This week, we headline our bulletin with protests against the new Labour Government’s cut to the winter fuel payment, which will affect millions of pensioners, at a time of fuel price hikes. We support the call for nationalisation of the energy and utility companies.
Please support the protests, many of which have been called by the National Pensioners Convention and union like Unite. There are local events, in addition to these below next Monday. These follow protests in Scotland and Wales and in other areas over the last week:-
Lobby of UK Parliament Monday, 7th October – Assemble: George V Statue, Abingdon St, London – 12pm details
Lobby of Stormont, Belfast – 12pm Monday 7th October
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
Joe Simpson POA Deputy General Secretary RIP
The NSSN sends our deepest condolences to Joe’s partner Emma and all his family at his sad passing away. We also send our solidarity to POA General Secretary Steve Gillan and everyone in the union. The POA is a longstanding affiliate to the NSSN and we are proud to stand with them and their members, including in the fight for their right to strike.
Joe was a militant trade union leader, who lit up our conferences and rallies with his fighting speeches. We will miss him greatly, as will so many others. He was a friend and comrade.
Rest in power brother
POA: Deputy General Secretary Mr Joe Simpson
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.
Troublemakers At Work Conference – Saturday October 5 Central Hall, Oldham Street in Manchester. Registration from 9.30am details
Make Equality Real- campaign call 23 October – We are a coalition of 14 national trade unions, community & campaign groups.We believe that social economic duty should be written into the Equality Act 2010 as part of a campaign to end austerity and make equality real. Ensuring that everyone in Britain can live secure and fulfilling lives. Find below our campaign petition, pledge for local councillors and materials to use in your workplace and beyond. Support the campaign to end austerity and make equality real read more
SOS NHS National Conference at 10am on 2 November 2024 at Hamilton House, 13 Mabledon Place, WC1H 9BD. Doors open at 9.30am on the day read more
One Year On: End the Genocide in Gaza – Hands Off Lebanon – Stop Arming Israel – Saturday 5th October, assemble 12noon Russell Square, London for march to Whitehall read more on Stop the War website
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
You can receive this bulletin via email or you can choose to unsubscribe and stop receiving them. Like everyone else, the NSSN has to adhere to new data protection regulations. Therefore you must click here to subscribe/unsubscribe. Reports from unions do not necessarily reflect NSSN’s views.
RMT
London Underground staff secure 6-month strike mandate (1 Oct) – Tube union, RMT has won the backing from members for a strike action mandate on London Underground while pay negotiations continue. No strike dates have been announced but the union is keen to secure an improved offer on pay and to make sure all members are entitled to the same percentage increase. Due to changes being imposed by LU management to pay bands, as it stands, not all RMT members would be entitled to the same percentage increase and this is wholly unacceptable to the union. RMT will be meeting the employer soon and seeking to reach a negotiated settlement read more
London cable car workers to take strike action (27 Sept) – Maintenance and operations workers at London Cable car will take strike action on Saturday 28th September. The popular form of transport is run by Doppelmayr Cable Car (DCC) who have refused to make a decent pay offer to RMT members. Worse still, they have inflamed the situation by cancelling annual leave and withdrawing taxis after workers have finished late shifts. If there is not a resolution found, cable car workers are scheduled to take strike action every Saturday up until February next year read more
Fair Pay For RFA – Please write to your MP. Please take a minute to write to your MP and join the call for fair pay for RFA
Heathrow Express 48-hour strike action begins on Monday (20 Sept) – Heathrow Express staff will take 48 hours of strike action, from Monday, in response to a pay offer that was overwhelmingly rejected by members. Despite mulitple attempts to resolve the dispute, members will take the action next week 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
ASLEF
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
TSSA
TSSA ballots for strike action in Wales over pay (1 Oct) – Rail union TSSA is balloting members at Transport for Wales (TfW) for industrial action, including a possible strike (ballot opens Wednesday 2nd October 2024). This comes after the union rejected a below inflation offer of 3.5 per cent (year one) from the company and pay linked to RPI inflation (Feb 2025) for year two. Several hundred TSSA members working across dozens of roles – including Station Staff, Depot Managers, Controllers, and Customer Services – will be given a say on the industrial action which includes strike action and action short of a strike. The ballot runs for three weeks, closing on the 23rd October, with results announced the same day read more
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
Unite
Waterford City and Co Council: Stoppage by members at Dunmore Depot deferred pending engagement with management (1 Oct) – Dispute surrounds unilateral change to work practices. Unite, which represents members working for Waterford City and County Council, today (Tuesday) said that it has deferred a 24-hour work stoppage by Unite members at Dunmore Depot in Waterford, which had been scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday), as a gesture of good faith ahead of local engagement with management next week read more
Hospitality workers in Northern Ireland denied fair tips rights provided in England, Scotland and Wales (30 Sept) – Unite demands Stormont legislate for “fair tips” for Northern Ireland hospitality workers. From tomorrow workers in the hospitality sector in Great Britain will have legal protections to receive 100 per cent of tips paid by customers in restaurants, cafes, hotels or other service industries. The same rights will however not extend to Northern Ireland – meaning workers here are to be denied rights provided elsewhere in the UK. The new legislation is the direct result of a successful campaign waged by hospitality workers in Unite. The legislation provides workers with a legal entitlement to 100 per cent of all tips received, without deductions or delays, on a monthly basis. Although the new legislation will apply throughout the UK, no legislation has been introduced by the Stormont Executive meaning hospitality employees here will be denied the same protections read more
Unite hospitality workers mark introduction of tipping legislation (30 Sept) – Union warns employers like Miller & Carter will still continue to evade paying fair tips. Hospitality workers will be leafletting in city centres across the UK tomorrow to raise awareness of new tipping legislation coming into force, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The introduction of the new legislation comes as steak house chain, Miller & Cater, which runs 320 UK restaurants, is continuing with a new unfair tipping system that leaves waiting staff hundreds of pounds a month out of pocket on tips read more
Campaigners take to UK streets in protest at energy price hike (30 Sept) – Unite calls for energy price guarantees and public ownership. This week’s Ofgem price cap increase will see energy prices rise by an average of 10 per cent plunging millions into fuel poverty and hardship. For pensioners and other vulnerable groups increases in energy costs will be nearer 15 per cent. The governments cut to the Winter Fuel Allowance has made the situation even more desperate for many. On Tuesday 1 October, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, alongside other community organisations, will rally at dozens of UK locations read more
Port Talbot blast furnace closure: Unite will keep Tata’s feet to fire on future jobs (30 Sept) – Commenting on the closure of the last blast furnace at Port Talbot’s Tata steelworks, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These imminent job losses at Tata Steel are another act of industrial vandalism – transitions happening too late with too little money and workers paying the price. Years of wilful neglect and underinvestment by the previous government has led us to this place…” read more
Unite chief: Grangemouth refinery closure “horrific act of industrial vandalism” (28 Sept) – Sharon Graham blasts SNP and Labour governments’ failures to save the plant. Speaking at union conference, in Dundee, Unite’s Sharon Graham also attacked the priorities of Grangemouth’s current owners. Unite delegates assembled today for the biennial Scottish policy conference at the Caird Hall in Dundee. Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, spoke to more than one hundred and fifty union delegates this morning. In a no-holds-barred speech she blasted Labour and SNP leaders for their lack of decisive action to save the Grangemouth refinery. The closure puts more than four hundred jobs at the plant in jeopardy. Thousands upon thousands are also at stake in the supply chain serving Grangemouth. The closure would take more than £400 million out of the Grangemouth local economy. Sharon Graham told the conference: “How can Scotland’s only oil refinery be allowed to close? This is an horrific act of industrial vandalism. And once again the politicians have let us down. Shame on the missing politicians. Anas Sarwar, John Swinney, where are you?” Sharon Graham also had words for prime minister Keir Starmer and energy minister Ed Miliband. Addressing conference, Sharon Graham said: “It’s time to put Ed Miliband and Keir on notice. Grangemouth must be saved. The government must make the necessary investments to safeguard its future. Labour must be forced to act. Grangemouth is making net zero look far from a just transition, more a jobless transition. The future of the workers at Grangemouth must be at the heart of any plan to save the plant.” Read more
Biomedical scientists in Yorkshire to strike over unsustainable workloads (26 Sept) – Unite members in York and Scarborough hospitals to walkout over fears about patient safety. Biomedical scientists at hospitals in York and Scarborough are to take strike action this autumn in protest over unsustainable workloads that are putting patient safety at risk. Microbiologists at York Hospital and blood scientists at Scarborough & Bridlington Hospital, both part of the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, have been forced to continually deal with workloads far beyond safe levels. Following a successful ballot, they will be taking strike action on 30 September, 7 October and 11 October 2024 read more
MEBSCA dispute: Picket set for National Children’s Hospital tomorrow (26 Sept) – EBSCA employers make approach following determined action by Unite members. Unite members working as plumbers, fitters, welders and apprentices for employers who are members of the Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) will mount a picket outside the National Children’s Hospital in Dublin tomorrow (Friday 27 September) read more
Striking Wrexham Oscar Mayer workers in Manchester protests (25 Sept) – Demos against fire and rehire at Oscar Mayer owner Pemberton Asset Management and client Co-Op. Striking Wrexham Oscar Mayer workers travelled to Manchester today to protest against fire and rehire outside firms associated with the company. The workers, who produce ready meals, protested outside Pemberton Asset Management, which owns Oscar Mayer, and the headquarters of the Co-Op, which is major client of the company. More than 550 workers began striking on 12 September over 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 read more
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
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
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
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 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
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]
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]
PCS condemns Badenoch’s deplorable attack on civil servants (1 Oct) – Following Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch’s deplorable comments that 1 in 10 civil servants are “so bad” they should be in prison, PCS has made it clear we won’t stand for our members being used as vote fodder in the party’s election contest read more
PCS members strongly reject G4S DWP pay offer (27 Sept) – In the consultative ballot, members have also said they are prepared to take further strike action. In an online, consultative ballot that closed on Friday (27) members working for G4S on the DWP contract have voted as follows:-
- Do you reject the pay offer made by G4S? Yes 83.6% No 16.4%
- Are you prepared to take further strike action in support of better pay? Yes 88.7% No 11.3%
The G4S offer to most members of £11.76 per hour is just 32p above the National Living Wage. This means that on 1 April next year G4S will be forced, yet again, to raise the pay of these workers to meet the minimum legal pay requirement which is expected to be £12.10 per hour. G4S members working in Jobcentres and other DWP offices put their bodies on the line to keep staff and the public safe every day. Members have made it clear that they will not accept poverty pay for carrying out a high-risk job and are prepared to take further strike action in support of an improved pay offer. PCS will be writing to G4S to inform them of the ballot result and to give further dates for strike action read more
Continued OCS strike action having an impact (26 Sept) – PCS members working as cleaners and caterers at the FCDO in East Kilbride have been on strike for three days this week. PCS members who are employed by outsourcing company OCS as cleaners and caterers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in East Kilbride are in dispute with their employer over pay, terms and conditions. They took two days of strike action on September 18 and 19 and have taken three days this week, on 24, 25 and 26 September. If the dispute remains unresolved they will follow this with eight more strike days in October read more
PCS rejects Ministry of Defence final pay offer (25 Sept) – The MoD published its initial offer to staff a few weeks ago and has now moved to their best and final offer which was published on MoDNet today read more
One week left to vote in ONS ballot (24 Sept) – PCS members at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have one week left to vote to renew their mandate to take industrial action over mandatory workplace attendance. Covering both strike action and action short of a strike (ASOS), the ballot, which opened on 10 September, closes next week at noon on 1 October. With the current mandate due to expire on 2 October, members are being urged to vote to extend the dispute to maintain pressure on management to enter talks to address our concerns. 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
PCS members working for G4S to be balloted for strike action (23 Sept) – The ballot involves members working as security officers at various government buildings across London. PCS members working for G4S are to be balloted for strike action in an escalation to their dispute over pay, terms and conditions following receipt of a derisory pay offer that does not meet PCS’s demands. The ballot covers security officers providing services to Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the civil service hub in Canary Wharf. The ballot will run from 30 September to 14 October and asks members if they are prepared to take strike action over pay and a refusal to offer improvements to terms and conditions read more
Strike ballot announced for ISS workers at several government departments (21 Sept) – PCS is running a strike ballot from 26 September for cleaners, post room staff, porters, catering and reception staff employed by multinational ISS who work in several government departments. Our members are demanding increases in pay and improvements to terms and conditions to end the two-tier workforce with staff directly employed by the civil service in the buildings where they work on superior pay and terms and conditions. ISS, failed to make any offer in response to the workers claims of these workers at Old Admiralty (Department for Business and Trade), 10 Victoria Street (Department for Science Innovation and Technology an Cabinet Office), 22-26 Whitehall (DSIT) and 8 Salisbury Square (the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Competition Service, an agency of DBT). The Department for Business and Trade, whose secretary of state Jonathan Reynolds is responsible for the flagship Employment Rights Bill, is now facing possible strikes should members vote for industrial action in the ballot which runs until 14 October 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
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
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
Energy industry statement follows Prospect’s pioneering work against violence and abuse of workers (30 Sept) – The right of energy workers to carry out their duties free from abuse, threats and violence is the subject of a joint statement issued in September by the Energy Networks Association and Energy UK read more
GMB
Covid Inquiry: Ambulance tech close to tears as he describes delays treating ‘dead patients (1 Oct) – GMB also rep outlines:-
– living in budget hotel to keep family safe
– fears over out of date equipment
– ordering pizza to ambulance registration during ten hour wait outside hospital ‘just so they can eat’
An ambulance technician was close to tears as he described having to don PPE before performing CRP on ‘dead’ patients to the Covid Inquiry today [Tuesday]. Mark Tilley, who works for South East Coast Ambulance Service, outlined how he and dozens of colleagues moved into a budget hotel so they could attend the front line of the pandemic without putting their families’ in danger read more
PRB remit ‘welcome step’ (30 Sept) – GMB has responded to the PRB remit letter, delivered by the Government today read more
Council’s licencing practises driving down private hire wages (30 Sept) – Urgent action is needed, warns GMB. The City of Wolverhampton Council has granted almost 90 per cent of all new private taxi licenses issued for the entire Midlands region so far this year, a new study shows. GMB Union, which obtained the figures through a Freedom of Information request, has called on Wolverhampton Council to do more to protect the living standards of drivers read more
ISG collapse puts new prison at risk (27 Sept) – GMB Union has responded to the collapse of ISG. The company went into administration holding 69 Government contracts worth more than £1.8 billion – including a new prison designed to alleviate overcrowding. Up to 2,200 job are set to be lost read more
Goose fair travel chaos averted as tram strike ends (27 Sept) – Humungoose week of disruption averted as industrial action called off. GMB Union has today announced that workers on Nottingham’s tram network have voted to end ongoing strike action. The news comes after an eleventh-hour agreement was reached between tram management and union negotiators. Workers voted to accept the updated offer from management, which will see workers receive an 8.5 per cent pay uplift over the next two years. Strike action will come to an end and tram services resume from 05:00 Saturday 28 September read more
Southern’s plan to plan import bottled water from Norway ‘farcical’ (27 Sept) – Talks by Southern Water with a private company to potentially import bottled water from Norway to combat droughts are ‘farcical’, GMB has said read more
Ramadan headscarf craft workers vote to strike (23 Sept) – Staff at Lappets Manufacturing have started voting on strike action, GMB announces today (Friday). The workers, whose tasks include intricate sewing and quality control, need years of experience to meet required standards. With high pressure from bosses to meet targets, workers feel undervalued and overworked. They are urging bosses to come to the table – to discuss fairer pay and more reasonable targets read more
More than 700 gas emergency workers vote to strike (23 Sept) – More than 700 gas emergency workers have voted to strike as GMB warns of a looming crisis in the sector. Almost 750 Northern Gas Network (NGN) workers are set to walk out over workplace issues which they say pose a serious health risk to the public. Emergency gas engineers work around the clock fixing gas leaks across the north of England. But they are being forced to work such long hours fatigue is a serious issue – a clear danger when working with flammable, toxic gas leaks. Meanwhile those with covid are not given sick pay – and told to wear masks, even when working in care homes with vulnerable residents. GMB members have raised these issues with management, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. Strike dates will be announced in the coming days – industrial action could see towns and cities across the north facing major disruption if gas leaks cannot be fixed read more
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
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
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
Opinion: Why you should vote ‘yes’ to strike in councils and schools (23 Sept) – Mike Short, head of local government, explains the situation for council and school staff pay in England and Wales, and why UNISON is asking members to vote to strike read more
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
Royal College of Nursing
RCN demands ‘significant reset in pay’ as government starts NHS pay review process for next year (30 Sept) – Health Secretary Wes Streeting has written to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) asking it to make recommendations on NHS pay for 2025-26. This marks the formal start of the pay round process in which the PRB gathers evidence before suggesting what pay award staff on Agenda for Change contracts in England should get from April next year. In the official remit letter, the health secretary says funds available for a pay rise will be finalised through the spending review announced in the autumn budget. He reiterates the government’s “challenging financial position” and commits to building an NHS fit for the future while ensuring value for taxpayers’ money, too. Following the outcome of the general election, the government pledged to create a PRB process in which pay awards were announced as close as possible to the start of the financial year. It also said it intended to restore confidence in the PRB process. RCN members have seen the PRB – which is supposed to be independent – repeatedly undermined by the previous government, with multiple delayed pay rises and budgets constrained. Every month members’ pay is delayed, the nursing community becomes worse off in real terms. Last week, we announced that two-thirds of the 145,000 members who voted on the current NHS pay award in England rejected the 5.5% pay increase from the UK government read more
NHS pay consultation in England: members vote reject (23 Sept) – Two-thirds of members who voted said the 5.5% pay award isn’t enough read more
NHS pay award in Wales: our consultation is now open (25 Sept) – Two weeks ago, the Welsh government announced a 5.5% pay award for NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts in Wales. As an award, this will be implemented in November and backdated to April 2024 read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
RCM urges members in Wales to have their say on pay award (23 Sept) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is calling on all its members working in NHS in Wales to have their say on the 5.5% pay award announced by Wales First Minister Eluned Morgan earlier this month. The call comes as the RCM today opens a two-week consultation with midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) in Wales. The RCM says it’s pleased the award is above inflation which meets the asks set out in its pay claim and that it’s on a par with what midwives and MSWs will receive in England read more
CSP
NHS pay across the UK (24 Sept) – As pay for 2024-25 moves forward in three of the four UK countries we look at the latest information read more
Scotland – members overwhelmingly vote to accept offer
Wales – members should look out for their opportunity to have their say
England – the majority of members feel the award is acceptable
Northern Ireland – awaiting Executive response to PRB recommendations
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
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
NEU
Result of NEU snap poll on pay and funding (30 Sept) – 95% of members who responded to the snap poll voted to Accept the offer. The snap poll of serving teacher members who work in state schools in England ran from 21-30 September. It asked one question: “Do you Accept or Reject the Government’s 5.5 per cent pay offer?” 95% of members who responded to the snap poll voted to Accept the offer. Schools will receive an additional £1.2 billion to fund the pay rise read more
Bridget Phillipson’s remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body (30 Sept) – The Government has today published its remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) for the 2025-26 teacher pay round read more
Support the following NEU strikes:-
| Swanshurst School / Birmingham (Transfer of Employment) | 8-9 Oct | David Room [email protected] |
| Palmers Green High School/ Enfield (TPS) | 8-9 Oct | Claire Docherty [email protected] |
| All Saints Catholic School / York (Conditions of Service) | 8-9 Oct | Michael Kearney [email protected] |
| Southborough Primary School / Bromley (Transfer of Employment) | 9 Oct | Izzy Hickmet [email protected] |
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
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
Lincolnshire teachers strike for safe and healthy working conditions (30 Sept) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at The Deepings School in Lincolnshire will take two days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday over working practices and a management culture which is driving up teachers’ workload and failing to support them to promote positive pupil behaviour. The strike action will take place despite extensive negotiations by the NASUWT with the employer, Anthem Schools Trust. NASUWT called off planned strike action last July after a series of talks on the key concerns facing members. It was agreed there would be consultation with union reps on those issues. However, on returning to school for the new academic year union members were presented with a revised policy on pupil behaviour that had not been agreed or even discussed with reps. Workload, due to staff shortages and management actions is a significant and growing problem in the school and new staff are expected to work through their lunchbreak as part of “The Anthem Way” 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
UCU
Sunderland University threatens to make more than 1 in 10 academics redundant (30 Sept) – Sunderland University has threatened to sack 76 staff, including more than one in 10 academics. The cuts also impact professional services staff and will fall across the university. Management intends to force some staff out as soon as Friday 1 November, meaning they would be unemployed going into the Christmas break. This is the second formal notification of redundancies in under six months. In neither this, nor the previous notification, were any management jobs put at risk. The announcement comes a few months after the university admitted it would shut down the national glass centre, despite a big campaign to save the important regional arts institution. UCU said it will fight the jobs cuts, which threaten to damage student provision and tarnish the university’s reputation read more
New strike date at five North East colleges (25 Sept) – The University and College Union (UCU) has today announced a further strike date at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees. UCU members at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy, and Redcar and Cleveland College will down tools on Thursday 10 October as part of a long running dispute over pay read more
UCU calls on Open University to withdraw fire and rehire threat (20 Sept) – UCU today called on the Open University (OU) to scrap its plans to fire and rehire staff. The OU first began consulting on fire and rehire plans in 2023 and expects to cut up to 26 tutor jobs by January 2025, if the tutors refuse to have their working hours and pay reduced. If tutors are fired and rehired, they would have the reduction of hours and pay imposed, without compensation read more
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
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
POA
National Chair Update September 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
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
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
Nautilus International
Mounting pressure on government to resolve RFA pay dispute (23 Sept) – Members of Nautilus International working for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary stepped up their dispute with employers on Sunday 22 September with a rally outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. The protest was part of the ongoing dispute between RFA officers and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which oversees the service. Nautilus members are demanding the government end years of stagnating wages, and cuts to vital services leaving many feeling overworked, underpaid and undervalued read more
Historic RFA strike action resumes in Portland and Birkenhead (20 Sept) – The strike follows two other strike days and a long period of action short of a strike. Officers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are continuing their historic strike action today, Friday 20 September, for three days, ending on the first day of Labour Party Conference. This is the third period of strike action since 15 August, when officers staged the first ever walkout in the 120-year history of the service read more
NUJ
IPT hearings into PSNI covert surveillance continue (1 Oct) – The NUJ is represented at the Royal Courts of Justice as evidence into unlawful surveillance of ‘No Stone Unturned’ journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney is heard read more
NUJ joins IPT hearing over surveillance of journalists (30 Sept) – The union has called for full transparency of any unlawful monitoring of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, ahead of Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearings this week read more
NUJ renews call for O’Hagan murder review in plea to Benn, Starmer and Harris (27 Sept) – Michelle Stanistreet and Séamus Dooley have written to political leaders urging an independent inquiry into the journalist’s death read more
Lebanon: Israeli airstrike kills two journalists (27 Sept) – NUJ joins the International Federation of Journalists in condemning the killings of Hadi Al-Sayed and Kamel Karaki read more
Equity
Welsh National Opera chorus take Action Short of Strike (23 Sept) – Equity WNO chorus members took action during the opening night of Rigoletto. Equity members in the chorus of the Welsh National Opera (WNO) have taken their first day of action short of strike (ASOS) during the opening performance of Rigoletto (21 September). The chorus leafletted audience members before the performance, explaining why they were taking the action, and wore Equity t-shirts during the curtain call. Equity members were joined in taking ASOS by members of the WNO’s orchestra, represented by the Musicians’ Union. Strike action scheduled for 21 and 29 September was paused last week following productive discussions with WNO management. For now, the third date in the planned strike action on the 11 October is still in place read more
Equity supporting members through Royal Exchange A Midsummer Night’s Dream axe (20 Sept) – Company to be paid in full, talks with theatre management continue 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
Musicians’’ Union
Welsh National Opera Orchestra Take Industrial Action Over Proposed Pay Cuts (24 Sept) – Musicians in the Welsh National Opera orchestra took Action Short of Strike on Saturday 21 September 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
The end of an era: Blast furnace 4 closes at Port Talbot (30 Sept) – Community Union General Secretary Roy Rickhuss CBE said: “Today marks an incredibly sad and poignant day for the British steel industry and for the communities in and around Port Talbot which are so intricately connected to blast furnace steelmaking…” read more
USDAW
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
Find out more about the couriers’ strikes on the X/twitter of the IWGB Couriers’ branch @IWGB_CLB
SIPTU (Ireland)
SIPTU members in Becton Dickinson in Drogheda commence industrial action today (25 Sept) – SIPTU members employed in the Becton Dickinson manufacturing plant in Drogheda, County Louth, commenced a ‘work-to-rule’ industrial action today due to the failure of management to meaningfully engage with their Union concerning the threatened closure of the facility read more
Citizens Information Service staff vote in favour of strike action (23 Sept) – SIPTU members employed in the Citizens Information Service have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay in a ballot counted this morning in Liberty Hall, Dublin 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
From Strike Map – Our final instalment of the ‘Industrial Unionism’ series with Manifesto Press is here. Building on this success of our other pamphlets- which has sold over 2,000 copies, our next pamphlet in our series is the infamous ‘A Manual of Industrial Unionism’ by William Z Foster. Click the button here to pre-order your copy for you and your organisation
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. This has now escalated and widened.
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.
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
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
Serbia: Yura must stop union-busting and negotiate read more from LabourStart
Poland: Stand Up for Railway Workers and Trade Union Rights at PKP Cargo read more from LabourStart
Diary
2024
October
5 Troublemakers At Work Conference Central Hall in Manchester details
November
24 SOS NHS National Conference at 10am at Hamilton House, 13 Mabledon Place, WC1H 9BD. Doors open at 9.30am on the day read more
29 from Strike Map: London book launch & social: A Manual of Industrial Unionism
Join the exciting launch of our reprint of A Manual of Industrial Unionism by William Z Foster 6.30pm on 29 Nov at Marx Memorial Library more 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
