We headline this week’s NSSN bulletin with the fight by university and college unions alongside students against the cutting of funding that is putting jobs and courses at risk. We send solidarity to university and college staff and their unions and students, and any action that is taken to defend education, and we demand that Starmer’s Labour government intervene to restore funding to halt the crisis.
UCU: Up to 14 days of strike action to hit Newcastle University in March (14 Feb)
UCU: Brunel University staff back strike action over job cuts (12 Feb)
Unite: Strathclyde university workers back strike action over pension attack (12 Feb)
Unison: HE conference highlights link between funding and pay (6 Feb)
UCU: Please sign – Remove Coventry University vice-chancellor from government role – Coventry UCU Rally Saturday 15th March
NUS responds as universities call for tuition fees to increase
Socialist Students conference prepares for struggle against Labour
NSSN news
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Campaign For Trade Union Freedom Rally: 3 years on from P&O sackings – strengthening the Employment Rights Bill – Join our rally to demand more from the Employment Rights Bill – Saturday, March 22, 11am – 3:45pm, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place London WC1H 9BB details register
Union News
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RMT
RMT calls off Rail Gourmet (TPE contract) strike action (14 Feb) – RMT has suspended planned strike action today and Monday by Rail Gourmet members on the TransPennine Express (TPE) contract, following significant progress on disciplinary issues read more
RMT suspends three strikes on Avanti to allow intensive talks (13 Feb) – Rail union, RMT has suspended strike action by Avanti train managers for the next three Sundays to allow for intensive negotiations in the long-running dispute over rest day working read more
RMT exposes Southeastern’s failure to open ticket offices for 70,000 hours (12 Feb) – New analysis by RMT shows that Southeastern, the rail operator owned by the Department for Transport (DfT), is routinely failing to meet its obligations to keep ticket offices open during advertised hours read more
Unipart rail staff strike over union derecognition (27 Jan) – Rail workers at Unipart Rail’s Crewe Depot will strike Tuesday, in protest against the company’s decision to strip RMT of union recognition. The move, described by the union as a disgraceful assault on workplace rights, has sparked outrage among staff, who are demanding the immediate restoration of their right to collective representation read more. RMT: Sign petition: To Neil McNicholas – Managing Director Unipart Rail: Tell Unipart Rail to stop De-recognition of RMT Union
RMT members stage separate strikes on the Elizabeth line (31 Dec) – MTR Elizabeth Line and Rail for London Infrastructure (RFLI) workers are taking strike action today in disputes over pay, working conditions, and safety concerns. Control Room staff at MTR Elizabeth Line will strike from 9:00 PM on December 31, 2024, to 8:59 PM on January 1, 2025, after rejecting the latest pay offer. The union is demanding improved holiday entitlements and reductions in working hours. RFLI staff will strike from 6:00 AM on December 31, 2024, to 5:59 AM on January 1, 2025, citing issues including unsafe rostering, pay progression delays, and safety concerns read more
Sign the petition: To Joanne Maguire, Managing Director ScotRail and Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport – Stop the cuts to ScotRail ticket offices
ASLEF
Elizabeth line train drivers set to strike over pay (13 Feb) – Members of Aslef will walk out on 27 February and on 1, 8 and 10 March. Train drivers on London’s Elizabeth line are to stage a series of strikes in a dispute over pay with their employer MTR, their union Aslef has announced. Almost 500 drivers will walk out on 27 February and on 1, 8 and 10 March read more
Train drivers to strike over colleague’s sacking (12 Feb) – Drivers at Hull Trains will stage a series of strikes following a dispute over the sacking of a colleague, a union has said. Members of Aslef are due to walk out on every Friday between 7 March and 25 April, and every Saturday between 8 March and 26 April read more on BBC website
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Striking Birmingham bin workers reject ‘pay off’ deal (17 Feb) – Ministers urged to step in over commissioner-led ‘slash and burn policies’ against city. Striking Birmingham bin workers have rejected a one off non-consolidated cash offer from Birmingham council in exchange for a brutal permanent pay cut. More than 350 refuse workers began strike action in January over the scrapping of the safety critical Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, resulting in pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers. The workers, who have already voluntarily accepted cuts to pay and terms and conditions to assist the council after it effectively declared bankruptcy, fear further attacks on jobs and wages. Negotiations to end the dispute are being hampered due to the influence of commissioners, who were appointed by the previous government to oversee massively damaging budget reductions…The workers are taking strike action on 17, 18, 20, 25, 26 and 27 Feb and 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 28 and 31 March and 2 and 4 April. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more
Government can’t allow break-up of Spirit Aerosystems due to impact on Northern Ireland economy (16 Feb) – Amidst recent and increasing speculation, Spirit workforce need guarantees for their future. Unite has challenged the government to intervene and secure clarity and guarantees for workers employed at Spirit Aerosystems in Northern Ireland. The call follows mounting press speculation over who is going to take on non-Airbus operations as part of the wider acquisition of the company by Boeing. Airbus has publicly indicated its interest in taking on wing production lines for its A220 aircraft – in which 1,100 workers are employed. As yet there is no clarity on who is to take on the non-Airbus operations in which more than 2,600 workers are employed by Spirit in Northern Ireland read more
Unite welcomes Government steel plan as critical landmark to invigorate foundation industry (15 Feb) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed the publication of the government’s strategy for the future of the UK steel industry. The union has described it as “a critical landmark” in improving and reinvigorating the UK steel industry read more
Ealing council ‘ripping off residents’ by pressuring traffic wardens with ticket targets (14 Feb) – Unlawful ticket targets leaving traffic wardens at risk from angry public. Unite has demanded Ealing council stop traffic wardens employed by its in-house company Greener Ealing being pressured to hit ticket targets. Setting parking ticket or parking fine revenue targets is prohibited under The Traffic Management Act read more
Drax canteen workers celebrate another inflation busting pay rise (14 Feb) – Baxter Storey workers who won 19% pay rise last year after striking also sign recognition agreement during HeartUnions Week. Drax power station canteen workers employed by Baxter Storey have secured a five per cent pay rise for 2025 negotiated by Unite, the UK’s leading union. The predominantly women workers, who took strike action last year to win a 19 per cent increase, also celebrated the signing of a recognition agreement between Unite and Baxter Storey yesterday. The agreement means they have collective bargaining rights when it comes to pay and employment conditions read more
Battersea Power Station celebrations over 12-year construction project involving thousands without single serious accident (13 Feb) – Unite Construction and Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council mark achievement as part of TUC’s HeartUnions week. The critical role of trade unionism in ensuring the 12-year redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, involving 4,000 Unite construction members, passed without a single serious accident was celebrated today. The event was organised as part of the TUC’s HeartUnions week which highlights why unions are vital for everyone at work and encourages people who aren’t yet in a union to join read more
Valentine’s message to Minister Burke: Show health care assistants some love! (13 Feb) – Work permit minimum salary thresholds and family reunification rules must be reformed. Unite highlights anomalies which see long-serving HCAs earning less than new entrants read more
Unite response to Government Clean Industry Bonus announcement (12 Feb) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, which represents thousands of workers in the oil and gas sector has given a cautious welcome to the government’s launch of the Clean Industry Bonus scheme. However, it has warned that far more investment is needed to create the level of jobs required in offshore wind manufacturing read more
Heathrow British Airways cleaners strike over living wage hypocrisy (12 Feb) – Employer OCS Living Wage Foundation accredited but pays BA workers minimum. Workers employed by facilities services firm OCS to clean British Airway’s offices at Heathrow are to strike over pay. OCS is accredited by the Living Wage Foundation for paying its directly employed staff the real living wage of £12.60 an hour and £13.85 an hour in London. Most of OCS’ 50,000 employees are not covering by the real living wage, however, because the outsourcing company does not pay it to workers on its external contracts. This has resulted in OCS’ BA workers being paid the legal minimum wage of £11.44 an hour in one of the most expensive cities on the planet. Poverty pay has resulted in some workers, who wear BA branded uniforms, having to use foodbanks while others are struggling to pay their rent…The workers are based at BA’s offices at Heathrow airport. They will strike from 25 to 28 February. Escalating industrial action is planned if a satisfactory pay offer is not put forward read more
Unite welcomes movement on Heathrow and UK steel deal but says all UK infrastructure projects must now follow (12 Feb) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed the announcement today (February 12) that Heathrow airport has agreed to use UK produced steel throughout its expansion projects, including expanding terminals and building a third runway. Unite has been a strong advocate of a third runway at Heathrow and the UK Steel Charter – which is helpful but does not go far enough. Unite believes that clear rules are urgently needed to ensure that all major infrastructure projects should use UK steel in order to protect the UK steel industry and to ensure that it prospers in the transformation to green steel read more
Japan Airlines cabin crew anger at low pay offer (12 Feb) – Hugely profitable national airline offering just 1.5 per cent pay increase. Cabin crew working for Japan’s national carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL), have expressed their anger and frustration at the pay offer made by their employer. Workers based at Heathrow airport have rejected an offer that amounts to just 1.5 per cent as “insulting”. JAL offered three per cent on basic pay, but want to freeze flight allowance, which makes up about 50 per cent of earnings. This means that the offer is in reality only 1.5 per cent. JAL is hugely profitable with record numbers of tourists travelling to Japan. In the nine months through to December 2024, it made revenues of nearly $9billion and profits of nearly $600 million read more
Unite fears over exploitative parking fees at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust (12 Feb) – Parkingeye given contract for hospital parking without consultation with staff. South Tees NHS Foundation Trust has awarded a new car park management contract to Parkingeye, a move that has sparked severe concerns among unions and NHS staff. Unions have expressed disappointment at the lack of meaningful consultation with staff before the decision was made. The scheme, due to go live at the end of March, is set to have dire consequences for staff at the hospital. Unite is warning that the full implications of the contract for their members, NHS workers, patients, and visitors have not been properly considered read more
Strathclyde university workers back strike action over pension attack (12 Feb) – 94 per cent support fight against detrimental proposals as university stockpiles £100m pension surplus. Unite Scotland has today (12 February) confirmed that hundreds of members at the University of Strathclyde have emphatically backed strike action in reaction to the threat of detrimental pension changes. 94 per cent of workers in an industrial action ballot supported strike action. The development comes despite a ‘cynical’ last minute attempt by the university on the eve of the ballot result to amend its initial pension proposals without consulting the union. The workers are part of the Strathclyde Pension Fund (SPF) and are at risk of losing thousands of pounds a year due to the University of Strathclyde proposing to move existing and future workers into an inferior superannuation scheme because the university wants to access a pension surplus of nearly £100m. The workers involved in the ballot included technicians, cleaners, security and estates staff such as plumbers, joiners and electricians read more
Unite wins significant pay award for British Airways staff (11 Feb) – Members at Gatwick and Heathrow win pay rise worth over £290m over three years with potential profit share worth a further £318m. Members of Unite, Britain’s winning trade union, who work for British Airways (BA) are celebrating a significant pay award that will see millions of pounds of additional pay into workers’ pockets. The three year deal has been voted on and accepted overwhelmingly by cabin crew, engineers, customer relations staff and cargo handlers at both Gatwick and Heathrow read more
Birmingham BMW engine plant strike chaos over firm’s disgraceful pay double-dealing (11 Feb) – More than 600 workers to take strike action as industrial relations hit rock bottom. More than 600 Birmingham BMW engine plant workers will take strike action over February, March and April over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, has announced. The workers, comprising nearly 90 per cent of the Hams Hall factory workforce, are in dispute following nearly yearlong negotiations over the 2024 pay increase with the company, which made 12 billion euros in net profit during 2023. Since spring last year, BMW has put forward offers and then rescinded them, offered half what BMW colleagues in Oxford have received in 2024 and put forward conditional deals that would see long standing bonus agreements attacked. Adding to the workers’ anger is the fact that they accepted below inflation pay rises for 2022 and 2023 to assist the company during the height of the cost-of-living crisis. Both pay deals were less than those offered to their colleagues in Oxford. Strikes will take place on 18, 23 and 25 February and 4, 5, 6, 25 and 28 March and 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 27 April. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved. BMW’s Hams Hall plant predominantly produces engines for use at the company’s Oxford site. The strikes will bring chaos to BMW’s Mini operations read more
Bassetlaw ICU nurses to strike over fire and rehire Doncaster transfer threat (11 Feb) – Nurses fear forced transfer could lead to Bassetlaw ICU shutting through ‘decommissioning by stealth’. Intensive care nurses at Bassetlaw Hospital will strike over attempts to transfer them to Doncaster Royal Infirmary for at least two months a year, with the possibility of it being increased to four. Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has threatened to fire and rehire the nurses on new contracts stipulating they must work part-time in Doncaster if they refuse to transfer voluntarily. The proposals have already led to four members of staff leaving Bassetlaw ICU for other units. The nurses fear the transfers are one more step towards Bassetlaw Hospital losing its ICU permanently through ‘decommissioning by stealth’ read more
Striking Birmingham bin workers protest outside Council House (11 Feb) – Self-awarded councillor pay rise adds insult to injury over brutal pay cuts. Striking Birmingham bin workers will protest outside of Birmingham City Council House on Wednesday morning over brutal pay cuts. The protest will take place as council officials begin further talks with Unite under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. More than 350 refuse workers began strike action in January over the scrapping of the safety critical Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, resulting in pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers. The workers, who have already voluntarily accepted cuts to pay and terms and conditions to assist the council after it effectively declared bankruptcy, are also concerned further attacks on wages and jobs are incoming read more
Steel tariffs: Change the rules to back UK Steel, says Unite (10 Feb) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has reiterated its call for the UK to better protect the UK’s steel industry by transforming public sector procurement rules, to ensure that all projects use UK produced steel whenever possible. The transformation would be legal under existing trade rules provided the UK designated the steel industry as “critical national infrastructure” read more
Wrexham Oscar Mayer fire and rehire workers ballot to extend long running strikes (10 Feb) – Long running strike action at Wrexham’s Oscar Mayer ready meal factory is set to stretch into the summer as workers ballot to extend industrial action. Around 550 Oscar Mayer workers have been striking since last September over the company’s attempt to slash pay by up to £3,000 a year by firing and rehiring them on inferior contracts. The workers are now being balloted to extend strike action over the dismissal of a handful of colleagues during the industrial action. Oscar Mayer disgracefully sacked the workers after they sent a letter stating they would be working under duress under the revised terms the company wants to impose read more
Send messages of support to [email protected]
Send messages of protest to [email protected]
Sign petition: To Beaumont Myers, Marie Carter & Jonathon Kirby, Directors at Almost Famous – Justice for the Sacked Workers of Almost Famous Burgers – Pay Us What We’re Due!
Sheffield refuse workers vote to continue strikes in fight for union recognition (6 Feb) – Unite members working for Veolia have voted to continue all-out industrial action. Employer refuses to recognise their union and continues to fail to sign its own proposed agreement. Workers at a refuse centre in Sheffield have voted to continue their long-running industrial action, Unite announced today. Unite members at the Lumley Street depot in Sheffield, employed by outsourcing company Veolia, have been on continuous strike since August in their fight to have Unite recognised by their employer for collective bargaining. Veolia has refused to recognise Unite, despite having similar recognition agreements all over the country. This appalling approach to industrial relations has left workers furious, especially after a recognition agreement proposed by the employer and signed by the union was taken away at the eleventh hour by Veolia bosses. Negotiations took place at the end of 2024 with agreement being reached by both sides. In the lead up to and during negotiations, the employer, in written communication, had stated that it had no problem with recognition for Unite at the depot. On this basis, an agreement was reached only for the employer to then refuse to sign it read more
Stellantis Luton betrayal a total disgrace (5 Feb) – Commenting on Stellantis’ announcement that its Luton plant will shut, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Stellantis’ betrayal of its Luton workforce, who have delivered every target asked of them, is a total disgrace. Once again, UK workers have been exposed to a company willing to sacrifice our manufacturing base for fleeting gains – this has to change. We urgently need an industrial strategy that puts the national interest at the heart of decision making in manufacturing, as they do in other countries.” Read more
Unite’s fight for Grangemouth intensifies as workers begin to learn their futures as initial redundancies announced (5 Feb) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has described the announcement that workers at the Grangemouth refinery have begun to be told their futures, “as a national disgrace.’ Under the plans by Petroineos to close the refinery and establish an import terminal, the majority of the workers are set to leave Grangemouth, job losses are set to take effect in a time span of three to 18 month read more
Justice for Anne Marie: fired for raising safety concerns and union organising at Premier Inn – 1pm-2pm Saturday 1st March, Derby Premier Inn, City Centre Riverlights DE1 2BB
Royal Navy tugboat crews could strike to protect critical naval services (1 Feb) – Devonport, Portsmouth, Faslane, Great Harbour Greenock and Kyle of Lochalsh Serco Marine workers demand consultation over future of Royal Navy’s afloat services. Around 300 Royal Navy tugboat and marine services crews, many with decades of experience, are being balloted for strike action due to being locked out of consultations over the services they provide, despite their vital expertise. As part of their roles, the crews are responsible for the movement of nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and other naval vessels in and out of ports. The proposed service changes would impact on their ability to provide a 24-7 365-day service, including for the continuous at sea deterrent. They are employed by Serco Marine, which is currently in talks with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about renewing its 10-year £1.2 billion contract with the Royal Navy. Officials have indicated they want to reduce the contract by £250 million, putting nearly 100 jobs at risk read more
Huddersfield First bus strikes suspended following improved pay offer (31 Jan) – Huddersfield bus strikes by drivers employed by First West Yorkshire have been suspended after an improved pay offer was put forward. Industrial action has been suspended to allow around 170 drivers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, to be balloted on the new offer read more
Knowsley Livv Housing workers step up strikes throughout February (31 Jan) – Hundreds of low-paid workers at Knowsley-based Livv Housing are escalating their pay dispute with strikes taking place throughout February, Unite and UNISON said today (Friday). Repair, maintenance and call centre staff already took strike action in October, November and January. The February strike, beginning on Monday (3 February) and running to Friday 28 February, will be the longest yet, with staff walking out across the entire organisation. More than 13,000 homes will be affected. The dispute stems from years of below-inflation pay increases. The workers have rejected a five per cent pay rise as it fails to reverse the real-terms pay cuts they have endured previously, say the unions. Livv Housing, which manages properties primarily in Knowsley, reported reserves of £110.6 million in March 2024. Additional strike dates will be announced if the dispute remains unresolved. Significant disruption will be caused to Livv Housing’s entire operations, including to tenant services read more
Unite files ethical trading complaint against Bakkavor as dispute escalates (30 Jan) – Customers of food manufacturer to be targeted as union continues to campaign for fair pay. Unite has made a formal complaint on behalf of its members to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which ensures compliance with international labour standards in the global supply chains of member companies. Major high street supermarkets are signed up members of the ETI and will now be aware that Bakkavor is paying poverty wages to its workforce. Unite members at the food manufacturer have been on strike since the early autumn to secure better rates of pay. Hundreds of members working for Bakkavor Foods in Spalding, Lincolnshire, are taking industrial action after years of real terms pay cuts. Bakkavor’s management has refused to engage in meaningful negotiations. Instead, they have brought in strike-breakers from other sites. In response, Unite has complained to the ETI which means that it will have alerted all its members to Bakkavor’s appalling behaviour read more. Send messages of support to [email protected]
Capita staff begin strike action over pay (29 Jan) – Workers at outsourcer Capita will today (Wednesday 29 January) begin strike action in a dispute over their employer’s refusal to negotiate a pay award for 2024. There will be ongoing industrial action until 5.59am on Wednesday 5 February. The workers from Capita were due a 2024 pay award last April. The employer postponed the annual pay talks with their union Unite with the assurance that the workers would be given a pay rise in October. This has not materialised despite this part of the business reporting profits and a healthy balance sheet. In December 2024, workers voted overwhelmingly to take strike action across the two Capita sites. This industrial action will start today following the decision of their employer to deny workers a pay increase. The dispute involves around 1,000 employees…The Capita staff in Manchester and Glasgow work on Royal London account which will all face disruption and delays if industrial action takes place…Strike action will start at 07:00 on Wednesday 29 January and pickets will be in place. The picket locations and times on Wednesday 29th January:-
- Manchester: Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street, M1 6EU
- Glasgow from 08:00-10:00 at The Skypark, 8 Elliot Place, G3 8EP read more
500 Scottish Water workers balloted on industrial action (27 Jan) – Unite highlights workers ‘poor pay’ offer as CEO Alex Plant earns ‘eye-watering’ £483,000 package. Unite, Scotland’s leading trade union, can confirm today (27 January) that its 500-strong Scottish Water membership are being balloted for industrial action following a ‘poor pay’ offer made by the public body. The basic pay offer made in October amounted to 3.4 per cent, or no less than £1,200 depending on salary grade. Standby payments would similarly increase by the same percentage. The offer was overwhelmingly rejected by Unite’s membership. Scottish Water then proposed an additional £200 but the pay round would start from July 2024 – July 2025, and then commence in April for a year. This offer was also rejected by Unite outright. Unite is highlighting how Scottish Water’s counterparts in Northern Ireland in contrast received a £1,500 non-consolidated payment and a five per cent wage rise in December. The union is further drawing attention to the ‘eye-watering’ executive pay levels at Scottish Water. In August 2024, it was reported that Scottish Water executives were awarded £227,000 in bonuses. The bonuses followed water bills in Scotland increasing by 8.8 per cent from April read more
Unite condemns union-busting and offshoring threats from Princes Foods (24 Jan) – Factories across the UK under threat. Princes threatening jobs by moving production overseas. Unite has condemned the union-busting approach of Princes Foods after its chairman threatened to withdraw all pay offers and to move production overseas with the risk of hundreds of job losses. Workers at Princes Food sites across the UK have been taking industrial action after the new owners, Italian conglomerate Newlat, refused to honour a pay rise that had been negotiated with previous owners, Mitsubushi. Today (23 Jan), the chairman, Angelo Mastrolia, announced that in response to the prospect of further industrial action in February, his company will transfer the production of much-loved British foods like Branston beans and Crosse & Blackwell to overseas facilities in retribution. This would also come with the threat of hundreds of job losses for those workers at sites in Cardiff, Lincolnshire, Glasgow, Bradford and Wisbech read more
Housing workers in Southwark to strike over annual leave disgrace (22 Jan) – Workers to walk out as council gives more leave to those on higher salaries. Nearly 160 essential housing and estate services workers in the London Borough of Southwark are set to strike later this month over the council’s disgraceful approach to annual leave. Unite members, who perform vital repairs and maintenance on council-owned housing stock and the council’s own properties get up to 12 fewer days annual leave than management grades in administrative positions at the council and the lowest paid technicians get two fewer days than higher paid colleagues in the same department. Despite negotiations by Unite, the council has refused to compromise or offer additional leave to housing workers to bring them up to the same level. Workers will now head to the picket line to voice their anger from 28-30 January read more
Reading parking chaos continues as strikes escalate (22 Jan) – Modaxo refusing to negotiate on pay. Outsourced traffic officers on worse pay than council staff. Residents of Reading, Berkshire, are to face further parking chaos in January and February as Unite members in the Modaxo enforcement teams take further strike action over pay. Nearly 40 civil enforcement officers are to take part in industrial action from 24-30 January and from 31 January-6 February. They have previously taken strike action in December last year. Reading council has outsourced parking protection to Modaxo. The dispute is in relation to Modaxo’s failure to address concerns around rates of pay. Civil enforcement officers are currently on just £12 per hour which is significantly lower than the rate they would be paid if they were directly employed by the council read more
Bidfood warned Unite takes zero tolerance view to union busting (21 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has warned that industrial action is probable at food wholesale and distributor Bidfood unless the company reverses its decision to tear up longstanding recognition agreements and derecognise unions. Bidfood is one of the UK’s largest food distributors and has a huge number of high profile clients across the country including schools, prisons, the army, Subway, Five Guys and Manchester United. Last Friday (17 January) Unite and the other recognised union were told without warning that Bidford was tearing up the recognition agreement that had been in place for over 30 years and was immediately derecognising them…Unite believes that the decision to derecognise the union is a precursor to attacks on workers’ pay and conditions. The majority of Unite’s members are based at Bidfood’s depots in Battersea, Birmingham, Plymouth and Salisbury…The GMB union also represents workers at Bidfood and has also been derecognised read more
Unions warn Belfast council of leisure centres strike threat (13 Jan) – Patience of leisure workers at end, Greenwich Leisure Limited must provide clarity and transparency. Trade unions Unite and NIPSA have met Belfast city council management and warned them of the prospect of disruptive industrial action by leisure centre workers. The workforce is in a pay dispute with outsourced management company Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL). Following disputes in late 2023, GLL recommitted to an updated recognition agreement with both unions. Despite this, management failed to engage with the unions and instead imposed a pay settlement for 2024. This month a new employee absence policy was imposed for GLL staff in the face of opposition by both unions read more
Remaining Synnovis strike dates suspended (18 Dec) – London based pathologists to return to work while negotiations with employer continue. The remaining three days of strike action at privatised pathology lab, Synnovis, have been suspended to allow talks to continue. Over 500 pathologists were due to strike 16-20 December over a restructure that had introduced threats of redundancy, downgrading and reduced staffing levels that would put patient safety at risk. Strike action today (Wednesday) and for the rest of the week has now been suspended while talks between Unite and Synnovis continue read more
Petrol shortages predicted at West Midland’s Tesco garages as tanker drivers strike (13 Dec) – Drivers taking industrial action over pay. Drivers elsewhere in the country earn up to £11k more. Around 20 tanker drivers in the West Midlands are taking strike action in the run up to Christmas that could see petrol run dry at Tesco garages across the region. Drivers contracted to XPO Bulk UK Ltd deliver petrol from refineries to Tesco stores across the West Midlands. Unite members at XPO are taking strike action from 19-24 December of the lack of a fair pay offer from their employer. Tanker drivers in other parts of the country earn up to £11,000 more read more
Fare free-for-all in London as enforcement officers take strike action (6 Dec) – Compliance staff at TfL to strike over unacceptable pay offer. Hundreds of operations officers within the compliance unit at Transport for London (TfL) are to take strike action this month that will see London descend into a free-for-all fare scenario. Nearly 300 officers in the Compliance, Policing, Operations and Security Directorate (CPOS) are to head to the picket line after rejecting a pay offer from the company. Unite members voted for strike action after the company refused to make a percentage increase offer for staff and instead simply offered a lump sum payment. Additionally, the company is refusing to deal with pay parity issues with equivalent London Underground staff who earn considerably more…Unite has announced strike dates on 12,13 and 14 December and then the 20,21 and 22 December read more
Hampshire bus workers set to strike over pay (5 Dec) – First Bus drivers and supervisors to walk out over lack of fair offer. Over 140 drivers and supervisors at First Bus in Hampshire are set to strike this month after the company failed to make a reasonable fair pay offer. Workers based at the Hoeford depot who operate across Gosport, Fareham, Portsmouth and into Southampton will take to the picket line to demonstrate their anger at the pay rates on offer. Staff are now being paid barely above the minimum wage for a skilled and stressful job. Strikes are due to take place from 19-27 December meaning that bus services over the Christmas period will be close to zero. First has offered workers just a four per cent pay deal and has also refused to reinstate many of the terms and conditions that were removed during the Covid pandemic read more
Shortage of Christmas turkeys in West Midlands as drivers strike (5 Dec) – Drivers at Culina who deliver chilled poultry to strike after company plays Scrooge with no pay increase. Residents in the West Midlands could see empty tables this Christmas as HGV drivers who deliver chickens and turkeys to supermarkets go on strike this month. Around 40 drivers who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are taking industrial action after their employer, Culina, failed to offer them any pay rise this year. Culina’s contract is with Avara Foods Hereford who supply Tesco and Marks & Spencers to deliver poultry from abattoirs to supermarket warehouses. Despite being in pay negotiations since April, no offer has been made to drivers who have been left with little choice but to take industrial action read more
Support the sacked TGI Fridays workers: Sign this petition – On 7th October, over 1000 TGI Fridays workers were given 57 minutes notice of a call with their CEO at which they were all sacked. 35 sites across the company were padlocked and workers locked out of their workplaces with valued possessions inside. Support our national petition to demand legal, financial and political justice for these workers
Support the Sanctuary workers – contact the Unite LE/1111 Housing Workers branch to offer support or if you are a housing worker wanting to get organised [email protected]. “At Sanctuary Housing we are also campaigning for recognition. Sanctuary is a massive employer. It has 14,000 members of staff but currently recognises no union. Scandalously this organisation receives millions of pounds in public money. Shamefully much of this money comes from Labour authorities. No Labour authority should hand out contracts to union hostile employers! You can help us in our fight by dropping a few Join Unite@Sanctuary leaflets at your local Sanctuary care home, supported living or estate office. Message me via this platform, personally or via email if you can help. [email protected]. You can search your nearest Sanctuary workplace via this link: https://www.sanctuary-supported-living.co.uk/
Please sign this letter to Lizzie Hieron, chief customer officer: Shame on Sanctuary – Rents up, bills up. Wages down. Fair pay and union recognition now! Support Sanctuary Housing repair workers!
CWU
CWU LIVE – How do we Build The Union’s Power? + Your Stories w/ Chris Webb (13 Feb) – Reps are the backbone of our movement, and on this week’s show we’re hearing their stories, insights, and why stepping up makes a difference read more
North West No.1: Recruiting and Reconnecting (13 Feb) – In any workplace, the real power of the worker is measured by the strength their union holds in the workplace – strength that is earned how many of their colleagues know to belong to the union. This principle is what is guiding a wave of new activity for North West No.1 branch, which covers workers in, amongst other places, the Bolton, Oldham and Rochdale broad areas read more
Santander members to vote on inflation-busting pay deal (8 Jan) – CWU members at Santander are being urged to back an above-inflation pay deal fought for by the union. Members are being urged to back the deal in a consultative ballot, following a strong recommendation from the Santander National Committee (SNC) read more
Tesco Mobile and VM02 workers to vote on pay rise starting today (23 Dec) – CWU members at Tesco Mobile and VM02 are set to vote on an inflation-busting pay offer starting today. The workers, who work on Capita contracts at the phone giants, will see ballots land today (23rd December) on whether to accept a deal from their employer. For Capita members on the minimum wage, an hourly increase to £12.66 an hour – a real-terms increase of 9.52% – will be in effect from 1st January 2025. For those who are above the Capita minimum rates, it will mean a 5.5% uplift from January 2025. It was also confirmed that the pay agreement applies until the next round of discussions, which will take place in April 2025. The offer comes following the union’s negotiations with Capita, and after the union began plans to ballot workers for industrial action. If the ballot is successful, Capita has confirmed that the increase will be paid in January’s salary read more
PCS
You can show your support to the strikes by PCS members by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
Strong show of support for Benton Park View strikers (14 Feb) – Members and reps from the Benton Park View branch continued their industrial action by picketing outside their office in Newcastle this morning and were joined in solidarity by numerous supporters from across the region. The gathered strikers and supporters were addressed by local MP Mary Glindon, Sol Gamsu regional chair of the UCU, Claire Williams Unison regional secretary and Martin Levy from Newcastle Trades Council as well as PCS Vice President Dave Semple. All of the speakers expressed their support and solidarity, not only with the 3 reps who were unfairly dismissed for their trade union activity, but also for the more than 200 members standing firm with the sacked reps and taking action together to win them back their jobs. The strike shows no signs of wavering with members resolving to strike for a further month up until 14 March and determined to do whatever is needed to bring the employer to the negotiating table and win back the reps’ jobs read more. Take action, show your support and send solidarity messages to the reps and branch, email HMRC group secretary Steve Swainston: [email protected] read more. Members can also support the campaign by donating to the fighting fund. Donations can be made to the PCS account with the reference ‘BPV Strikes’ –
- Account name: PCS Fighting Fund
- Levy account number: 20331490
- Sort code: 60-83-01
Picket lines have been organised at the site for the dates below, from 7am – 9am. The branch is asking all striking members and supporters to attend to show their solidarity on:-
- Friday, 14 February (main gate)
- Wednesday, 19 February (main gate)
- Tuesday, 25 February (main gate)
- Wednesday, 26 February (Ainthorpe)
- Tuesday, 4 March (Ainthorpe)
- Wednesday, 5 March (main gate)
- Friday, 14 March (Ainthorpe).
Jobcentre staff let down by wealthy outsourcing giant G4S (14 Feb) – Violent incidents that could be prevented with working equipment are the norm for exploited and under-paid security staff, a PCS survey has revealed. The survey of more than 300 members working for G4S as security staff in jobcentres reveals severe levels of violence, generally faulty safety equipment, routine under-staffing and exploitative pay and conditions read more
Visa income changes: DWP and Home Office fail to protect staff (14 Feb) – A huge increase in the visa income threshold has left hundreds of PCS members no longer able to work in the Department for Work and Pensions and caused extreme worry for them and their families read more
CS makes submission on UK Government spending review (13 Feb) – The UK Government is currently preparing for the 2025 spending review, which will set departmental budgets for the next three years – affecting our members’ jobs, pay and the services they provide. The chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce the spending review to parliament on 11 June. This week PCS has sent in a detailed and evidenced submission in an attempt to influence the government’s plans. Our submission draws on academic work we commissioned showing that boosting civil service pay more than pays for itself, and would help boost economic growth, as well as helping to solve recruitment and retention problems in many areas. As many PCS members face mandatory office attendance regulations, we also make the case for hybrid working, drawing on senior management who have said “home working arrangements have been effective and productive”. Hybrid working also enables the employer to reduce their office space and save on accommodation costs read more
PHSO members walk out for first day of industrial action (12 Feb) – The one day strike by all PCS members at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman will be followed by a week of targeted strike action. PCS members at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) are in dispute with their employer over pay, a compulsory return to the office and proposals that could see extra responsibilities delegated to more junior staff without any extra pay. Today (12) the members, based mainly in Manchester, took a day’s strike action and held a picket line outside the offices at City Gate read more
Aviation workers take well-supported joint action (11 Feb) – Aviation regulator workers escalated their dispute over pay with joint strike action. PCS and Prospect members at Aviation House and Westferry took joint action on Thursday (6). This strike was a follow-up action to the PCS strike on the 16 and 17 January. With the unions having a combined membership of over 450 members at the Civil Aviation Authority, this strike action was well supported with a picket line from 8am until 3pm. Both unions are now likely to take further industrial action, alongside the action short of strike which is continuous. PCS members at the CAA walked last month after rejecting the pay offer imposed by their employer. After years of below-inflation pay rises, the workers rejected a pay offer that would see some of them receive as little as 3%. In addition to taking strike action, CAA members are also taking part in a continuous overtime ban read more
G4S in DWP – strike ballot begins (7 Feb) – A strike ballot involving 650 members who work for G4S as security guards has begun today, running until noon on 28 February, in an ongoing dispute over pay and terms and conditions. PCS has made a number of attempts to get G4S and DWP around the table to discuss our very serious demands on pay and terms and conditions. We believe G4S has failed to meet its contractual obligations and have called on DWP to sanction G4S for its contractual failures. Despite our concerted efforts both the department and G4S have refused to engage with us and left the union with no choice but to ballot members for further strike action read more
First day of Met Police strike receives widespread support (4 Feb) – From the picket line to an online rally, to messages of support from our parliamentary group and media coverage, the members have received great support today. Over 300 PCS members, working as civilian staff for the Metropolitan Police, have today (4) taken their first day of a two-week strike. The dispute is over a forced return to the office, which goes against a previously agreed Blended Working Framework drawn up in 2021. Management have refused to negotiate with PCS and when members voted to take action short of a strike, refusing to comply with the new hybrid working model, management threatened to dock the wages of its staff for continuing to work at home. PCS members were therefore forced to take strike action which started today and ends on 17 February. Members were out on the picket line outside Marlowe House, opposite Sidcup train station this morning and picket lines will continue on 5 February from 7-10am and on 6, 11, 12 and 13 February…Donations have started to pour into PCS’s fighting fund, from non-striking PCS members who want to support the fight against 60% mandated office attendance, an issue affecting many across PCS. You can make a donation online. Please use our quick form to email the London mayor to ask him to intervene and work with the Home Secretary to find a resolution for our members read more
Support our striking facilities members (31 Jan) – PCS members working for ISS and G4S will be holding picket lines during the next two weeks in central London. Nearly 300 PCS members employed by outsourcing companies G4S and ISS as security, cleaners, porters, receptionists and post room staff will be starting another six days of strike action next week. The strike action is part of our ongoing dispute with the outsourced facilities management companies over their failure to improve pay, terms and conditions for the members, who are employed on far less favourable terms than civil service colleagues working in the same buildings. The members have already taken a substantial amount of strike action, including over Christmas and into the new year. This next round of walk outs for the ISS members will run from 4 – 13 February. For the G4S members it will run from 3 – 12 February or 4 – 13 February, depending on where they work read more
First day of Fujitsu strike off to a strong start (31 Jan) – The members in Telford are on strike on 30 and 31 January over the imposition of a 1.5% pay rise. More than 300 PCS members employed by outsourced Fujitsu Services UK at Telford and offices across the UK are on strike today (30) and tomorrow (31) after being offered a pay rise of just 1.5%. Their civil service colleagues employed directly by HMRC got 5% this year for doing similar jobs. The two days of strike action take place on the two days prior to the self-assessment online tax return deadline read more
Border Force officers at Heathrow to be balloted for more strike action (29 Jan) – The members took industrial action last year over the imposition of a new, inflexible roster. Over 550 Border Force officers at London’s Heathrow Airport are to be balloted for more strike action after managers refused to address their concerns over a new roster system. In 2024 PCS members took 11 days of strike action and 53 days of action short of a strike in protest at the imposition of the new roster, which forced staff into a complicated pattern of long shifts with a lack of flexibility and disproportionately affects those with caring responsibilities read more
CAA members to take further strike action (28 Jan) – The members at Gatwick Airport will take a day of joint strike action with members of Prospect. PCS members working for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) took two days of strike action on 16 and 17 January after rejecting the pay offer imposed by their employer. The CAA imposed a pay offer of 4% for the lowest-earners, and 3% for other grades. They have made an offer of a £1000 non-consolidated payment to be made in April 2025, which was immediately rejected by both PCS and Prospect, but have confirmed they will not reopen pay negotiations for the year 2024-2025. PCS and Prospect have therefore decided to take a day’s joint strike action on Thursday 6 February. The joint action will see around 450 members of the two unions being asked to withdraw their labour. This action, including the previous two days, is the first industrial action in the CAA since the late 1980s. If the CAA refuse to make an acceptable pay offer, more combined strike days will follow…There will be a picket line from 7:30-10 a.m. on 6 February at the Civil Aviation Authority, Aviation House, Beehive Ringroad, Crawley, West Sussex RH6 0YR read more
ISS GPA strike ballot – Vote YES (22 Jan) – Vote today, attend one of our online members’ meetings and read our Frequently Asked Questions. Members working for ISS delivering cleaning, catering and logistics services to the Cabinet Office, Canary Wharf Hub, and the Department for Education have been sent a strike ballot paper as part of our escalation of the ongoing disputes around pay and conditions read more
Land Registry Action Short of a Strike begins (22 Jan) – Nearly 4000 PCS members in England and Wales have begun an indefinite work to rule. PCS members in Land Registry began their action short of a strike (ASOS) yesterday (21) in pursuit of the objectives voted for in their industrial action mandate read more
Further strikes announced by G4S members in East Kilbride (13 Jan) – The members at the FCDO will take strike action for another five weeks. G4S members working as security officers at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) building at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride have already taken an extended period of strike action in their dispute over pay, terms and conditions. The new strike dates run from 24 January to 28 February. PCS met with FCDO management last week and we have another meeting scheduled, which we hope will be positive, but until the dispute is settled the strike action will continue. So far G4S has failed to make a pay offer that lifts members out of poverty pay and delivers any significant improvements to terms and conditions read more
Successful two-day strike at DBS (10 Dec) – The PCS Disclosure and Barring Service picket line in Liverpool was well supported during the strike action this week in the dispute over the imposition of a new customer contact system. Striking workers held picket lines on both strike days (9 and 10) outside their workplace at Shannon Court in Liverpool where they spoke to the public and other staff from the building and made themselves visible with their placards and banner. The strike action affected people requiring DBS checks for their employment as our members routinely help customers with email queries about their DBS check, help with barring referral disputes, and deal with complaints from the public. Introduced without proper consultation, the new customer contact system, “Max Contact” would not only force members to carry out work they’ve not been required to do before, but has also been beset by early technical problems and will fail to offer customers the resolutions they need. The two-day strike by our members in DBS Customer Services will now be followed by a work to rule up to 24 December. PCS has a further meeting with DBS on Thursday morning to discuss the new system. Show your support for the strikers by emailing [email protected] 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
Enhanced security measures in Strangers’ Bar are welcome but overall culture must change (11 Feb) – The House of Commons Commission has announced changes to security arrangements for Parliament’s Stranger’s Bar which is to reopen after February recess read more
Prospect members at the CAA to take strike action (28 Jan) – Prospect members working at the Civil Aviation authority (CAA) will take strike action in a dispute over pay. Aircraft maintenance mechanic with a flash light inspects plane engine in a hangar. This will be the first time Prospect members have taken strike action there in 40 years. Strike action at CAA HQ in Crawley will be for 24 hours on 6 February.
Industrial action short of a strike, which has been ongoing since 20 January consisting of working to rule and an overtime ban, will pause for the duration of the strike, resuming on 7 February. Ongoing action short of a strike could cause delays across the industry to things like fleet refits, the introduction of new models, licensing of new hanger facilities. The CAA imposed a 3-4% pay offer on staff after going through the motions of negotiating – an offer which neither kept pace with the industry nor civil service (The CAA is a Non-Departmental Public Body) read more
Vital Navy support workers to go on strike (27 Jan) – Prospect members working at Serco Marine will take strike action over a refusal of the company to engage with members on the parameters of a new contract with Ministry of Defence read more
Prospect members working at Draken Europe to take strike action (15 Jan) – Prospect members working at aerospace company Draken (in Hurn, near Bournemouth, and Teesside) will take strike action from the 20th to 21st of January inclusive read more
FDA
Don’t use civil servants as scapegoats for overspend in Northern Ireland (11 Feb) – FDA National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh has challenged claims that senior civil servants were to blame for a projected £2.45 billion overspend in major capital projects read more
GMB
Strike ballot opens at Tower Hamlets school over planned job cuts (14 Feb) – GMB Union has today (Friday 14 February) opened a ballot for members at St Luke’s Church of England Primary School after the school put forward plans to cut more than 20 per cent of teaching assistant roles. A recent indicative ballot saw over 90 per cent of GMB members at the school vote for strike action. Under the proposals, 6 of the 27 teaching assistants employed by the school would be made redundant. A further 2 agency teaching assistants will not have their contracts renewed. The school, located on the Isle of Dogs, has a significant number of pupils with special educational needs. The proposed redundancies raise questions about how well those pupils will be supported with fewer staff in the classroom. The ballot will close on Tuesday 4 March read more
Harlow MP and GMB Union support Essex Bidfood workers facing ‘possible threat of fire and rehire’ (14 Feb) – Local MP Chris Vince joined union activists and Bidfood workers today (Friday 14 February) for a protest at the company’s Harlow depot. They are challenging Bidfood’s decision to tear up a long-standing recognition deal with unions GMB and Unite, leaving workers exposed to the potential of fire and rehire. Thousands of staff at Bidfood – a company which also delivers food for the army, prisons, and schools across the UK – could now be sacked and reemployed on worse terms and conditions. In Essex and the East of England, Bidfood supplies schools, universities, colleges, and hospitals – including the Harlow NHS Trust. GMB is discussing next steps with members, which will likely include a strike vote read more
Three weeks to save Barnsley nurseries from privatisation (13 Feb) – GMB Union has warned there are just three weeks to save Barnsley’s nurseries from privatisation. The union, along with early years workers and parents, want to stop Barnsley Council’s plan to offload nurseries across six Family Hubs – which are essential resources in some of the most deprived communities in the town. These hubs provide vital childcare, particularly for vulnerable children, and offer crucial support for families in need. The privatisation plan will be debated at a full council on 27 February. Councillors want to transfer control of the nurseries to private operators, but staff and parents are deeply concerned about the potential consequences for both the quality of care and the vital safeguarding opportunities that the facilities nurseries provide – especially when home intervention is necessary. GMB Union is launching a campaign to oppose the proposal, including an online petition. Parents and staff are also reaching out to local councillors and MPs, urging them to protect these essential services read more
Sunderland care workers seek equal pay love on Valentine’s Day (13 Feb) – Care workers across the city are asking Sunderland City Council to show them some love and end pay and pension discrimination this Valentine’s Day. This Valentine’s Day [Friday 14 February] dozens of care workers will gather at Sunderland City Hall to deliver a clear message to council leaders: ‘Treat us with love and stop discriminating against us’. Women workers will be delivering large Valentine’s cards to the authority and asking them to pay up. For almost eighteen months, workers at Sunderland Care And Support (SCAS), have been fighting for equal pay. Sunderland’s leadership failed to negotiate with GMB and legal claims have now been lodged – but in some cases workers are dying before their cases are heard. GMB, the only union campaigning for equal pay in Sunderland, will continue with a high-profile, determined campaign against the council. With Birmingham City Council finally settling their own long running pay dispute, GMB calls on Sunderland Council to do the right thing and deliver on equal pay read more
Unsafe working conditions at Mansfield bus station (10 Feb) – Workers have raised the alarm about anti-social behaviour, says GMB. GMB Union has today called on Nottinghamshire County Council to take urgent action over safety concerns at Mansfield Bus Station. Representing ticketing, cleaning and security staff at the station, GMB has raised the alarm after workers reported an increase in anti-social behaviour at the terminal. Union representatives are reporting that complaints have doubled in the last year read more
South London streets set for car parking chaos (31 Jan) – Lambeth and Kingston parking wardens set to strike with Lambeth refuse workers possibly joining in. Streets of two South London boroughs are set to be affected by five days of strike action from Monday [3 February], with parking wardens taking further action in a long-running dispute. Members of GMB union working for Apcoa in Kingston and Lambeth will be possibly joined by refuse workers in Lambeth employed by Serco, with a last-minute offer set to be tabled this weekend. The parking wardens also took action in December of last year. Talks between GMB and Apcoa management took place this week, with the union agreeing to suspend pre-arranged action in Wandsworth and Richmond following a renewed offer read more
Strike action looms at major HGV company (15 Jan) – Workers manufacturing spare parts for Volvo and Scania Heavy Goods Vehicles will walk out next month. GMB Union have today announced that workers at CNC Speedwell have voted overwhelmingly to support strike action in an ongoing dispute over pay. Workers at the Walsall based company manufacture key components for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), including Volvo, DAF and Scania. Staff are furious after company managers rejected demands for a pay rise of just £1. Industrial action could take place as early as February, with around 150 workers expected to walk out 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 Unison
Support Manchester Mental Health strikes by Unison and Unite members – next strike dates and picket line & protest details:-
- Monday 24th February 8am-10am Chorlton House, 70 Manchester Rd M21 9UN
- Tuesday 25th February 8am-10am Building B, One Central Park, Northampton Rd M40 5BP
- Wednesday 26th February 8am-11am lobby the ICB & solidarity rally with Unite Capita strikers, Tootal Buildings, 56 Oxford St M1 6EU
- Friday 28th February – Celebration of Solidarity social and fundraiser, The English Lounge M4 1EA
NEC hears of ongoing work on the Employment Rights Bill (13 Feb) – National executive council also learns of big rises in membership and activists over 2024 read more
Migrant care staff having to share beds, sleep rough and charged thousands in illegal fees (11 Feb) – The union is calling for the government to take over sponsorship of migrant care staff from employers. Care staff who come to the UK from overseas are having to share beds with other workers, sleep rough, and pay huge fees to work because of exploitation by rogue employers, according to a report released by UNISON today (Tuesday) read more
HE conference highlights link between funding and pay (6 Feb) – Delegates agree higher education sector needs a ‘new start’. Delegates to UNISON’s HE conference holding messages calling for no job cuts, save jobs and fund higher education. UNISON’s higher education (HE) conference convened in Swansea at the end of January, with debates highlighting the need for better pay and funding in the sector read more
Council and school staff are overdue a significant pay rise, say unions (31 Jan) – A rise of £3,000 is needed at all pay points. Local government unions representing 1.4m council and school employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are demanding a decent wage rise as they submit their annual pay claim today (Friday). UNISON, GMB and Unite say a substantial award is essential as staff continue to struggle with rising living costs, having missed out on the higher wage settlements paid out to workers in other parts of the public sector in the past year. This year’s joint union pay claim, which would apply from this April, is for all council employees to receive a wage rise of £3,000 read more
Workers at Livv Housing continue to strike as pay and conditions row heightens – HUNDREDS of workers at a housing association will be next on strike in Unison and Unite are continuing their strike action this month. For strike dates, read more on Knowsley Unison website and Facebook page. Please donate to strike funds by emailing [email protected] for details
Health workers in East Suffolk and North Essex launch strike appeal (26 Nov) – More than 350 workers at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) have launched three weeks of strikes to stop their jobs being outsourced. On Monday 25 November, cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other facilities staff started three weeks’ worth of strike action to keep their jobs in the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT). The dispute comes after the trust wrote to staff in April to tell them their jobs could be outsourced. In May, the chief executive of the trust, Nick Hulme, was filmed telling workers lobbying a board meeting that the decision to outsource had already been made. Staff fear the sell-off will threaten their pay and conditions and pose a serious risk to patient safety. As an example, outsourced staff in Ipswich get fewer days of annual leave and less sick pay than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS. They also missed out on the extra one-off payment of £1,655 that NHS staff received in the last financial year. Now, more than 350 workers, employed at Colchester Hospital, Aldeburgh Hospital and several other ESNEFT community sites have walked out until Friday 13 December – or until the trust abandons plans to outsource their jobs. They had already taken more than 20 days of strikes and ahead of this week’s strikes, staff had to hold a second ballot to renew their legal mandate to take industrial action. Workers again voted 99% in favour of strikes in results announced on Friday (22 November) read more. Sign petition Write to the Board. How to donate to the strike appeal: UNISON Colchester & Ipswich Area Health, UNITY Bank, Sort code: 60-83-01, Account number: 20403881, Reference: STRIKE
Grimsby maternity support workers launch strike appeal (26 Nov) – Maternity support workers at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby are fighting for proportionate backpay and need your support. Maternity support workers at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby have just completed two weeks of strike action in their fight to secure proportionate back pay for carrying out clinical duties beyond their pay band for years. Although the NHS trust re-banded them from Band 2 to Band 3 in October 2023, the trust is currently refusing to make an equitable offer of backpay. As things stand, the current proposals would see some maternity support workers, who have nearly forty years’ service, and have worked high levels of unsocial hours, receiving less backpay than someone who has been at the trust for only four years. The support workers took two days and then one week of strike action earlier in the year and started a two-week strike as of Monday 11 November read more. How to donate: Unity Trust, Sort Code: 60-83-01, Account Number: 20337627, Account name: Grimsby Goole Scunthorpe health branch
NIPSA
Statement from HSC Trade Unions, Northern Ireland (13 Feb) – NIPSA and Health Trade Unions have received formal confirmation from the Health Minister that he has now approved payment of the full 12 months of the Agenda for Change pay award from 1 April 2024. This follows commitments made by the Minister in December 2024 that pay parity for Agenda for Change would be maintained for 2024/25, with a 5.5% uplift on pay to be put in place. The Minister had initially only been able to provide funding for 10 months of this pay award, due to the constraints on the health budget. However, the Minister had committed to secure the funding required to pay the full 12 months to 1 April 2024. Health trade unions acknowledge the efforts of the Minister in securing the funding required to implement the commitments made. However, it must also be recognised that sustained pressure from Agenda for Change unions played a critical role in ensuring this outcome. Unions have consistently pressed the Health Minister to guarantee full implementation of the pay award, ensuring that health workers received their full entitlement read more
Industrial Action by Teaching Staff (12 Feb) – You will be aware that the teaching staff have entered into a period of industrial action by taking action short of strike action in relation to teacher’s pay. NIPSA members are encouraged to support this action and should only undertake work in accordance with their normal duties and job descriptions. Support can be shown by not undertaking any additional responsibilities that may arise directly from the action short of strike action. Please extend solidarity to our teaching colleagues fighting for fair pay read more
Royal College of Nursing
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
RCM welcomes Minster’s approval of full backpay for members in Northern Ireland (11 Feb) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has welcomed the approval by Mike Nesbitt, the Health Minister for Northern Ireland, of the full 12 months of back pay owing to RCM members. This means midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) will now receive their 5.5% pay award which will be backdated to 1 April 2024 and not 1 May 2024 read more
CSP
CSP provides oral evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) (11 Feb) – The CSP has met with the NHS PRB to build on our evidence and answer questions on pay and reforms to the structure of Agenda for Change read more
SOR
STAC submits 2025/26 pay claim to Scottish government seeking ‘pay modernisation’ (23 Jan) – The Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee Staffside has this week submitted its collective pay claim read more
HSC pay award delays in Northern Ireland to have ‘devastating impact’ on waiting lists (14 Jan) – Health and Social Care pay awards in Northern Ireland are unlikely to reach employees until late in the pay year, the SoR has said read more
NEU
Sixth form consultation results (14 Feb) – National Education Union members who teach in non academised sixth form colleges have voted overwhelmingly to end their dispute with the Secretary of State for Education. After eight days of strike action, a member consultation had been initiated following the receipt of firm, written assurances from the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), that there would be no two-tier pay offers put forward in future years and all pay awards will have a single pay settlement date. 78.6 per cent of members balloted voted to accept the revised pay offer on a 64.6 per cent turnout. The revised offer was 4.3 per cent for non-academised colleges and 5.5 per cent for academised colleges, plus the new guarantees read more
Strike ballot in 18 Harris schools and colleges (20 Jan) – The NEU’s formal strike ballot of over 700 members in 18 Harris secondaries and sixth form colleges opens today (Monday) and closes on 28 February. The ballot concerns excessive and unhealthy levels of workload, an unfair and punitive pay progression system, and the unfair treatment of Caribbean and other overseas trained teachers. Members’ terms and conditions in Harris-run schools and colleges are clearly having an impact on teacher retention. At the end of Summar Term 2023, a quarter of teachers (27%) in Harris schools left. This is far higher than in local authority maintained schools where only one in seven (15%) teachers left their school. Teacher retention at Harris schools has been in the bottom 10% of multi-academy trusts for 9 out of the last 10 years. The strength of feeling amongst staff is so great that our indicative ballot that has led to this formal ballot had an 80% turnout with a 92% yes vote for strike action. The question on the formal ballot paper reads: “Are you prepared to take part in sustained and discontinuous strike action in furtherance of this dispute?” read more
NEU announce indicative ballot on pay (9 Jan) – At a special meeting of the national executive of the National Education Union, held this week, the union has agreed to proceed with a preliminary online ballot of teacher members in England. This is to gauge the strength of feeling about the Government’s recent recommendation to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) of an unfunded 2.8% pay rise for teachers in 2025/26. The NEU will commence an indicative ballot of members from 1 March which will close on 11 April read more
NEU Cymru to ballot members for strike action (8 Jan) – Members of the National Education Union Cymru at Ysgol Robert Owen in Newtown have asked their union to ballot for industrial action following proposals for massive redundancies. Ysgol Robert Owen opened on September 1st 2024, at a cost of £22m, and yet within months staff have been told that up to one in six of them face redundancy and the state-of-the-art Hydro Pool may never be used read more
Please support the following strikes:-
NASUWT
NASUWT comments on IFS report on teacher numbers (14 Feb) – Commenting on the on a report by the IFS suggesting teacher numbers in Scotland should be cut to in response to falling pupil numbers, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said: “This report stands at odds with the generality of evidence from leading education countries which confirms that high investment in children’s education improves opportunity, outcomes and life chances…” read more
Trust must withdraw planned increase to teachers’ working hours and workload (14 Feb) – NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union has warned that it will ballot members for industrial action unless Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) withdraws plans to increase secondary teachers’ working hours and workload. OGAT, which runs 28 secondary schools in Yorkshire and Humberside, the North East, North West and the East Midlands, is planning to increase the length of the school day and teaching contact by 30 minutes per day from September 2025 onwards read more
NASUWT members vote for action in sixth form college disputes (11 Feb) – In ballots of teachers in sixth form colleges, NASUWT – the Teachers’ Union, has today announced that members in 23 sixth form colleges have voted in support of strike action and/or action short of strike action in their disputes over teachers’ pay. The Union is in dispute with individual college employers and with the sixth form colleges association over their failure to deliver a 5.5% pay award for 2024-25 backdated to September 2024. As a result of the NASUWT’s decision to ballot members working in sixth form college academies, the employers have confirmed that a 5.5% pay award backdated to September 2024 will now be paid to all teachers. Once the pay awards are implemented, the NASUWT’s disputes in individual sixth form college academies will be resolved. However, where employers of teachers working in non-academy sixth form colleges do not commit to paying in full a 5.5% award backdated to September 2024, NASUWT remains in dispute and members will take industrial action having voted in support with a turnout of 56%. NASUWT has identified significant levels of funding available to sixth form colleges with around £500 million in reserves. In April 2025, colleges will additionally receive a share of £50 million additional funding read more
Teachers in Northern Ireland vote to reject pay offer (6 Feb) – Teacher members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union have voted overwhelmingly to reject the pay offer for teachers in Northern Ireland. Teachers had been offered 5.5% but the offer also sought to address other matters. 78% of NASUWT members voted in favour of rejecting the offer, with 5734 teachers participating in the survey. NASUWT members will now commence action short of strike in schools from Monday 10 February read more
Teachers at Liverpool school take strike action over adverse management practices (3 Feb) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Gateacre School in Liverpool will be taking the first of five planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) over concerns about the way in which they are being managed and a failure to recognise workforce trade unions. Members have been subject to a long-standing culture of adverse management practices and treatment which has undermined their wellbeing, health and safety in the workplace. This includes excessive workloads and working hours, the failure to address poor pupil behaviour and excessive monitoring and surveillance of staff. The employer has also failed to agree to any collective bargaining arrangements with education workforce trade unions. Northern Schools Trust, which officially took over the running of the school in December, derecognised workforce trade unions several years ago read more
East Dunbartonshire teachers to take action over failure to tackle abuse and violence (29 Jan) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Kirkintilloch High School in East Dunbartonshire are to begin a programme of industrial action over the failure of their employer to act to address poor pupil behaviour and abuse of teachers. Members are to begin taking action short of strike action from Wednesday 5th February which will initially consist of refusing to cover classes for absent colleagues. Members will also refuse to undertake any additional voluntary duties such as extra-curricular clubs, trips or study classes which are outside of their contracted working hours. Concerns include regular verbal abuse and swearing at teachers and some violent incidents, pupils being allowed to roam around corridors and shared spaces in the school when they should be in class, no serious consequences for poor behaviour and an overuse of ineffective restorative approaches to managing incidents of abuse. Furthermore, neither the school nor the local authority appear to have done anything significant to embed the key points of the National Action Plan on Relationships and Behaviour announced by the Cabinet Secretary last August read more
Teachers at Coventry School Foundation to take further strike action over attack on pensions (27 Jan) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at the Coventry School Foundation (Bablake Senior, Bablake Junior, King Henry VIII Senior and King Henry VIII Junior) are taking further strike action this week as a result of the failure of the employer to withdraw attacks on their pensions. Members are due to take strike action tomorrow (Tuesday), Wednesday and Thursday this week. Twelve further days of strike action have been pencilled in for late February and March. Members have already taken six days of strike action. Teachers have been told they must make a choice between moving to an inferior pension scheme or remaining in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) but taking a pay cut. Furthermore, teachers have been threatened with being fired and reemployed on new contracts if they do not voluntarily accept these changes read more
Members strike over school closure plans (10 Dec) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Lewis Girls School, Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, are taking strike action tomorrow (Wednesday) over plans to close the school and merge with Lewis Pengam School. The decision over the closure is being made without any consideration to the impact the changes will have on members’ workload, working conditions and the welfare of members. Members have been given no assurances that they will not lose their jobs read more
Striking teachers protest at the Senedd over pupil behaviour (10 Dec) – On Thursday 12th December, members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, at Ysgol Nantgwyn, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and Ysgol Abersychan in Pontypool will take strike action over poor pupil behaviour and will be taking their protest to the steps of the Senedd. At 11am on Thursday, striking members from both schools will gather in front of the Senedd to express their concern over the lack of progress on this crucial issue read more
Essex teachers threatened with school lock out (9 Dec) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Gable Hall School in Thurrock are being threatened with being locked out of the school and prevented from teaching their pupils after they voted to take industrial action in an ongoing dispute over workload and working practices. Members at the school are due to begin action short of strike action from Wednesday over concerns about adverse management practices which are resulting in unsustainable workloads that are undermining teachers’ health, safety and wellbeing. NASUWT members have sought to minimise any disruption to pupils’ education at the school. However, the employer has responded by threatening to lock out more than three-quarters of the teaching staff at Gable Hall School. Despite making every effort to avoid industrial action, the employer is refusing to engage in genuine negotiations and has now threatened teachers with a lock out. Mossbourne Trust Management is currently running the school and will formally take over as of the 31st December from The Ortu Federation read more
EIS
Glasgow Teachers Suspend Planned Strike Action Following Offer from SNP Councillors over Cuts (13 Feb) – The EIS has announced that planned strike action in Glasgow schools has been suspended, following an offer from Glasgow City Council SNP group to withdraw future planned education cuts, and a promise that additional Scottish Government funding will be used to increase the number of teachers working in Glasgow’s schools to 2023 levels. Following discussion on the offer letter, Glasgow EIS Local Association has decided to suspend its initial planned day of strike action, scheduled for Thursday 20 February, as an act of good faith, until talks take place at full Council level on delivery of the offer outlined in the letter read more
Planned cuts to instrumental music in Stirling’s schools must be halted (12 Feb) – The EIS will tomorrow (Thursday) stage a protest against planned cuts to Instrumental Music Tuition in Stirling schools. The demonstration will be held outside Stirling Council Headquarters, Old Viewforth, from 0900hrs on Thursday 13 February read more
Dispute Declared Over Teachers’ Class Contact Time – Statement from the SNCT Teachers’ Panel (7 Feb) – The Teachers’ Panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) has declared a formal dispute following the failure of COSLA and the Scottish Government to table a proposal on the nature and timescales for a reduction of class contact time to a maximum of 21 hours per week, as a step towards the alleviation of teachers’ workload. Following COSLA and the Scottish Government’s inability to table a proposal by a previously set deadline of 12 noon on Monday 3rd February, the Teachers’ Panel met today to consider its response. It was the unanimous view of panel members that the abject failure to realise publicly stated commitments and make meaningful progress on the promise to reduce class contact time to a 21 hour maximum, has left no option but the declaration of a formal dispute read more
INTO
Member Update: Joint Consultations with Members (14 Feb) – Dear Members, Following the outcome of the NITC constituent members consultation around the pay offer from management side, NITC informed management side that it was not in a position to accept the offer. NITC has requested that further negotiations take place in an attempt to find a solution that is acceptable to teachers and school leaders. While the recommendations of the Workforce reviews being enacted has the potential to create the conditions for a reduction in teacher workload, INTO along with other teaching unions remain keen to engage with members to find a definitive understanding of the workload issue in schools. Any proposed change to working conditions cannot be a one size fits all solution as the issues will vary depending on which sector (primary, post primary, special, nursery or support services) teachers or school leaders work in read more
Action Short of Strike (ASOS) Action Commencing 10 February 2025 – Action Short of Strike (ASOS) Action Instructions: These action short of strike action instructions will apply to all INTO members. The action short of strike action instructions apply to all members working in grant-aided schools or employed directly by the Education Authority on teachers’ terms and conditions of employment. These action short of strike action instructions are effective and will be continuous from 00.01 on 10 February 2025 read more
UCU
Up to 14 days of strike action to hit Newcastle University in March (14 Feb) – Newcastle University staff will strike for 14 days next month unless management protects jobs. The full strike dates are:-
- Week 1: Tuesday 4 and Thursday 6 March
- Week 2: Monday 10, Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 March
- Week 3: Monday 17, Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 March
- Week 4: Monday 24, Tuesday 25, Wednesday 26, Thursday 27 and Friday 28 March
Staff will be on picket lines outside university buildings each day of strike action read more
UCU Scotland welcomes additional money for universities to cover increased pension costs (13 Feb) – The University and College Union (UCU) Scotland today (Thursday 13 February) welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) of extra funding for Scottish universities to meet additional pension costs for employers in both the Scottish Teachers Pension Scheme (STPS) and NHS pension read more
Edinburgh university principal announces that ‘nothing is off the table’ as university seeks more cuts (13 Feb) – The principal of the university of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, announced yesterday (Tuesday) in an email* to all staff that the university’s funding gap is large and urgent enough to mean that “nothing is off the table” as the university seeks to cut staff and make savings. The announcement follows the decision of members of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland at the university to pass a vote of no confidence with staff voting by 265 to 25 that they had no confidence in the principal and senior management at the university. The union disputes the need for cuts saying that the university is wealthier than it’s ever been read more
UCU statement on PMQs and and Palestinian refugees (12 Feb) – Responding to comments made at PMQs, a UCU spokesperson said: ‘Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch today competed for whose moral standing could sink lowest. Such blatant cross-party racism against Palestinians who have been forced from their homes in a genocidal assault enabled by British bombs shames us all. We need an immediate total arms embargo on Israel, vocal opposition from the Prime Minister to Israeli-American plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza, and an apology for the disgusting scenes we witnessed in the House of Commons earlier. For Palestinians seeking refuge in Britain, there must be a non-restrictive visa scheme introduced.’ Read more
Brunel University staff back strike action over job cuts (12 Feb) – Staff at Brunel University have overwhelmingly backed industrial action in defence of jobs announced the University and College Union (UCU) today, with 75% of staff who voted in the ballot voting in favour of strike action, on a turnout of 61%. The dispute arose over management’s original plans to make 135 academic staff redundant. After losing over 60 to voluntary redundancy, the rest at risk are left facing compulsory redundancy in Life Sciences, Economics and Finance, Law and the Brunel Business School. Added to this are the 79 technical and professional staff at risk of redundancy, who provide vital day to day support for students. The compulsory redundancies are due to take place by 31 March and the university has not ruled out further job losses. UCU called on the university to listen to staff and work with the union to avoid both compulsory redundancies and disruption on campus read more
10 days of strike action begins tomorrow at University of Sheffield International College (11 Feb) – Staff at the University of Sheffield International College (USIC) will down tools tomorrow in the first of up to ten days of strike action in a fight to protect jobs. Staff will be on picket lines every day of strike action from 8am-12pm outside the campus building on Solley Street. The full strike days are:-
- Week 1: Wednesday 12 and Friday 14 February
- Week 2: Tuesday 18 and Thursday 20 February
- Week 3: Monday 24, Wednesday 26 and Friday 28 February
- Week 4: Tuesday 4 March and Thursday 6 March
- Week 5: Monday 10 March
The strike comes after USIC put 36 staff in the student support and academic teaching teams at risk of redundancy by April 2025. The employer has claimed the cuts are necessary due to a fall in student numbers this academic year, which it says has hit the company’s finances, but it has also described the financial situation as a “short-term gap” in communications to staff read more
Newcastle University staff vote to strike (11 Feb) – Staff at Newcastle University overwhelmingly backed strike action in defence of jobs. An overwhelming 83% of staff who voted did so in favour of strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 64%. UCU called on the university to listen to its workers and work with the union to avoid compulsory redundancies and avoid industrial unrest on campus. The ballot result comes after management cancelled promotions, restricted travel and asked staff to quit the institution through a voluntary severance scheme read more
Staff overwhelmingly back strike action at University of East Anglia over brutal cuts (6 Feb) – An overwhelming 82% of University of East Anglia (UEA) staff have voted in favour of strike action. The ballot resulted in the highest turnout UEA UCU has ever achieved, reaching 67%. 84% of staff also backed action short of strike, which could consist of working to rule. UCU said management now needs to begin meaningful negotiations to prevent compulsory redundancies if it wants to avoid industrial unrest. The dispute is over management’s threat to cut over 190 staff members to meet continued budget shortfalls. According to the business case published in November 2024, management intends to cut at least 30 staff in the faculty of medicine & health sciences, 25 in the faculty of science, 22 in the faculty of arts & humanities, and at least 90 from departments across professional services. This dispute follows over 400 staff leaving UEA in 2023 due to management’s projected £40m deficit in that year read more
Dundee university staff overwhelmingly back industrial action in row over £30 million deficit and job losses (31 Jan) – Staff at the University of Dundee have today (Thursday) backed strikes in a dispute over the university’s £30 million deficit and plans to cut jobs including by compulsory redundancies. In the ballot of University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members, 74% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 64% read more
Cardiff UCU Press Release against cuts announcement (28 Jan) – Cardiff University senior management today announced cuts to departments, and degree programmes on a scale that is unprecedented in UK higher education. Cardiff UCU, the recognised representative trade union for academic and academic-related staff at the University, condemned the plans as cruel and unnecessary, vowing to ballot for strike action and fight compulsory redundancies tooth and nail read more
Strike ballot on the cards as 300 staff threatened with sack at Coventry University (17 Dec) – Coventry University has threatened more than 300 staff with the sack. Those who remain will be forced to work through a subsidiary company on behalf of the university, and any new starters would be unable to access the industry-standard Teachers’ Pension Scheme. From correspondence it has received from university management, UCU estimates over 100 staff could lose their jobs and more than 200 could be contracted over to Peoples Futures Limited (PFL), a company owned by the university. UCU said its Coventry University members are meeting this week to decide how to fight the punitive proposals and that they will likely begin balloting for strike action read more. UCU responds to Coventry University VC government appointment (20 Dec)
UCU calls on Open University to withdraw fire and rehire threat (13 Dec) – The University and College Union (UCU) has today reiterated its call for the Open University (OU) to scrap plans to fire and rehire staff. In a letter sent to the OU’s vice chancellor and chair of council, the local branch has expressed their shock at the institution’s plan to threaten a group of Associate Lecturers with fire and rehire proceedings. The OU first began consulting on fire and rehire plans in 2023 and expects to fire over 20 lecturers in the early part of 2025 if those staff refuse to have their working hours and pay reduced. Many of the 160 staff initially threatened with fire and rehire have confirmed they only signed up to reductions in hours and pay because of that threat. The tutors under threat (who provide tuition and academic support to students) have a high workload, often because they have agreed to do additional work in areas the university has found it hard to recruit in read more
HE offer 2024/25: member consultative ballot – Following a decision by UCU’s higher education committee, we are running a formal electronic consultation of HE members in participating institutions on the final pay and conditions offer for 2024/25. This launched on Tuesday 12 November 2024 and closes on Tuesday 3 December 2024 at 17:00. UCU’s higher education committee recommends that you:-
- vote to REJECT the pay element of the offer, and
- vote to ACCEPT the terms of reference on the pay-related elements (contract types/casualisation, workload, equality pay gaps, pay spine review).
This consultative electronic ballot launches on 12 November and closes on 3 December read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
FBU welcomes transfer of fire from Home Office to MHCLG (13 Feb) – Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, today made a written statement confirming that responsibility for fire will move from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government read more
70 firefighters rally against shift pattern changes in Gloucestershire (13 Feb) – Firefighters from across Gloucestershire have gathered at a mass meeting in opposition to the county council forcing through “unjustifiable” changes to their working hours. 70 firefighters attended a meeting called by the Fire Brigades Union at Gloucester North fire station yesterday, voting to oppose the imposed changes to shift patterns. Firefighters say that these will take a toll on firefighters with childcare or caring responsibilities, and impact the health and wellbeing of the frontline. In January, Gloucestershire county council announced that firefighters shifts would be changed from 9 hour days and 15 hour nights, to 11 hour days and 13 hour nights for wholetime community fire stations. This means firefighters will work from day shifts from 8am until 7pm instead of 9am until 6pm. The council has so far continued with the policy despite widespread concern raised by firefighters, with an unprecedented number of letters sent to councillors in the region, and the council’s scrutiny committee highlighting the need for a consultation with the workforce read more
POA
NEC Minutes January read more
National Chair Update January 2025 read more
‘Bring it back’ campaign calls for prison maintenance to be brought back ‘in-house (12 Feb) – Labour should deliver on its promise to introduce the “biggest wave of insourcing in a generation” by bringing prisons maintenance contracts back “in house”, says the union representing the UK’s 32,000 Prison Officers and Operational Support Staff. The Union says that “Outsourcing” by the Ministry of Justice has been an unmitigated disaster. The previous Tory Government’s decision to privatise all prison maintenance (to Carillion and Amey) in England and Wales has seen conditions across the Prison Estate drastically deteriorate. Following the collapse of Carillion a corporate-style “GovCo” – Government Facilities Services Limited (GFSL) took over the contracts, but the race to the bottom continued and now, 10 years later, there is widespread squalor in prisons and an estimated maintenance backlog of almost £2 billion. As these contracts come up for renewal over the coming months the POA is calling on the Labour Government to deliver on its pre-election pledge to oversee “the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation.” The POA is launching the “BRING IT BACK IN HOUSE” campaign with a call to return to full works departments in every establishment. However, the Government has stated that the public sector won’t be invited to bid for the new contracts, after a 2023 assessment (which ministers refuse to release) determined that “a privatised solution was the preferred option for meeting prison maintenance service needs” read more
Prison officers union calls for urgent action to address situation at HMP Durham (11 Feb) – The Union representing the UK’s 35,000 prison officers has called for urgent action to address longstanding concerns of their members at HMP Durham. The call comes in the wake of a follow up report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons which highlighted that some prisoners at the jail are having to spend up to 22 hours a day in their cells, a lack of space in the prison and overcrowding which in turn is fuelling increased levels of drugs use and violence. Inspectors also raised concerns about the health and safety screening of new arrivals and the lack of secure mental health beds in the community for released prisoners read more
Prison officers and operational support staff need a pay rise say union (28 Jan) – Prison Officers and those working in Operational Support Grades in England and Wales need an urgent pay rise to help address recruitment and retention problems across the prison estate. The Union representing over 32,000 Prison Officers submitted its pay claim calling for action to address the decline in the real terms value of their pay. The POA has submitted a pay claim for 6.5% for each of the next two years read more
General Secretary update (13 Dec) read more
Spotlight on the right to strike (17 Dec) – The debate over giving prison officers back their ‘industrial muscle’ is heating up, reports Charley Allan. The ban on prison officers taking any form of industrial action has been raised many times in Parliament in recent years, often in the context of exploitative pay, terms and conditions. Back in December 2020, Labour’s Grahame Morris highlighted how “it is a criminal offence even to suggest that they should, for example, start working to rule” when attacking the then Tory government for rejecting the pay review body’s recommendation of a £3,000 rise for Band 3s, which he described as “an abuse of power” read more
NAPO
Update: Ongoing Business as Usual (BAU) Pay Discussions (17 Jan) – This is a reminder regarding the content of our previous communication (JTU 62-2024 Pay Update). We want to emphasise that we are continuing to address Business As Usual (BAU) pay issues separately from the ongoing pay negotiations for 2025 read more
BFAWU
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
Nautilus International
Nautilus awaits Stena response during pay review (3 Dec) – Nautilus International is awaiting a response from Stena Line Pte Ltd after ‘respectfully’ rejecting the company’s offer at the 2025 pay and conditions review read more
BALPA
BALPA Secures Landmark Court Victory Against Ryanair Over Illegal Blacklisting Practices (17 Jan) – The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has achieved a significant legal triumph in the Court of Appeal, securing a landmark judgment that not only delivers justice for Ryanair pilots but also sets a powerful precedent for the entire trade union movement. The Court’s ruling today firmly established that Ryanair’s practice of putting pilots who exercised their legal right to strike in 2019 on a blacklist in order to withdraw their travel benefits constituted a breach of the Blacklisting Regulations. This decision underscores that such retaliatory actions against workers who take part in lawful industrial action are both unacceptable and unlawful read more
NUJ
Charges dropped against two Iranian journalists jailed for coverage of death of Mahsa Amini (13 Feb) – NUJ welcomes closure of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi’s cases. Two Iranian journalists who were imprisoned for over a year for covering the death of Mahsa Amini have had their cases closed read more
Targeting of journalists of grave concern, say NUJ and IFJ (13 Feb) – The National Union of Journalists and International Federation of Journalists have expressed their shock and concern at the detention of Richard Medhurst in Austria on 3 February read more
Syria: authorities urged to reverse dissolution of journalists’ union (12 Feb) – IFJ letter to Syrian government supported by the NUJ. The NUJ is backing a letter sent by the International Federation of Journalists to the president and prime minister of Syria urging them to reverse a decision to make changes to the Syrian Journalists’ Union read more
Equity
Over 1,000 postcards delivered to NI Communities Minister with arts funding wish (13 Feb) – Theatregoers sent postcards calling for an increase in arts funding in Northern Ireland read more
Equity agreement with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture “a win for workers and audiences” (12 Feb) – Equity sign Memorandum of Understanding with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture read more
Equity calls on all independent dance companies to use union agreements (12 Feb) – Equity brought together dance companies from across the independent sector to call on them to use union collective agreements for every show they produce read more
Welsh National Opera Chorus members take industrial action (11 Feb) – Equity members took action on Saturday 8 February. Equity members of the Chorus at Welsh National Opera are continuing to take industrial action short of strike in their long running dispute over compulsory redundancies. On Saturday 8 February Chorus members wore campaign t-shirts on stage during the curtain call for Marriage of Figaro at Wales Millennium Centre. The action is part of a wider campaign of industrial action which has seen Chorus members make speeches to the audience from the stage, demonstrate outside venues, and hand out campaign leaflets as audiences arrive read more
Musicians’’ Union
Ask Your MP to Back Music Education and Arts Funding in Government Spending Review (13 Feb) – Music education and arts funding need urgent investment to protect jobs and the future of music read more
Important Recommendation for MU Members on West End Shows that Begin From February 2025 (13 Feb) – The Society Of London Theatres (SOLT) have failed to resolve outstanding issues with the MU regarding triggering of effects and AMD pay. Although ongoing for several years, we have now reached an impasse and as such, here are our recommendations to affected members read more
MU Statement on Proposed Closures at Cardiff University (6 Feb) – Cardiff University has recently announced proposals to close its School of Music. The MU will be supporting members in relation to the relevant consultations, and those affected are urged to get in touch with the regional office as soon as possible read more
MU Members at Welsh National Opera Renew Mandate for Industrial Action (15 Jan) – MU members at WNO have voted to renew their mandate for industrial action read more
Community
Steel green paper welcomed (16 Feb) – The Department for Business and Trade has today launched a new green paper on the steel ahead of the launch of the Steel Strategy later in the spring read more
Trump steel tariffs (10 Feb) – Responding to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium products, Alasdair McDiarmid, Community’s Assistant General Secretary, said: “The new tariff confirmed by Donald Trump is a huge cause for concern, and represents a retrograde step for the steel industry and economies on both sides of the Atlantic…” read more
USDAW
KP Snacks strike suspended after negotiations with Usdaw (9 Dec) – Usdaw has suspended strike action at the Ashby-de-la-Zouch site of KP Snacks in Leicestershire, which was due to start today (9 December), this follows a restart in pay negotiations read more
UVW
SOLACE STRIKE UPDATE – Following talks with our members, Solace Womens Aid have confirmed they will be suspending their ongoing redundancy process until Monday 3 March, to allow for talks to take place with Tower Hamlets council read more about the dispute
UVW Stands in Solidarity with Courageous Fruit Pickers Fighting for Justice (29 Jan) – UVW was proud to stand in solidarity with our courageous members Juli, Aida, and their fellow fruit pickers outside the Home Office on January 24, alongside the Land Workers’ Alliance (LWA), the Solidarity Across Land Trades union (SALT), and other organisations to demand justice for seasonal workers from Latin America. The workers were lured to the UK with false promises, only to face harassment, discrimination and abuse. The conditions were so appalling that they took the historic step of organising the first-ever strike of UK seasonal workers read more
Striking security guards visit V&A trustee Amanda Levete to demand fair pay and sick leave (22 Jan) – “We’ve had no response from her. How would you feel if your boss ignored you or your questions for five months?” — Urzula, UVW striker and representative for the guards at the V&A. Frustrated after 22 days of strike action and months of being ignored, security guards from the Natural History, Science, and V&A Museums took their fight for dignity and equality directly to the doorstep of V&A Trustee Amanda Levete. On Monday, 20 January, around 40 guards and their supporters visited the central London office of Amanda’s architectural firm, where she is a founder and director, to hand-deliver a letter outlining their demands for fair pay, better sick leave and equal terms and conditions with other museum staff. Amanda had previously ignored repeated emails, so the guards decided it was time to speak to her face to face. The office workers at the architectural firm kindly allowed the group to enter the reception area and passed on the message to Amanda. Unfortunately, Amanda didn’t come down to meet them. “All we want is to speak to her for two minutes, and we will leave peacefully and quietly,” Urzula, UVW striker and representative for the guards at the V&A, explained. “We’ve had no response from her. How would you feel if your boss ignored you or your questions for five months?” read more
Solidarity Financial Appeal: UVW’s office has been targeted in a break-in! (10 Jan) – Overnight, laptops, essential equipment and other valuables worth several thousands of pounds were stolen, disrupting critical support for low-paid, migrant and precarious workers. This won’t stop our fight for justice. The theft comes as UVW leads critical campaigns with hundreds of workers taking strike action across London. Please support UVW during this critical time. Help replace stolen equipment and ensure campaigns for dignity and equality continue. Every donation makes a difference. Donate now: https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/donate. Read more on UVW Facebook page
Department for Education security guards to join mass strike on 21 December (17 Dec) – “We all saw how the cleaners and caterers were treated, and how UVW stood up for them. They were able to win their demands, and it was their fight that inspired me to join UVW. Morale is high despite G4S’s response, which really showed they don’t seem to care about us. They say they won’t negotiate with UVW, even though all the guards have joined. We do not accept that they want to negotiate with a union that doesn’t represent us. We are ready to strike” – Dele Bodumde, who has served as a security officer at DfE for 12 years and is a UVW member. Security officers employed by G4S at the Department for Education (DfE), who are members of United Voices of the World (UVW), will strike on Saturday 21 December in a fight for fair pay and sick pay parity with civil servants. The guards, who work at Sanctuary Buildings in central London, are demanding a minimum pay rate of £15 per hour, a comprehensive sick pay scheme in line with directly employed DfE staff, improved annual leave entitlements and better quality uniforms read more
Hundreds of Harrods workers to strike over pre-Christmas weekend and boxing day as store refuses talks (10 Dec) – “As one of the world’s leading luxury department stores, Harrods should be setting the standard for retail and hospitality workers. Instead, we are earning the living wage and denied basic benefits such as a food allowance and Christmas bonus – something which should be commonplace in a company accumulating millions of pounds in profit year on year” – Alice Howick, Harrods waiter and UVW member. Hundreds of retail, restaurant, kitchen, and cleaning workers at Harrods will walk out of their jobs on the weekend of the 21 and 22 December as well as Boxing Day – the busiest retail dates of the year – if the luxury store continues to deny them a Christmas bonus and improved working conditions read more
IWGB
Join the drivers log-off: Friday 14th February (4 Feb) – Drivers working for apps like Uber, Bolt and Addison Lee are at a breaking point. Poverty pay, high car rents, brutally long hours to try and ends meet and the threat of unfair deactivation hanging over our heads are having a devastating financial, physical and mental impact on us and our families. Drivers’ lives are being torn apart by these companies in their endless pursuit of profit… That is why we are calling on all unions, groups and associations to join us on the 14th February in striking from 4pm-10pm read more
Mandate (Ireland)
Tesco Workers Begin Protests for Respect & Representation (12 Dec) – Members of the Mandate Trade Union have today (Thursday, 12th December 2024) launched public protests following Tesco management’s decision to deny workers their right to be represented by their trade union and refusing to agree to an adequate pay increase. The first protest took place at Ardkeen in Waterford at 10am. According to Mandate, the protests will continue until Tesco agree to “respect their workers” read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
SIPTU welcomes united political opposition to the sale of Bord na Mona Recycling (13 Feb) – SIPTU representatives have welcomed the public and political support for the campaign to prevent the privatisation of Bord na Móna (BNM) Recycling following meetings with the main opposition parties in Dáil Eireann read more
BNM Recycling sale is an act of economic vandalism says SIPTU (10 Feb) – SIPTU has demanded a halt to the sale of Bord na Móna (BNM) Recycling and an investigation into the attempt to privatise part of a profitable public company in a manner which runs counter to economic and environmental best practice read more
SIPTU Section 39 workers to ballot for strike over Government inaction on pay (17 Jan) – SIPTU’s Health Division is to begin a ballot of up to 5,000 members working in Section 39 Organisations for strike action due to the failure of the Government to honour a pay agreement struck at the Workplace Relations Commission in October 2023 read more
Other news
Fighting for anti racist workplaces – Stand Up to Racism and TUC annual trade union conference: fighting for anti racist workplaces and countering the rise of the far right – Saturday, March 1 · 11am – 5pm central London venue TBC more details
Summit of Resistance: We Demand Change – Saturday 29 March
11:00am to 5:00pm Central London location tba more details
Latest from Keep Our NHS Public: complete this survey for local NHS activists up and down the country to tell us about their work, and how they can be better supported by the national Keep Our NHS Public team; London and southern region Keep Our NHS Public is calling an emergency rally outside Parliament on Wednesday 26th of February from 12-14:00 hrs. More information coming soon!
Alan Hardman ‘Need not Greed’ – Alan Hardman’s razor-sharp political cartoons collected for the first time. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Need Not Greed is a career-spanning collection of visual art by one of Britain’s greatest unsung political cartoonists. Alongside Alan Hardman’s essential work, the book also includes a contribution from former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, as well as a foreword by Jeremy Corbyn order a copy – £45 each
Can you help? Crowdfunding to tour a production and exhibition of The Grunwick Strike Autumn 2025 – 2026 – We wanted to get in touch to let you know we are crowdfunding for a new production and interactive exhibition. The theatre show will tell the story of Jayaben Desai – the inspirational leader of the 1976-78 Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike. We need your help to get this production and exhibition on the road, any donation you make will mean we are one step closer to getting this very important story out there performing to audiences across the UK. Any money raised will be matched by other funders. We’ve just got eight weeks to reach our target. Please find the link for our crowdfunding campaign HERE. Link to our Crowdfunding video Here. www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
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
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.
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)
Gaza protest on Saturday 18th January in Central London: oppose the arrests, defend the right to protest – the NSSN stands in solidarity with all those who have been arrested, including Stop The War Coalition’s Chris Nineham. It is outrageous that as a ceasefire is announced, protestors were denied the right to march, particularly under the watch of a Labour government and Labour London Mayor. We demand justice for all those arrested – with the immediate dropping of all charges Stop the War Coalition statement
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
Affiliate to the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) here
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
Turkey: Union Leader Detained Again After Meeting with Workers (17 Feb) read more on the website of Solidarity with the People of Turkey (SPOT)
NIGERIA SOLIDARITY – END THE ATTACKS ON DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS! END THE ‘TREASON’ TRIAL AND DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST ADARAMOYE MICHAEL LENIN AND OTHER #ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTESTERS
The ‘treason’ trial of Michael Lenin and 10 other #endbadgovernance protesters was scheduled to commence on 29th of January after its postponement last year.
Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 others would be arraigned in Court on trumped up charges of treason and terrorism financing which could potentially earn them a death penalty if not quashed.
Further details on www.NigeriaSolidarity.com/Events
Germany: Request for solidarity message for German strikers who are mainly responsible for cash transport – They are in the ver.di trade union in Berlin-Brandenburg. The drivers have very precarious conditions (some have 10 to 11 hour shifts without a real break as they are not allowed to leave their vehicles) and are generally on a low wage. The bosses are blocking improvements and demand changes for the worse which has heightened anger. The latest strike saw over 2000 of the 10,000 workers nationally striking. Next strike starts on 11 November. Email messages of support via [email protected]
Diary
2025
July
5 NSSN Annual Conference 2025 11am-4.30pm Conway Hall London
12 Durham Miners Gala details
18–20 Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival 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
