NSSN sends solidarity to workers as a number of industrial companies announce mass redundancies and closures or there is concerning speculation about them. Just in the last few weeks, workers who work at or depend for their livelihoods on Tata Steel, British Steel, Grangemouth and Harland & Wolff have all faced the most serious news about their futures.
We will continue to support these workers and their unions and all those facing the threat of losing their jobs. We have always called for threatened industries to be nationalised to save jobs and defend working-class communities, particularly now with a new Labour government. Nationalisation NOT devastation.
Unite blasts government ministers over Grangemouth ‘false promises’ and ‘non-delivery’ (16 Sept)
Unite general secretary calls Grangemouth decision act of industrial vandalism (12 Sept)
GMB: Harland and Wolff announces administration (16 Sept)
Community: UK Government statement on Tata Steel (11 Sept)
The NSSN TUC Rally says: make the rich pay NOT workers!
Up to 120 union reps and activists attended the NSSN TUC Congress rally and lobby on Sunday 8th September. While celebrating the smashing of the Tories in July, the overwhelming message to the new Labour government ahead of their first budget next month was make the rich pay NOT workers.
We gave a platform to a number of union leaders and rank and file union reps and members who can be seen on these videos – Steve Gillan POA General Secretary, Sarah Woolley BFAWU General Secretary, Ian Lawrence NAPO General Secretary, Daniel Kebede NEU General Secretary, Mick Whelan ASLEF General Secretary, Marion Lloyd PCS NEC (personal capacity), Suzanne Muna SHAC – Social Housing Action Campaign & Unite Executive), April Ashley Unison NEC (personal capacity), Matt Webb Brighton & Hove Trades Union Council, Rob Williams NSSN Chair plus there was an open mic for union reps and members to speak. Chair: Katrine Williams NSSN Secretary
The rally called for support for motions and amendments at TUC Congress which set out a fighting strategy.
These included the EIS-led composite motion: ‘End of the hostile environment towards workers and unions’ which included an amendment from PCS – “Congress notes the Labour Party’s 2024 general election manifesto committed to implementing ‘Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People’ in full – introducing legislation within 100 days. If the government has not legislated within the first hundred days, a special TUC congress will be called to discuss next steps.”
Also, the POA motion ‘Repeal Section 127 Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994’ – calling for the restoration of the right to strike for their prison officer members was passed as well. This should be the fighting approach that unions take forward.
Workers Unity to stop the far-right
The NSSN stands with the rest of the union movement against the violent protests whipped up by the recent racist far-right and the fascists. Our supporters have taken part in the many counter-protests that are taking place.
The far-right are looking to exploit the horrific incident in Southport this summer for their own ends. We send support and solidarity to all those affected by that attack, especially the families of those killed and injured.
With absolutely no evidence and on the basis of deliberate misinformation, the far-right have targeted refugees, migrant workers and the Black and Asian and Muslim communities.
It is essential that the trade union movement plays the leading role in building a united movement against the far-right. This is especially the case as history has shown, the far-right and fascist forces have targeted unions and striking workers.
With 6.5million members, across all working-class communities, the unions have the authority and power to unite workers against racist division which weakens our movement and only assists the bosses.
The strike wave over the last few years has shown that workers and their unions are prepared and able to fight to defend jobs and living standards, and when they do so, they become a pole of attraction for all those suffering from austerity.
Therefore, we believe that the TUC and the unions should call a national Saturday demonstration to bring together workers in a united response to the far-right.
And where the racists call local protests, the union movement should take the lead in organising counter-protests, linking up with migrants, refugees and any targeted communities as well as anti-racist and anti-fascist organisations. All protests must be well stewarded by trade unions to guard against any threat from far-right groups.
We welcomed the motion passed at TUC Congress in 2018 that launched a “Jobs, Homes, Not Racism campaign to unite the wider trade union movement and to campaign effectively against the far right” as it is vital that the labour and trade union movement takes on racist division by giving an alternative to the decades of austerity and anti-worker policies of successive governments.
The union movement has responded to the far-right protests with statements including the following – TUC, Unite, RMT, CWU, PCS, Unison, NIPSA, CSP, NEU, UCU, FBU, NUJ, Equity, BFAWU, ASLEF, GMB, RCN, CSP, UCU, NAPO, POA, Musicians Union, Community, USDAW, IWGB, Prospect, SOR, BMA, HCSA, INTO, UVW
Join the counter-protest to Tommy Robinson – central London Saturday 26th October. For details of this and other protests see the Stand Up To Racism website.
NSSN news
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it and/or making an additional donation to help our work. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month via a standing order.
You can either pay online to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790.
Or you can pay by cheque to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’ and post to NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.
Feel free to use this affiliation letter.
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Katrine on [email protected]
The NSSN is developing a campaign pack for social care, which we hope to make available in the not-too-distant future for supporters to use in their localities. As part of this, communications officer Dave Gorton is keen to hear from supporters who:
(1) work in social care (either local authority, private or independently provided)
(2) represent social care workers for a trade union
(3) are in need of social care provision themselves or act as an (unpaid/underpaid) carer for a family member
Dave can be contacted in the first instance via [email protected]
Union News
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RMT
Fair Pay For RFA (18 Sept) – Please write to your MP. Please take a minute to write to your MP and join the call for fair pay for RFA
Royal Fleet Auxiliary members to take 3 more days strike action (9 Sept) – Seafarers working for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary will take 3 days strike action later this month in a long running dispute over pay. RMT members have taken 5 stoppages since the dispute began under the previous Tory government. The union has had cordial meetings with the Ministry of Defence but has not received any improved offer. All RFA personnel have been directed to abstain from duties on strike day while ensuring essential safety protocols, including maintaining moorings and gangways, are strictly observed read more
Pay ballot papers out on 3rd September – (From Mick Lynch RMT General Secretary): RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2024 – TRANSPORT FOR LONDON & LONDON UNDERGROUND (TFL/0001 & LUL/0001). BALLOT PAPERS OUT on TUESDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER. VOTE ‘YES’ TO STRIKE OVER PAY. Further to my previous Circulars (IR/221/24, 23rd July 2024 & IR/229/24, 26th July 2024) RMT is conducting separate ballots for TfL and LUL members over the failure to table a suitable pay offer for 2024 and the insistence from both companies that the increase will only be paid as a non-consolidated lump sum to any member at the top of their pay band. Ballot papers will be posted out on Tuesday 3rd September and the closing date for the ballot is Tuesday 1st October 2024 read more
Solid bus strike action at First South West (12 Aug) – RMT bus driver members working for First South West took further solid strike action against low pay today (Monday August 12) at depots across Cornwall and Somerset. Speaking from a picket line at Penzance, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was the fourth day of action in the dispute which had prevented buses from operating across the region. “This union has put forward three different proposals following local consultations to prevent further strike action, but the bus company has refused to negotiate to end to the dispute. First South West’s parent company is raking in profits of £204 million while bus drivers at First South West are some of the lowest paid in the country…” read more
Scotrail and Caledonian Sleeper staff vote for strike action (8 Aug) – RMT members working on key Scottish rail services have voted for strike action following a ballot. Scotrail and Caledonian Sleeper workers were separately balloted after rejecting pay offers from both companies. Workers at Scotrail returned an 85% ‘yes’ vote for strike action on a 64% turnout. And Caledonian Sleeper members produced a 90% yes vote on a 66% turnout. The union will be speaking to both employers in order to come to a negotiated settlement read more
Avanti West Coast caterers to strike Friday and Saturday (25 Jul) – Rail union RMT, will take strike action on Avanti West Coast this Friday and Saturday due to imposed rosters causing widespread stress and fatigue among staff. Caterers at Avanti West Coast face short notice changes to shifts, job cuts, and enforced overtime, impacting their ability to plan family commitments and attend medical appointments. Despite negotiations recently, no breakthrough was found, meaning industrial action remains on read more
Bespoke cleaners strike at Hitachi Rail (19 Jul) – Cleaners working at Hitachi Rail in Doncaster are on strike today after rejecting the latest pay offer. RMT members working for Bespoke who has the Hitachi Rail contract, overwhelmingly said ‘no’ to the offer from the contractor read more
Rail Gourmet Eurostar strikes suspended after new offer (19 Jul) – Rail union, RMT has suspended strikes on Eurostar catering after accepting a new pay offer from Rail Gourmet which runs the contract. RMT members in Rail Gourmet will now get a 7.6% uplift in pay which has only come about due to strike action and strong negotiating stances from union reps and officers. The union has pursued active discussions with Rail Gourmet management to address significant disparities in pay and working conditions read more
Continued Industrial action called – fight back against ‘flash and dash’ (18 Jul) – REMOVAL OF DETRAINMENT STAFF – LONDON UNDERGROUND. The National Executive Committee has considered this matter and congratulated all members for continuing the mandate for action in this dispute. The NEC has taken the decision to instruct all members on the Bakerloo Line, District Line, Central Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Jubilee Line and Victoria Line to continue taking part in industrial action to physically check their train before detraining until further notice. I urge you all to support this action and fight back against the Company’s dangerous imposition of the ‘flash and dash’ procedure for detrainments read more
ASLEF
A vote to end the pay dispute (18 Sept) – ASLEF members have voted to end their two-year pay dispute with a strong YES vote to accept the offer made by the Department of Transport in August. Members at sixteen companies have been in dispute since 2022 over pay. The previous Tory government refused to let our employers, the train operating companies, negotiate freely and refused to allow them to make a fair offer. This made the dispute political. When the new Labour Government was elected in July 2024, the Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh made it a priority to resolve the dispute. Meetings took place and a fair offer was negotiated and formally presented to ASLEF members. All affected members were asked if they want to accept the offer and when the ballot closed today the result was: YES: 10,971 (96.58%); NO: 389 (3.42%) Turnout: 11,365 (88.53%) read more
LNER strike action suspended (29 Aug) – Strike action due to take place at weekends between the end of August and mid November 2024 has been suspended. Drivers working at LNER were due to strike after a long dispute with the company which saw existing agreements broken by the employer. ASLEF members have consistently worked to negotiate with the company and explain why the breaking of agreements is unacceptable but the company continued to operate inappropriately, including paying driver managers a premium to drive trains, not recruiting enough drivers to run a full service, and trying to push drivers to work outside of agreed rostering systems. The railway is a safety critical environment and procedures are in place to ensure safe operation. ASLEF had raised safety concerns regarding driver managers ‘dual-rolling’ ie driving trains when they should have been available for on-call duties in the case of any incidents read more
Train Drivers’ Union to Ballot ScotRail Members (16 Jul) – ASLEF’s Executive Committee has today agreed to ballot its ScotRail members for action short of strike and strike action read more
TSSA
TSSA London Underground members balloted over pay, terms and conditions (18 Sept) – London Underground’s latest offer is 3.8% plus £300 for all grades. This is below the rate of inflation for February, which was 4.5%, and means yet another real term cut in pay compared to the cost of living. In addition, in recent pay talks London Underground has stated that any percentage pay rise will not automatically apply to pay bands, and that any increase to the maximum or the minimum of any pay band will be made entirely at their discretion. They have made it clear that they intend to freeze many pay bands read more
TSSA ballots ScotRail for strike action – warns of looming “Summer of discontent” (30 Jul) – TSSA has warned of a “summer of discontent” as it ballots members in ScotRail for strike action over pay today (Tuesday). TSSA will be balloting around 500 members working in a variety of white collar, managerial, professional and technical grades within ScotRail. Members have rejected a three-year pay deal offering rises below the rate of inflation and are angry that ScotRail has yet to make a “meaningful offer” to resolve their existing dispute regarding on-call working. TSSA is also looking for an agreement from ScotRail to move towards a transparent pay structure for management grades read more
Unite
Llanelli Gestamp auto workers ballot for strike over poverty pay (19 Sept) – Industrial action would severely impact Nissan, BMW, JLR, Aston Martin and INEOS. Strikes by Llanelli Gestamp workers would severely impact the supply of critical parts to Nissan, BMW, JLR, Aston Martin and INEOS, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Around 200 workers on various grades are being balloted for strike action over unacceptably low pay offers by Gestamp. The Spanish-based company brought in revenues of €12.3 billion in 2023 and reported a profitability (EBITDA) of €1.4 billion. Despite Gestamp’s huge wealth, many of the workers at the Llanelli factory earn the national minimum wage and will only be taken slightly above it under the company’s current offer. Adding to the workers’ anger over poor pay is the fact that starter rates at Gestamp’s sister site in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, will rise to £13.77 in January 2025 read more
MEBSCA dispute: Pickets set for major projects tomorrow in ‘travel time’ fight (19 Sept) – Unite highlights concerns regarding contractors charging clients for ‘travel time’ not paid to workers. Unite members working as plumbers, fitters, welders and apprentices are set to down tools tomorrow (Friday 20 September) in a third day of action to secure the reversal of the austerity-era cut to ‘travel time’. Official pickets will be placed from 00.01 am to 11.59 pm tomorrow (Friday 20 September) on a number of major construction sites in Dublin and Athlone where members of the Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) are carrying out works. Unite members will also be holding a protest in London tomorrow involving a major MEBSCA employer read more
Unite members overwhelmingly back NHS Scotland pay offer (18 Sept) – 93 per cent say yes to 5.5 per cent health wage increase. Unite the union can confirm today (Wednesday 18 September) that thousands of its members have overwhelmingly voted to accept the NHS Scotland pay offer. Unite’s health membership voted yes by 93 per cent to accept the 5.5 per cent offer which the union described as ‘best negotiable’ in the current financial circumstances. Nurses and healthcare staff across Scotland are set to receive the 5.5 per cent increase offered by the Scottish government which will be backdated to 1 April 2024. The overall package is estimated to be worth £448 million in 2024-25. The pay package will mean that the minimum uplift for the lowest paid workers (grade 1) is £1,278, and a new hourly rate of £12.71 read more
Unite members vote to approve NHS pay deal (16 Sept) – Union emphasises this must be the beginning and not the end of pay restoration. Unite members have today (Monday 16 September) approved the government’s proposal on NHS pay. Two-thirds of Unite members working in the English NHS have voted to say that they approve the government’s decision to offer a 5.5 per cent pay increase for 2024/5. Unite is clear, however, that the pay increase needs to signal the start of pay restoration and the proper valuing of NHS staff. Above inflation pay rises are essential in all future pay rounds until pay restoration is achieved read more
Unite comment on Welsh Government pay award for NHS staff (11 Sept) – Following the announcement that the Welsh Government has accepted the Pay Review Body’s (PRB) recommendation that pay for NHS staff should increase by 5.5 per cent for 2024/5, Unite, has issued the following statement. Unite regional officer Daryl Williams said: “Welsh NHS staff have suffered real terms pay cuts and have seen their living standards fall for over a decade. This has created huge recruitment and retention issues, which is a direct result of staff being thousands of pounds worse off in real terms. NHS workers across Wales deserve a restorative pay award and today’s announcement must be the beginning of Welsh Government honouring its 2023 commitment to pay restoration. Unite regional officer Daryl Williams said:
“Unite’s health members will have the final say on whether they believe this is an acceptable pay offer through a ballot.” Read more
Bakkavor workers in Spalding to take continuous strike action over low pay (18 Sept) – Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose facing shelf shortages. Over 700 workers in Spalding, Lincs, are to take continuous strike action beginning this month in protest at a derisory pay offer from their employer, Bakkavor Group. Members of Unite work in food preparation and manufacturing at Bakkavor. They make and prepare meals, soups, dips, salads, desserts, pizzas and breads for Bakkavor’s customers which includes Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose. Unite members will be taking part in continuous strike action from Friday 27 September read more
Striking Ealing traffic wardens protest at MP meeting and council cabinet (17 Sept) – Labour council using agency labour to break strike over union recognition. Striking Ealing traffic wardens will protest tomorrow outside of local MP Deirdre Costigan’s meeting with constituents as well as at the council’s monthly cabinet meeting read more
Harland & Wolff: Unite seeking stability for workers, following administration announcement (16 Sept) – Union priority to preserve employment and skills. September 16th: Unite, the UK’s leading union, is demanding that urgent action is taken to preserve the future of the workforce at Harland and Wolff’s yards in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. The union made its call after it was announced today that the company’s parent company had filed for administration. However, its individual shipyards and facilities in Belfast, Appledore, Arnish and Methil, continue to trade read more
Unite blasts government ministers over Grangemouth ‘false promises’ and ‘non-delivery’ (16 Sept) – Thousands of Grangemouth workers facing ‘uncertain future’ after refinery closure announcement. Unite the union has today (Monday 16 September) blasted both the UK and Scottish governments for their ministerial media appearances made over the weekend in relation to PetroIneos’ decision to close the Grangemouth oil refinery during 2025. Unite which represents the 500 oil refinery workers and thousands more in the wider supply chain has taken direct aim at Scottish and UK government ministers over ‘downplaying and deflecting’ the scale of the industrial and personal cost read more
Port Talbot: Government investment the first step towards a better future for South Wales steel (11 Sept) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed the confirmation from the government that they are moving towards future investment for the South Wales steel industry, following their commitment today of a first stage of investment of £500 million in a 3.2 mega tonne electric arc furnace at Port Talbot. Unite was instrumental in securing a £2.5 billion fund for investment in steel and is in ongoing talks on further investment which should include new lines being installed and generating jobs at both Port Talbot and Llanwern. This should be agreed over the next 12 months. The disgrace is that the last government stood by and did nothing for years and years and has meant investment is being committed much later than it should have been read more
Cardiff Valley Vets petition reaches 50,000 as poverty pay strikes escalate (10 Sept) – Historic strike taking on profiteering business model that harms animals and workers. The first ever strike at a private veterinary practice in the UK will escalate this week – as a petition in support of the striking workers grew to 49,503 signatures. Around 100 staff at Valley Vets in Cardiff, many of whom earn little more than the national minimum wage, have been on strike since July over poverty pay. Most support staff (80 per cent) report regularly borrowing money to make ends meet and five per cent report having to use food banks. VetPartners, owned by £138 billion private equity fund BC Partners, claims it cannot afford to give the lowest paid workers at Valley Vets the real living wage of £12 an hour. But in 2023, the company reported gross profits of £553 million. VetPartners says it is running at a loss despite its extremely healthy cash flow. This is because the company, which has more than 400 UK sites, has a policy of loading itself with debt to fund aggressive market expansion to increase its sale value. BC Partners bought VetPartners for £700 million in 2018; the company is now worth an estimated £3 billion…The workers have taken approximately six weeks of strike action since July. The next 24-hour strike will begin at 08:00 hrs on Friday 13 September read more
School staff to strike in Greenwich over job cuts and restructure, say unions (9 Sept) – Mulgrave School workers will walk out over threat to their livelihoods. Dozens of support staff at a London primary school are to strike on Wednesday (11 September) over a proposed restructure that would lead to 14 job cuts. Teaching assistants and other workers at Mulgrave School represented by Unite, GMB and Unison are walking out in response to Greenwich Council plans that involve scrapping flexible working arrangements, creating additional unpaid duties and cutting the pay of remaining workers. Staff represented by the three unions are furious at the plans and will be on the picket line to make their voices heard. The school and local authority have repeatedly failed to disclose the accounts to justify any restructuring and have called in neighbouring Hackney council to help support the restructure due to a lack of resource and expertise within Greenwich council read more
Wrexham Oscar Mayer fire and rehire threat strikes to go ahead (6 Sept) – UK supermarkets facing ready meal shortages over £2,000 attack on pay. UK supermarkets are facing ready meal shortages as low paid Oscar Mayer workers based in Wrexham strike over fire and rehire threats that will leave them £2,000 a year worse off. More than 550 workers voted by 98 per cent in a ballot with a 76 per cent turnout in favour of strike action. They are angry at the company’s plans to remove some paid breaks, reduce other breaks and eradicate any enhanced payments and days off in lieu for working bank holidays. Oscar Mayer is threatening to fire and rehire the workers on new contracts if they do not voluntarily accept the changes, which will see their take home pay plummet. Fire and rehire would result in the workers, many of whom speak English as a second language, being dismissed without redundancy pay or compensation if they refuse to sign the new contracts. Strikes will take place from 12 September to 10 October. Industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved read more
Unite will escalate ABC council dispute (5 Sept) – Bin workers based at Armagh depot suspend strikes but union members stand ready to defend reps. ABC council senior management have presided over a ‘hostile environment’ for union reps and their behaviour is ‘shameful’. Unite members employed in waste collection at the Armagh depot have voted to suspend a seven-week strike taken in response to the sacking of their union rep. Unite has vowed to continue to pursue justice for its sacked shop steward through all available avenues, including at employment tribunal where the council will have to justify its decision. The strike action will be suspended from midnight [Thursday] tonight with employees returning to work tomorrow. In a meeting notifying management of the decision to suspend, union officials demanded the council conduct an audit into its industrial practices, which they have agreed. The union has described the behaviour of senior council management at Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon (ABC) council towards its team of workforce reps as ‘shameful’ and warned that any further aggression towards its reps or to the jobs, pay, terms and conditions of its members will be completely opposed by workers read more
Striking Veolia refuse workers to protest at Sheffield Town Hall (3 Sept) – Refuse collectors to attend council meeting to make case for union recognition. 78 striking refuse workers from across Sheffield will descend on the Town Hall on Wednesday to demonstrate against their employer’s refusal to recognise their trade union membership for collective bargaining. Workers at Veolia’s Lumley Street depot have been taking part in continuous strike action since 20 August. The dispute is a result of the fact that, despite representing significant numbers at the depot, and despite Unite having other recognition agreements with Veolia in other depots around the country, the company is refusing to recognise Unite for bargaining over pay, conditions, and health and safety read more
Striking Guys’ and St Thomas’ nurses intensify safe staffing dispute with series of protests (2 Sept) – Nurses says NHS staffing crisis and underinvestment cannot be cured by crushing workers with unsustainable workloads. Guys’ and St Thomas’ day surgery theatre nurses will hold a series of protests across London this week as they continue striking over safe staffing. Around 100 nurses are striking over unsustainable increases to shift times. Anger amongst the workforce is such that since the dispute began in June, the number of Guys’ and St Thomas’ theatre nurses who are Unite members has nearly doubled. During the strike days of 3, 4 and 5 September the nurses will protest outside: Downing Street, The Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and London Bridge Hospital read more
Ammanford car seat manufacturer workers ballot for pay strikes (2 Sept) – Strikes by low paid Pullmaflex workers could impact Toyota, Nissan, VW and Stellantis. Around 200 workers employed at car seat manufacturer Pullmaflex’s Ammanford factory in Carmarthenshire are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Many of the workers are only paid the national living wage and have been offered no pay rise for 2024 except to ensure they are not being paid below the legal minimum. Workers on higher grades have had an imposed 3.8 per cent rise, which is a real terms pay cut, as the RPI rate of inflation was 4.9 per cent when the increase was due to be implemented in January. Adding to tensions, is the fact that workers’ finances have been squeezed year after year due to wages continually falling behind inflation at the company. The dispute is also about Pullmaflex’s attempt to make permanent a two-year temporary freeze of shift pay from percentage payments calculated on hours worked to one off payments. This breaks a collective agreement signed with Unite in 2022 read more
Sheffield bus fuelling and cleaning strikes to impact services (2 Sept) – First Bus real living wage employer but Bidvest Noonan contractors on poverty pay. Sheffield First Bus services will be impacted as workers responsible for fuelling and cleaning buses at the UK’s second largest bus depot strike over pay. Workers employed by Bidvest Noonan on behalf of First South Yorkshire at the Olive Grove depot will strike after being told their wages will not be increased above the legal minimum. Bidvest Noonan is part of the Bidvest Group, which earned £278 million in profits in the half year to December 2023. In April, First Group announced that it had become an accredited real living wage employer paying all workers at least £12 an hour. First stated that ‘includes workers employed through third party contractors’…Strikes will take place on 4, 12, 20, 24, 30 September and 8, 9,16, 17, 24 and 25 October. Industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved. Strike action will impact operations at the depot causing problems for bus services in Sheffield read more
Unite local government members prepare to ballot for autumn strikes as pay offer rejected (30 Aug) – Members of Unite, employed by local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have overwhelmingly rejected, the local government employers’ pay offer for 2024/5. Members, who cover many frontline roles including refuse collection workers, housing workers and care staff, returned a 85 per cent rejection of the pay offer which is worth a £1,290 flat rate, plus 2.5 per cent on allowances. This offer fails to tackle poverty pay or reverse the years of real terms pay cuts experienced by local government workers…Unite is now undertaking a full industrial action ballot for its local authority members. Balloting will begin today (30 August) and if workers vote for industrial action then strikes could begin later this autumn. Local authority workers have endured over a decade of pay freezes and below inflation pay increases which has seen their pay decline by over a quarter in real terms read more
National Education Union staff to strike over unacceptable workloads (28 Aug) – Employer unwilling to meet with staff to address concerns. Nearly 30 workers at the National Education Union (NEU) headquarters in London are to take three days of strike action due to the attitudes of their employer and its failure to address concerns over workloads. Unite members working in administrative roles at the NEU will walk out on 11 September and 2-3 October after management refused to meet with them or engage in meaningful negotiations over their concerns. Staff have repeatedly raised the alarm over workloads that are causing high levels of stress and sickness among staff. Further issues over workplace bullying and how this is addressed by the NEU’s management have been ignored. Having exhausted internal procedures and with an intransigent management, staff have been left with no option but to take to the picket line read more
Eaton mess as Hampshire aerospace workers to strike after poor pay offer (28 Aug) – Workers at Eaton Ltd manufacturing to walk out over pay. Approximately 150 highly skilled aerospace workers in Fareham, Hants, are to take strike action after their employer, Eaton Ltd, failed to make a pay offer that would bring them in line with industry averages. Unite members at the company voted overwhelmingly for strike action at the factory which produces essential parts and products for the aerospace sector. Fitters, technicians, supervisors and other staff will strike on the following date: 29-30 August; 16, 20, 27, 30 September read more
Knowsley housing workers vote for strikes over pay (19 Aug) – Over 200 workers employed by Livv housing have begun for strike action in a dispute over pay. The dispute is a result of Livv housing forcing workers to accept below inflation offers for many years, causing severe pressure on personal finances. The workers have rejected a five per cent pay increase, as this does not reverse the real terms pay cuts they have experienced. The ballot which involves members of both Unite and Unison opens today (Monday 19 August) and closes on Tuesday 17 September. If members vote for industrial action then walkouts could begin later this autumn read more
Edinburgh Tram workrs back strike action over lack of toilet breaks (14 Aug) – Unite says it’s ’running out of track’ to resolve health concerns before strike action. Unite can confirm that its Edinburgh Trams membership have emphatically backed strike action in a dispute over late running times to the nation’s largest airport which is preventing workers from taking comfort breaks. Over ninety per cent of tram workers in the ballot supported strike action. Over 160 Unite members could now take strike action in a matter of weeks, if comfort breaks and wider health concerns impacting the workers are not swiftly addressed. Unite believes there is a shortfall of between 5-6 minutes in the running time from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven. Each round trip takes on average two hours to complete. The maximum driving time before a scheduled break is five hours, and many tram workers go this length of time without hydration or toilet breaks. This is due to running late and having to make up the time read more
Glen Dimplex workers in Portadown to begin industrial action (12 Aug) – Dispute is a result of planned site closure, Unite has notified employer of work-to-rule, training and overtime ban. The workforce at Glen Dimplex will commence the first phase of industrial action including a work-to-rule from 00.01am on Friday 16 August. The industrial dispute is a result of plans by Glen Dimplex’s management to offshore work to Lithuania which will lead to redundancies and the potential closure of the site in Portadown… The work-to-rule will proceed indefinitely and will see workers refuse to undertake overtime, refuse to mentor or train new staff, and they will work to contractual terms and conditions and their job description only read more
Over 1,500 Ford white collar staff involved in nationwide industrial action (9 Aug) – Staff in Dunton, Stratford, Dagenham, Daventry and Halewood in dispute over pay and contract changes. Around 1,200 Ford office staff are joining hundreds of managers in taking industrial action over pay at sites across the country, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday). Yesterday, the office staff voted in favour of strike action and will begin action short of strike action on 22 August. Ford managers already have a strike mandate and are currently engaging in industrial action short of strikes. Both sets of workers, who are based in Dunton, Stratford, Dagenham, Daventry and Halewood, are in dispute with Ford over unacceptable pay offers and contract changes. Coordinated strike action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
Continuous strike action announced at by Unite members at UCU (7 Aug) – Unite the union staff working for the University and College Union (UCU) have today announced they will take all out continuous strike action in an escalation of industrial action. Around 200 members will indefinitely strike from 2 September if their employer doesn’t resolve their dispute over workplace racism, repeated breaches of their collective agreements, and broken industrial relations read more
Jiffy workers escalate strike action over “pathetic” pay offer (5 Aug) – Summer of discontent at north west packaging company. Over 50 workers at the Jiffy packaging plant in Winsford, Cheshire, are escalating their strike action this month following a pay offer from their employer that Unite general secretary Sharon Graham described as “pathetic”. Workers at the Cheshire factory are striking from today (5 Aug) until 17 August. They previously walked out for two weeks in July but with Jiffy management still unwilling to come back to the negotiating table, staff have been left with little choice but to ramp up their industrial action campaign. Workers at the plant have been offered a mere 1.5 per cent pay increase despite a cost of living crisis and real rate of inflation (RPI) standing at 4.3 per cent, when the pay increase was due. Workers are therefore receiving a real-terms pay cut. Unite’s members are demanding an eight per cent pay increase backdated to the 1 April 2024. Additionally, workers are furious that they only receive eight weeks of sick pay and want to see an increase to 12 weeks alongside the reinstatement of breaks during the working day and changes to bank holiday working practices read more
University Hospital Waterford: work-to-rule deferred pending talks on management proposals (29 Jul) – Proposals would see laundry workers included in regrading scheme. Unite welcomes management’s decision to engage, but warns action may be resumed if agreement not reached. Trade union Unite, which represents support staff in University Hospital Waterford (UHW), has deferred a work-to- rule by laundry, catering and portering grades. The union said that the action, which has been ongoing since the end of May, was being deferred from noon today to allow for talks regarding proposals received from UHW read more
Redcar chemical plant workers to strike over ‘serious’ public safety concerns (26 Jul) – Huntsman Polyurethanes’ plan to reduce staffing levels raises toxic gas leak fears. Redcar Huntsman Polyurethanes’ Production Process Technicians (PPT) have voted in favour of strike action over the company’s plans to ‘dangerously’ reduce staffing levels at the chemical plant. The company is not proposing redundancies but will not replace retiring workers so that it can reduce the workforce as part of a drive to cut costs. The nearly 50 PPTs manage the safe operation of the plant on a 24/7 basis at the Wilton site, which produces hazardous chemicals, and ensure it can be shutdown and contained safely in case of emergency. Huntsman is justifying the headcount reduction by claiming shutdown procedures at the plant will be safe. Unite members strenuously contest this and fear the site will be unsafe to operate read more
Ellesmere Port dock workers balloted to strike over unfair sacking of colleague (16 Jul) – GAC fired worker after change in hours prevented him caring for disabled mother. Ellesmere Port dock workers employed by GAC at the Queen Elizabeth II dock are being balloted for strike action after their colleague was fired because a change in hours meant he could not care for his disabled mother. GAC sacked the worker for “refusing a reasonable working request” after he informed the company he could not comply with the new rota due to being the primary caregiver for his disabled mother. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “GAC has behaved appallingly towards our member. The company knows full well that he is the primary caregiver for his disabled mother and should have offered a workable solution. This is a cruel and totally unjustified decision that has incensed the workforce and it will not go unanswered by Unite.” GAC provides integrated shipping, logistics and marine services to the energy and shipping industries. The workers, who are jetty operators, are being balloted for industrial action from 17 July to 30 July. Strikes will impact vessels supplying components to the Ellesmere Port Vauxhall plant, as well as ships who rely upon the Manchester Shipping Canal, including oil tankers using the discharging jetties at Eastham Locks for Stanlow Essar read more
Sanctuary housing posts big surplus and bumper margins (16 Jul) – Management could meet strikers demands with ease. Sanctuary Housing has posted financial results showing a group revenue of over a billion pounds this week. The overall operating margin is 19.8% and the social housing operating surplus margin stands at a bumper 31.1%. This year’s results confirm that management could meet the demands of their striking maintenance staff with ease read more
Support the Sanctuary strikes – contact the Unite LE/1111 Housing Workers branch to offer support or if you are a housing worker wanting to get organised [email protected]
London buses dispute escalates as hundreds more workers ballot for strikes (9 Jul) – Over 2,100 RATP bus workers in South, Central and West London now poised to strike. More than 300 London Transit staff are being balloted for industrial action, bringing the total number of RATP bus workers poised to strike to over 2,100. The London Transit drivers and engineers, who are based at Westbourne Park bus garage in Notting Hill, are angry at a three per cent pay offer. This is a real terms pay cut, as the RPI rate of inflation was 5.1 per cent when the pay increase was supposed to be implemented in December 2023. The dispute is also over an attempt by London Transit to impose an unacceptable scheduling agreement. In addition, around 100 London United engineers based at eight garages providing services for South, Central and West London, have joined 1,600 London United drivers in balloting over pay. The engineers have been offered 3.6 per cent, which again is a real terms pay cut. London United and London Transit are both part of the French state owned RATP Group, which had a turnover of €6.5 billion in 2023. In total, more than 2,100 RATP London-based bus workers are now being balloted for strike action…The London Transit ballot closes on 31 July, while the London United engineers ballot closes on 1 August. London United drivers will finish balloting on 22 July. Strike action will cause severe disruption to bus services in South, West and Central London read more
Birkenhead workers at Cammell Laird balloted for strike action over outrageous suspension of staff (1 Jul) – Seven staff suspended after hundreds refuse to cross picket line. Hundreds of workers at Cammell Laird shipbuilders on Merseyside are to be balloted for strike action following the reprehensible suspension of seven employees, Unite the union confirmed today (1 July). Unite and GMB members working at the Birkenhead facility refused to cross an RMT picket line last Tuesday (25 June). To avoid a similar problem re-occurring Unite had organised talks with the company providing our members were not targeted. However, on Thursday (27 June), seven members of staff, including Unite’s convener and a further four Unite members were informed they were immediately suspended pending a full disciplinary investigation. Outraged workers convened an emergency meeting and agreed to be balloted for potential strike action over the victimisation of the workers by Cammell Laird management. The ballot for Unite members will open on 8 July and close on 5 August read more
CWU
Save Enniskillen EE (ex-BT) site – The EE Enniskillen call centre is a lifeline for our community. It’s closure threatens over 300 jobs, eroding the heart of our local economy. This is a community crisis. Local businesses, public services, and the Fermanagh economy stand on the brink of a devastating blow
PCS
You can show your support to the strikes by PCS members by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
Great support for OCS FCDO strike (19 Sept) – 100% of striking PCS OCS members turned out on the picket line on the first day of their action over pay at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride. Our members, who are outsourced cleaners and caterers, are also demanding an increase to annual leave and the introduction of company sick pay for those who currently have no entitlement to contractual sick pay. There was lots of support from passing drivers and the majority of FCDO staff driving into Abercrombie House stopped and spoke with their colleagues on the OCS picket line, took leaflets and stickers. A few of them refused to cross the picket line and turned back. Our members are on strike again tomorrow (19), with additional action planned on 24, 25 and 26 September, and a further 8 days of walkouts on 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 and 24 October read more
OCS strikers announce eight further days of action (17 Sept) – PCS members working for OCS in the Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office in East Kilbride have announced eight further days’ strike action. PCS members at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride will take strike action tomorrow and Thursday (18/19 September) in a dispute over pay. With additional action planned on 24, 25 and 26 September, now PCS has announced further eight days of walkouts on 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 and 24 October. PCS is also demanding an increase to annual leave and the introduction of company sick pay for those who currently have no entitlement to contractual sick pay. Last week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP cancelled a visit to the office as the strike was announced read more
G4S and DBT facing strike ballot (16 Sept) – PCS members working on the G4S security contract at 3 government departments will be balloted next week for strike action in a dispute over low pay. The ballot will run from 23 September until 7 October, and will include the G4S security members at Old Admiralty and 10 Victoria Street in London, home to several major government departments. These include the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT). We issued the ballot notice today after G4S failed, despite repeated attempts, to respond to our members’ claim for improvements to their pay and terms and conditions to bring them closer to the terms and conditions of the civil servants where they work. They are also calling for funding from their employer for Security Industry Authority licences, required to undertake the key duties and functions of their roles. This ballot comes on the back of increasing strike action by our G4S members across DWP offices read more
Consultative ballot to open for members on the DWP G4S contract (5 Sept) – PCS members working for G4S in jobcentres will be asked to vote on whether they want to reject the pay offer made to GMB members. PCS G4S members working on the DWP contract have been clear in meetings with PCS that the pay offer made to the GMB is not enough. Although GMB have suspended their strike action, PCS members will strike for two further weeks commencing 9 and 23 September, as the dispute has not been resolved for our members. PCS will now undertake a consultative ballot which will be run by independent balloting organisation Civica Election Services to ensure a fair and democratic test of members’ opinions on the pay offer. The ballot will run from Tuesday 17 to Friday 27 September and will be online for all G4S members that we hold an email address for. All other members will receive their ballot in the post read more
Trade unions support for sacked PCS reps (13 Sept) – Sacked PCS reps at HMRC Benton View Park are receiving widespread support from the trade union movement. At this week’s TUC Congress, over 100 signatures were collected from visitors to the PCS stall for the petition calling for them to be reinstated. This included TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak who signed to show his support read more. Email your local MP to ensure they add their support to the campaign
ONS members to vote on extending dispute (9 Sept) – PCS members at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are voting to renew their mandate to take action over mandatory workplace attendance. The ballot runs from 10 September until 12 noon on 1 October. The ballot to continue industrial action by ONS members reflects the continued failure of ONS management to engage with PCS to resolve the dispute, which was prompted by the introduction of a mandatory workplace attendance requirement of at least 40% from April 2024 read more
Enforced roster changes leave Heathrow Border Force members feeling suicidal (3 Sept) – PCS members working at passport control at Heathrow Airport have reported major adverse impacts to their family life, physical and mental wellbeing as a result of enforced roster changes. Amongst over 250 responses to our survey, PCS members were unequivocal in their condemnation of the changes to the roster, with several members reporting that not only were they finding it difficult to maintain a work life balance, but that several had lost access to their children completely…Members on the picket line at Heathrow airport during the four days of strike action that finish today have been holding signs with personal testimonies, including: “I’m so tired that I’m scared I’ll make a mistake” and “The shifts are so long that I just never feel like I have a break from work.” After a solidarity visit to the picket line from Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell, , members are more determined than ever. Plans are in place for more parliamentary work to help bring the dispute to the attention of the new government. The members will now follow a work-to-rule and overtime ban until 22 September read more
National campaign update for members (16 Aug) – Following the publication of the civil service pay remit guidance, the national executive committee (NEC) met on 12 August to consider the way forward for our national campaign read more
Cuts to jobcentre security staffing (14 Aug) – G4S, the private contractor that provides security to jobcentres, has announced plans to cut the number of security guards. PCS has written to the DWP permanent secretary to express serious concerns about plans by G4S to cut the number of security guards across the Jobcentre network. The letter asks the DWP to stop any planned reductions and to restore the number of security guards where they have already been removed. We believe that it is scandalous that the DWP are allowing G4S to reduce security staffing at a time when there are increasing numbers of serious incidents in Jobcentres and public safety is being threatened by the rise of violent activity by the far-right. DWP have allowed G4S to undertake “risk assessments” in sites where they are proposing that numbers of guards are reduced or removed, but have failed to consult with PCS health and safety representatives as is legally required. PCS has consulted with members in Sudbury and Mildenhall in Suffolk where the security guards have been removed entirely. Members in these sites have been subjected to serious incidents in the past and feel very vulnerable as a result of the closure of local police stations, meaning that members can no longer rely on a swift intervention by the police. Following the consultation, members have indicated that they are prepared to take industrial action in support of their security guard colleagues facing redundancy and for their own safety. PCS is hoping to meet with DWP officials to discuss the situation and find a solution that avoids the need to formally ballot members facing safety concerns. However, if a satisfactory outcome cannot be achieved, we will ballot members for industrial action read more
Use the e-action to fight de-recognition of PCS at the Imperial War Museum – The e-action sends an email to the director general asking her to halt plans to derecognise PCS, and preserve workers’ voices and rights. 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. The three unions, Prospect, PCS, and FDA have a constructive and collaborative relationship and all three have appealed to management at the IWM not to derecognise PCS and FDA read more
Sign our petition for members in Hinduja Global Solutions to keep their jobs – 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
Firefighters at Jersey Airport to be balloted for industrial action over pensions (1 Jul) – Firefighters at Jersey Airport are to be balloted for industrial action by their trade union Prospect in a dispute over pensions read more
GMB
Public Meeting: 40 years since the Cammell Laird dispute – Monday 23 September 5.30pm Quaker Meeting House, Liverpool
Farmfoods faces frosty future as workers down tools (19 Sept) – Workers at fast growing food retailer will take strike action on Monday. GMB Union has today announced that Farmfoods workers at a Solihull distribution centre will take part in a two-day walkout in a dispute over pay, conditions and union rights. The campaign to improve conditions has already seen work rates fall by over 15%, but workers are furious after company managers have turned down requests for union recognition and fair pay. The strike action will take place on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 September, with around 100 workers expected to take part read more
Tetley faces first ever strike (18 Sept) – The first ever strike by workers at Tetley’s has sparked fears of a tea shortage. Almost 150 GMB members working at Tata Consumer Products, which makes Tetley Tea in Teesside, voted to walk out in anger at ‘poverty pay’. Industrial action begins will take place on Friday [20 September] and Monday [23 September] read more
Asda Skelton faces strike (18 Sept) – Asda Skelton faces strike action after workers voted to walk out. More than 110 staff at the store will talk industrial action in anger at health and safety issue, a loss of working hours in the store and the wider fight for equal pay. A protest will take place outside the store tomorrow [September 19] at 11.30am. The ballot saw a total of 575 per cent of GMB members vote to walk out. Strike dates will be announced in the coming days read more
Nottingham Goose Fair tram disruption edges closer (17 Sept) – As pay talks stall, Tram bosses must “urgently do the right thing” says GMB. Strike action on Nottingham’s tram network edged closer today as GMB Union issued fresh calls for company management to act to avoid travel disruption. The call comes after ongoing pay talks, overseen by independent scrutineer ACAS, stalled with management refusing to budge on a 3.5% pay offer – in effect a real terms pay cut for Nottingham’s tram workers. If no agreement is reached, around 300 workers are expected to join strike action, across the network’s drivers, ticket office staff, customer services and maintenance teams read more
Heathrow passengers rocket but workers hit with parking rise (17 Sept) – Heathrow Airport is set to enjoy record breaking passenger numbers this year, yet has hit low paid workers with extortionate car parking charges. Heathrow Airport Limited (HAK) is set to serve 30 million passengers between June and September 2024, the most for that period in the airport’s history, 1.1 million higher than the same period last year. Yet HAL raised parking charges from £27.19 to £81 per month from earlier this year – a 198 per cent rise. GMB Union today [Tuesday] called on Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) to reverse the rise read more
Consultative ballot open for Wexham Park Radiographers (17 Sept) – Stakes rise as radiographers at Wexham Park Hospital vote to protect NHS service provision. Members of GMB, the union at NHS Frimley Health Foundation Trust, are voting in a consultative ballot in a dispute against the outsourcing of radiology services. The proposed contractor, InHealth, already provide some Diagnostic and Imaging Services to the NHS and run contracts worth over £300 million per year. The union members are employed as Radiographers, Radiology Assistants and associated support staff at Wexham Park Hospital near Slough. A grievance has previously been submitted to the Trust’s Chief Executive Lance McCarthy and Chairman Bryan Ingleby, with a formal meeting date to discuss concerns yet to be scheduled. The ballot opened on Friday and remains open until Friday 27 September and may lead to a formal industrial action ballot, pending the result read more
Leicestershire faces waste chaos as strike action looms (11 Sept) – Workers in the County’s tips are balloting for industrial action. GMB Union has today announced that workers in Leicestershire waste and recycling centres will begin balloting for strike action. The news comes after Leicestershire County Council announced plans to slash wages by as much as £1300 for workers at the sites in a bid to cut spending. Around 50 workers are expected to take part in the vote read more
Concrete makers escalate strike as fat cat bosses wine and dine (6 Sept) –Dozens of GMB members at Acheson & Glover’s (A&G) Toome are escalating industrial action. Further strike action comes after ‘fat cat’ bosses were wined and dined and a swanky awards ceremony. The workers, who make up more than 70 per cent of the workforce at the plant producing pavers and flagstones, will begin their fifth week of strike action on Monday [9 September]. The dispute arose when staff were offered a 2.5 per cent pay increase for 2024/2025, representing a real terms pay cut with RPI inflation at 3.1 per cent. The company announced pre-tax profits of £3.4m, while this week bosses wined and dined each other at a lavish awards ceremony read more
DWP G4S strike: GMB national reps receive improved offer – agree to ballot and suspend action (23 Aug) read more
Brighton Asda Bank Holiday strike action suspended after last minute offer (22 Aug) – Members at the Hollingbury superstore have suspended action to consider an offer from ASDA. Members of GMB, the union for Asda, have this morning suspended their strike action planned for this weekend. Following on from strike action which took place over Whitsun Bank Holiday at the end of May, more than 100 members in store were due to strike from 10pm tomorrow to 10pm on Saturday. Previous talks before the first strike date had failed to result in any agreement between GMB and ASDA, but the employer has made a last-minute offer which will be discussed next week read more
Asda Lowestoft workers announce new strike (26 Jul) – Asda workers at Lowestoft have announced a new strike. More than 170 Asda workers will walk out of the store from 03:00 to 22:00 on Friday 9 August 2024 read more
Fifteen more Birmingham schools begin equal pay strike vote (22 Aug) – Second wave of Birmingham Equal Pay school strikes could be imminent. GMB union has today announced that fifteen additional Birmingham City Council schools are set to vote on joining industrial action, following the Council’s ongoing failure to resolve the City’s equal pay crisis. The escalation comes after support staff in thirty five schools across the city downed tools and took strike action earlier this year. Council bosses are facing criticism for the lack of meaningful progress towards a resolution. This week a body of accountants and researchers have called for an independent inquiry into the Council’s issuing of two Section 114 Notices, effectively declaring itself bankrupt. Over 250 school workers will take part in the new ballot which would bring the total number of Birmingham schools facing strike action to fifty. Balloting will begin today [Thursday 22 August] with a result expected mid-September read more
London City Airport faces first ever strike after workers shun pay deal (20 Aug) – GMB Union today (Wednesday) warns that London City Airport is facing the first major stoppage in its 37-year history following a 100 per cent rejection of the employer’s pay offer in July. Workers are demanding that management at Gatwick Ground Services (GGS), must offer pay parity with counterparts working at Gatwick Airport who are paid at least 17 per cent more, and enjoy other fringe benefits that the City Airport workers are denied. Management at GGS has delayed getting back to the negotiating table, giving rise to additional frustration and anger among GMB members working at the airport read more
Bathroom workers back strike action (20 Aug) – Ideal Standard’s Rugeley factory workers have backed strike action over years of real term pay cuts. Workers have been left disappointed by a suggested pay uplift that would not correct previous below inflation pay read more
Nottinghamshire hospital strikes suspended (31 Jul) – Strike action by private contractors at three of Nottinghamshire’s biggest hospitals has been suspended
Industrial action by nearly three hundred workers employed by contracting giant Medirest had been due to down tools at King’s Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark Community Hospitals later this week. Action was scheduled for Thursday 1 and Friday 2 August in the ongoing dispute over the terms and conditions of private contractors in the NHS. The news comes after talks between GMB Reps and Medirest reached an agreement today. Workers will now take part in a ballot to decide on suspending future industrial action, with a result expected later this month read more
Pontypridd jelly workers strike over poverty pay (31 Jul) – GMB members at gelatin manufacturer PB Leiner will strike today. Almost 50 GMB members will also walk out tomorrow [1 August] in anger over an 13 per cent real terms pay cut. Workers at the Pontypridd based company [see notes for address] have seen a 6 per cent real terms cut in their wages this year, following a 7 per cent cut the year before. GMB union has vowed to escalate the action if the company continues their refusal to meet read more
Kent waste contractor hit by GMB strike ballot (29 Jul) – Suez, who only took over the contract in March, is already facing industrial unrest over pay rates. GMB, the union for refuse and recycling, is balloting members across two local authorities as their new employer is failing to offer pay parity. Suez Recycling and Recovery Ltd took over the waste contract from Biffa in March 2024 across Ashford, Swale and Maidstone Councils. The company is offering employees working in Swale and Ashford a pay deal in some cases more than £1 per hour lower than that offered to those working in Maidstone. GMB’s ballot opens today and will close on Monday 19 August 2024 read more
Amazon faces legal challenge as recognition drive fails (17 Jul) – Amazon faces a legal challenge over union-busting tactics after workers drive for union recognition misses out by just a handful of votes. 49.5 per cent of the 2,600 workers who voted backed union recognition, falling short by just 28 votes. This result comes just weeks after union-busting tactics at the Coventry site were exposed when it was revealed workers had been bombarded with an unrelenting campaign of anti-union messages by company bosses, including multiple anti-union seminars. Amazon now faces an outstanding legal challenge – known as an Inducement Claim – for pressuring workers into cancelling their union membership during the ballot period read more
Briar Chemicals faces strike vote (11 Jul) – Workers at Briar Chemicals in Norwich are voting on strike action in a dispute over pay. GMB Union has been negotiating with the company since November 2023, currently the only offer on the table is for a dental plan. More than 160 workers feel they are not being taken seriously and a vote for industrial action is the only way to make the company listen. GMB members are asking for an 8 per cent pay rise over two -years. The strike ballot runs until 23 July read more
More than 250 Bentley workers back strike action (10 Jul) – Bentley car workers in Crewe have overwhelmingly backed industrial action. The vote comes after workers were offered 3.5 per cent and a one off non-consolidated payment, while bosses were offered bonuses of over £14,000. Now 86 per cent of workers have backed strike action. The employer has not come forward with any new offer to avert strike action. Management at Bentley Motors also tried to force through a new Fit for Work policy – which would have impacted sick and disabled workers. This was stopped through worker action read more
Unison
Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
Stop the Council Cuts – Sign the petition: Save our Services – Nottingham City – started by Nottingham City Unison
JOIN THE RALLY TO END OUTSOURCING AT CITY UNIVERSITY! Join protest rally with Unison and IWGB to demand an end to outsourcing and equality for City University’s cleaners
When? Tues 1st Oct, 12pm
Where? Outside University Building, Northampton Square, EC1V 0HB
Plans by Essex trust for mass outsourcing of NHS services are out of order (18 Sept) – Staff have made it abundantly clear they want to stay within the NHS because that’s the best way to ensure patient needs are met. UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea and hundreds of striking health workers are urging the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust to abandon its plans for a large-scale outsourcing of NHS services, the union says today (Wednesday). Cleaners, porters and housekeepers at Colchester hospital and other community sites are walking out for a twelfth day today over the trust’s plan to move their jobs out of the NHS read more
Local government strike ballot could be extended to more workers (10 Sept) – Scotland’s largest local government union is considering widening its strike ballot to more than 90,000 staff in councils and associated services over pay. The move comes after all council workers in the union overwhelmingly rejected Cosla’s latest pay offer in a consultative ballot a week ago read more
Council workers vote overwhelmingly to reject latest pay offer (3 Sept) – Council staff in Scotland belonging to UNISON have voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest pay offer from local government employers, says the union today (Tuesday) read more
Strike ballots to be issued to staff working in social care charity (6 Sept) – Hundreds of staff working for Enable, one of Scotland’s largest charitable social care providers, are to be asked if they’re prepared to strike over pay, UNISON says today (Friday). UNISON has written to the charity to say that if its workers back industrial action there could be mass walkouts by Enable Scotland’s social care staff later in the autumn. The union says this is the first strike ballot for over a decade in Scotland’s charitable social care sector and shows the deep dissatisfaction that exists over pay read more
Local government employers must improve pay offer to avoid strike threat (4 Sept) – Council and school staff strike ballot begins. More than 360,000 council and school support staff across England and Wales will begin voting today (Wednesday) on whether to take strike action over pay, says UNISON. The 2024/25 flat rate pay offer of £1,290 from local government employers falls short of what council employees need and has also been superseded by the deals achieved by some other public sector workers, says the union. This year’s pay deal was due from April, but the disappointing offer has delayed the process, UNISON says. When the union consulted workers, more than four-fifths (81%) of those who took part opted to reject the sum. Now social workers, teaching assistants, refuse collectors, caretakers, planning officers and other staff at more than 4,000 organisations will be asked if they’re prepared to strike. The six-week ballot will begin today (Wednesday) and closes on Wednesday 16 October. Meanwhile, the union is urging employers to improve their offer and is calling for central government to help fund an improved deal and look at the longer-term investment it gives to councils read more
Colchester Hospital support staff vow to keep striking against outsourcing (2 Sept) – Hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other support staff will follow an August strike with a further five days in September, in bid to remain in-house read more
Lancashire County Council – Social Care Support Worker Strikes (16 Aug) – The Chair of the Social Work Forum has sent a message of support to staff in social work teams across Lancashire who are taking a second round of strike action over salary grades and working cover read more
Solidarity appeal for healthcare assistants on strike this summer (30 Jul) – Healthcare assistants are calling for solidarity donations to support their strike. Healthcare assistants (HCAs) at five hospitals across Leicester and Northamptonshire will be on strike throughout August, escalating a dispute over back pay that has already led to 19 days of strike action. The employer refuses to negotiate, focusing instead on breaking the strike, including threatening leaders with disciplinary action. Despite these tactics, UNISON members remain steadfast in their fight for fair back pay, seeking recognition for years of being overlooked and performing tasks beyond their grade read more
Recap: Three days on the Derriford picket line in Plymouth (22 Jul) – Over 140 healthcare workers were treated to warm weather and blue skies. Hundreds of healthcare workers at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth took three days strike of strike action last week in their dispute over pay. Healthcare assistants, maternity care assistants, imaging care assistants and clinical support workers at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust walked out at midnight on Wednesday 17 June for 72hours. Over 140 healthcare workers were treated to warm weather and blue skies while they stood strong on the picket line from 7am – 1pm everyday read more
Swindon healthcare workers balloted for strike action in row over NHS pay deal, says UNISON (17 Jul) – “These dedicated staff keep NHS services running in Swindon”. Hundreds of the lowest-paid workers at Great Western Hospital are to be balloted for strike action after being denied a pay rise worth at least £1,655, says their union UNISON today (Wednesday). An industrial action ballot will open next week (Wednesday 24 July) and could see strike action take place in the autumn. The ballot will close on Wednesday 21 August read more
Lewisham Council faces unrest over union busting, racism and £25m cuts
• Protesters slam “shocking and blatant union busting” as Lewisham Council moves to sack union reps
• Move comes as Council prepares to implement £25m of cuts
• Strike action on the cards, say union officials
Protesters gathered outside a Lewisham Council meeting on Wednesday evening in response to the Council’s attempts to sack both of its UNISON branch secretaries. Campaigners say that senior managers are using the sackings to hamstring Lewisham UNISON as the Council prepares to make £25m of cuts, with children’s services and adult social care set to take the worst hit. Justine Canady is the youngest UNISON branch secretary in the UK, and has transformed the branch since her election last year. After initially pulling back from plans to sack her, Lewisham Council is now moving ahead with the deletion of her post. The Council is also moving to sack Jay Kidd-Morton, alongside the rest of her team in the legal services department. She was previously Black Members’ Officer and had lodged a whistleblowing complaint about discriminatory practices. In an email to members earlier this month, Lewisham UNISON described the moves as “a shocking and blatant attempt at union-busting.” It added: “The Council has now moved to dismiss both of your union’s joint Branch Secretaries in exceptional circumstances, with 5 people in total likely to lose their jobs very soon. There is now a case not only of anti-trade union victimisations, but also of racism.” Union officials have stated that UNISON could move towards strike action if the sackings are not called off. The protest on Wednesday drew wide support, with trade unionists attending from across London. Solidarity greetings were read out from UNISON’s national president and its national executive. For more information, please email [email protected]
Barnet UNISON Mental Health social work strike update (16 Jul) – On Monday 15 July our members returned to work after taking 81 days of strike action. UNISON have suspended strike action and are in the process of agreeing some dates for further talks with Barnet Council read more
Send messages of support to [email protected]
‘Left behind’ Surrey and Sussex healthcare staff to strike, says UNISON (8 Jul) – More than 350 staff at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH) will begin two days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) in a dispute over their employers’ failure to pay the full rate for the work they do read more
NIPSA
Branch Consultation On 2024/25 NI Civil Service Pay Claim (8 Jul) – from Carmel Gates General Secretary: The branch consultation on the pay claim for 2024/25 has now concluded and members have overwhelmingly endorsed the claim. The following claim will now be submitted to the NICS management on behalf of members in the NICS and in those ALBs that mirror NICS pay read more
PSNI members ballot for industrial action (3 Jun) – NIPSA’s members in the PSNI are participating in a ballot for Industrial Action and Action Short of Strike Action. This is in relation to the years of stagnation whereby police staff are given significantly less than their Police Officer counterparts in what is widely known as “danger money”, formally named the “Revised Environmental Allowance” (REA). IPSA members face similar threats as their Officer counterparts on a daily basis yet are only afforded 1/7th of the financial reward of their colleagues in green. This threat is solely linked to being employed by the PSNI and our members are considered ‘legitimate targets’ by those who wish to disrupt society and threaten peace read more
Royal College of Nursing
RCN Wales responds to Welsh government’s 5.5% NHS pay award for 2024/25 (10 Sept) – RCN Wales Board is now considering next steps for members read more
NHS Scotland pay consultation opens today (27 Aug) – From today, we’re asking members working in the NHS in Scotland to vote to accept or reject the offer. Pay-Offer Last week, Scottish government made a pay offer for NHS Scotland staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions. From today, we’re asking members working in the NHS in Scotland to vote to accept or reject the offer. On Tuesday 20 September, negotiations between the RCN, other health trade unions and the Scottish government concluded with the Scottish government making a final offer of a one year pay deal of 5.5% consolidated and across all Agenda for Change bands, effective from 1 April 2024. RCN Scotland board has considered the offer and is asking you to vote on the pay offer and tell us if you accept or reject it. Eligible members have until noon on Friday 20 September 2024 to cast their vote read more
RCN to consult members in Scotland on pay offer (22 Aug)
RCN Scotland responds to Scottish government’s NHS pay offer for 2024/25 (20 Aug)
Agenda for Change pay award in England: consultation now open (8 Aug) – Ministers in Westminster have accepted the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body, including a 5.5% increase across all bands. Make sure your details are up to date and vote on whether you accept or reject the pay award 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
Midwife recruitment hit by student finance pressures (16 Sept) – Financial pressures are forcing student midwives out of their chosen career, with increasing numbers leaving their courses before completion because they simply can’t afford to continue. These are the stark findings of The State of UK Midwifery Student Finance, a new report published today (16 September) by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) read more
RCM welcomes long overdue pay announcement for midwives in Wales (10 Sept) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in Wales has welcomed First Minister Eluned Morgan’s announcement of a 5.5% pay award for its members in Wales. After months of waiting the RCM says it’s pleased the Welsh Government has accepted the recommendations of the Pay Review Body (PRB) which means midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) across Wales are now set to receive an above inflation pay award. The RCM says it’s pleased the award is above inflation and on par with what RCM members in England will receive read more
Long overdue pay offer finally arrives for midwives in England (29 Jul) – Months of waiting, a change of Government and finally the announcement of the long overdue pay rise for midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) in England has arrived. The Government’s announcement of a 5.5%, above inflation pay award has been welcomed by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) – but they also said that staff have had to wait far too long. This has, said the College, eroded the morale of staff and has made them feel undervalued. It says the Chancellors confirmation that she will reform the timetable to get NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) Government process back on track is very much welcome. However, the RCM has also said that it still awaits more detail so it can fully consider the award and the funding implications read more
CSP
Welsh government announces pay award following publication of PRB recommendations (10 Sept) – The Welsh government has announced today that it accepts the Pay Review Body (PRB) report’s recommendations for NHS pay in Wales read more
CSP recommends that members accept Scottish government’s pay offer (29 Aug) – Scottish members have until 9am on Monday 23 September to vote to accept or reject this offer. The Scottish government has made a final offer of a 5.5 per cent pay increase for 2024/25 (consolidated), for Agenda for Change healthcare staff. Pay setting for NHS Scotland is by direct negotiations, not by the pay review body process which has made recommendations for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. All health unions have agreed to consult with their members on the above-inflation offer. The CSP is consulting with Scottish members on whether to accept or reject the pay offer for 2024/25. The CSP member-led pay sub-group reviewed the offer and are recommending Scottish members vote to accept the pay offer read more
SOR
Pay award consultation for Scottish SoR members open now (4 Sept) – The Society wants to hear responses from members in Scotland over the proposed 5.5 per cent pay increase read more
BMA
Pay restoration for resident doctors in England – Resident doctors in England have voted Yes to accept the pay offer from the Government read more
GPs prepare to take collective action after overwhelming ballot result (1 Aug) – GPs across England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking collective action. More than 8,500 GPs in England took part in the ballot and 98.3% voted in favour of taking part in one or more examples of collective action read more
(From BBC website) Hospital consultants suspend strike action in NI (19 Jul) – Senior doctors have suspended taking any strike action for now. Consultants in Northern Ireland have suspended their forthcoming industrial action. The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced that the Department of Health have put forward a credible pay offer that it wishes to explore further. The senior doctors were due to take part in a 24-hour walk out from 26 to 27 June. The decision had been voted for as part of a long-running dispute over pay read more on BBC website
HCSA
HCSA welcomes Welsh Government pay announcement (10 Sept) – The Welsh Government has today announced the full implementation of this year’s Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body recommendations on pay read more
HCSA opens member referendum on junior doctor pay offer (28 Aug) – HCSA – the hospital doctors’ union has today launched a referendum of members on the government pay offer to junior doctors in England. Junior doctor members are being asked whether they wish to accept or reject the offer read more
NEU
BREAKING NEWS!! Snap poll launch (20 Sept) – NEU snap poll launches to consult members on Government pay offer to teachers. This month NEU members are being asked to take part in a snap poll on the recent Government offer of a 5.5% pay award to all teachers and leaders in England. Schools will receive an additional £1.2 billion to fund the pay rise. The poll runs from 21-30 September and asks one question: “Do you Accept or Reject the Government’s 5.5% pay offer?” The NEU held a Special Executive meeting on 5 August at which it was agreed to recommend that members accept the offer. The vote is by email or text and will be sent to approximately 300,000 members who are serving teachers in state schools in England read more
Support the following NEU strikes:-
| Reading Girls School / Reading (Conditions of Service) 24-25 Sept Katie Gumbrell [email protected] Baylis Court / Slough (Conditions of Service) 24-25 Sept Damien Randall [email protected] Swanshurst School / Birmingham (Transfer of Employment) 25 Sept David Room [email protected] Churchwood Primary Academy / Hastings (Conditions of Service) 25-26 Sept Phil Clarke [email protected] Shoreham College / West Sussex (TPS) 26 Sept Anne Barker / Mike Spain [email protected] [email protected] |
Further education teachers’ pay (18 Sept) – NFER report shows shocking pay decline and ever-increasing workloads read more
NEU Cymru welcome public sector pay offer (11 Sept) – A 5.5% pay award is a necessary first step in the reversal of the real terms pay cuts inflicted upon teachers and school leaders during recent years read more
Special Executive to discuss Government pay offer (5 Aug) – The executive voted to recommend that members accept the offer. Commenting on a Special Executive held by the union today, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Today a Special Executive of the National Education Union met to discuss in detail the Government’s recent teachers’ pay and funding offer. We believe this is a significant first – but not last – step towards a long-term correction in teacher pay, secured as a direct consequence of members’ strike action in 2023 and their positive indicative ballot this March. The executive voted to recommend that members accept the offer. There will be a snap poll of NEU members between 21-30 September. It remains the case that more needs to be done to remedy teacher pay, workload and the recruitment and retention crisis. The Government should be under no illusion that a single pay deal is an end to the matter.” Read more
Support staff pay – NEU members voted overwhelmingly (92% in England and 96% in Wales) to reject the offer. Similar consultations in NJC recognised unions led to Unison and Unite also rejecting the offer, though GMB have accepted it. NEU have already conducted an indicative ballot that indicated a willingness to take industrial action in support of the NJC claim alongside others, as well as a willingness to take industrial action on pay and funding alongside NEU teacher members. The vote and turnout strongly suggest that a formal ballot of support staff would return a legal mandate to take action in both scenarios. Therefore, we are approaching Unison and Unite to discuss co-ordinated action in pursuit of the claim. The ‘snap poll’ of state funded teachers in September may also open possibilities of co-ordinated action in schools in the next academic year. More details and the latest support staff newsletter are available here
NASUWT
NASUWT members welcome teachers’ pay offer (12 Sept) – NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union agrees to accept the latest pay offer for teachers, but insists that more needs to done urgently to address teachers’ workload concerns read more
NASUWT comments on Wales teachers’ pay award announcement (10 Sept) – Commenting on the announcement from the Welsh Government of an above-inflation 5.5% pay award for teachers, exceeding the 4.3% recommended by the IWPRB, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary for NASUWT, said: “NASUWT welcomes the confirmation form the Welsh Government that it will exceed the recommendation of the pay review body and ensure teachers in Wales receive at least an equivalent pay award as their counterparts in England…” read more
EIS
EIS to open statutory industrial action ballot in Glasgow Education cuts dispute (26 Aug) – The EIS has notified Glasgow Council that the EIS will open a statutory industrial action ballot one week from today (Monday 2 September) over the Council’s plans to axe 450 teaching posts from Glasgow schools over a 3-year period. EIS members in Glasgow will be urged to use their vote in the ballot to back a programme of industrial action, up to and including strike action, to force the Council to scrap its damaging and dangerous proposals read more
EIS-ULA Consultative Ballot Opens at Robert Gordon University (8 Aug) – The Robert Gordon University (RGU) branch of the EIS University Lecturers’ Association (EIS-ULA) has opened a consultative ballot in response to cutbacks, including lecturers’ jobs, at the university, following a reported £11.1 million recurrent deficit for the 2023/24 academic year. Members are being asked in a consultative ballot if they are willing to take industrial action up to and including strike action in defence of jobs as the university seeks to reach an £18 million savings target with £10.5 million in staff savings. The consultative ballot will run from the 1st of August until the 22nd of August read more
Lecturers strike back against “deeming” of pay by college employers (1 Jul) – Lecturers at two Scottish Further Education Colleges have voted in favour of strike action in protest at college employers ‘deeming’ (i.e. withholding) pay from lecturers engaged in industrial Action Short of Strike (ASoS). Lecturers at Ayrshire College and South Lanarkshire College were balloted by the EIS, following colleges managements’ decision to withhold pay from lecturers engaged in ASoS. The result was a powerful vote in favour of strike action in protest at the action by the colleges, and in order to recover salaries withheld by deeming read more
UCU
University of Hull carbon neutral campus plans go ‘up in smoke’ as strike ballot opens (30 Aug) – A strike ballot will open on Monday 2 September at the University of Hull over plans to sack up to 127 staff. The latest round of cuts comes after the closure of a voluntary severance scheme in May (2024) that led to 107 employees already leaving the university read more
New strike dates set to hit start of term at five colleges in the North East (30 Aug) – Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees will strike for four days next month in a long running dispute over low pay that has already seen staff down tools for nine days read more
Joint statement on this week’s New JNCHES dispute resolution meetings (23 Aug) – UCEA and the five trade unions (EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and Unite) met in two dispute resolution meetings on Monday 19 August and Thursday 22 August 2024 read more
Staff at Sheffield Hallam University set to strike (9 Aug) – Staff at Sheffield Hallam University will take four days of industrial action in September in defence of jobs and employment conditions, the UCU has announced today. Members of UCU at the university will strike from Monday 23 September until Thursday 26 September following a ballot that saw 87% of those voting agreeing to take action read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
Time to deliver: FBU national rally and lobby – it’s time for the Westminster government to deliver a fire and rescue service ready for the risks we face
When: 11:30am, Tuesday 8 October; Where: Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW
Firefighters rally for maternity pay outside South Yorkshire Fire Authority meeting (16 Sept) – FBU members hold Fight 52 banner outside fire authority building. Firefighters called for better maternity pay at a rally outside a meeting of the South Yorkshire Fire Authority today. The Fire Brigades Union is campaigning for twelve months of maternity leave on full pay for firefighters. Research has found that being forced back to work too soon by low maternity pay puts firefighters’ health and safety – and their children – at risk. The Fight for 52 weeks campaign has resulted in a number of services across the country increasing full maternity pay to 52 weeks. However, South Yorkshire currently lags behind, offering only 26 weeks read more
POA
General Secretary update: September 2024 here
National Chair Update August 2024 read more
Launch of POA Briefing – “the right to strike” – Please find attached a letter from the Prime Minister and my response, together with a copy of “The Right to Strike” Briefing here
Prison officers demand the right to strike – POA publish briefing paper for TUC and Labour Conferences 2024 – Read the POAs briefing paper for TUC and Labour conferences 2024 here
POA demand equal treatment on trade union rights (6 Aug) – The POA welcome todays Government announcement regarding their intention to repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act,2023. However, the repealing of this Bill does not affect POA Members who are still subject to some of the most pernicious legislation which removes the rights of Prison Officers to take any form of Industrial Action read more
NAPO
HMPPS Sick Leave Excusal Form (18 Sept) – Napo’s Health and Safety Network would like to make members aware of the new process for Sick Leave Excusal applications for all of HMPPS read more
Government agree to re-open pay talks (2 Aug) – Napo’s Probation Negotiating Committee met yesterday to consider a pay offer that had received the personal endorsement of the new Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood. While the PNC noted that the offer does not wholly satisfy the terms of Napo’s current trade dispute on pay and workloads, it follows the joint unions’ campaign to re-open the three year pay award to give probation staff more pay now. The unions submitted a claim to get more pay back in 2023, which HMPPS rejected in April this year. But following votes in the UNISON and Napo consultative ballots of members which showed strong support for consideration of industrial action, the change of government, the escalating prison overcrowding crisis and the embarrassment of probation pay falling further and further behind prison pay, HMPPS finally agreed to re-open the award and offer more money in this final year of the Multi Year Pay Deal MYPD to our members. Of course, It would have been better if the employer had done this much earlier, but their hands were tied by the previous Conservative government. The HMPPS offer would not have happened without the unions’ campaign to re-open the pay talks over the last year and a half read more
BFAWU
Unions, Academics, Campaigners, Football Fans and Clergy Tell Starmer to End Foodbank Britain (18 Sept) – As Labour prepares for its first party conference in Liverpool since winning the election a coalition of trade unionists, academics, football fans, right to food campaigners and the Bishop of Liverpool have written an open letter to Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, calling for an end Foodbank Britain and warning him not to normalise food banks. Organised by the Food and Work Network (FAWN), the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) and the Right to Food Campaign, the letter is calling on the Government to end the reliance on food charity and food banks by driving up wages, improving working terms and conditions and re-establishing a compassionate system of genuine social security read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
Nautilus International
RFA: three-day strike to coincide with Labour Conference (9 Sept) – The industrial action will now escalate to a three-day strike. Nautilus International has announced a further three days of strike action by its members at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, from 20-22 September. The last day of action will coincide with the beginning of the Labour Party conference. This is an escalation from previous action, which took place over one day on Thursday 15 August and another day on Tuesday 3 September. Officers from different RFA departments will strike at various points across the three days read more
NUJ
Sale of The Observer (18 Sept) – The NUJ Guardian & Observer chapel passed motions opposing the proposed sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media, alongside a vote of no confidence in the Scott Trust at an emergency chapel meeting on 18 September read more
Equity
Welsh National Opera chorus strike paused: action short of strike to go ahead (18 Sept) – Equity WNO chorus strike action paused, but action short of strike to go ahead read more
Over 1,000 sign open letter opposing WNO job cuts ahead of strike negotiations (12 Sept) – Over 1,000 people have signed an open letter to the Chair of the Welsh National Opera’s Board of Directors. Over 1,000 people have signed an open letter to the Chair of the Welsh National Opera’s Board of Directors calling on her to intervene with WNO management to save jobs in the company’s chorus. The WNO’s Board of Directors oversee the company’s affairs, with Chair Yvette Vaughn Jones heading up the group. The letter comes ahead of negotiations between WNO management and Equity – the trade union representing WNO chorus members – tomorrow (Friday 13 September) and the first strike date of Saturday 21 September read more
Equity rally prompts talks with Scottish Culture Minister (6 Sept) – Over 300 people attend vibrant rally outside First Ministers’ Questions prompting talks with Scottish Culture Minister read more
Hundreds join Holyrood rally against arts cuts (5 Sept) – Over 300 Equity members and supporters have staged a rally outside Holyrood to protest the Scottish Government’s cuts to arts funding read more
Musicians’’ Union
Keep Northern Ballet Live Campaign Takes Action Ahead of First Performance with Recorded Music (19 Sept) – Supporters will be leafleting today ahead of opening night for Northern Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet, highlighting the tragedy of lost live music as it uses recorded tracks instead of the orchestra for the first time read more
MU Urges Arts Council of Wales to Use Additional £1.5m Funding to Protect Welsh National Opera (13 Sept) – We welcome the acknowledgement of the crisis facing Welsh arts organisations, and urge Arts Council of Wales to use the additional funding to protect full-time performing jobs at Welsh National Opera read more
Welsh National Opera Orchestra Set Date for Industrial Action Over Pay Cuts (5 Sept) – Musicians in the Welsh National Opera (WNO) orchestra will be taking industrial action on Saturday 21 September, supported by the MU read more
Protect Welsh National Opera: Sign the Petition Now – Musicians at Welsh National Opera orchestra are campaigning to keep the orchestra full time and secure the company’s future read more
Community
UK Government statement on Tata Steel (11 Sept) – Further to the Business Secretary’s statement in the House of Commons on Tata Steel this afternoon, Community Union and GMB Union have issued a joint statement read more
USDAW
Usdaw welcomes an Early Day Motion on ‘fire and rehire’ following its Supreme Court victory (18 Sept) – Retail distribution union Usdaw has welcomed an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, tabled by Tracy Gilbert MP (Labour, Edinburgh North and Leith), which welcomes the Supreme Court judgement and calls on the Government to deliver the New Deal, which will tackle the practice of ‘fire and rehire’ read more
Tesco distribution workers at eight sites reject a less than 5% pay offer – Usdaw consults members on industrial action (28 Aug) – Retail distribution trade union Usdaw has launched a consultation ballot, asking Tesco workers at eight sites across Great Britain if they are prepared to take a dispute over pay to industrial action. Members at all eight sites overwhelmingly rejected Tesco’s pay offer of between 2% plus £500 and 4.4%, depending on contract, along with some additional enhancements. The eight sites affected are: Hinckley, Magor, Southampton, Daventry Clothing, Goole, Lichfield, Livingston and Peterborough. The consultative ballot will run from 9 to 24 September 2024 read more
UVW
Strike ballot opens for security guards at the Science and Natural History museums after a pitiful pay increase (9 Sept) – Outsourced security guards at the Natural History and Science museum are balloting to strike in a fight for better pay and conditions. The security guards are asking for a wage of £16 an hour and full sick pay from day one. Their bosses, Wilson Wilson James reported making over £7 million profit after tax read more
IWGB
JOIN THE RALLY TO END OUTSOURCING AT CITY UNIVERSITY! Join our joint protest rally with Unison to demand an end to outsourcing and equality for City University’s cleaners!
When? Tues 1st Oct, 12pm
Where? Outside University Building, Northampton Square, EC1V 0HB
Find out more about the couriers’ strikes on the X/twitter of the IWGB Couriers’ branch @IWGB_CLB
SIPTU (Ireland)
Workers rally in Strasbourg urging EU to end exploitation in subcontracting chains (18 Sept) – SIPTU activists joined more than 700 workers and trade union representatives who rallied in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, yesterday (Tuesday, 17th September) to call upon the EU institutions for urgent action to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains read more
SIPTU call on National Ambulance Service to reverse proposed cuts in South West (16 Sept) – SIPTU representatives have called on the management of the National Ambulance Service to reverse proposed cuts to overtime which could reduce the number of available ambulance crews in the South West read more
National Advocacy Service Staff pause Strike Action for talks (Jul 22) – National Advocacy Service staff brought their protest to outside the constituency office of the Taoiseach, Simon Harris, in Wicklow last week to highlight their demand that a Labour Court recommendation on their pay and conditions is respected so they can return to work assisting vulnerable people with disabilities read more
Other news
Affiliate with STAMMA – at this year’s NSSN Conference, Gary Clark retired CWU Royal Mail rep and a member of the NSSN Steering Committee spoke about 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
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
NEW Play: Cramlington Train Wreckers – Following the national success of Wor Bella (about WW1 women footballers), Tyneside-based playwright Ed Waugh will present his new work in November, which is about the Cramlington Train Wreckers. Ed, who has the distinction for a local writer of having had a record five plays produced at Newcastle’s prestigious Theatre Royal, writes about forgotten working class stories and his latest play is set during 1926 General Strike when striking miners uncoupled a rail on the mainline Edinburgh to London railway. As we rapidly approach the centenary of Britain’s only General Strike, the most notorious incident of that societal unrest in May 1926 happened when miners inadvertently derailed the Flying Scotsman on the mainline Edinburgh to London railway at Cramlington in Northumberland. The Cramlington Train Wreckers, which is supported by Arts Council England, will tour the North East in November. For further details visit www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
Stop the attack on Gaza
Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government
See Stop the War website for info on protests. The next central London Saturday demonstration is 5th October assemble 12noon
We have received a request from South East Kent Palestine Solidarity Campaign if anyone can donate towards the cost of the bus they are running to the October 5th demo:-
Their bank account details are:
South East Kent Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Sort Code: 30-98-97
Account: 39753062
In solidarity, Diane Langford On behalf of SE Kent PSC
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)
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
1. Arthur Murray R.I.P.
Blacklisted workers are sad to hear the news of the death of Arthur Murray, one of the jailed Shrewsbury Pickets who fought for 5 decades to overturn a notorious working class miscarriage of justice. In 2021, the Blacklist Support Group and the Construction Rank & File presented Arthur with a ‘working class hero’ award (see photos). The TUC remembered Arthur at their Congress in Brighton last week. BSG send condolences to Arthur’s family, friends and comrades.
FUNERAL DETAILS
1pm Monday 30th September
Northop crematorium
Oakenholt Lane
Northop
CH7 6DF
2. Blacklisted Construction Workers Retraining Fund
The Blacklisting High Court litigation resulted in the major contractors placing £230,000 in a fund to be used by litigants for retraining. Since the fund was relaunched last year, tens of thousands of pounds have been paid out to blacklisted workers to cover the cost of upgrading their qualifications and professional development training. The fund will cover new training courses in construction or in any other sector, and will cover the costs of any training costs paid by blacklisted workers themselves since 2016. BSG encourage all blacklisted workers who were part of the High Court litigation to apply for the funds – its your money!
3. Collusion investigation update
BSG have received multiple enquiries regarding the independent investigation into union collusion in blacklisting. We are not at liberty to provide detailed detailed updates, but we are able to say that the lawyers have made progress in taking evidence.
4. Spycops public inquiry update
This week there was a protest at the Home Office by activists spied on by undercover political police, calling on the new Labour government to rescind the former Conservative instruction for the inquiry to be closed down by 2026. Campaigners argue that this truncated timetable will mean the more recent examples of human rights abuse by spycops will be glossed over, and those spied on will be denied the opportunity to challenge the police narrative, let alone justice.
The public inquiry resumes taking oral evidence again on 7th October.
Keep the faith
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
Nigeria: Support the campaign to demand the release of Adaramoye Michael (Lenin), Babatunde Oluajo(Sankara), Mosiu Sodiq and 1 other person abducted by the state. They are not criminals! They were leaders of the #Endbadgovernance protests in Abuja. You can make donations through the link below to support the campaign for their release.
Model motion – https://linktr.ee/nigeriansolidarityuk
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-democratic-socialist-movement
Taiwan: First strike in the country’s maritime history read more via LabourStart
Italy: APPEAL As GKN factory occupation in Florence passes three years, help us fund rank and file contingent to first international assembly on 12-13 October. New Reel News film out today with all the details of this visionary struggle,as GKN workers mark three years in occupation with an incredible outdoor concert followed by a huge demonstration through the centre of the city – at 2 o’clock in the morning. And with major steps forward in the most important just transition struggle anywhere in Europe, we’re asking for your help to fund a rank and file contingent to go over to Florence for the first international shareholders assembly from Reel News
Diary
2024
October
5 Troublemakers At Work Conference Central Hall in Manchester details
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
