walk out over pay (26 Apr) – Housing repair workers in the London borough of Haringey are to take further strike action next week as they escalate the dispute over pay with the council. Over 100 Unite members will be taking industrial action from 29 April until 2 May. The long-running dispute has seen members already take 15 days of industrial action but the employer has refused to negotiate. Unite members are in dispute with the council over several issues including:
· The refusal to increase annual leave for housing maintenance workers to match the increase over council employees annual leave
· The failure to increase allowances, including London weighting and out of hours payments, in line with the 2022 and 2023 pay awards
· The failure to increase craft productivity scheme rates, allowances and limits since 2014.
On the first day (Monday 29 April) of this round of strikes, workers and union staff will be protesting at a Haringey council event:
Where: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, High Road, N17 0BX
When: Monday 29 April 09:00-12:00 read more
Sullom Voe oil terminal facing industrial action in pay and recognition disputes (24 Apr) – Worley Services and Altrad workers unanimously back strike action. Unite the union can confirm that its Worley Services and Altrad Services members are the latest group of oil and gas workers to demand a better deal on jobs, pay and conditions at the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetland Islands. Unite can further reveal that its membership employed by Worley Services and Altrad Services both unanimously backed strike action in industrial action ballots. Unite represents over 40 Worley Services workers including chargehands, pipefitters, riggers, mechanical fitters along with electrical and instrument technicians. The dispute centres on Unite members demanding a significant pay increase, and improvements to other terms and conditions. The demands include the establishment of a union recognition agreement with Worley Services in order that Unite can formally bargain on jobs, pay and conditions. If there is no meaningful movement by Worley then 24 hour strike action will take place on 7 and 21 May. This will be followed by 48-hour strike action taking place on 4-5 June, and 18-19 June read more
‘Desperate’ Sanctuary Housing offers staff loan access in response to poverty pay (24 Apr) – Super-rich Sanctuary cites ‘money related stress’ for workers but refuses to raise wages. Sanctuary Housing, which has assets of nearly £6 billion and a surplus of over £100 million, has offered hard up staff access to loans following pay strikes by its London workers. Unite, the UK’s leading union, said the housing association, which is the largest third sector employer in the country with 14,000 predominantly low paid staff, is encouraging struggling workers to take on further debt rather than agreeing trade union recognition and union-negotiated wages to improve their finances sustainably. The union said Sanctuary’s partnership with fintech firm Salary Finance, where loan repayments are taken directly from their salaries, was a ‘sop’ and a ‘desperate’ attempt to quell escalating strike action in London and head off increasing numbers of staff joining Unite in other parts of the country read more. Contact the Unite LE/1111 Housing Workers branch to offer support or if you are a housing worker wanting to get organised [email protected]
Barts and Synergy workers embark on next wave of strike action over pay (24 Apr) – Hundreds of workers at Barts NHS Trust and contractor Synergy are embarking on a new wave of strike action over the failure of their employer to pay a lump sum payment worth over £1,600. Nearly 700 Unite members working as porters, cleaners and facilities staff at the largest NHS trust in the UK, are taking further strike action next month as they fight for a lump-sum payment owed to them. Synergy is a sub-contractor at Barts who employs workers cleaning and preparing linen and bedding for patients. Workers at Barts NHS Trust are to strike from 7-19 May in protest at the failure to pay them the lump-sum payment that other NHS workers were offered for working during the pandemic. Unite’s members at the time worked for another outsourcing company Serco before transferring back into the NHS just after the imposed deadline for staff to receive the payment. So far NHS bosses, locally at the trust and at NHS England, have rejected their demands and refused to ask the treasury for additional funding to cover the payment read more
GLL workers in Greenwich stage further walkout over pay and conditions (23 Apr) – Library workers in Greenwich are to stage a further 24-hour strike after their employer, GLL, failed to negotiate a resolution to the dispute. Over 60 workers across the London Borough of Greenwich will walk out on 30 April as part of a long-running dispute over pay and the use of zero-hour contracts. GLL promotes itself as a London Living Wage (LLW) employer and yet some employees receive below the LLW and GLL has also delayed implementation of a rise to the LLW by nearly six months. Employees at GLL are rightly furious over its behaviour and the employer has refused all offers from Unite to come to the negotiating table. As well as the strike, demonstrations will be taking place across the borough. Unite is seeking to draw attention to the presence of three Labour councillors who sit on the board of GLL. Greenwich is Labour-run and yet it is contracting services to an organisation that uses zero hour contracts and fails to recognise trade unions despite describing itself as a “social enterprise” read more
Warning of empty shelves at Morrisons as Cheshire and Wakefield logistics workers could strike over pensions (18 Apr) – Hundreds of workers for the supermarket chain Morrisons could be heading to the picket line after their employer forced through changes to their pensions that will leave them worse off by around £500 a year. Approximately 1,000 Unite members working as warehouse stock controllers, cooks, canteen staff, and administrators are being balloted for strike action to protect their pensions and take home pay. Staff are based in warehouses in Cheshire and Wakefield and perform essential roles that ensure lorries are loaded and shelves are filled in the nearly 500 supermarkets and convenience stores run by Morrisons read more
Birkenhead hospital workers on strike over pay and grading (17 Apr) – Healthcare workers at the Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral, Merseyside, are striking this week and next week over a failure to recognise their workplace responsibilities. Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, who work as recovery theatre practitioners, who care for patients recovering from serious operations, are not being paid appropriately by their employer, the Wirral University Hospital Trust. The vital healthcare workers are being paid a grade below the level of responsibility and duties they are providing. Workers have been left up to £8,000 out of pocket due to being wrongly graded…Having exhausted all avenues of negotiation with their employer, staff have been left with no option but to head to the picket line. The workers were on strike yesterday (16 April) and today (17 April). More strikes are scheduled for next week, 23 and 24 April read more
Offshore chemists, heating and ventilation engineers resume strike action in escalating disputes (12 Apr) – Unite members in industrial action against IES Callenberg and SGS UK Limited over rotas and pay. Unite the union confirmed today (Friday 12 April) that around 60 members in the offshore sector including chemists, heating and ventilation engineers will resume strike action next week in escalating disputes over working rotas and pay. Unite’s IES Callenberg membership will take three-days of strike action starting on Monday (15 April) until the end of Wednesday (17 April), while chemists employed by SGS UK Limited will start week-long action on the same day but conclude their action on Sunday (21 April). The IES Callenberg dispute involves around 50 offshore workers who provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services on offshore platforms operated by BP, TAQA, CNR, Repsol, Serica and CNOOC. The SGS UK Limited dispute exclusively centres on chemists servicing BP’s platforms the Clair, Clair Ridge, ETAP and Glen Lyon read more
Northern Ireland: Workers at Balcas Timber Ltd in Enniskillen to ballot for strike action in pay dispute (9 Apr) – Workers reject below inflation pay increase offered by company whose latest accounts reported a dramatic surge in profits.
Unite the union has today notified management at Balcas Timber Ltd, a wood-mill and Combined Heat Power plant employing approximately 280 at Killadeas, Co Fermanagh of its intent to conduct a strike ballot of the workforce. The strike ballot will open onTuesday 16 April and remain open for three weeks closing on Tuesday 7 May. The workforce are paid as little £10.68 an hour, which is only now being increased to £11.44 an hour to comply with national minimum wage legislation read more
Pathology services in London under threat as medical workers balloted over strike action (27 Mar) – Hundreds of pathologists in London are being balloted over strike action after their employer, Synnovis, imposed an unwanted and damaging restructure that puts jobs at risk and severely downgrades working conditions. Synnovis, which is part of SynLab, has a 15 year contract to run the outsourced pathology services for the 6 Hospitals (Guys, St Thomas, Kings College, Princess Royal University Hospital, Royal Brompton & Harefield) across 2 trusts (Kings College NHS Foundation Trust, Guys & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust). Synnovis has heavily invested in a new Hub at Blackfriars and plans to migrate the majority of it’s staff there, leaving only skeletal essential services at each of the hospitals. Pathologists were previously employed directly by the NHS but were outsourced and are now working for a private company. This is a stark example of NHS privatisation driving down pay and conditions for workers and leading to serious concerns over patient safety. Over 350 members of Unite are deeply unhappy and concerned over such a move. Job cuts will lead to a deterioration of pathology services across London and a loss of jobs as staff leave due to poor working conditions read more
Security guards escalate strikes at London’s Guys and St Thomas’ hospital (15 Mar) – Security workers at London’s Guys and St Thomas’ hospital will take fresh industrial action after the trust declined to pay them a wage increase worth £2,000, which equals just 0.96 pence per hour. Unite, the UK’s leading union, said its members will walk out for seven days from 07:00 on Monday 18 March. As a result, safety could be compromised as the officers play a crucial role in protecting staff and patients across two hospitals in South London: St Thomas’ Hospital and Guys Hospital…The latest wave of strikes follows two previous days of industrial action which took place because the security guards are amongst the lowest paid at the hospital. The workers are also paid less than their counterparts at hospitals across London, such as Kings’ College Hospital, where a security officers’ salary starts at £30,000 per annum read more
M25 strike chaos on as Balfour Beatty told to share massive profits (13 Mar) – Vital M25 maintenance workers strike as Balfour Beatty announces £10bn revenues. Around 150 M25 maintenance workers employed by Balfour Beatty have voted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday). The workers, who provide vital maintenance for the entire M25, are angry at Balfour Beatty’s meagre pay offer of 3.4 per cent. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 4.9 per cent this is a real terms pay cut. Increasing tensions, is the fact that the workers also received a below inflation pay rise last year. Today, Balfour Beatty announced that its revenues for 2023 have increased by seven per cent to £9.6 billion, while underlying profits from operations rose by two per cent to £236 million…The workers operate from depots based at Barnet, Uxbridge, Swanley, Epping and Dartford and strike action will cause serious disruption to journey times. Dates for industrial action will be announced in the coming days read more
Cambridge University revealed to have £6 billion as workers languish on poverty-level wages (11 Mar) – In depth research from Unite, the UK’s leading trade union, has uncovered that Cambridge University is sitting on over £6 billion of cash and investments while trying to maintain it can’t afford to help its lowest paid workers. The revelations coincide with fresh strike action by university workers. Cleaners, librarians, museum workers and many other staff at the university have been in a long-running pay dispute over the failure of the institution to acknowledge the cost of housing in Cambridge as well as the wider inflationary pressure on its lowest paid workers. Some are being paid less than £23,000 per year yet live and work in one of the most expensive parts of the country. Unite has compiled a financial report that shows that Cambridge University is in rude financial health read more
Biomedical scientists in Merseyside to strike over pay dispute (6 Mar) – Highly skilled scientists working in the microbiology department at a Merseyside hospital are to take substantial industrial action over pay, Unite announced today (6 March 2024). The workers, who are members of Unite the UK’s leading union, based at the Whiston Hospital on Merseyside are to take 36 days of strike action between March and June (see notes to editors), beginning with three days from 14 March. The workers, who covered all Covid testing for the region, have been informed they do not qualify for the essential services payment worth £4,000. The workers, employed by the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, are taking unprecedented action due to the failure of the trust to pay the scientists in the microbiology team the same £4,000 payment that other members of the pathology department have received read more
CWU
Save Enniskillen EE (ex-BT) site – The EE Enniskillen call centre is a lifeline for our community. It’s closure threatens over 300 jobs, eroding the heart of our local economy. This is a community crisis. Local businesses, public services, and the Fermanagh economy stand on the brink of a devastating blow
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]
Strike ballot now closed (13 May) – Our ballot for strike action over our national campaign closed at noon today. Our ballot of members working in 171 employer areas, which opened on 18 March, closed today (13) at noon. The postal ballot asked members if they were willing to take strike action over our demands on pay, jobs and pensions. We are awaiting the results from the independent scrutineer and they will be published on the PCS website once received. The results will be discussed by the national executive committee this week in order to determine next steps in our campaign read more
PCS responds to plans to scrap equality, diversity and inclusion roles (13 May) – PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote has said Cabinet Office minister Esther McVey is “playing politics with our members’ livelihoods and well-being” as she announced plans to scrap dedicated EDI jobs in the civil service read more
Legal go-ahead to fight anti-union laws (9 May) – The High Court has granted PCS permission to pursue a judicial review of the UK government’s decision to impose minimum service levels during strikes. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 gives new powers to employers in certain sectors to impose minimum service levels during strike action. This would mean that they could issue a ‘work notice’, naming workers who must attend work and therefore lose their legal protection. PCS, represented by the Trade Union Law Group at Thompsons Solicitors, argues that this infringes Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which safeguards the right to form trade unions and take industrial action. The High Court acknowledges this and there will now be a substantive hearing later this year read more
DWP offices facing closure due to GMB G4S security guard strike (3 May) – Many DWP offices face closure on Tuesday (7) and Wednesday (8) as a result of strike action by G4S staff called by the GMB union read more
PCS to hold strike ballot of G4S security staff on DWP contract (24 Apr) – PCS members working in 700 jobcentres across the UK working on the DWP security contract are to be balloted from 1-15 May for strike action over pay. We are seeking a pay rise for all 200 members employed by G4S Solutions, as well as reinstating the pay differential between grades because supervisors currently earn just 1p more an hour than the security guards they oversee. The workers are employed on a private contract for the Department for Work and Pensions…GMB members working for G4S Solutions have already announced strikes on May 7, 8, 13, 20, 28 and 29. Strike action by members on the DWP G4S contract will be very disruptive and has the potential to close many of the around 700 jobcentres across the regions and nations read more
PCS urges Labour not to water down new deal for workers (2 May) – PCS General Secretary says it is a “major blow” for members that Labour may be considering weakening its new deal for workers read more
Next period of strike action to start in Liverpool museums on Saturday (2 May) – The members at National Museums Liverpool are taking another 30 days of strike action from 4 May in their dispute over pay. National Museums Liverpool (NML) is the only employer out of over 200 covered by the civil service pay remit guidance to withhold the £1,500 cost-of-living payment recommended by the government last year as part of its improved pay offer following PCS campaigning. The eight weeks of strike action taken so far by members at NML have led to widespread museum and gallery closures affecting the Museum of Liverpool, the World Museum, the International Slavery Museum and the Maritime Museum, as well as the Walker Art Gallery, Sudley House and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Despite some negotiations with the employer, management is yet to make an acceptable offer and therefore members will take a further 30 days of discontinuous strike action over the next three months, targeting the busiest periods of footfall, at weekends and school holidays. The first weekend of strike action on 4, 5 and 6 May coincides with the opening of a new, ticketed, exhibition at the World Museum and members will hold picket lines outside the museum from 9am – 12:30pm each day. Other strike dates are 11 and 12 May, 18 and 19 May, 25 May to 2 June, 8 and 9 June, 15 and 16 June, 22 and 23 June, 29 and 30 June, 6 and 7 July, 13 and 14 July and 20 and 21 July read more
Support for Heathrow strikers at May Day rally (1 May) – PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote was joined by other speakers in sending a solidarity message to PCS strikers at Heathrow at the rally in Trafalgar Square read more
Border Force out in force on Heathrow picket (29 Apr) – Good humour mixed with sadness as determined PCS strikers bid farewell to colleagues on first of the four-day walkout over roster changes read more
PCS members to begin industrial action at ONS (25 Apr) – The action short of a strike from 8 May will take the form of non-compliance with the mandatory return to the office directive. PCS members in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will begin action short of a strike on 8 May over the organisation’s introduction of a mandatory workplace attendance policy. Members voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of strike in a ballot that closed on 2 April, in response to an instruction that staff spend at least 40% of their working time in an office, with effect from the start of April read more
PCS rep in Newcastle sacked by HMRC (5 Apr) – Gordon Askew was sacked by HMRC on grounds of ‘potential’ computer misuse following strike action taken by the branch. HMRC management at Benton Park View in Newcastle have sacked Gordon Askew, a member of the branch executive committee, on the grounds of ‘potential’ computer misuse. PCS members at Benton Park View, alongside HMRC East Kilbride, took part in targeted strike action last year, as well as their members taking part in the three national days of strike action. Following the strike action, the department launched an investigation into two Newcastle-based representatives. The charge against Gordon was a ‘potential’ breach of the department’s IT policy; arising from a Microsoft Teams message sent to a number of PCS members, relating to strike action. The department’s decision maker claimed that Microsoft Teams had been used “without a legitimate business reason”. A second rep is on a similar charge. We understand the decision maker said that they had considered a lesser penalty, but had decided to sack the rep because he didn’t appear to be sorry enough for what he had done. This was despite him having nearly thirty years of spotless service to the department. PCS is discussing next steps with our Legal Department read more
PCS fighting Imperial War Museum derecognition threat (22 Mar) – PCS is campaigning against the threat of being derecognised as an official union with negotiating rights at the Imperial War Museum, which has 5 sites in England and Northern Ireland. On 6 March, Imperial War Museum Director Francoise Harris wrote to PCS, FDA and Prospect unions confirming that they wish to derecognise PCS and FDA and move forward with only one union – Prospect. Essentially, derecognising PCS constitutes a direct attack on IWM workers’ rights, job security, economic equality, workplace protections, solidarity, and democratic principles. PCS does not accept derecognition and are launching a campaign to maintain recognition at IWM read more
Pensions Regulator strike suspended (13 Mar) – The strike action has been suspended as a result of TPR agreeing to enter into meaningful negotiations with PCS. The strike action which was due to restart today and continue into next week has been suspended as a result of TPR agreeing to enter into meaningful negotiations with PCS over the proposals we have made to end the dispute. Importantly TPR has agreed with the key proposal that they commit to securing the funding for the full percentage pay increase to the overall pay pot suggested by the 2024/25 Treasury Pay Remit Guidance. The have stated that they are already engaging with DWP on the pay strategy for the year ahead. They have also committed to submitting a pay flexibility case for the Pay Remit Guidance in 2024/25 which will guarantee additional money to the basic pay remit pot. TPR have also agreed “to engage in meaningful consultation, on matters relating to TPR’s employee value proposition, including reward, annual leave entitlement and the pay and terms and conditions of staff TUPE transferred to TPR.“ The agreement from TPR management is as a result of PCS members taking over 50 days of strike action since 2023. We have reminded TPR that we still have a mandate for strike action until 8 May and that a failure to progress the issues in good faith and time will result in further strike action. TPR members remain in the PCS national campaign and will be participating in the ballot due to start on Monday 18 March read more
Sign our petition for members in Hinduja Global Solutions to keep their jobs (12 Mar) – Members in HGS in Liverpool have been told they will need to relocate 40 miles to keep their jobs. In November 2023 Hinduja Global Solutions announced a significant restructure on the Disclosure and Barring Service contract, which they planned to take effect from 1 April 2024. Staff were told that the restructure was a direct result of the new contract for services between HGS and DBS. The impact on PCS members in Liverpool has been damaging because the changes mean a 41% reduction in headcount (later reduced to a 26% cut) and withdrawal of all staff from the Tithebarn Street office, meaning HGS would no longer have a presence in the city read more
Prospect
Vote on exclusion of MPs overdue victory for workers on the parliamentary estate (13 May) – MPs have voted to allow the exclusion of MPs from Parliament if they are arrested for violent or sexual misbehaviour read more
Improving equality, diversity and inclusion in the civil service is “not a woke hobby horse” (13 May) – Minister for “Common Sense” Esther McVey has announced a ban on civil service jobs which deal with diversity and equality read more
Office for Environmental Protection report confirms Environment Agency is not sufficiently funded (9 May) – The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has published a report looking at the UK’s water quality and goals for water pollution read more
Prospect members at Dounreay to take industrial action for first time in a generation (15 Apr) – Prospect members at Dounreay have voted to take industrial action over pay, starting with two days of strike action on May 1st and May 2nd followed by a work to rule read more
Prospect ballots members at Defence Equipment & Support on strike action (16 Feb) – Prospect union is balloting its members at Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), a Ministry of Defence (MoD) agency, on industrial action. The ballot comes after the employer failed to meet the union’s pay claim and imposed an unagreed pay offer for 2023/2024. Under the imposed pay offer, the majority of DE&S employees will receive a consolidated pay increase of 3.25% or less. Prospect is recommending that members vote yes to both strike action and action short of strike (ASOS) read more
GMB
BREAKING NEWS!! More than 3,000 NI education workers announce strike dates (14 May) – More than 3,000 GMB members working in Northern Ireland’s education will strike in a dispute over pay and grading. Classroom assistants, drivers, bus escorts, catering staff, cleaning staff, administrative, building supervisors and technicians are set to take four days of industrial action on 20 and 21 May and 3 and 4 June 2024. This mainly low paid women workforce are either are on temporary contracts, only work term time or are on part-time contracts. GMB, along with Nipsa, Unison and Unite, is fighting for a fully funded implementation of the education pay and grading Review for these workers. Primary responsibility for funding lies with the Northern Ireland Assembly and ultimately with Treasury read more
Cheshire nuclear workers vote to strike (13 May) – Nuclear workers in Cheshire have voted to strike in a dispute over pay. Around 500 staff at the Urenco Nuclear site in Capenhurst voted for industrial action after pay talks broke down. Unions GMB, Unite and Prospect will now meet with members to discuss strike dates read more
Job Centre guards strike as company trousers £50 million taxpayer cash (13 May) – More than 1,000 job centre security guards across strike across the UK today
Meanwhile GMB has revealed the company has trousered £50 million of taxpayer cash since the dispute began. G4S, who have the Government contract to provide security for job centres, was handed £211 million by the Department for Work and Pensions since Dec 2022. Guarding payments – essentially the company’s employment costs – during the same period total £161 million. Even with £3.5 million of ‘additional payments’ – this is a difference of almost £50 million. More than 1,000 job centre security guards are set to walk out from 00:01 until 23:59 on 13 May, with other dates scheduled later in the month. The dispute is over a G4S below-inflation pay offer, meaning nearly 70 per cent of the security guards are now only paid the minimum wage read more
Job Centre security guards to strike as figures show 80 per cent suffer abuse (10 May) – More than 1,000 job centre staff are set to strike. Meanwhile survey of more than 900 workers who are set to walk out reveals staff being savaged in the neck by dogs, punched, attacked with screwdrivers and customers behaving ‘like wild animals. They describe verbal abuse on a daily basis, including threats to their families, racist and ablest abuse and death threats. One worker even said they had to be driven home because an angry customer was waiting for them outside the job centre. In total, 83 per cent said they had been verbally abused at work during the past 12 months, with 16 per cent reporting physical attacks. Staff employed by G4S to work at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will walk out across the country from midnight on 7 May until 23.59 on 8 May. Further strike days will take place on 13, 20, 28 and 29 may in the dispute over pay read more
Asda Brighton workers announce strike dates (13 May) – GMB members in Brighton to strike over weekend of Friday 24 and Saturday 25 May. Asda workers at the Brighton Hollingbury Superstore have announced the dates they will strike over a litany of workplace problems. More than 100 workers are set to down tools from 20:00 on Friday 24 May until 15:00 on Saturday 25 May read more
HM Coastguards win worker status after historic legal win (13 May) – HM Coastguards have won worker status after a historic legal battle. The Employment Appeal Tribunal this week ruled that HM Coastguard officers are workers and a contract existed between the parties in circumstances where coastguards had the right to be remunerated for their activities. The hearing centered around a coastguard officer – Martin Groom – whose membership was terminated in a meeting where a trade union official was not allowed to be present. Mr Groom claimed this was in breach of the Employment Relations Act (ERA) – but to rely on the act had to prove he was a worker and not a volunteer. The outcome of the case has potential implications for the voluntary sector as a whole as it rows back on previous case law finding volunteers not to be workers in every case.” Read more
Policy Exchange care claims ‘morally bankrupt’ (13 May) – GMB has responded to ‘morally bankrupt’ claims by the Policy Exchange’ read more
Lock keepers saves life as EA makes ‘dangerous cuts’ (10 May) – A lock keeper saved the life of a boater as the EA makes staff cuts. On 29 April, Temple Lock near Marlow, Buckinghamshire, resident lock and weir keeper Matt Rooke recued an injured man from the water after his boat was damaged and sank. Mr Rooke stopped the boater from being swept over the weir, saving his life. Yet with just 24 hours’ notice and no consultation, the Environment Agency implemented plans to reduce staffing levels on a number of locks on the river Thames. Under the scheme many sites, including Temple Lock, will be unstaffed 75 per cent of the time read more
GMB and energy companies pledge worker voice during UK transition (9 May) – GMB and energy company bosses have pledged to make sure workers’ voices are heard. Talks were held during a visit to the high-performing Kraken floating production, storage and offloading vessel, which this week reached the milestone of 70 million barrels of oil produced read more
Translink attack shows bosses must do more (9 May) – TransLink must do more to keep workers safe after a worker was hospitalised. A train conductor was left with a suspected broken jaw following an alleged assault on a train near Larne last night [Wednesday] read more
Nottinghamshire hospital workers set strike date (9 May) – Workers at three of Nottinghamshire’s biggest hospitals will take strike action. Employed by private contractor Medirest, over 200 workers at King’s Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark Hospital will down tools for 24 hours on Friday 17 May. Medirest, a major private provider of facilities and services across the Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, are facing anger from workers due to the less favourable terms and conditions they receive compared to directly employed NHS staff. The breaking point came after NHS employees received a covid recovery bonus payment, which was not applied to staff in the hospitals employed by Medirest read more
North Tyneside school chaos continues (8 May) – School chaos continues after hundreds of children were suddenly to sent to learn at home. Around 200 Year 7 pupils from Churchill Community College were due to be move to a vacant office building from 7 May while their own building was checked after the roof fell in at another school. Parents were already upset as the new building had no capacity for hot school meals. But at the 11th hour – on the evening of Friday 3 May – parents were told due to issues with the windows in the office building they would have to return to home learning read more
Early prison release scheme ‘shambolic’ (8 May) – A prisoner release scheme which could see many inmates released months early has been branded ‘shambolic
From 23 May, certain prisoners across 84 jails in England and Wales will be eligible for early release – up to 70 days prior to the end of their sentence. The scheme is an extension of the End of Custody Supervised License (ECSL) which was launched last year to ease the capacity crisis which has seen the prison population soar to nearly 88,000. GMB Union and the Senior and Chief Officers of Probation (SCOOP) have long criticised the scheme read more
Industrial action hits defence giant Rolls-Royce (29 Apr) – GMB members working on the company’s nuclear submarine programme have begun industrial action. The action begins today, Monday 29 April, and will run for one month. The action comes after 90 per cent of GMB members at the company supported action if company bosses failed to present a pay rise acceptable to union members. Known as ‘work to rule’, the industrial action will see GMB members applying strict limits to working outside of pre-agreed processes read more
NI education workers ready to strike after budget (29 Apr) – GMB members working in Northern Ireland’s education system say they are ready to strike
Workers are furious after the executive failed to deliver on their pay and grading demands. The Northern Ireland Finance Minster has said there will be no additional money for the pay and grading review for all school support staff. Previously, the Department of Finance accepted the business case from the Department of Education that addressed the inequality in pay grades for staff, which should have been addressed in 2018. GMB represents staff in low paid positions such as classroom assistants, cooks, cleaners, catering assistants, drivers and bus escorts along with admin staff and technicians. This mainly low paid women workforce are either are on temporary contracts, only work term time or are on part-time contracts read more
Amazon workers will decide on union recognition (19 Apr) – Amazon workers are one step closer to Europe’s first recognised union at the retail giant. GMB Union has today announced that the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), the Government body responsible for regulating collective bargaining between workers and employers, has ruled in favour of GMB’s application for a union recognition vote at the company’s Coventry Warehouse read more
Birmingham Amazon workers join strike action (27 Mar) – Workers are escalating their campaign for £15 and union recognition at the online retail giant’s Birmingham warehouse. Workers at Amazon’s new flagship HQ in Birmingham, a £500 million site that only opened its doors in October, will down tools this week in an escalation of the ongoing strike action hitting the company. The strike dates come as GMB members at the company submit their application for mandatory recognition to the Government’s Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). Last week workers at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre walked out, making March the biggest month of strike action in company history read more
Swindon Borough Council faces strike vote over ‘colonial era work practices,’ says GMB (24 Apr) – Social workers at Swindon Borough Council are set for a strike vote over ‘colonial era working practices’, GMB Union claims. Staff – many recruited directly from India – were handed a contractually agreed £8,000 signing on bonus and a £7,000 recruitment and retention bonuses spread over three years. The recruitment and retention bonus has now been stopped but they are still being told if they leave Swindon Council within three years, they will have to pay back the £8,000. The move only affects staff recruited from India – with no equivalent reduction of money for social workers from the UK. All 14 workers have written writing to management but have been ignored, while Jim Robbins, Labour leader of the council, has not responded to GMB Union. The ballot closes on Friday 26 April 2024 read more
Birmingham braced for school strikes (22 Apr) – Council’s delay to settling equal pay claims to blame. GMB Union has today announced that workers at Birmingham City Council have voted in favour of supporting strike action. The outcome comes as Council bosses have been slammed for delaying the settlement of equal pay claims made by low paid women workers at the council. Workers at thirty-five city schools have voted to back the action, with 96 per cent supporting industrial action. Strike dates will be announced in the coming weeks read more
Epsom & St Helier ambulance strike to begin on Wednesday amid union claims of expensive strike busting (22 Apr) – The Trust look set to pay for private hire vehicles for patients on the strike days but not to pay these members what they’re owed, says GMB. GMB, the union for NHS workers, can today announce the dates for the strike action at Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust. Members of the union employed as Care Assistants in the patient transfer ambulances will be taking strike action this Wednesday [24 April] and will also strike on Thursday 2, Friday 3 and Tuesday 7 May. The escalating dispute centres around backpay, with some workers owed up to £1300 for non-payment of the London Living Wage read more
Asda Lowestoft workers announce strike dates (18 Apr) – Asda workers Lowestoft have announced the dates they will strike. Almost 200 workers are set to down tools for 48 hours from 00:01 on Friday 10 May until 23.59 on Saturday 11 May read more
Wisbech Asda workers in two day Easter strike (28 Mar) – Asda Wisbech workers will strike this Easter weekend on one of the supermarket’s busiest periods. Around 170 Wisbech Asda workers will walk out from 00:01 to 23:59 on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 March – Easter weekend. The strike has been caused by cuts to hours and an increase in a bullying management culture. Workers are also angry about poor levels of training and support for their job roles, the equal pay claim dragging on for years, health, safety and fire safety issues being ignored and a lack of collective bargaining with GMB Union read more
South Western Ambulance Workers balloted over ‘dangerous’ breaks (16 Apr) – South Western Ambulance Trust (SWAST) workers are set to be balloted over a break policy which could be dangerous. Workers are forced to take their break wherever the nearest, often overcrowded, depot is and have been advised to carry their food in their cabs. The union has health and safety concerns over the new policy – including the risk of food poisoning due to a lack of chilled storage and loose food and drink containers posing a risk when travelling at speed responding to an emergency. GMB, the union for ambulance workers, has told SWAST some staff with reasonable adjustments prescribed by occupational health must be exempt from the policy – but management has so far refused to hear grievances. The ballot is due to close on 17 May 2024 and could see members balloted formally for strike action read more
Hundreds of gas emergency workers to strike (26 Mar) – Hundreds of gas emergency workers are set to strike across Yorkshire. A majority of 99.5% per cent of workers at Northern Gas Network (NGN) voted to take industrial action on a 97 per cent turnout. Workers are angry after the company failed to implement necessary improvements to terms and conditions and safety changes. GMB has been raising concerns over working practices for a number of years. Concerns include engineers being forced to work excessive hours and a culture of workplace bullying. These concerns were so serious that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stepped in and ordered NGN and other gas distribution companies to limit shift length to a maximum of twelve hours. GMB are concerned for both public and worker safety. GMB representatives have been negotiating with NGN to address the shift length alongside other terms and conditions, but due to NGN’s failure to respond in a timely manner workers took the decision to ballot. The industrial action could potentially take place in the spring 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
Stop the Council Cuts – Sign the petition: Save our Services – Nottingham City – started by Nottingham City Unison
Support Barnet UNISON Mental Health social worker strike – Strike preparations commence for 15 April – Barnet UNISON Mental Health strikers are due to start the next phase of strike action on Monday 15 April. Our strikers have already taken 27 days of strike action and by the end of this next phase they will have taken 72 days of strike which equates to 1,305 lost working days or 13.050 lost contacts with Mental Health service users. We have had two meetings with Acas where we have established that Barnet Council have confirmed that they do have twice the funding they would need to settle this dispute. It is now clear that thus dispute is not about the money and as each day that goes by it feels like this is an attempt by senior officers to break UNISON read more
The strike timetable:-
- From 15 April to 26 April 2024 (two weeks).
- From 13 May to 1 June 2024 (three weeks).
- From 17 June to 12 July 2024. (four weeks).
Our members are 100% behind UNISONs negotiating team and remain hopeful that a positive resolution can be secured to avoid any further strike action read more Send messages of support to [email protected]
Bedfordshire NHS hospital staff in 48-hour strike over pay (11 Mar) – Staff across two Bedfordshire hospitals say they are being asked to perform medical tasks above their pay grade, such as inserting cannulas. Hundreds of NHS emergency hospital staff are expected to take part in strike action in a dispute over pay and rebanding of roles. Some 400 workers at the Bedford and Luton & Dunstable hospitals will walk out for 48 hours from 07:30 GMT. The union Unison said healthcare assistants were being asked to carry out clinical tasks without extra pay read more on BBC website. Unison: ‘Ripped off’ Bedfordshire NHS staff vote on strike action
NHS staff across Teesside announce strike date in pay dispute, says UNISON (27 Feb) – Around 1,000 healthcare assistants at North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will take strike action next month in a dispute over pay… Staff at the trusts’ seven sites* will walk out for 24 hours from 7am on Monday 11 March as part of their campaign to be paid on a higher wage band which accurately reflects the work they have been doing read more
NIPSA
Health Strike (30 Apr) – NIPSA, the largest trade union in Northern Ireland, has issued notice to the Belfast Health Trust that strike action will commence on May 8 and continue until May 10. This action is being taken in Family and Childcare (social services). The strike action will run in parallel with action short of strike action and will be expanded to other health trusts over the next few weeks. Approximately 40 NIPSA members will take part in the strike action read more
Royal College of Nursing
RCN urges new Scottish First Minister to prioritise urgent action to tackle health and care crisis (8 May) – As the new First Minister comes into post, RCN Scotland is calling on the Scottish government to get to grips with the workforce crisis that is facing our health and social care services and focus on delivering safe and effective care for the people of Scotland read more
RCN members vote to reject pay offer for nursing staff in Northern Ireland (22 Mar) – The results of the RCN’s consultation on the HSC pay offer for nursing staff in Northern Ireland have been announced read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
RCM launches snap poll for members in Northern Ireland (22 Apr) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is calling all its members in Northern Ireland to take part in its snap poll on additional hours worked which launches today. The RCM wants to know how many unpaid extra hours its members worked during last week, 15-21 April. Midwives and Maternity Support Workers (MSWs) can let the RCM know by taking this quick poll here. Earlier this month RCM members in England, Scotland and Wales told the RCM that they had worked 136,834 extra unpaid hours to keep services running safely. The RCM says that now members in Northern Ireland have voted to accept the pay offer, it’s their turn to tally up the extra unpaid hours they’ve been working read more
BMA
Donate to support striking junior doctors
Junior doctors in Northern Ireland announce more strike dates (2 May) – Further rounds of industrial action planned after talks with health minister break down read more
Consultants in Northern Ireland to be balloted for industrial action (25 Apr) – No alternative’ as talks break down and deal agreed in England. Consultants in Northern Ireland are to be balloted on industrial action, the BMA has announced. The five-week ballot will open on 7 May 2024 after talks between consultant representatives from the BMA Northern Ireland consultants committee and the devolved Department of Health broke down. Consultants had raised their concerns with the continuing erosion of their pay and the effect this is having on consultant recruitment and retention in Northern Ireland, and the subsequent effect this has on patient care, and to seek a solution to these issues. Consultants in Northern Ireland are still waiting for last year’s Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration-recommended 6 per cent uplift to be applied. And with a new pay deal for consultants in England having been accepted, pay talks continuing in Scotland and Wales, and higher pay available for consultants working in the Republic of Ireland, BMA NI consultants committee chair David Farren said it was ‘imperative’ consultants in Northern Ireland do not fall further behind. Last year, 77 per cent of respondents to a survey of BMA Northern Ireland consultant members said they were willing to take industrial action read more
Doctors to enter pay negotiations with the Welsh Government (9 Apr) – BMA Cymru Wales has suspended forthcoming industrial action for Consultants and SAS doctors following a constructive meeting with the Welsh government to resolve its pay disputes. As a result of sustained pressure, including three rounds of industrial action by junior doctors in Wales, the Welsh Government has made a significant proposal to form the basis of talks to end the pay disputes with all secondary care doctors including Consultants, SAS and Junior doctors. Since the meeting last week, the committees representing doctors from all three branches of practice have voted to enter pay negotiations based on this proposal. The planned 48-hour strike by Consultants and SAS doctors due to take place from 16th April will now be suspended. Junior doctors have paused plans to announce more strike dates whilst they enter negotiations with the Welsh Government. The Welsh junior doctors committee, Welsh SAS committee and Welsh consultants committee will now each engage in pay negotiations, with the aim of reaching deals which can be taken separately to their respective members read more
Junior doctors in England urge Health Secretary to come forward with new offer as they vote for six more months of industrial action (20 Mar) – Junior doctors in England today urged the Government to present a new and credible offer after voting overwhelmingly in favour of continuing their industrial action in their campaign for full pay restoration. With 98% (or 33,869) of junior doctors voting to continue industrial action on a turnout of 62%, their re-ballot has renewed their mandate for industrial action for another six months. The new mandate lasts from 3rd April to 19th September 2024. The ballot also approved the use of action short of strike (ASOS) read more
HCSA
HCSA launches fresh reballot of junior doctors in England (29 Apr) – Today, HCSA – the hospital doctors’ union has opened a fresh ballot of junior doctors in England in the ongoing pay dispute. If successful, this will extend the right to strike for another six months until December 2024. The ballot will close on 4th June 2024. The ballot also asks members for the first time whether they would be willing to take Action Short of Strike (ASOS); a form of industrial action which could consist of doctors working strictly to contract and refusing to perform certain tasks. HCSA is calling on junior doctors to vote in favour of both strike action and action short of strike. If successful, this will give HCSA Dispute Committee the flexibility required to exert maximum leverage in the face of anti-strike legislation read more
NEU
Support these strikes:-
| The Garden School / Hackney (Conditions of Service) | 15-16 May | David Davies [email protected] |
| Royal Russell School / Croydon (TPS) | 14 May | Joseph Flynn [email protected] |
| Bryon Court Primary / Brent (Forced Academisation) | 17 May | Jennifer Cooper [email protected] |
| Leytonstone School / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service) | 14 May | Pablo Phillips [email protected] Mallainee Martin [email protected] |
| The Liverpool Blue Coat School / Liverpool (Conditions of Service) | 14, 16 May | Graham Copsey [email protected] |
| Sir Francis Hill Community Primary / Lincs (Conditions of Service) | 14-15 May | |
NASUWT
Teachers at Llangors CiW Primary School escalate to councillors in 6th week of strike action (13 May) – On Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16th May, members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Llangors CiW Primary School in Llangorse will once again take strike action. An early morning picket will take place from 07:30 – 09:00 on Thursday with support from members of the local community. This will include the school’s former Foundation Governors, who resigned last month in support of the teachers. The dispute continues as the Council’s failure to engage in negotiations with NASUWT persists, with no communication from the local authority since 29th April. NASUWT members have now reached out to all 67 councillors in Powys, stating terms for resolution and requesting urgent action read more
Scottish Government failing to get a grip of escalating violence in schools (10 May) – facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonsharethis sharing button
Scottish Parliament Holyrood exterior side view. The Scottish Government is failing to act with the urgency required to get a grip of the escalating crisis in violence and abuse from pupils in schools, members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, will argue at the Union’s Scotland Annual Conference today (Friday) read more
New First Minister must tackle “litany of broken promises” on education (9 May) – facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonsharethis sharing button
Scottish Parliament Holyrood debating chamber
The new First Minister must tackle the “culture of procrastination and obfuscation” within the Scottish Government in dealing with the problems in the education system, members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, will argue at the Union’s Scotland Annual Conference this week read more
Dispute escalates at Llangors CiW Primary School as LA continues to ignore concerns (1 May) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Llangors Church in Wales Primary in Llangorse will begin strike action again on Thursday 2nd May. Further dates are planned on 9, 14, 16 May and 6 June, with more in the pipeline if the dispute is not resolved in the near future. Members have mounting concerns over adverse management practices, redundancy, and staff wellbeing. For months, teachers at Llangors have worked under threat of redundancy. It is strongly felt that the proposed redundancy is the result of years of mismanagement by the school’s leadership and governors. Llangors is a small community primary school that cannot afford to lose any staff read more
Teachers to strike at Lincoln school over bullying concerns (22 Apr) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School in Lincoln will begin strike action this week over bullying and adverse management practices. The first planned day of industrial action will take place on Wednesday 24th April and further days are planned for the 1st and 2nd May. NASUWT members have endured a pattern of bullying that has affected the health, safety and welfare of teachers. Strike action is the last resort to restore a safe and supportive atmosphere to the school read more
Employer intransigence prompts further strike action at Ascot school (17 Apr) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at St Mary’s School in Ascot are taking the first of six further days of strike action today over attempts to downgrade their pensions. This follows an initial day of strike action in March. Teachers are facing the forcible withdrawal of their pensions from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to an inferior Defined Contribution (DC) scheme, which will pay out less in retirement. Teachers have been told that if they do not accept the transfer of their pensions, they will be dismissed from their jobs and reengaged on new contracts which include the DC pension arrangements read more
Norfolk teachers strike to protect their pensions (16 Apr) – Teachers at Aurora Eccles and Aurora Whitehouse schools in Norfolk are taking strike action after their employer threatened to remove them from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) under threat of being sacked. The Aurora Group runs publically funded schools for children and young people with special needs. The DFE have fully funded councils to pay for increased employer contributions to the TPS and the council has passed this funding onto Aurora. Aurora are however choosing to keep this money instead of passing it on to teachers, which means that teachers would be forced to move to a cheaper, inferior pension scheme. The employer has repeatedly refused to negotiate with the NASUWT, causing great distress to our members. They are left with no action but to take strike action this week and in the coming weeks to protect their pensions and their livlehoods. Further strike action is planned for Tuesday 23 April, Wednesday 24 April and Thursday 25 April read more
Teachers at Boston school strike for a safe working environment (16 Apr) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Haven High Academy in Boston are due to begin the first of six days of strike action on Wednesday over adverse management practices, including the failure of the employer to put in place adequate measures to deal with poor pupil behaviour. Teachers at the school feel they are being left vulnerable to abuse and violence from pupils due to a lack of consistent sanctions for students and support from management to manage pupil behaviour read more
Teachers at Chester college strike over pensions attack (15 Apr) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Abbey Gate College in Chester are taking a further five planned days of strike action, starting tomorrow (Tuesday) over attempts to make teachers choose between their pension or their pay. The employer is attempting to remove staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and enrol them in an inferior Defined Contribution scheme. If teachers choose to remain in the TPS they must accept a reduced salary. Teachers took an initial day of strike action last month read more
Nursery school staff strike over restructure (26 Mar) – A strike will take place at Eastwood Nursery School in Wandsworth on Wednesday 27th March after the employer proposed a restructure that threatens to move two nursery provisions to one site with only one qualified member of staff on duty each day. Further days of strike action are planned for 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th and 25th April read more
Lecturers in Northern Ireland vote to reject pay offer (20 Mar) – Lecturer members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union have voted overwhelmingly to reject the pay offer for Northern Ireland’s Further Education Lecturers. Lecturers had been awarded 5% plus an unconsolidated payment of £1500. 87% of NASUWT members voted in favour of rejecting the offer, with a turnout of 63%. 71% said they were prepared to take further strike action and 93% said that they were prepared to take further action short of strike action. The NASUWT National Action Committee will now consider the results of the member survey before deciding on the union’s next steps read more
Pension threats prompt strike action at Newcastle school (18 Mar) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Dame Allan’s Schools in Fenham are taking the first of six planned days of strike action tomorrow over attempts to downgrade their pensions. Teachers are facing the forcible withdrawal of their pensions from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to an inferior Defined Contribution (DC) scheme, which will pay out less in retirement. Teachers have been told that if they do not accept the transfer of their pensions, they will be dismissed from their jobs and reengaged on new contracts which include the DC pension arrangements. We do not accept that there is any financial necessity for the school to undermine teachers’ financial security in this way read more
Tring Park School teachers take strike action over pension sabotage (12 Mar) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts have begun a series of strike days due to a dispute over their pensions. After being offered a pay rise below levels of inflation, teachers at Tring Park School have now been told that if they wish to remain in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme – the standard scheme for teachers across England – they will need to take a pay cut in order to compensate for their employer’s contributions. Their only alternative is to move to a scheme of lower value. Strike action took place at Tring Park School on Tuesday 12th March and will take place again on Wednesday 13th March. Further days are planned on 19th, 20th and 21st March read more
NAHT
NAHT to explore campaign, legal and industrial routes to secure Ofsted reform (4 May) – NAHT members have passed an emergency motion on Ofsted at the union’s annual conference in Newport following the government’s refusal to commit to scrapping single-word judgements. The motion instructs the union’s executive to explore all campaign, legal and industrial routes to secure necessary changes to inspection to safeguard wellbeing following the tragic death of Ruth Perry last year read more
EIS
Teachers’ Pay in Scotland: Statement by SNCT Teachers’ Panel (10 May) – The Teachers’ Panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) notes, with increasing concern, the lack of progress in the 2024/25 pay round thus far. Despite submission of the Teachers’ Side pay claim in January 2024, four months have now passed without any offer being tabled by COSLA and no firm indication has been given of when an offer will be forthcoming read more
May Day Mayday: EIS calls on First Minister to intervene in college dispute (7 May) – The EIS has today issued a Mayday to the First Minister Humza Yousaf to intervene and college employers to come back to the negotiating table to end the long-running dispute in Scotland’s colleges, in the interests of students, staff and the wider community. The call comes ahead of the traditional May Day weekend marches by trade unions internationally in celebration of workers, in which Scotland’s college lecturers will take a leading role alongside colleagues from the college support staff unions who are also in dispute with employers in pursuit of a fair pay rise that is now more than a year and a half overdue. A meeting of the Executive of the EIS-Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-FELA) today stressed the importance of the two-week pause in strike action, as an act of good faith to allow sufficient time and space for further discussions in the hope of reaching an agreement to end the dispute. Escalating strike action will resume, should no agreement be reached read more
INTO
Teachers’ Pay Update (13 May) – Please see the update provided below from DE in relation to Teachers’ Pay Award Implementation: “The Department is currently processing the 3-year agreement of the Teachers’ Pay Awards for year’s 2021, 2022, 2023 which will be completed in 2 stages for all current teachers…” read more
Advice to members re: Working Practices in schools (22 Apr) – BULLETIN 2 – Restoration of Working Practices – this bulletin supersedes Bulletin 1 Restoration of Working Practices. Please click HERE to view
UCU
Union calls on Redbridge Institute of Adult Education to end the use of fire and rehire and to pay staff what they deserve (8 May) – Members of UCU at Redbridge Institute of Adult Education in East London have today called on the Institute to improve working conditions read more
Staff to strike at North East college group open day (2 May) – Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees will strike on Thursday 16 and Wednesday 22 May in a long running dispute over low pay that has already seen staff down tools for eight days. On Thursday 16 May staff will picket the open day at Redcar and Cleveland College campus and on Wednesday 22 May they will picket Stockton and Riverside College campus. The strike action is the latest escalation after staff rejected employer Education Training Collective’s (ETC) most recent offer. This did not include any improvement on pay and was limited to an extra two “wellbeing days” and additional points on the lecturer and course leader pay scales starting on Thursday 1 August 2024. ETC’s position on pay remains that it wants staff to accept a paltry increase of just 3% for 22/23, with an additional 1% from May 2023 read more
Strike threat at University of Lincoln as over 220 staff face the axe (18 Apr) – Staff at the University of Lincoln are poised to take a stand against brutal cuts. A consultation over potential strike action is set to begin Monday. The looming threat targets over 220 employees, including one in ten academic staff. Cuts include the phasing out of the fashion degree and ending specialist support for widening participation students in the foundation studies centre. The centre’s teaching team have been notified their jobs are at risk read more
University of Kent staff vote to strike over course closure “bonfire” as VC quits (5 Apr) – Staff at the University of Kent have backed strike action in defence of jobs. The result comes as the person in charge of the cuts, vice-chancellor Karen Cox, announces she will step down in May, before they are even implemented. An overwhelming 85% of UCU members who voted said yes to strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 57%. The vote comes after 58 staff were placed at risk of redundancy as part of a programme that would see courses closed across the university read more
Strike ballot at Sheffield Hallam over “scandalous” cuts programme (5 Apr) – A strike ballot will open on Monday 15 April at Sheffield Hallam University, announced the University and College Union (UCU) today. UCU has accused the university of pushing ahead with expensive building projects while launching a wholesale attack on staff and students through an unprecedented cuts programme, severely breaching the post-92 contract and national framework, and attacking on working conditions read more
Goldsmiths marking boycott set to begin this month over “brutal” sackings (5 Apr) – The University and College Union (UCU) today confirmed staff at Goldsmiths University will begin a marking boycott on Friday 19 April over plans to sack more than one in six academic staff. The boycott will cover all marking and assessment, including in writing, online, or verbally. It will also include any assessment-related work such as exam invigilation and the administrative processing of marks. UCU warned that graduations will be impacted unless the university resolves the dispute by halting its plans to cut over 130 jobs. Alongside the boycott, UCU members will take other forms of industrial action including working to rule and boycotting processes related to management’s “transformation programme” of cuts. The boycott follows an overwhelming vote for industrial action against the cuts, which would see more than a third of academics axed in the 11 affected departments in the schools of arts & humanities; culture & society; and professional studies, science & technology read more
Goldsmiths staff vote to strike over “incomprehensible” bonfire of jobs (28 Mar) – The University and College Union (UCU) today announced staff at Goldsmiths University have overwhelmingly voted to take industrial action in a fight to stop the sacking of more than one in 6 academic staff at the institution read more
Staff consulted on industrial action at University of Portsmouth over planned job cuts (27 Mar) – The University and College Union (UCU) today confirmed strike action could be on the cards at the University of Portsmouth, as the union starts a consultation of its members. 398 academic staff are to be put at risk of redundancy, as part of University of Portsmouth’s “academic reset” programme that management says is necessary due to recruitment challenges and increased costs read more
Strike threat at University of Winchester over ‘catastrophic’ job cull (14 Mar) – UCU confirmed strike action could be on the cards at the University of Winchester after its members voted to consult over taking industrial action at a packed meeting last Friday. Staff have been put at risk of redundancy in changes that would see the university close its English language programme; institute for climate and social justice; centre for religion, reconciliation and peace; and managed housing, and see cuts to psychology, acting and apprenticeships. The university claims it needs to make the cuts due to a £6m structural deficit. There are 40 jobs planned to go in the current phase, with fears of further job cuts pending read more
Strike ballot at New College Durham over low pay (11 Mar) – UCU has opened a strike ballot at New College Durham in a dispute over low pay. The ballot will close on Monday 15 April and a successful result paves the way for strike action if the employer refuses to make a realistic offer. The ballot comes after staff voted to reject a paltry pay offer of 4% (from August 2023). According to its most recent accounts the college has over £9m in assets, a £2m increase on the year before, and is rated as having outstanding financial health by the government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency, yet UCU’s research shows it spends less of its income on pay than any other college in the region read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
Firefighters’ union leader raises alarm over Elphicke defection in letter to Starmer (13 May) – In a letter to Keir Starmer, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has raised concerns about Natalie Elphicke’s admission to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Elphicke has spoken in favour of new anti-unions laws, branded “one of the most vicious attacks on workers rights in living memory”. During a debate in parliament, Elphicke blamed striking firefighters for the deaths of three people during a past national firefighters’ strike read more
FBU responds to HMICFRS ‘State of Fire and Rescue’ report (9 May) – His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published its latest State of Fire and Rescue report on 9 May 2024. Responding to the report, Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “This report does not add much to the discussion over the future of the fire and rescue service and the issues it faces. Since 2010, we have lost 30% of central government funding, and one in five firefighter jobs have disappeared. Response times are worse than ever. The report has little to say about this…” read more
FBU advises firefighters not to take part in law enforcement activities around protests (8 May) – The Fire Brigades Union is aware that pro-Palestine protesters are holding further demonstrations in Leicester. During previous demonstrations, the police have requested support from the Fire and Rescue Service to assist in the removal of protestors. The FBU is clear that the role of firefighters is a humanitarian one, and advises its members not to be involved in law enforcement activities read more
FBU urges Labour to implement New Deal for Working People in full (7 May) – The general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union has warned Labour against watering down commitments to strengthen workers’ rights. Labour’s ‘New Deal for Working People’ includes plans to reverse anti-union legislation, expand collective bargaining, and ban zero hours contracts. Trade unions have voiced alarm in response to press reports that Keir Starmer may row back on delivering the new deal within the first 100 days of government read more
Firefighters win 4% pay offer and advances on maternity following talks (26 Apr) – 4% headline pay offer 2024. Firefighters and fire control staff have been offered a package of pay improvements, including an above-inflation pay rise, improvements to maternity pay, and a large increase to the retainer paid to on-call firefighters. Pay negotiations have been underway at the National Joint Council (NJC) between the Fire Brigades Union and fire employers for some months read more
POA
National Chair Update April 2024 here
NAPO
Operation Protect Demo 17 May 2024 – There will be an in-person Operation Protect Demo on Friday 17 May at Sheffield City Hall. Join us to demand the government takes immediate action to resolve the workloads crisis in the probation service that is putting the public and members at risk https://www.napo.org.uk/news/operation-protect-demo-17-may-2024
News on Job Evaluation (10 May) – Programme Facilitator Appeal: We have today issued a joint trade union dispute notification in relation to the JES Programme Facilitator Appeal. Unfortunately we cannot set out the full details of the grounds of the dispute beyond saying that we have issues over procedure and the need for an agreed approach on what is a jointly owned scheme. More updates will be issued by the unions when news becomes available. We do understand that this process is challenging, but it is critical that it is administered correctly read more
BFAWU
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
BALPA
BALPA pilots and tech crew at Bristow Helicopters strike in dispute over pay (7 May) – The British Airline Pilots’ Association says its members in Bristow Helicopters have been forced to strike by a management which continues to belligerently ignore their calls for a fair and reasonable pay offer. The pilots and tech crew (including search and rescue winch operators and winch paramedics) will be involved in strike action on Tuesday and Wednesday to Thursday, after Bristow Helicopters management failed to come to the table with a fair and reasonable pay deal. BALPA had previously postponed strike dates in a bid to pursue a negotiated settlement, and entered into ACAS talks, but the company has failed to listen and has not come forward with a fair pay offer that is acceptable to BALPA members read more
Nautilus International
Two-year pay deal agreed at PNTL (8 May) – Members working at Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL) have voted by a strong majority to accept a two-year pay deal read more
P&O Ferries boss pocketed more than £500,000 after sacking UK seafarers (8 May) – P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite said that he had ‘reflected’ before ultimately deciding to accept a bonus of more than £183,000 for 2023. Image: Nautilus International. Seafarers from countries including the Philippines who are now working on P&O Ferries’ cross-Channel routes are being paid as little as £4.87 per hour, the company’s chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite confirmed to the House of Commons business and trade committee. Mr Hebblethwaite admitted to receiving more than £500,000 in compensation last year. During his appearance to give evidence before the committee, he also reversed his 2022 statement that he would repeat the decision to sack the company’s UK seafarer workforce and replace them with agency crew. Instead, after years of bad press, he said that he ‘regretted’ the decision read more
Officers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vote for strike action (5 Apr) – RFA employees have faced a real terms pay cut of over 30% since 2010. Nautilus International members at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) have voted strongly in favour of industrial action. The ballot followed the rejection by members of a 4.5% pay offer for 2023 that fell far below the rate of inflation. Since 2010, RFA employees have faced real terms pay cut of over 30%, beyond other blue light services, leading to significant challenges in recruitment and retention and low morale across the workforce read more
NUJ
NUJ backs Northern Ireland Policing Board request for urgent meeting with PSNI Chief Constable (9 May) – The union welcomed the request by the chair and vice chair of the board for an urgent meeting with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) following this week’s revelations around use of surveillance powers to spy on journalists read more
NUJ demands emergency NI Policing Board meeting on sinister surveillance of journalists (9 May) – The shocking revelations at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing in London yesterday about the scale and nature of PSNI surveillance of journalists and lawyers in Northern Ireland have led to a demand for an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board read more
Police Service of Northern Ireland regularly spied on numerous journalists (8 May) – Investigatory Powers Tribunal hears police accessed data of those writing critical stories about the force read more
HR report “first step in culture change at RTÉ” (7 May) – Response to the publication of external reports on RTÉ by Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish Secretary read more
Israel: Al Jazeera shutdown is dangerous and wrong (7 May) – Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “Targeting Al Jazeera as the Israeli government has is a direct attack on free speech that brings shame on those responsible – I hope they will soon realise their error and reverse this decision.” Read more
STV members strike action, day two (1 May) – Journalists at STV began their second day of strike action over pay on Wednesday 1 May. There was a picket line outside the STV headquarters in Glasgow and a letter was handed out to shareholders as they entered the building for the broadcaster’s annual general meeting. NUJ members also joined the AGM. All news bulletins and the flagship 6’o’clock news programme were expected to be pulled off air read more
Equity
Equity continues fight against social security cuts (13 May) – Work Capability Assessment consultation: permission for Judicial Review granted and Equity’s DDMC to take issue to TUC read more
“Equity will not accept compulsory redundancies” of chorus members at WNO (13 May) – Welsh National Opera’s proposals to change chorus contracts would cut pay and undermine job security read more
‘Sick note’ and Personal Independence Payment consultations: we want your views (13 May) – A billowing purple flag displaying a lilac Equity wordmark
The Government have opened their consultations into the issuing of Medical 3 certificates (‘sick notes’ or ‘fit notes’) and Personal Independence Payment – a non-means tested form of social security paid to disabled people. Equity will be providing responses to these consultations and we want your views. We believe these consultations are not justified – see The truth behind UK Government’s attack on ‘sick note culture’ and Report on the UK’s treatment of disabled people. Furthermore, the opening of consultations of this kind may be in breach of pre-election rules. Therefore we have made a complaint to the Cabinet Secretary alongside others read more
Win: Equity signs new house agreement with Wise Owl Theatre Company (8 May) – A win for workforce rights as Wise Owl Theatre Company signs new house agreement read more
Musicians’’ Union
Arts Apocalypse: 14 Organisations Spotlight Decimation of Arts Education in Schools (12 May) – 14 organisations are raising the alarm on the arts education apocalypse in our schools and colleges read more
Protect Welsh National Opera: Sign the Petition Now (2 May) – Musicians at Welsh National Opera orchestra are campaigning to keep the orchestra full time and secure the company’s future read more
Community
Union votes for strike action over Tata job losses (9 May) – Community said 85% of its members backed industrial action. Members of the largest steelworkers’ union, Community, have voted in favour of industrial action over Tata Steel’s restructuring plans. The union said 85% of those who voted supported the move. Workers were balloted after Tata Steel announced 2,800 job losses across the UK as part of the closure of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces and a transition to greener steelmaking read more on BBC website
USDAW
#ShopKind Week: Usdaw joins the call for respect for shopworkers struggling in a retail crime epidemic (7 May) – Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed today’s launch of the national #ShopKind Week, which encourages shoppers to treat staff with respect. UK-wide polling highlights that 31% of customers are more anxious when they shop and 36% have witnessed violence and abuse towards shopworkers while shopping read more
Usdaw members at a GXO distribution centre in Swindon start industrial action over pay on Sunday, which could impact B&Q stores (22 Mar) – Members of the retail distribution union Usdaw at a GXO distribution centre in Swindon, which operates a B&Q contract, are starting a 48-hour strike over pay, starting at 2pm on Sunday 24 March 2024. Over 100 drivers and clerical staff are set to take part in the action read more
UVW
Migrant cleaners at Department For Education to strike for equality in June (9 May) – “No sick pay, too much work, no proper holiday cover. We feel we are treated with disdain, we are fed up and stressed but united in our resolve” – Gloria Mancera, cleaner of 18 years service at DfE and UVW member
The cleaners at the Department for Education (DfE) have voted unanimously to strike again, returning a 100% yes vote, and will walk out of their jobs for the second time in a year on 11 and 12 June 2024. They took three days of strike action last summer as part of a mass strike by UVW members demanding dignity, equality and respect. The cleaners, who are outsourced to ISS UK Limited and are members of United Voices of the World (UVW), demand parity of terms and conditions with civil servants read more
Cleaners descend on the Dorchester hotel over the sacking of Peruvian cloak room attendant (9 Apr) – “I want my job back. I want my reputation back. I did nothing wrong. I don’t deserve this treatment. I’m not scared and I want justice” – Teresa Calixto, sacked cleaner and UVW member. On Saturday 6 April, over 50 members and supporters of UVW descended on The Dorchester Hotel in central London to protest against the callous and, we believe, unlawful sacking of our fellow UVW member Teresa, a former cloakroom attendant at the five-star hotel. Teresa Calixto, a migrant cleaner from Peru, was subjected to seven hearings over five months, assaulted at work and asked to work through Christmas without a break before being sacked for trivial issues. She was paid poverty wages. Teresa is bringing legal proceedings against The Dorchester for unfair dismissal read more
IWGB
Workers at debt charity vote to strike following “aggressive intimidation” from management (8 Mar) – Frontline workers at the debt advice charity Rooted Finance will down tools later this month after their ballot to strike passed with a 100% yes vote. The decision to walk out on March 18 and 19 follows what workers have described as “anti-union and intimidatory tactics” from management read more
Find out more about the couriers’ strikes on the X/twitter of the IWGB Couriers’ branch @IWGB_CLB
SIPTU (Ireland)
Other news
Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’! Find out more about this campaign here
Affiliate with STAMMA – STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
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:
PCS rep in Newcastle sacked by HMRC (5 Apr) – Gordon Askew was sacked by HMRC on grounds of ‘potential’ computer misuse following strike action taken by the branch. HMRC management at Benton Park View in Newcastle have sacked Gordon Askew, a member of the branch executive committee, on the grounds of ‘potential’ computer misuse. PCS members at Benton Park View, alongside HMRC East Kilbride, took part in targeted strike action last year, as well as their members taking part in the three national days of strike action. Following the strike action, the department launched an investigation into two Newcastle-based representatives. The charge against Gordon was a ‘potential’ breach of the department’s IT policy; arising from a Microsoft Teams message sent to a number of PCS members, relating to strike action. The department’s decision maker claimed that Microsoft Teams had been used “without a legitimate business reason”. A second rep is on a similar charge. We understand the decision maker said that they had considered a lesser penalty, but had decided to sack the rep because he didn’t appear to be sorry enough for what he had done. This was despite him having nearly thirty years of spotless service to the department. PCS is discussing next steps with our Legal Department read more
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) Yemen: Journalists’ union leader survives a shooting in capital Sana’a (8 May) read more
(From NUJ) Italy: solidarity with journalists on strike at public broadcaster RAI (7 May) read more
(From NUJ) Pakistan: journalist killed in bomb blast on World Press Freedom Day (7 May) 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
June
22 NSSN Conference 2024 – 11am Conway Hall, Holborn, London
CONTACT US
PHONE 07952 283 558
EMAIL mailto:[email protected]
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/NSSN_AntiCuts
FACEBOOK NSSN GROUP or STOP The CUTS Likes page
ADDRESS NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE
