NSSN 680: Support the strikes

The NSSN continues to build support and solidarity for the strikes that are continuing to take place. This weekly NSSN bulletin always contains information of these disputes. Please read our bulletin and support the strikes.

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.

Bakers Union to Launch Election Manifesto (15 May) – The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) launched their Bakers Dozen manifesto that they and their members want to see introduced by the next UK Government. Aimed especially at the Labour Party, the Bakers Dozen report and manifesto lays out 13 policy demands that would transform the lives of their members and working class people across the country. Based on union policy and a survey of their members the Bakers Dozen Manifesto sets out a visionary range of policies including full employment rights from day one, a £15 an hour living wage, the creation of a national care service, renationalisation of utilities and the abolition of university tuition fees. The survey also demonstrated that support amongst BFAWU members has fallen and that Labour in Government must deliver for working class people and not take their support for granted read more

Community joins Unite in voting for strike action at Tata Steel

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

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.

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.

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  

RMT National Dispute Fund  

RFA staff to strike on Sunday over pay (17 May) – RMT Seafarers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) will take strike action on Sunday despite efforts by the union to find a settlement. RFA have imposed a one-year deal of 4.5% which does not reflect the value and sacrifices of staff in the fleet. 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 globe. Over 500 RFA seafarers will be taking part in the Sunday strike read more

RMT writes to London Mayor over investigation into Clapham Common incident (16 May) – Tube union, RMT is calling for an immediate convening of the London Underground Limited (LUL) Safety Forum following a passenger evacuation on Clapham Common tube last year. Both the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and Formal Investigation report identify a critical need for enhanced training for station and operational staff. However, instead of addressing this need, LUL is increasingly relying on office staff to cover operational jobs after only two days of training. These office staff, known as “ambassadors,” are being used to meet staffing requirements at key central London stations. Alarming statistics reveal that over 5,000 licensed station staff shifts were covered by these ambassadors between 1 October 2022 and 29 October 2023. RMT insists that this practice is unacceptable and poses significant risks to passenger safety and that immediate steps must now be taken to address these concerns, as emphasised in the RAIB report read more

RMT suspends strike action on Scotrail after guard role secured (15 May) – Rail union, RMT has successfully retained the guard and all the responsibilities of the role on every train along the Barrhead and East Kilbride route. Conductors will also continue to dispatch trains, including full control of the doors on departure and perform their safety critical duties. This means strikes due to go ahead on May 18,19,25,26 and June 1,2 have all been called off 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

ASLEF
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 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  

Fresh strike dates for workers at GXO Logistics, says Unite (17 May) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is escalating strike action at London’s GXO Logistics, in a dispute over alarmingly low pay. Unite members will now strike from Tuesday 28 May until Tuesday 18 June. New dates for the warehouse worker walkout have been announced to include weekend shifts – causing further disruption to food and beverage distribution across the capital read more

Unite launches major oil and gas campaign: No Ban Without a Plan (17 May) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, which represents thousands of members in the offshore oil industry, has today launched an extensive campaign in Scotland to ensure that a future Labour government drops its planned ban on blocking new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, until a genuine programme for the just transition of work is operational read more. Oil and Gas | No ban without a plan petition read more

Berry Norwich plastic injection workers strike over pay (17 May) – Norwich factory workers angry at real terms pay cut dressed up as increase. More than 100 Berry Norwich factory workers will take strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). The workers are angry at Berry’s 3.5 per cent offer, which is a real terms pay cut as the real rate of inflation, RPI, stood at 6.1 per cent when the pay increase was due in October last year…The workers, who are engineers, setters, maintenance, and machine operatives, will strike from 19 May to 21 May, from 28 May to 30 May and on 1 and 2 June. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more

Corporate profiteering: Unite study of 17,000 companies shows margins jumped 30% since the pandemic (16 May) – New Unite research published today shows that the UK’s corporate profiteering crisis continues. Unite’s report analyses nearly 17,000 companies in the UK, the largest study of corporate profits since the pandemic. It found that average profit margins have soared by 30 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic period read more

University Hospital Waterford: Support staff take action in pay justice dispute (16 May) – Dispute centres on HSE failure to upgrade laundry workers, and to recognise long serving support staff. Unite accuses HSE of leaving hospital and union in the dark over regrading plans. Trade union Unite, which represents support staff at the University Hospital Waterford (UHW), today (Thursday) announced that over 100 members working in the laundry, catering and portering departments will be engaging in a work-to-rule from Monday 27 May read more

Unite says ‘all options’ on table to save Tennent’s Newbridge plant (15 May) – Unite has today (15 May) responded to the announcement by Tennent’s that it plans to close its Newbridge site in Edinburgh saying ‘all options’ must be on the table to save the plant. The union was informed this morning that Tennent’s plans to close the Newbridge facility and transfer  distribution operations to the drink giant’s Cambuslang site read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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) siteThe 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]  

More strike dates announced at Heathrow (17 May) – More than 500 PCS members in Border Force at Heathrow airport are to take a further 3 days’ strike action in a dispute over a new roster that has been imposed. The strike action is at the back end of the half term holidays on 31 May, and 1 and 2 June. It will be followed by 3 weeks of action short of a strike that will include a work to rule and overtime ban running from 4 to 25 June. The strike action on 29, 30 April, 1 and 2 May was well supported and members were clearly in favour of further action should there be no movement from the Home Office read more

G4S in DWP win strike ballot (15 May) – G4S in DWP have won their strike ballot on a 54.59% turnout with over 95% of participating members voting for strike action.  This means we can call strike action alongside the ongoing GMB strike…The GEC will meet urgently to discuss the next steps in the campaign. We will communicate next steps as soon as possible read more

PCS strike ballot results published (15 May) – The ballot papers have been counted in our strike ballot that closed on 13 May. Our ballot of 171 civil service and related areas for strike action over our national campaign demands closed on Monday, 13 May. The ballot papers have now been counted. The total percentage of members voting yes for strike action was 83.7% of those who voted. But while a large percentage of members voted for action, the number of people who can strike is severely limited by the Tories’ anti-union laws. We achieved over 50% (the turnout required by law for strike action) in employers including DVSA, HM Land Registry, DEFRA, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and Rural Payments Agency. This means that in those areas we have a legal mandate to take strike action. The turn-out figures in the areas that were below the 50% needed for action still place us in a strong position for negotiating with the government in those specific areas and more generally across the civil service. The PCS national executive committee (NEC) is meeting today to discuss the results and our annual delegate conference in Brighton next week will decide on the next steps in the campaign. Reports of decisions made at conference will be posted regularly on the PCS website 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

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  

Harland and Wolff closure would be a huge blow to UK shipbuilding (15 May) – It is being reported that Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast is at risk of closure. The shipyard was due to build a series of Fleet solid Support Ships for the UK Navy, something Prospect warned they may not be able to deliver which would mean promised work going overseas. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is said to be blocking a financial support package which would keep the dockyard running 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

FDA

“Significant victory” for FDA members: MPs vote to introduce risk-based exclusion at the point of arrest (14 May) – MPs have voted to introduce a formal mechanism to risk assess any MP at the point of arrest. This also gives parliamentary authorities the power to exclude MPs accused of sexual or violent offences. Previously there was no formal mechanism to compel MPs accused of serious misconduct from entering the parliamentary estate – instead there was a reliance on voluntary ‘gentleman’s agreements’ read more

GMB  

GMB responds to local government pay offer (16 May) – GMB has responded to the local government pay offer affecting more than one million workers read more

Nottinghamshire hospital staff strike for 24 hours over Covid bonus snub and ‘less favourable’ terms – more than 200 hospital workers began strike action on Friday (May 17) over ‘less favourable terms and conditions’ than their colleagues. Support staff across Sherwood Forest Hospital NHS Trust began a 24 hour-long walk out at 6am and picketed outside of King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield holding placards. Staff at Mansfield Community and Newark Hospital also took part read more on Nottinghamshire Live website

Harland and Wolff closure reports ‘Tory Government warfare’ (15 May) – GMB Union has responded to reports about the potential closure of the Harland and Wolff read more

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

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

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

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

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 workersAs 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 – Mental Health Social Worker Strike Escalates! (17 May) – UNISON has sent a strike notification to the soon to be departing chief executive stating that our members will be on strike for the period between 3 June and 14 June. Our previous strike timetable was as follows:-

  • From 15 April to 26 April 2024 (two weeks). Already taken.
  • From 13 May to 1 June 2024 (three weeks).
  • From 17 June to 12 July 2024. (four weeks).

The strike notification in effect means our members will be on strike continuously from Monday 13 May until Friday 12 July a total of nine weeks read more   

Send messages of support to [email protected]

Councils need proper funding not further efficiency savings (16 May) – The best way for councils to run efficient services is for them to be adequately resourced and staffed read more

Council and school staff pay offer falls short (16 May) – UNISON will decide next steps over NJC pay. Commenting on the announcement today (Thursday) by local government employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of a pay offer of at least £1,290 for council and school staff, UNISON head of local government Mike Short said: “Council and school staff deserve a decent pay rise for the vital support they provide to communities. But this offer falls short of the union’s reasonable claim. Many workers will feel let down because their household bills continue to rise. UNISON will consult representatives over the coming days before deciding the next steps.” Read more

Government failure to fix NHS buildings puts patients and staff at risk (15 May) – Hospitals and equipment in no fit state to deliver proper care. Commenting on an NHS Providers report that shows delays to the government’s new hospitals programme are harming patients, UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: “Government cuts have left NHS premises in a dire state, while badly ageing equipment can’t be replaced. The repair backlog keeps growing too…” read more

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  

New mileage rate for health workers (17 May) – Dear Members, We are pleased to inform you that after a prolonged campaign of industrial action by our members in the Health sector, NIPSA has successfully negotiated an improved mileage rate offer from management.  Following a thorough consultation, our members have overwhelmingly accepted this offer read more

NJC pay offer 2024 (17 May) – Dear Member, As you are aware, the JTUS of the NJC submitted its pay claim on behalf of members working in the NJC Sector towards the end of February read more

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 Scotland calls for a nursing retention strategy as workforce crisis shows little sign of improvement (15 May) – In our third instalment of ‘The Nursing Workforce in Scotland’ report published today (15 May), it is evident that Scotland’s nursing workforce crisis is showing little sign of improvement read more

RCN helps secure thousands of pounds for wrongly paid nurses (15 May) – Several intensive care nurses will receive up to £36,000 each after successfully having their jobs evaluated. Many more nursing staff could be eligible 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

Midwives in Northern Ireland work thousands of unpaid hours to keep services running safely (17 May) – Findings published by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have revealed that during just one week in April midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) in Northern Ireland worked 4,300 unpaid hours to keep services running safely read more

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  

Government offers revised pay deal (16 May) – SAS doctors are set to vote on a new and improved offer on pay, after the BMA secured a concession following negotiations with the Government read more

Junior doctors and Government enter mediated talks to make progress on pay dispute (15 May) – The BMA’s junior doctors committee (JDC) today announced that it had entered a new intensive phase of talks with Government, facilitated by an external mediator read more

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

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 MayDavid Davies [email protected]
Royal Russell School / Croydon (TPS)14 MayJoseph Flynn [email protected]
Bryon Court Primary / Brent (Forced Academisation)17 MayJennifer Cooper [email protected]
Leytonstone School / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service)14 MayPablo Phillips [email protected] Mallainee Martin [email protected]
The Liverpool Blue Coat School / Liverpool (Conditions of Service)14, 16 MayGraham Copsey [email protected]
   
Sir Francis Hill Community Primary / Lincs (Conditions of Service)21-22 MayKen Rustidge [email protected]
The Garden School / Hackney (Conditions of Service)21-23 MayDavid Davies [email protected]
James Allen’s Girls School / Southwark (TPS)22 MayFreddy Vanson [email protected]
King Edward V Lordswood School for Girls / Birmingham (TPS)23 MayDavid Room [email protected]
   

NASUWT

Government must release teachers’ pay report without delay (16 May) – Today the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) has confirmed that their 34th report setting out their recommendations to the Government for the teachers’ pay award for 2024/25 has been issued to the Secretary of State for Education and to the Prime Minister. NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union is calling on Gillian Keegan to publish the report immediately and without delay. The Union is concerned that, particularly with a General Election looming, ministers will look to delay publication of the report for as long as possible. In recent years the Government has refused to publish the STRB report until schools were breaking up for the summer holiday read more

Cheadle teachers fight pay and pensions attack (14 May) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Lady Barn House School in Cheadle are taking the first of six planned days of strike action on Thursday after they were threatened with being fired from their jobs unless they accept a pay cut to retain access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS). The employer is threatening teachers with ‘fire and rehire’ to force through new and inferior contracts which impose a 3.5% pay cut in return for remaining in the TPS. Despite current financial forecasts from the school stating they can afford to continue paying pension contributions up to 2028, the employer has refused to delay the imposition of contractual changes on staff read more

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

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  

EIS-FELA Hold lengthy talks with employers but strike action continues in ongoing pay dispute (17 May) – At a meeting with College Employers Scotland (CES) yesterday (Thursday 16th May), EIS-FELA submitted a revised four year pay claim in a bid to break the current deadlock and receive an improved pay offer for their members. Despite lengthy talks, CES were unable to enter into meaningful negotiations and could not offer enough progress in the discussions for the EIS-FELA National Representatives to consider the suspension of their upcoming strike action read more

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

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  

Outcry over University of Portsmouth job cuts (16 May) – UCU has lodged a trade dispute with the University of Portsmouth over job cuts. The dispute comes after the university put 163 academic staff at risk of redundancy on Tuesday (14 May) with over 20 set to lose their jobs. A further 434 academic related professional and support staff have also been put at risk and UCU estimates that up to 100 could go.  Staff are now being forced to reapply for their jobs at the same time as they are preparing students for year-end assessments and graduation read more read more

297 staff threatened with the sack at London South Bank University (16 May) – Staff at London South Bank University have no confidence in the vice-chancellor and senior leadership team, announced the University and College Union (UCU) today after 297 posts were put at risk, including almost one in five (226 out of 1082) academic staff read more

OfS report shows university funding model is broken (16 May) – Higher education’s funding model is broken and needs radical reform, said UCU. The union was responding to the Office for Students report on university finances, which warns that two in five universities expect to be in deficit this academic year read more

UCU wins recognition at training provider South West Durham Training (14 May) – UCU today announced it has signed a recognition agreement with private training provider South West Durham Training (SWDT), which is a subsidiary of Bishop Auckland College. The deal comes after years of organising by UCU members at the provider, including recruiting over half the teaching staff to the union 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

FBU seeks Supreme Court appeal for pensions challenge (17 May) – The FBU is seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court in relation to the costs control mechanism imposed on public sector pension schemes by HM Treasury. The FBU was successful in challenging the government’s public sector pension reforms introduced in 2015 as age discriminatory. That legal success led to the government having to reinstate previous pension arrangements and pay compensation to affected public sector workers (the McCloud remedy) – not just in the fire service. The public sector pension reforms also included a costs control mechanism which mean that certain specific member-related costs could be attributed to the costs of the scheme, and paid for out of lowering benefits or increasing contributions for workers 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

Scotland: reporting on the Scottish pay deal – It took a long time to reach agreement, but it was worth the wait…It took an extraordinary length of time to get the pay deal over the line, delays that frustrated the membership and the SNC, delays due to negotiations back and forth between the TUS and SPS. During this time, we also had two separate ballots for POAS members to vote on the pay deal and a ballot on whether or not to take strike action. The membership eventually voted 77% in favour of accepting the deal, and in my opinion it was worth the wait, considering that the first offer from Scottish Government was a 3.5% one-year deal but this was unacceptable to the constituent unions that form the TUS read more

BFAWU 

Bakers Union to Launch Election Manifesto (15 May) – The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) launched their Bakers Dozen manifesto that they and their members want to see introduced by the next UK Government. Aimed especially at the Labour Party, the Bakers Dozen report and manifesto lays out 13 policy demands that would transform the lives of their members and working class people across the country. Based on union policy and a survey of their members the Bakers Dozen Manifesto sets out a visionary range of policies including full employment rights from day one, a £15 an hour living wage, the creation of a national care service, renationalisation of utilities and the abolition of university tuition fees. The survey also demonstrated that support amongst BFAWU members has fallen and that Labour in Government must deliver for working class people and not take their support for granted read more

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

BALPA

Response to Bristow Helicopters question in Parliament (16 May) – In response to the oral question to the Aviation Minister Anthony Browne in Parliament today, and his commitment to meet with Bristow (available below), BALPA General Secretary Amy Leversidge said: “We welcome the support from politicians for our striking members…” read more

Bristow Helicopters Dispute Update Statement (16 May) – In response to the latest Bristow Helicopters statement to media, BALPA General Secretary Amy Leversidge said: “We appreciate Bristow Helicopters management finally acknowledging that pilots and tech crews are critical to the success of the company and indicating they want to come back to the table to negotiate with us. However, they need to accept that in a ballot of our members 95% rejected the current offer on the table. After the ballot we entered back into ACAS talks and after over a week of trying to get movement from Bristow management they tabled an offer that was virtually indistinguishable from the rejected offer. There is no confusion or misunderstanding on our part, our members are clear and resolute – we need an offer that is just focused on pay and is not reliant on reducing terms and conditions…” read more

Nautilus International

RFA officers to undertake industrial action from 1 June (17 May) – Nautilus members working for the RFA voted for industrial action for the first time in the organisation’s history, after more than a decade of pay austerity that has seen them endure a 30% real-terms cut in wages. Image: RFA

Nautilus members working for the RFA voted for industrial action for the first time in the organisation’s history, after more than a decade of pay austerity that has seen them endure a 30% real-terms cut in wages. Image: RFA

Nautilus International, as the union representing officers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), has officially informed the RFA and Ministry of Defence that members will begin industrial action, commencing from 1 June 2024. Hundreds of Nautilus members working onboard RFA vessels will undertake ‘action short of a strike’. This means that they will only undertake work responsibilities commensurate with their job title (i.e. they will not provide cover), or act in a capacity above or below their job title read more

Nautilus forces Lloyd’s Register to the negotiating table (14 May) – Nautilus International members from Lloyd’s Register’s Rotterdam office travelled to London in January 2024 to present a petition for recognition to the company. Image: Nautilus International. Lloyd’s Register has agreed to pay discussions with Nautilus International’s branch in the Netherlands, after the Union informed management at the company that it would take legal action unless they entered negotiations. Nautilus could potentially take Lloyd’s Register to court on the basis of established case law – in which the travel company TUI attempted to avoid negotiating with unions in the Netherlands. The FNV successfully brought a lawsuit against TUI, resulting in a ruling that the company must negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with trade unions because they are legitimate representatives of employees’ interests. This ruling was upheld by the Dutch Supreme Court in April 2023 read more

NUJ   

STV dispute ends as improved pay offer accepted (15 May) – Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ national organiser for Scotland said: “This has been a slow and difficult dispute, but we have finally reached a pay offer that has been accepted by our members.” Journalists at STV News have voted to accept an improved pay offer, ending the industrial dispute at the broadcaster which resulted in Scottish news programmes being taken off air and almost all digital website news stopped. Members of the NUJ voted 82 per cent in favour of a deal which will see a consolidated increase backdated to January, a guaranteed bonus of between £300 and £500 to all staff across the business in July, and potential for a further, non-consolidated bonus if the company hits 2024 profit targets. The deal represents increases of up to 6.7 per cent read more

NUJ supports Lords committee’s improvements to SLAPPs Bill to ensure journalists are protected (14 May) – Baroness Stowell warns Lord Chancellor of “significant risk”. The NUJ has backed a call from House of Lords communications and digital committee chair Baroness Stowell for improvements to the Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill to ensure it prevents powerful individuals from silencing critics through ‘lawfare’ read more

Springer Nature staff hold unprecedented vote on industrial action (14 May) – Writers on respected journals ballot for first time. In an unprecedented move, UK staff working on the renowned Nature portfolio of science journals are balloting for industrial action in a dispute over pay. The portfolio, which includes the world’s leading science magazine Nature, is owned by international publisher Springer Nature read more

Equity

Revealed: ACE risk guidelines formulated in relation to Israel-Gaza (17 May) – Equity has uncovered Arts Council England’s (ACE) warning that “political statements” could break funding agreements was formulated in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict read more

Working class creatives at ‘lowest level in a decade’ (16 May) – Equity’s Class Network has responded to new research showing that working class representation in the creative industries is at the lowest level in a decade read more

Win: Equity sign new House Agreement with Frinton Summer Theatre (15 May) – Frinton Summer Theatre has signed a house agreement with Equity, which will protect performers’ and stage managers’ terms, conditions and pay read more

Equity joins ‘Arts Apocalypse’ campaign (14 May) – Equity joins ‘Arts Apocalypse’ campaign to save arts education read more

Musicians’’ Union

Members Affected by RWCMD Consultation Urged to Contact the MU (13 May) – The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is proposing to cease its weekly creative sessions for young people from the end of this academic year. Members who will be affected by this are urged to contact their local regional office 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

DAHOBIT 2024: Usdaw calls for an end to LGBT+ harassment and welcomes the ‘no one left behind’ theme (17 May) – Retail trade union Usdaw is marking the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) on May 17, with a call for action to tackle Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Plus (LGBT+) harassment in our workplaces, and welcomes the 2024 theme of ‘no one left behind: equality, freedom and justice for all’ read more

Kellogg’s confirm the closure of their Trafford Park manufacturing site – Usdaw is supporting members at this difficult time (16 May) – Breakfast food manufacturer Kellogg’s has today confirmed the closure of their iconic Manchester site, based in Trafford Park. Usdaw represents production workers at the plant 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

Private school cleaners vote yes to strike over poverty pay (8 May) – “I am ready to strike because our demands are fair. We need a pay rise but we’ve been denied. So the time has come to do something about it” – Santa Pérez, Dominican cleaner at Blackheath Prep and UVW member said. In early May, a group of cleaners and UVW members at Blackheath Prep returned a unanimous yes vote to take strike action for improved terms and conditions at the private school in South East London. The migrant workers from Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain and Colombia who clean the school for the wealthy are struggling to put food on the table with a salary of £11.44 per hour. Meanwhile Blackheath Prep charges over £15,000 per year per pupil read more

IWGB

Joint Statement on the End of the RSA Dispute (15 May) – Members of the IWGB working for the RSA have voted to accept an improved offer. This has ended the dispute between the RSA and the IWGB. The RSA and IWGB will work constructively and collaboratively together going forward in the interests of improving industrial relations and in support of the charity’s mission, including the union ceasing campaigning against the RSA and its officers with all partners, fellows and others involved in the RSA’s work read more

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)

Government must not betray workers while showering largesse on business (16 May) – The Government would seem to be considering a betrayal of workers while showering its largesse on business according to SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for the Private Sector, Greg Ennis read more

Other news  

Restore the People’s NHS – London launch – Saturday 22nd June 10am-5pm in the London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square London NW1 9XB details

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 

STAMMA website  

  

  

Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps  

Hazards urgently need our support

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

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

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

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  

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