This week’s NSSN bulletin celebrates the removal of Boris Johnson as prime minister, and we keep fighting to get rid of the Tory government as a whole. We don’t believe that it is accidental that this has happened in the midst of the strike wave that is developing as workers face the spiralling cost of living crisis. Johnson was finally forced out a fortnight after the RMT rail strike.
The bosses’ Tory government is in chaos and divided about who should be their next prime minister, although they united to bring in even more anti-union measures last night. This crisis must give confidence to workers and the whole trade union movement in the fight for the inflation-proof pay rises we need as prices go through the roof. Unions are fighting and are often winning significant victories or at least major breakthroughs. But we are even stronger if we take strike action together.
It is vital that the unions come together in this fight. The recent NSSN Conference agreed to build support for the rally that we are hosting to lobby TUC Congress in Brighton in September to call for co-ordinated action of unions across the private and public sectors.
NSSN TUC Congress Rally & Lobby #StrikeTogether – 1pm Sunday 11th September Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront Facebook event
Please support this model motion and take it to your union branch and trades council and support the NSSN rally and lobby in Brighton:-
“This (union branch/trades council) gives our full support to workers being forced to take strike action against their employers backed by the Tory government. The cost of living crisis, fire and rehire tactics and other attacks by employers in pursuit of maintaining profits at our expense all mean workers are uniting to fight back.
We will continue to give our solidarity, building practical and financial support to all striking workers. The increasing number of disputes shows the immense power of workers. If unions act together, significant victories can be won. We also oppose the Tories’ threats to introduce further anti-union legislation to the raft of undemocratic restrictions already in existence and call on the TUC to co-ordinate opposition.
We call on unions in struggle to urgently come together to discuss and formulate a strategy to co-ordinate industrial action ballots and strikes.
We therefore agree to build the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) rally and lobby of TUC Congress in Brighton on Sunday 11 September behind this call.”
If you want to attend the NSSN TUC Rally and need transport, email us via [email protected]. To make a donation to the NSSN and/or get your union branch/trades council to affiliate for an annual fee of £50, either make a cheque out to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’ and post to NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE or pay online: HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790.
Watch the video of the NSSN Conference platform speakers here
The NSSN sends solidarity greetings to everyone at the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival 2022 this coming weekend Facebook event
Support the rail strikes
The NSSN stands in solidarity with the RMT and the 50,000 of its members who have taken strike action nationally and on London Underground, where they were joined by 1,000 Unite members. Now ASLEF and TSSA are also voting to strike.
Donate to the RMT National Dispute Fund
BREAKING NEWS!! Update on National Rail dispute (12 July) – The RMT has received an offer from Network Rail which our NEC will consider tomorrow morning. It amounts to a real terms pay cut over the next two years and will involve cutting a third of all frontline maintenance roles and 50pc of all scheduled maintenance work. There will also be an expectation of unsocial hours and lower pay across the board. Network Rail have offered high level managers in bands 1-3 a more than 40% hike in return for adopting modest flexibility in comparison to RMT members. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our NEC will have to make a decision on this offer tomorrow. But Network Rail and the train operating companies need to understand that RMT has done deals with both London Underground and recently Merseyrail that were well in excess of what our members are being offered here. Our members have lost thousands of pounds in earnings due to a pay freeze in recent years and they refuse to be short-changed again. We will not hesitate to call further strike action and seek to coordinate with other unions if the rail industry will not seek a negotiated settlement with us.” A meeting with the train operating companies will take place this afternoon and both issues will be dealt with by our NEC tomorrow
BREAKING NEWS!! RMT responds to MPs passing agency worker bill to break strikes (12 July) – RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This is the latest step in a clampdown on democratic dissent which every trades unionist and democrat must oppose read more
BREAKING NEWS!! ASLEF Slams Tory Moves on Agency Workers (12 July) – ASLEF, the train drivers’ trade union, which yesterday [Monday] announced that an overwhelming majority of its members working in eight train companies had voted to strike in a dispute over pay, has slammed the government’s ‘petty’ decision to introduce a ‘scab’s charter’ in Britain. Boris Johnson, the discredited Prime Minister who has been dumped by his own Conservative Party for telling lies, breaking the rules, pushing up taxes, and presiding over record inflation, as one his last acts rushed through plans to allow agency workers to replace strikers read more
RMT welcomes Aslef mandate for strike action (11 July) – Commenting on ASLEF joining the national rail dispute, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We congratulate our friends in ASLEF for their superb ballot result and the huge mandate they have for strike action on the railways. “It goes to show that railway workers across every grade from cleaners, catering staff guards, maintenance staff and drivers are fed up with real terms pay cuts, attacks on job security and working conditions. When railway unions and others unite, they are an unstoppable force in the workplace and wider society read more
RMT comment on PM resignation (7 July) – Commenting on the decision of Boris Johnston to resign as Prime Minister by October RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “We are now facing the prospect of months of chaos at the heart of government which could seriously undermine the prospect of a settlement in the national rail dispute. RMT is calling for today’s announcement to signal a change of direction from the government on the rail dispute and for ministers to unshackle Network Rail and the train operating companies, so a fair, negotiated settlement can be achieved as soon as possible.”
RMT: GTR workers to join the national rail dispute (7 July) – Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) workers will join the national rail dispute after an emphatic ballot result. GTR members were originally balloted as part of the national rail dispute along with 13 other train operating companies in May. However due to the anti-trade union laws, despite voting yes, there was insufficient numbers to allow them to legally take part in strike action last week. Following a turnout of 57.5pc and a huge yes vote of 80pc, over 2,000 GTR staff will now take part in the next strike days if and when RMT decides to announce further stoppages. The result comes hot on the heels of fellow rail unions Aslef and TSSA announcing that they will ballot their members for strike action on the railways read more
Stop union victimisation: support the Coventry bin strike
The Labour council has disgracefully targeted Pete Randle, one of the senior Unite shop stewards. We call on all our supporters to support Pete and his striking members
Sign petition to Councillor George Duggins – Coventry Council: Reinstate Pete Randle, stop union busting, stop strike breaking and pay the rate
100 per cent strike vote by HGV drivers sends determined message to Coventry Council (7 June) – In a resounding show of unity and determination, striking HGV drivers in Coventry have voted to renew their strike mandate and continue industrial action into the summer. Putting pressure on Coventry council to settle with the union, 100 per cent of those workers who voted support continuing strike action until an agreement is reached. The HGV drivers have been on all out-strike since 31 January in a dispute over low pay and the council’s refusal to pay the HGV refuse lorry drivers the market rate for the job read more
Follow @UniteWestMids on twitter. Coventry bin worker’s strike fund – Unity Trust Bank; Name of Account: Unite WM/7116 Branch Coventry Local Government; Account number: 20302665 Sort code: 60-83-01; send messages of solidarity to [email protected]
Solidarity with GMB after Wealden bin strike victory but protest against picket line arrests
Wealden bin strike ends in seventh week with massive pay deal for workers (14 June) – GMB union members have today accepted an improved pay offer to end the refuse strike within Wealden District Council. Their employer Biffa’s latest pay offer will constitute a pay rise of more than 27 per cent for some workers. The total value of the settlement is worth between 24 and 27 per cent, depending on which job they do. Kerbside collections within Wealden will recommence from tomorrow [Wednesday 15 June]. The strike ends after 6 weeks and 2 days of action which garnered many messages of support and solidarity from local residents read more
Solidarity with GMB as arrests made on Wealden bin strike picket – The NSSN like many others in the trade union movement sent solidarity to the GMB after officers and a member were arrested recently. They remained in police custody for hours but were released later that day. This was an outrageous act. The NSSN will continue to support the GMB and its members in Wealden. Donate to GMB Southern region fighting fund. There is a protest to support the three officials who got arrested last week on the Wealden Biffa picket line. Three of them have been charged with obstructing a public highway and were ordered to appear at Hastings Magistrates Court on 29th June. The case was adjourned to Brighton Crown Court on November 16th – come and support the #GMB3
GMB responding to reports of arrests on Wealden refuse strike picket line this morning (27 May)
NSSN news
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE. Feel free to use this affiliation letter.
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on [email protected]
Union News
RMT
Merseyrail guards agree historic deal securing 220 jobs (9 July) – Train managers working for Merseyrail have secured hundreds of jobs on a new class 777 fleet. It means the new class of train can be rolled out and the role of the train manager has been protected for the long term future read more
Support the London Night Tube strike: every Friday and Saturday nights on Central and Victoria lines read more
ASLEF
ASLEF Ballot Results: Train Drivers to Strike (11 July) – ASLEF members at eight train companies have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over pay read more
Hull Trains – Joint Statement (8 June) – Earlier this week, District Officer Nigel Roebuck and other stakeholders met regional TUC representatives and local MPs to discuss the urgent situation with Hull Trains. ASLEF members and other workers are facing disputes over job cuts, services and pay. We remain open to negotiations and coming to the table, but Hull Trains has not so far entered into constructive dialogue. The meeting produced this joint statement to Hull Trains
ASLEF members on London Tramlink hold the line – ASLEF members on Tramlink struck solidly today (June 28) with dozens taking part in picketing at their depot in Croydon on the first day of their 48-hour strike. “Our members were magnificent today,” said ASLEF Executive Committee member Terry Wilkinson who joined the picket line, “their solidarity and determination are an inspiration”. Dozens of drivers took part in picketing from the early hours of the morning with some doing day long stints while other came along in shifts to show support. Almost half the entire workforce were on the line at different times today with many others arranging to join tomorrow. There was great support from passing motorists who hooted support and from members of other unions who refused to cross the picket line read more
Britain’s train drivers’ union announces strike action on Greater Anglia, Hull Trains and tram drivers in south London – ASLEF, the train drivers’ trade union, have announced strike action over pay:-
[i] Drivers at Greater Anglia will strike between 00:01 and 23:59 Thursday 23 June 2022.
[ii] Drivers at Hull Trains will strike between 00:01 and 23:59 on Sunday 26 June.
[iii] And tram drivers in south London will strike for a fair pay deal from 00:01 on Tuesday 28 June until 23:59 on Wednesday 29 June and from 00:01 on Wednesday 13 July until 23:59 on Thursday 14 July read more
TSSA
BREAKING NEWS!! Latest Network Rail pay offers “bake-in real terms pay cuts” (12 July) – TSSA has received improved pay offers from Network Rail following a day of talks with the company, however the offers still fall well below the expectations of TSSA members, with the union saying they “bake-in real terms pay cuts”. A pay offer of 3% has been made for management grades and 4% for general grades, with the potential for more if ‘productivity’ targets are met. These offers came after TSSA’s successful ballot results, published yesterday read more
BREAKING NEWS!! TSSA solidarity statement – ASLEF ballots (12 July) – TSSA rail union has issued the following statement after members at ASLEF voted overwhelmingly for strike action at eight train companies in a dispute over pay. TSSA General Secretary, Manuel Cortes said: “I want to heartily congratulate our sisters and brothers at ASLEF for their brilliant ballot results which send a crystal clear message to the train companies and the government that industrial action is very much on the cards read more
TSSA ballots results at rail operator – Southeastern (11 July) – Hundreds of TSSA members at Southeastern have voted for strike action and action short of a strike. Hundreds of TSSA members at Southeastern have voted for strike action and action short of a strike in results revealed today read more
TSSA Ballot Results at Network Rail (11 July) – Thousands of TSSA rail union members at Network Rail have voted for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. More than 6,000 rail workers in a wide range of operational roles – including engineering, maintenance, supervisory, support, and – crucially – control roles have voted in favour of both strike action and action short of strike read more
TSSA ballot results at West Midlands Trains (7 July) – Hundreds of TSSA members at West Midlands Trains (WMT) have voted for industrial action short of a strike in results revealed today. This is the latest ballot result in a dispute with train operators over pay, job security and conditions with the union also balloting members at Network Rail and other train companies across England. TSSA is not naming dates for any industrial action today but will now consider next steps with workplace Reps at WMT read more
TSSA ballot results at LNER, c2c and Northern (6 July) – Hundreds of TSSA members at LNER and c2c have voted for strike action and action short of a strike in results revealed today. Meanwhile members at Northern voted for action short of a strike. The dispute with the train operators is over pay, job security and conditions with the union also balloting members at Network Rail and other train companies across England. TSSA is not naming dates for any industrial action today but will now consider next steps with workplace Reps at each of the companies involved read more
TSSA Ballot Results at CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway (5 July) – More than three hundred TSSA members at CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of a strike in results revealed today. The dispute with the train operators is over pay, job security and conditions with the union also balloting members at Network Rail and other train companies across England read more
TSSA Ballot Results – Avanti West Coast (29 June) – TSSA members in station grades at Avanti West Coast have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of a strike in results revealed today. The dispute with the mainline train operator is over pay, job security and conditions and is the first set of results for the union which is also balloting members at Network Rail and train companies across England read more
Strike ballots at rail operator – Greater Anglia (24 June) – Rail union TSSA has served notice to ballot members at Greater Anglia for strike action and action short of strike in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. The union is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living read more
Strike ballots at rail operator – Trans Pennine Express (TPE) (23 June)
Strike ballots at rail operator – Great Western Railway (GWR) (17 June)
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Sanctuary Housing: workers to protest – Please meet us at Turnpike Lane Tube 11.30am this Saturday 16th July, march with us, protest with us, join us and fight for justice at Sanctuary. Sanctuary housing workers trade union, Unite, have called a protest this Saturday against low pay, real terms pay cuts following a below inflation pay rise, bullying, unmanageable workloads and attempts to make them work longer hours for no more pay read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Arriva Yorkshire strikes back on after pay offer rejected (12 July) – Management accused of ‘meddling’ in democratic vote by pressuring workers to accept deal. All out bus strikes impacting Arriva Yorkshire depots in Castleford, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Selby and Wakefield will begin again tomorrow (Wednesday 13 July). Over 650 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have recorded a 53.7 per cent vote in favour of rejecting Arriva’s latest pay offer read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Unite secures pay deal at Inverness based Highland Fuels worth £3,000 (12 July) – Unite the union has secured an increase in basic pay and bonus payments worth £3,000 for around 60 Highland Fuels drivers and office staff based out of Inverness. The pay deal for 2022 secures a four per cent increase in the hourly rate backdated to January with an additional four per cent increase effective from July. The office staff and drivers, who distribute fuels all over Scotland, will see an increase in their basic pay from £12.98 to £14.03 per hour. This means that a Highland Fuels worker will be better-off by a minimum of around £2,100 over the year. Highland Fuels workers will also receive a bonus of £750 (minimum) which will be paid in January 2023. The company, as part of an agreement with Unite, will also move in line with any percentage increase that is implemented by COSLA during 2022, as part of a drive to retain and attract people to the Highlands and Islands. This supplementary increase will be added on to the negotiated pay deal. Unite the union also secured a recognition agreement with Highland Fuels as part of the successful negotiations read more
Workers at Derry City & Strabane district council to launch four-week strike action after they reject latest, inadequate pay offer (11 July) – Council management has been notified of a four-week strike commencing 18 July and ending 14 August. Latest pay offer provided no additional consolidated pay increase, leaving workers unprotected from surging inflation. Unite has notified bosses at Derry City & Strabane district council of a further four weeks of strike action. This industrial action follows two previous strikes by workers at local councils, the Education Authority and the Housing Executive. Workers are demanding a pay increase which will protect them from the current cost of living crisis. The dispute is in respect of pay following an inadequate national pay deal which offers workers a bare 1.75 per cent increase, an offer which was rejected by Unite members as inflation is currently surging at 11.7 per cent. The latest pay offer from management at Derry City & Strabane district council came after a second strike action by workers at the local authority. Workers suspended their action to allow space for further negotiations, however management merely offered a non-consolidated, one-off payment. While this would help meet immediate challenges, it would have left workers with no protection for inflation into the future. Unite is warning that the strike at Derry City & Strabane is likely to be followed by similar at other local authorities; indeed other trade unions are now balloting on industrial action at a number of councils read more
Workers to strike for a cost of living pay increase at Hampton Conservatories Ltd in Portrush (11 July) – Three percent increase is a disgraceful 8.7 percent wage cut; initial eight-day strike action to start 16 July. Unite has confirmed that its membership at the small Portrush-based manufacturer and installer of conservatories will commence an initial eight-day strike action starting 16 July 2022 read more
Isle of Wight ferry summer holiday pay strikes to hit Cowes Week regatta (11 July) – Red Funnel workers using food banks, spending days away from home with no overnight pay or expenses. Around 120 Red Funnel staff working on the Southampton-Cowes route, the majority of whom are on the minimum wage, will take 24-hour strike actions on 27 July and 1, 3 and 5 August. The strikes will impact Cowes Week, which runs from 30 July to 6 August. Further summer holiday 24-hour strike actions will take place on 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 23, 26 and 29 August read more
Stagecoach Merseyside bus workers to take all-out strike action as company fails to tackle low pay (8 July) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Stagecoach Merseyside have announced all-out strike action in their pay dispute, due to the employer’s failure to make an improved offer. The 370 bus workers, who are based at the company’s Gilmoss depot, held an initial day of strike action on Monday (July 4). Following Stagecoach’s failure to make an improved pay offer, Unite has now announced that members will take all-out (continuous) strike action beginning on Wednesday 20 July. Prior to this, there will be one day strikes on Friday 15 July and Monday 18 July read more
Sign petition: To Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director, Go North East – Save Chester-le-Street bus depot
BA make increased pay offer for check-in staff, dispute suspended as union members go to ballot (7 July) – The industrial dispute affecting BA check-in staff at Heathrow airport has been suspended after the company made a vastly improved pay offer. Extensive negotiations were held on Wednesday 6 July and an agreement was reached. Unite, the UK’s leading union, will now ballot members involved in the dispute on the proposed offer read more
Arriva bus workers in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire ballot for strike action over pay (7 July) – Around 900 bus workers at German-owned giant to vote on with-strings offer that means ‘outrageous’ 0% on pay. The German-owned company is offering drivers, admin staff, engineers, cleaners and shunters pay rises of between four per cent and six per cent. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, running at 11.7, Unite says this is a real terms pay cut. However, tied to the pay offer for drivers is a reduction of 16.6 per cent in overtime rates and an end to paid time for compulsory duties outside of driving, such as travelling to a bus stop to pick up a bus mid-route. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The strings attached to this so-called pay offer are outrageous – they reduce the value of the offer to zero. Arriva is asking our members to take a huge cut in the value of their earnings. That is simply unacceptable. Arriva is part of a global transport giant. It can afford to pay its workers properly and Unite is determined that it will do so.” The ballot of workers at Arriva’s depots in Luton, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Ware, Stevenage and Milton Keynes will begin on 13 July, with the vote closing on 10 August read more
Strike by Unite and RMT at historic Doncaster Flying Scotsman Wabtec site goes all out over ‘abhorrent’ fire and rehire (7 July) – Services to LNER, Siemens and Hitachi shut down after Wabtec’s actions ‘disgrace Doncaster’s proud rail history’. Members of the Unite and RMT unions employed by rail maintenance firm Wabtec at the historic Flying Scotsman site in Doncaster will move to all out strike action over ‘abhorrent’ fire and rehire plans. Over 200 workers, who maintain and repair rail stock, including carriages, wheels and bogies, have already taken nine days of strike action during June and early July. They will move to all out strike on 19 July, which will bring the site to a complete close read more
Unite wins extra cost of living pay rise for lowest paid at Natwest (7 July) – Unite the union has today (Thursday 7 July) announced that it has won an extra cost of living pay increase for the lowest paid at Natwest. Following calls from Unite and extensive talks, the bank has agreed to give the lowest paid staff who earn less than £32,000 across the bank an additional 4 per cent salary increase. This deal will help some 17,300 employees. Unite continues to press for improvements in the pay of all across at the organisation in order to address the pressures faced by staff in the bank as the costs of living continues to go up read more
Petrol stations face pump problems as Gilbarco engineers take strike action over pay (6 July) – Problems at petrol pumps throughout the UK will be left unattended as service engineers employed by Gilbarco Veeder-Root Ltd take strike action tomorrow (July 7) in a dispute over pay. The service engineers who, are home based and required to travel extensively for their work, have rejected a pay increase of just four per cent. This is in effect a substantial pay cut as the real rate of inflation (RPI) currently stands at 11.7 per cent. According to its last accounts, the Jersey-registered company has a multi-million pound turnover and recorded a gross profit of £4 million. The workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union will take two days of strike action beginning at 06:00 on Thursday 7 July and ending at 18:00 on Friday 8 July read more
Strike action set to hit Prestwick Airport as Unite fights back over rock bottom pay (6 July) – Workers at Airport told to accept real terms pay cut. Prestwick Airport is set to be hit by strike action in the coming weeks as workers are to be balloted in a row over pay, the UK’s leading aviation trade union, Unite, confirmed today (Wednesday 6 July). Unite has hit back at the refusal of Prestwick Airport’s management to pay shift pay and meet the Real Living Wage rate for new starters. The union is also angry that that workers are being told to accept significant real terms pay cuts whilst inflation reaches a 40 year high. With real inflation now at 11.7 per cent, the offer on the table for the workforce of between 4 and 6.5 percent is a significant real terms pay cut, says Unite. Unite is looking for across the board rises closer to real inflation for all workers at the airport, and an immediate lift in the wage of the lowest paid to take them to the Scottish Real Living Wage (£9.90). The ballot opened 5 July and closes 19 July and will include airport security, firefighters, airfield operators, ground crew, ground handling, cargo, customer services, and cleaners. An earlier consultative ballot revealed that 86 per cent of Unite’s members supported taking strike action read more
Thirteen Housing Group strikes off after Unite secures pay deal (6 July) – Strikes at housing association Thirteen Housing Group, which has over 35,000 properties in the North East and Yorkshire, have been averted after Unite the union secured an improved pay deal. More than 400 workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, were due to go on strike over pay but all action was suspended to allow the workers to ballot on a new offer. The dispute has now ended after the workers voted in favour of the deal read more
Unite secures up to 17.5% pay boost for 1,000 Cadbury workers (6 July) – Two-year deal plus 25% rise in holiday pay sets standard for food manufacturing, says union. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a two-year pay deal worth up to 17.5 per cent for more than 1,000 Cadbury workers. The union has also delivered a separate 25 per cent boost in holiday pay. Unite’s members at Cadbury’s sites in Bournville, Birmingham, Chirk, Wales and Marlebrook in Hereford recorded an 80 per cent vote in favour of the deal, which over two years, inclusive of bonuses, is worth up to 17.5 per cent to the workers read more
Heathrow major refuelling company AFS facing summer strikes as Unite members bid to end three year pay freeze (5 July) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Aviation Fuel Services (AFS) Ltd at Heathrow airport have announced strikes later this month in a dispute over pay. The workers are angry at the company’s refusal to table a decent pay offer having gone without a pay increase for three years, which has seen their incomes fall by 15.5 per cent. Unite’s members at AFS recorded a 93 per cent yes vote for strike action on a 92 per cent turnout. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “AFS needs to offer its workers a decent pay rise. Oil and gas companies are making massive profits so AFS has the wherewithal to make a proper offer. AFS workers have sustained wage cuts for three years so it’s time AFS rewarded their sacrifices. “Our members at AFS will receive Unite’s complete support until this dispute is resolved and workers receive a decent pay increase.” The workers will stage an initial 72 hour walkout beginning at 05:00 on Thursday 21 July and ending at 04:59 on Sunday 24 July read more
North West facing Arriva bus strikes over ‘pitiful’ pay offer (5 July) – Bus workers employed by Arriva in the North West have voted in huge numbers for strike action in a dispute over pay. Unite, the workers’ union, says that all-out continuous strike action will begin on Wednesday 20 July. Around 1,800 workers returned a 96 per cent yes vote in favour of strike action on a 72 per cent turnout. Unite says its members are striking over a pitiful pay offer from the German-owned transport giant of just three per cent with no strings attached, or six per cent which included reductions in sick pay and loss of Saturday enhanced pay. Both the offers are far below the current real inflation rate (RPI) of 11.7 per cent and so constitute a pay cut read more
Royal Mail managers announce strike dates over cuts to 700 jobs and pay (5 July) – Unite says profiteering business `awash with cash’ but wages for some slashed by up to £7,000. Royal Mail managers across the UK are set to take industrial action in a dispute over further attacks on jobs and pay. Unite, the managers’ trade union, says that 2,400 managers will work to rule on 15-19 July, followed by strike action on 20-22 July over what has now been confirmed by Royal Mail as a plan to cut 700 jobs and slash pay by up to £7,000. Last year, Royal Mail paid out £400 million to shareholders and recorded a £311 million profit. The union says that its members have no other option but to take strike action as months of consultation have failed to persuade Royal Mail off a path which Unite says is a `ruinous’ and needless course given that the business is `awash with cash’. Unite is calling on Royal Mail to recognise that it has to restore jobs because the proposed cuts are so savage they will destroy the service read more
Bosch Rexroth workers to strike in dispute over pay and shift changes (4 July) – Unite slams global giant’s plans that leave Scottish workers £7000 a year worse off. Unite has today (Monday 4 July) confirmed that members working at Bosch Rexroth Glenrothes, will walk out over a pay proposal that will leave workers £7000 a year worse off. The German-owned global tech and engineering giant has proposed a six per cent pay deal, which Unite says is a significant pay cut given that real inflation currently stands at 11.7 per cent. The employers are also refusing to back-date the pay award to 1 January or to reverse changes to shift patterns and shift allowances, which means the combined impact of the offer is to leave workers around £7,000 per year worse off. Workers at the site have rejected the company’s proposal by 74 per cent. Unite says that the Bosch Rexroth, a subsidiary of Bosch, is in a strong financial position and has no need to attack the workers’ pay and conditions. In its 2021 annual report, Bosch Rexroth boasted of `reaching a new high on incoming orders’ which have generated sales of £5.4 billion (6.2 billion euros), up by nearly one fifth on the year before. The union’s members, 245 workers, will take continuous strike action from Tuesday 5 July until Tuesday 12 July inclusive. Thereafter they will strike every Monday and Tuesday going forward with an ongoing ban on overtime throughout read more
Bexley bin collections to halt during summer strikes over pay and conditions – Countrystyle Recycling trying to ‘punish’ workers for cost of living pay demands. Bin collections in Bexley, in South London, will halt during summer pay strikes, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday 29 June). More than 100 workers, employed by Bexley council contractor Countrystyle Recycling, will begin a two-week strike on 12 July in a dispute over pay and working conditions. Countrystyle has offered the workers a below-inflation pay deal and also wants to scrap a long-standing ‘job and finish’ clause in their contracts. This will mean workers are forced to stay at the depot when their work is finished. The deal has been rejected by Unite’s membership, who want a pay rise that better reflects the real inflation rate, RPI, which is running at 11.7 per cent read more
Caterpillar pays for strike-breakers to stay in five star luxury – Unite blasts firm for ‘burning through’ cash on rooms that cost up to £850 a night rather than pay workers fairly. Manufacturing company Caterpillar has been paying for the strike-breakers it brought to Northern Ireland to stay in five star luxury, Unite the union says today (22 June). The strike breakers have been staying at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast but after their presence attracted protests, they were moved to the five-start Culloden Resort Hotel and Spa. Rooms at the Culloden Resort Hotel – which offers a `luxurious break…..at the most prestigious five-star hotel in Northern Ireland’ – can cost up to £850 a night, while a suite is £2,500 a night. Unite says that, along with the high-cost hotel accommodation costs, Caterpillar is paying the travel costs and hourly premiums to those they have brought in to cross picket lines read more
McLaren, Aston Martin and Bentley supply chain hit by strikes over pay ‘cut’ – Tipton CabAuto workers earn £9.90ph building interiors for £200k + cars. West Midland workers making interiors for elite autos McLaren, Aston Martin and Bentley, are due to start a period of seven one-day strikes in June and July over a real terms pay cut. More than 100 workers at CabAuto in Tipton earn just £9.90 an hour to make seats and interior trims for luxury cars such as the £700,000 McLaren Senna and the £225,000 Aston Martin Superleggera. The workers will strike over a three per cent pay offer on 28 and 30 June and 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 July. Unite says that the three percent offered to its CabAuto members is a pay cut with real inflation running at 11.1 per cent and rising. Some CabAuto workers are so poorly rewarded that they have been forced to use food banks read more
Strike at Moy Park Randalstown mill continues as employers refuse to pay the rate for the job – Randalstown workers paid ‘chicken feed’ wages – some less than £5,000 a year compared to workers at other Moy Park sites. As Moy Park profits touch £90 million Unite exposes how poverty pay at Randalstown leaves workers borrowing to ‘make ends meet’. A Unite survey of striking Moy Park workers has revealed that eight in 10 are suffering a declining standard of living; seven in 10 had trouble making ends meet in the last year; and six in 10 had to borrow money to get by. Drivers at the plant regularly work well in excess of 70 hours a week to make a living as the rates of pay at the site are more than £5,000 a year less than drivers receive at other Moy Park sites for the same work. The latest figures for 2021 show Moy Park has reported profits of £86 million, while its owner Pilgrim’s Pride banked among its highest ever margins at £478 million. So there’s cash a plenty to pay the same rate across the company. Unite reveals the shocking statistics as workers at Randalstown stand on pickets for a second week at the Moy Park owned chicken feed mill read more
Big name brands Diageo, Chivas, Bacardi, Carlsberg among those facing bottle shortages this summer as workers at Owens Illinois (O-I) Glass take strike action in pay dispute – Over 160 workers, members of Unite the union, are set to walk out in rejection of a pay offer of just four per cent, which the union says is a pay cut given the real inflation rate (RPI) currently stands 11.1 per cent. O-I Glass’s quarterly results released in March this year shows significant growth in both revenue and net income. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “O-I Glass is another shameful example of a business that can afford to pay a decent wage but won’t pay. The offer on the table is a pay cut, not a rise, and is entirely unacceptable. O-I Glass needs to return with an acceptable offer or face strike action by our members, who will have the full support of their union in this fight for fair pay.” Strike action will be across three sites: the Devilla Forest Quarry and the Glasshouse Loan which are both in Alloa, Scotland, and the company’s plant in Edinburgh Way, Harlow. Strikes will begin with a 24 hour strike at the Devilla Forest Quarry, on Wednesday 15 June, this will be followed by a 48 hour strike at the Glasshouse in Alloa, beginning on Thursday 16 June. The workers at the Harlow plant will then stage a 48 hour walkout beginning on Sunday 19 June. Further strike action is set to be announced in the near future. Hopes of progress in the dispute collapsed this week when the company simply restated their previous pay offer during negotiations read more
Staff at FCA prepare for second wave of strike action as FoI requests exposes a “deep crisis” – Freedom of Information (FoI) requests lodged by Unite has revealed that 1,000 employees have left the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) since CEO, Nikhil Rathi took office in October 2020, prompting the union to warn of a deep crisis at the regulator. The news comes as Unite members prepare to stage a second wave of strike action in London and Edinburgh for two days beginning on Thursday (9 June).Unite says the FCA is in crisis and is haemorrhaging staff. It can no longer claim to be an effective or reliable regulator read more
Main port on Shetland Isles could be forced to close after negotiations with Port Authority break down – Unite warns strikes could bring Lerwick harbour to a standstill. Unite the union confirmed today (8 June) that its members working at the Lerwick Port Authority are set to start all-out strike action in a dispute over pay, terms and conditions. Around a dozen key workers will begin continuous strike action from 00:01 hours on Monday 20 June at the main port in the Shetland Islands. The all-out strike marks an escalation from the current overtime bans, and will bring operations at the port to a ‘standstill’ impacting cruise liners and oil and gas vessels, as well as the general shipping read more
Pay strikes at UK’s only ink manufacturer to hit Daily Mail, Amcor, Scheizwer and Multi-Colour Corp – Pay strikes at the UK’s only ink manufacturer, Sun Chemical, will impact the printing of the Daily Mail as well as production for Amcor, Scheizwer and Multi-Colour Corp. Nearly 200 Sun Chemical employees, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, will take strike action at sites across the country over an ‘insulting’ three per cent pay offer. An overtime ban will commence on 6 June followed by a 24-hour strike on 9 June at seven sites, with more strikes set to be announced. The sites are in Bristol, Midsomer Norton in Somerset, Workington in Cumbria, Alfreton in Derbyshire and Heywood, Milnrow and Urmston in Greater Manchester. Sun Chemicals is part of the global DIC corporation. According to the DIC 2021 report, the corporation made £2.5 billion in profits, with its Europe and Africa division, of which Sun Chemicals is the largest company, netting profits of £60 million read more
Carlisle can factory strikes to hit summer supplies of Coca Cola, Heineken, Brewdog and Magners – June pay strikes at Carlisle’s Crown Bevcan factory will hit summer supplies of cans of Coca Cola, Heineken, Brewdog, Magners and Bulmers, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday 24 May). Around 200 workers, who have already taken two days of strike action over a three per cent pay offer, will strike on 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 June. The tin can production workers are seeking a pay deal that reflects rising living costs read more
Unite says Marine Scotland strikes on after impasse in talks with Scottish Government – Unite the union has confirmed today (Tuesday 24 May) that strike action at Marine Scotland will go ahead following a failure by the Scottish government to make an improved pay offer. The trade union has been engaged in several rounds of discussions with the Scottish government following a two per cent pay imposition for 2021, which Unite contests could constitute an ‘unlawful inducement’. However, with the Scottish Government refusing to re-open pay talks for 2021, strikes are to go ahead. Unite members at Marine Scotland in seafaring roles will now take part in two separate periods of 48-hour strike action involving Marine Protection Vessels (MPV) Hirta on 26 and 27 May, and Jura on 3 and 4 June. The vessels are normally based at Aberdeen harbour read more
Hinkley Point facing delivery delays as engineering workers strike in pay dispute – The flagship Hinkley Point nuclear power plant development could face significant delays due to a pay dispute at Darchem Engineering in Stockton-on-Tees. Strike action will hit Darchem Engineering, which manufactures industrial pond liners for Hinkley Point as part of £200 million contract with the next delivery due in June. The workers are challenging an increasing pay disparity between trades at the company. The welders’ pay has increased by over £2 an hour but the company has refused to give a similar increase to the platers and sheet metal workers. Industrial action by Unite’s members will begin with an overtime ban starting on Monday 6 June. This will then be followed by three 48-hour strikes beginning on Monday 13 June, Monday 20 June and Monday 27 June. Further strikes could be called depending on the response of the employer read more
Langford Lodge strikes to go ahead as Unite pursues pay rise and action on equal pay scandal – Unite has notified management at Crumlin-based Langford Lodge that their workers will commence a first week of strike action in pursuit of a pay increase from 00.01am on Thursday 26 May. The union also wants the scandal of unequal pay addressed at the company. A significant grouping of women machinists for example are being paid £1.93 per hour less than male colleagues while they do work of similar or equal value. The strike is an escalation of an overtime ban previously in force at the RLC Engineering-owned, precision engineering aerospace manufacturer. Last minute talks failed to result in agreement on the pay and equality improvements sought by Unite, leaving the union’s members with no alternative but to follow through on plans for a first week of strike action read more
Hackney council strikes escalate as parking services workers join pay dispute – Strikes at Hackney council will escalate in the coming weeks, Unite, the UK’s leading union, has warned, with 70 parking services workers now joining more than 200 of their colleagues in a dispute over pay. Staff working in refuse, building services and disability transport services took six days of strike action in late April and early May over an ‘insulting’ 1.75 per cent pay offer. With the real rate of inflation (RPI) now running at 11.1 per cent, strike action is set to step up in the coming weeks. In addition, Hackney parking services staff are to be balloted for industrial action over pay and conditions after their department was insourced back to the council on 1 April this year – potentially bringing the total number of striking workers to 270. Parking services staff have been told that negotiations over their pay, terms and conditions will not even be considered until next year. The workers are on inferior wages and contracts compared to other Hackney council workers read more
C2C rail passengers warned of disruption as Alstom workers begin strike over pay attacks – Passengers using the C2C rails line between London and Southend are set for considerable disruption over the coming weeks as maintenance engineers employed by Alstom take strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions. Strikes are due to begin tomorrow (Monday 9 May) with further action scheduled for 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30 May and 3 June. Disruption to services is likely on both the strike days and on days following the strike action. An overtime ban is also in force. The workers are taking action following a series of attacks on their pay and condition and concerns about high sickness and low morale at Alstom, the French company that bought Bombardier in 2020. The workers recorded a 95 per cent yes vote in favour of strike action read more
Rugby GE Steam strikes could worsen as company uses outside consultants to ‘undermine’ union – The first strikes in 45 years at Rugby’s 120-year-old GE Steam turbine factory could worsen as the company uses outside consultancy firm Shape Associates to ‘undermine’ union organisation. Unite, the UK’s leading union, is preparing to re-ballot more than 75 of its members at the factory to extend strike action over attacks on pay. The initial round of strike action began on 17 April and is due to end on 2 May, with the next strike on 29 April. The union said GE Steam has given over the responsibility of running the factory to Shape Associates so the consultancy firm can force through cutbacks prior to the site’s sale to EDF read more
Unite urges Woolwich Ferry – seize opportunity to resolve dispute as strike ballot suspended to kick-start talks – Woolwich Ferry’s workers have suspended their industrial action and also plans to hold another strike ballot in a goodwill gesture to resolve the long-running dispute, Unite the union said today (Tuesday 5 April). Unite has put forward proposals, which remain confidential, to Transport for London (TfL) bosses to kick-start meaningful talks over the poor employment relations that have been the hallmark of successive operators of the troubled ferry. Six workers, including two Unite reps, still remain unfairly suspended when the last bout of industrial action ended on 28 March read more
Strike action continues as GE Aviation accused of ‘dirty tricks’ in Gloucester pay dispute – Workers at Gloucester’s Hurricane Road GE Aviation factory will be striking every Friday until their call for a fair wage is honoured, Unite the union has said today (Tuesday 29 March). Multinational GE Aviation has been accused of `dirty tricks’ in an attempt to undermine the workers. The 90-plus workers are employed by GE’s subsidiary Dowty Propellers. The workers have rejected a two year pay offer worth just 4.5 per cent which, with the actual level of inflation (retail price index) standing at 8.2 per cent, amounts to a real terms pay cut read more
Veolia workers across Edinburgh and Lothians set to strike over `insulting’ pay offer – Unite can confirm today (24 March) that more than 50 members working for Veolia Water across Edinburgh and the Lothians are set to take strike action in a dispute over pay. The strike action, involving plant operatives, electrical maintenance, mechanical, and administrative staff, was supported overwhelmingly by 94 per cent of Unite’s members in a ballot turnout of 83 per cent. The Veolia workers are demanding a significantly improved pay offer from the company. With the more realistic cost of living (RPI) currently running at 8.2 per cent per cent, Veolia’s offer of 2.6 per cent for this year is a pay cut. Strike action will take place from 7-13 April, and then continuous strike action from 21 April read more
PCS
PCS welcomes adjournment of full judicial review into government’s inhumane Rwanda plans (11 July) – The Divisional Court has today granted our application for an adjournment of the full judicial review of the government’s plan to send refugees to Rwanda, which will now be heard in September read more
Support PCS at judicial review of government’s inhumane Rwanda deportation policy (8 July) – We are urging PCS members and supporters to show their opposition to the government’s Rwanda deportation policy outside the Royal Courts of Justice during our full judicial review into Priti Patel’s inhumane policy, which starts on 19 July read more
Johnson’s resignation must mean job cut plans are scrapped (8 July) – As Boris Johnson was resigning as leader of the Conservative party, PCS and other civil service unions were meeting Cabinet Office Officials to demand that plans for 91,000 job cuts were shelved given the chaos in government. The meeting yesterday had been called for by the unions some weeks previously. We forcefully expressed our complete opposition to the job cuts plans and the disgraceful 2% limit on pay rises read more
PCS to hold strike ballot over HMCTS Common Platform (7 July) – PCS members employed by HMCTS as legal advisers and court associates in magistrates’ courts where the flawed Common Platform case management system is in operation are to be balloted for industrial action. The ballot, which starts on Thursday (14 July), comes as a result of the decision taken by the HMCTS Crime Programme Board and senior judiciary to continue the national roll-out of the Common Platform after months of inaction by HMCTS to resolve the serious and fundamental concerns raised by PCS on the health, safety and welfare impacts on members. Common Platform remains fundamentally unfit for purpose and PCS members are no longer willing to have to grapple with a system that is negatively and significantly impacting on their health, safety and well-being read more
Why vote yes in the industrial action ballot at OCS (28 June) – Dozens of new members have joined PCS so they can vote in the ballot over low pay, terms and conditions. PCS is balloting members employed by OCS on the HMCTS contract over a pay offer of just 27p above the national minimum wage. OCS is accredited by the Real Living Wage Foundation as a Real Living Wage employer yet is refusing to meet our demands on pay for those keeping the courts safe and operational. More than three dozen new members have joined PCS in the first week of the industrial action ballot. All those who join by 5pm on Wednesday 29June 2022 are entitled to vote in the ballot, which opened on 16 June read more
Strong support for British Council strike (16 June) – British Council workers on UK contracts took their first of three days of strike action yesterday. British Council members are on strike for three days over cuts, redundancies and privatisation. Picket lines took place in London and Manchester, with union members across the globe participating in the strike on social media. Members from London and Manchester travelled to Westminster to lobby members of parliament to build support for the campaign read more
GMB
BREAKING NEWS!! BA Heathrow pay ballot begins today (12 July) – Hundreds of British Airways staff working at Heathrow will begin voting in a pay ballot today [12 July 2022], after industrial action was suspended. Aviation workers – predominantly low paid women – were set to walk out after a ten per cent pay cut imposed on them by BA during the pandemic was not reinstated – despite bosses having their pre-covid pay rates restored. Industrial action has been suspended after BA made an improved offer, which members will now vote on. The ballot closes on 21 July. If workers vote to accept the deal, the Heathrow strike will be called off read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Don’t delay on equal pay; GMB union issues challenge to council leader Ian Ward (12 July) – GMB union has called upon Birmingham City Council Leader Ian Ward to urgently intervene in the ongoing dispute over pay discrimination at Birmingham City Council. The city’s equal pay problems were a prominent feature of the recent council election campaign, with Labour candidates across the city pledging to settle the dispute, but the Labour-run local authority has recently sought to stall the union from pursuing claims through legal roadblocks. GMB is calling on Labour’s Ian Ward, Leader of the Council, to instruct council lawyers to lift the “stay” on cases at the Employment Tribunal and instead engage in meaningful negotiations with the union to compensate its members and end the discrimination read more
Wandsworth parking warden strike costing council £52,000 per day, GMB research shows (8 July) – This dispute could be settled for a little more than that, so surely Wandsworth Council should be looking to end the strike, says GMB. GMB, the union for all local government workers, has estimated that the strike being carried out by parking wardens in Wandsworth is costing the local authority around £52,000 per day in lost revenue. Wandsworth Council’s parking contractor NSL employs the traffic wardens within the borough, who issue an average of 400 tickets per day, an amount which doubles during the Wimbledon tennis championships. The striking members marched to the tennis club yesterday [Thursday 7 July] to highlight that the boundary of LB Wandsworth backs on to the famous courts in Wimbledon read more
Strike action averted for school buses in Southwark (8 July) – Bus drivers and attendants have voted to accept a pay deal worth up to 10%. GMB, the union for all school support staff, have called off the proposed strike of school bus drivers and attendants across the London Borough of Southwark. The members, who are employed by HATS, have accepted a revised pay deal which will see some employees receive a 10% pay uplift. The workers are employed as bus drivers and attendants and are responsible for getting pupils with special educational needs to school. HATS had not offered their employees a pay rise in eight years, prompting the GMB to successfully ballot and set up strike dates. These have now been cancelled. The deal will see D1 drivers get a 10% rise on their basic pay, with some bonuses also being consolidated into their basic pay. Other employees (passenger attendants and mini-bus drivers) will get the London Living wage increase six months early read more
St George’s Hospital to face further strike action (4 July) – GMB, the union for all NHS workers, have announced that their members employed by Mitie at St George’s Hospital will be extending their strike action for a further five days. The union members are employed as cleaners and hostesses within the Tooting hospital and are in dispute with their employer over withheld pay and contract terms. The workers are calling on the NHS trust to intervene in the discussions between GMB and Mitie in order to bring about a resolution to the action. The further strike dates that have been announced are Sunday 17, Wednesday 20, Thursday 21, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July, with an agreement to ‘work to rule’ action short of a strike in between in addition read more
Sign petition – To St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mitie out: Demand fair pay and conditions for staff at St George’s Hospital
Budweiser strikes to continue into July after talks collapse (1 July) – Budweiser strike action scheduled for July will go ahead after crisis talks collapsed. Management called GMB officials to meet to discuss next steps in the wage negotiation – but instead of meaningful engagement to resolve the dispute, they proposed GMB should recommend the derisory offer of 3 per cent, which amounts to a real terms pay cut. Bosses also threatened workers that they wouldn’t be able to claim back pay if the deal was not agreed by 21 July. Workers at the Salmesbury site have already walked out several times in June over the pay dispute read more
Hinkley Point supply engineers strike – Plating engineers creating products to supply to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station go on strike today [13 June] in a pay dispute. Dozens of workers at Darchem Engineering, in Stockton-Upon-Tees, will walk out today after welders working for same firm were given an additional pay supplement , while the engineers weren’t. Further strikes are planned for 20,21,28 and 29 June. Industrial action could lead to big delays at Hinkley Point C – the £25 billion nuclear reactor in Somerset read more
Rhondda faces bin strike after workers vote for industrial action – Rhondda residents look set to face a bin strike after GMB members in the waste and recycling department voted for industrial action. GMB members at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council refuse and recycling dept have voted overwhelmingly to support industrial action with a majority of 95 percent. The move could see 130 people strike in May, leaving around 108,000 homes without refuse collections. The union is calling for amendments to the job evaluation scheme after the current system leaves essential workers short-changed for their work. During the pandemic, refuse workers alongside other essential service workers were put at risk, whilst council big wigs worked from home. Over the last decade local government staff have seen their wages cut by around 25 percent read more
Fox’s Glacier Mint workers strike over fire and rehire threat – Fox’s Glacier Mint workers will take a full day of strike action tomorrow [April 14] in anger at the company’s fire and rehire threat. Staff at Valeo York, who also make Poppets and humbugs, mint assortments butter mints, rhubarb and custards and lemon sherberts for well-known supermarkets including M&S, will be joined by the Yorkshire Polar Bear and local councillors read more
Barrow bin strike: Six more days of industrial action – Refuse collectors in Barrow have announced six more days of industrial action in their fight for a living wage. GMB members working FCC Environment will walk out on from 30 March to 1 April and then 6 to 8 April read more
Unison
BREAKING NEWS!! Employment tribunal classes long COVID as a disability (12 July) – ‘Staff with long COVID need reasonable adjustments and support, not to be put on the scrap heap’. In a landmark legal case for sufferers of long COVID, an employment tribunal recently ruled that the condition should be classed as a disability. Terence Burke has won a case for unfair dismissal after being sacked from his job as a caretaker in 2021. He had worked in the role since 2001, but had been unable to attend work for nine months after suffering substantial and long-term effects from COVID-19 after contracting the virus in November 2020 read more
HSGE will reconvene if NHS pay outcome is delayed (8 July) – In the light of the current political chaos, UNISON’s health service group executive has agreed to step up calls for the Westminster government to release its decision on NHS pay and publish the PRB report. The committee will reconvene later in July to decide how to respond to either a pay outcome or further delay. If the report has not been published by the start of Parliamentary recess (21st July) health members will be left facing the escalating cost of living crisis with no pay rise in sight until at least September. The committee was clear that in that case balloting members about the delay will be on the agenda read more
Greater Manchester care workers win Living Wage award (7 July) – UNISON members have secured the Living Wage for care workers in six out of ten Manchester councils. Greater Manchester care workers have won the Living Wage Foundation’s prestigious Living Wage Campaign of the Year award after coming together to secure the Foundation Living Wage across six councils. The UNISON-led campaign, titled Greater Manchester Care Workers Demand a Pay Rise, was targeted at Greater Manchester councils to pressure them to provide the Foundation Living Wage (currently £9.90) to all directly employed and commissioned social care workers. The campaign was launched in Living Wage Week in November 2021 and was successful in six out of ten Manchester councils. Rochdale was the first council to commit last year, with Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Stockport and Bolton councils committing in 2022 read more
Care staff in South West begin strike over fire and rehire plans (29 June) – Workers have been left with no choice but to take action. Staff employed by Bristol-based care company St Monica Trust are to begin a series of strikes today (Wednesday) over threats to sack them if they don’t accept a pay cut, says UNISON. As many as 100 care workers, registered nurses and residential home staff are expected to take to the streets outside the trust’s four care homes across South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Bath and North East Somerset, UNISON says. Further action is planned for 2, 5, 10 and 11 July read more
Details of the pickets can be found at this link and you can pledge your support by adding your name here
There is a strike fund which is being collected for. Many of these workers are low paid and part time. With cost of living ever rising it’s essential that we can ensure no one feels like they can’t stand up with their colleagues and strike for fear of lost pay. The union will be paying strike pay and members can request hardship payments up to their full wages so no one gets left behind.
For donations please send to the following details with the reference “SMT”
Account name: UNISON South West
Account number: 49021079
Sort Code: 60-83-01
Health workers in Lancashire strike in dispute over lack of sick pay and unsocial hours payments – OCS workers do the same jobs as many NHS colleagues but they miss out on sick pay when they’re ill, are paid less when they work unsocial hours. Health staff employed by private contractor OCS today (29 June) begin a 72-hour strike at a number of locations operated by Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Trust, says UNISON read more
University of Leeds members prepare to strike again – Action is over the 2021-22 pay round with member resoundingly rejecting the latest offer. The University of Leeds branch is taking further strike action over the 2021-22 pay round, next week, on 20-24 June. Members have lost 20% of their pay against inflation over 12 years. They have used the pay calculator to show just how many thousands of pounds staff are being cheated in their pay read more
CWU
‘Most solid strike yet’ by Crown Post Office workers (July 11) – CWU representatives around the UK report strengthening support for the union’s fair pay fight, with Crown Offices shut for the day and ‘good luck’ messages to pickets from the public. Picket lines appeared at Post Offices across the UK today, as fed-up counter staff took their third day of strike action in their ongoing struggle to ensure they and their families get a fair reward for their hard work and dedication to the public, as well as a financial recognition of the harsh effects of the sharp rise in the cost of living. CWU News spoke with some of our CWU representatives from different parts of the country as they looked back on another day of industrial action read more
New CWU strike to halt cash deliveries & collections at all 11,500 UK post offices (July 1) – Union calls out Supply Chain and Admin members and warns Post Office bosses to ‘stop the spin and get serious on pay’. Andy Furey, national officer for the CWU’s Post Office members, announced yesterday that hundreds of cash and valuables in transit (CViT) workers and their cash processing and administrative colleagues will resume strike action on Thursday the 14th July read more
London Apple Store Workers’ Show of Strength (July 8) – More and more Apple Store staff are joining the CWU. Apple Store workers have held a “great show of confidence” by holding a successful union recruitment day across London, despite hostility from management and security. Members of the United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW) branch of the CWU visited numerous Apple Stores across capital to bring workers into the union. Despite security and stores managers repeatedly demanding that CWU members leave the premises, many new workers heard the case for collective strength, with some immediately joining on the spot. While some workers referenced the cost of living and the recent strikes as a reason to join, widespread dissatisfaction also exists across Apple Stores over a wide array of specific issues. Many discussed the exhaustion they experience as a result of their shift patterns, which are mostly formed by an algorithm read more
Big fat ‘zero’ pay rise is simply unacceptable, Connect44 told (July 8) – Imagine how you’d feel if your employer responded to worst cost of living crisis in a generation by unilaterally declaring they’d decided not to offer any pay rise this year – in part to fund “strategic investment decisions”. That’s exactly the stomach churning position a small group of CWU members working for telecommunications service provider Connect44 find themselves in nearly five years after they were TUPE transferred from Huawei in October 2017. Despite determined efforts, CWU national officer Tracey Fussey has so far met with an unequivocal ‘no’ to her request for belated pay talks on behalf of the tight-knit group of members who were originally outsourced by Telefonica O2 in 2012 and still work on VM02 systems. That blunt refusal, initially delivered in an introductory meeting with the company last month following Tracey’s assumption of responsibility for Connect44 members, directly contravenes the spirit of the recognition agreement that was negotiated under TUPE law in both the O2 to Huawei and Huawei to Connect44 transfers read more
Royal Mail’s property and facilities workers get set for strike ballot (July 4) – ‘They’re paying us last year’s pay rates, but we’re paying out this year’s prices!’ says workplace rep at national briefing on the RMP&FS pay dispute. With this short sentence, Chris English CWU Central Area rep for P&FS engineers, explained perfectly the sheer unfairness of the current situation facing not only his members, but also the vast majority of our union’s membership and workers across the UK at this time. Latest figures show inflation running at 11.7 per cent (RPI), driven by sharp hikes in fuel and food prices. Although there are no restrictions on companies raising their customer prices, workers’ claims for pay rises in line with inflation are being refused, sparking a wave of disputes, ballots and strikes involving CWU members as well as RMT rail workers, British Airways airport staff and various other key sectors of the economy. Our own members working for the Post Office have already been on strike over pay, with further walkouts planned for next week while BT and Openreach members voted last week for action and ballots are in progress in Royal Mail and Parcelforce read more
Ball firmly in BT’s court as CWU smashes ballot thresholds and demands new talks (July 1) – CWU members across BT Group have delivered an overwhelming message of disgust and defiance to their bosses, voting by well over nine-to-one to reject real-term pay cuts in every part of the business. Onerous legal thresholds, designed to make it as hard as possible for workers to withdraw their labour under the UK’s notoriously anti-union employment law, weren’t just exceeded but positively smashed in Openreach and BT. In Openreach, where 28,425 CWU members were entitled to vote, participants recorded an eye-watering 95.8% ‘yes’ vote for industrial action on a 74.8% turnout. In BT, where 10,353 were issued with ballot papers, another remarkable ‘yes’ vote of 91.5% was recorded on a 58.2% turnout. That turnout, by comparison knocked the socks off the 39.5% participation rate in the recent Wakefield parliamentary by-election and comfortably beat the 52.3% turnout in Tiverton & Honiton which just last week was heralded by the media as “unusually high”. The majorities in favour of strike action in Openreach and BT dispel once and for all the myth consistently perpetuated by management that dissatisfaction with their imposed below-inflation pay settlement was restricted to “around 30 disgruntled employees”! Even in EE – where the ballot turnout fell just eight votes short of the 50% threshold required to mandate legally constituted industrial action (a turnout level that, pointedly, is seldom, if ever, met in any local or Mayoral elections) – an extraordinary 95.5% of those who participated indicated their willingness to strike on a 49.7% turnout. Conceding that the result in EE means that it will be the only part of BT Group that won’t be subject to strike action if management doesn’t take up the union’s offer of new pay talks, deputy general secretary Andy Kerr said: “If there’s any EE manager stupid enough to think that they’ve somehow ‘won’, they should think again…” read more
CWU launch national strike ballot in Royal Mail Group read more
NEU
Support these strikes:-
Drapers’ Pyrgo Priory School / Havering (Restructure) 12-14 July [email protected]
Lordswood Girls School / Birmingham (Transfer of Employer) 12-14 July [email protected]
Princess May Primary School / Hackney (Redundancies) 13-14 July [email protected]@neu.org.uk
NEU Pay Protest – outside Department of Education, Great Smith Street, London SW1 3BT; 5.30pm Wednesday 13th July
NASUWT
Teachers in Wales to be balloted on action if no substantial pay award (2 July) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union across Wales will be balloted for industrial action if they do not receive a substantial pay award, the Union will announce this weekend. At the NASUWT Cymru Conference in Llandudno an emergency motion calls for a September ballot “if the Welsh Government falls far short of a 12% pay uplift.” After 12 years of erosion to their pay, teachers are facing the biggest squeeze on their living standards in half a century and the NASUWT is calling for a 12% pay award this year to prevent an unprecedented retention crisis read more
EIS
Over 25,000 Signatures call on COSLA & Scottish Government to “Pay Attention” on Teachers’ Pay (8 July) – The EIS has today, Friday July 8th, delivered a “fair pay petition” with over 25,000 signatures to the offices of both the Scottish Government and COSLA, the employers’ federation. The signatures, gathered over the last few busy weeks of term, reflect the growing impatience of teachers over their “cost of living” pay claim which should have been settled on April 1st of this year read more
UCU
UCU reaches important pay agreement with Waltham Forest College (11 July) – The University and College Union (UCU) today (Monday) announced a pay agreement with Waltham Forest College which will see an average pay award of 6.1% for all staff and the extension of the lecturer pay scale by two spinal points. The union said that the pay deal, voted for by its members at Waltham Forest College, shows there is no excuse for college employers nationally to continue ignoring the severity of the cost of living crisis facing staff by offering huge real terms pay cuts. The pay deal will see a 3% consolidated increase on all pay spinal points and the introduction of two additional spinal points SP36 and SP37 – allowing automatic incremental progression over two years – with effect from 01 September 2022. Most lecturing staff are on SP35 and will now have an additional increment in September 2022 worth approx. 3.1% and a further increment in September 2023 read more
Staff at Capital City College Group win significant pay deal (11 July) – University and College Union (UCU) members at Capital City College Group (CCCG) have won a significant pay rise of 9% for those earning under £30k, and 6% for those earning between £30k and £45k. UCU said that the deal was the result of determined organising and industrial action from its members at CCCG, and demonstrates that college employers have the resources to give decent pay rises to staff at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis. The pay deal, voted for by UCU branch members, will see a consolidated percentage increase on all salary scales for staff on £45k and under, beginning from 1 August 2022. Those earning £30k and £45k will see a 5% increase in August, and then a further 1% from 1 January 2023, constituting a 6% rise overall. The deal is worth up to £2,700 for those on £30k and up to £2,600 for those on £30k-£45k. Moreover, Hourly Paid Lecturer (HPL) rates have been increased for this academic year, and they will increase further in line with the pay rise. This will amount to an increase of up to 15% on the HPL rate, worth up to an extra £4 per hour. The union has also secured an increase in holiday entitlement by three days, accompanied by a harmonisation of holiday entitlement across the CCCG. CCCG management have agreed to hold further talks on a consolidated pay award for 2023/24 after Easter in the new academic year read more
Strike ballot opens at Falmouth University over 2-tier workforce (11 July) – A strike ballot will open at Falmouth University today (Monday) and will run until Friday 19 August. A successful result will pave the way for strikes to begin in the new academic year. The ballot aims to stop management forcing new members of staff onto employment contracts with a wholly owned subsidiary company with worse terms and conditions that ignore national bargaining agreements made between UCU and universities. Last month a packed UCU Falmouth branch meeting with over half of members in attendance voted by 98% to move to an industrial ballot to force the university to end its two-tier workforce read more
Eight in 10 staff in English colleges suffer from financial insecurity (8 July) – More than eight in 10 college workers in England say their financial situation is harming their mental health. The findings are from a UCU report ‘On the breadline: The cost of living for England’s college workers’. The report, is based on a survey of over 2,700 workers from more than 200 colleges across England. Staff were asked the extent to which their financial security has changed over the past year and how rising costs and falling pay were impacting their welfare and their future within the sector read more
QMUL threatens to close courses to punish staff for industrial action (6 July) – UCU today said that Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) has cemented its status as one of the most vindictive’ and ‘anti-worker’ employers in the country, after QMUL Principal Colin Bailey escalated his attempts to smash UCU’s marking boycott. UCU today said that Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) has cemented its status as one of the most vindictive’ and ‘anti-worker’ employers in the country, after QMUL Principal Colin Bailey escalated his attempts to smash UCU’s marking boycott. In internal emails sent over the weekend, Bailey threatened to close QMUL’s Film Studies degree programme unless staff return their marks. In writing, Bailey said that QMUL ‘can’t take new students onto programmes where staff refuse to deliver the promised education.’ All affected staff at QMUL’s Film Department have signed an open letter condemning ‘consistent potentially unlawful threats to the future of our department and livelihoods, and the relentless hostility colleagues have been facing from the principal’. UCU members at QMUL taking part in a marking and assessment boycott have already faced a more aggressive response from the university’s management than has been seen anywhere in the country read more
Unprecedented strike action facing universities as UCU confirms strike ballot (1 July) – University staff could join the wave of industrial action sweeping the UK as the University and College Union today confirmed it will move ahead with plans to ballot staff in disputes over pensions and pay & conditions. The union’s higher education committee (HEC) met today and authorised a ballot of all higher education members in late summer with strikes to follow in the November, along with further ballots for industrial action in spring 2023. For the first time in these disputes, the ballot will be aggregated meaning that if UCU achieves an overall turnout of 50% or above and a majority YES vote, all universities across the UK will be hit by strike action. Universities across the UK have already seen 15 days of strike action this year and around 40 branches are currently taking part in a marking boycott, with staff refusing to undertake marking and assessment duties read more
Richmond upon Thames College to face 14 days more strike action over fire & rehire plans (28 June) – Staff at Richmond upon Thames College are set to down tools for 14 consecutive days over a three-week period in August and September over plans by management to sack every teacher at the college and force them to reapply for their jobs on worse terms and conditions if they want to stay. The announcement comes as staff take a further day of strike action today (Tuesday) aimed at disrupting an open day taking place at the college. Striking staff will be picketing and holding a rally at the Marsh Farm Lane entrance to the college at 4pm today as prospective students and their parents visit the college. The protests will include a mobile billboard outlining the college’s plans to sack over 100 members of teaching staff. Strike action in the summer will hit enrolment, induction and first week of teaching and take place on the following days: Monday 22 August, Tuesday 23 August, Wednesday 24 August, Thursday 25 August, Friday 26 August, Tuesday 30 August, Wednesday 31 August, Thursday 1 September, Friday 2 September, Monday 5 September, Tuesday 6 September, Wednesday 7 September, Thursday 8 September, Friday 9 September. Staff will be picketing the college on every morning of the strike action. The college wants to sack all 127 members of its teaching staff and make them reapply for their jobs on new contracts that would see them lose 10 days’ holiday. Management began the deeply controversial process, widely known as ‘fire and rehire’, without any prior engagement or consultation with staff. The college claims that ‘trust’, ‘integrity’ and ‘excellence’ are the values that ‘underpin everything’ it does read more
Strike ballot opens today at colleges across England over low pay (14 June) – Strikes at 33 colleges in England could be on the cards as industrial ballots opened today in a dispute over low pay, unmanageable workloads and professional respect. The ballot closes on Friday 15 July read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
Cumbria PCC refuses to respond to FBU letter on fire service takeover plans (July 11) – Cumbria police and crime commissioner Peter McCall has refused to respond to a letter from the local Fire Brigades Union on his beleaguered and controversial attempt to take over the fire and rescue service. The union has now made a formal complaint to the Cumbria council monitoring officer read more
Union reports fire brigades to Health and Safety Executive (July 6) – The Fire Brigades Union has formally reported two fire and rescue services to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and identified several others, in relation to bringing in policy which would see firefighters sent into fires with their breathing equipment turned off, in a letter first published today read more
Firefighters’ 2% pay offer “utterly inadequate” (June 27) – Firefighters and firefighter control staff have responded angrily to a 2% pay offer from fire and rescue employers. The union’s executive council is recommending rejection of the pay offer to members. The 2% pay offer is against a current rate of inflation of 9.1% (CPI, year on year to May 2022). The fire service annual pay award is due on 1 July. The pay offer comes against a background of huge long-term pay cuts to firefighters’ pay. Between 2009 and 2021, firefighters’ real pay has been cut by 12%, or nearly £4,000. The pay offer will now go for consideration by members, with the union’s executive council recommending rejection read more
POA
Pension legal challenge goes ahead in November 2022 (7 July) – Since 2012 the POA have been very clear that we did not agree with any of the changes to Civil Service Pensions schemes and indeed the POA membership endorsed the NEC position by way of a ballot that was conducted at that time. Since then, we have challenged and made the case to Government Officials on why our members are so opposed to the changes. Some of our legal challenges have also been successful. The POA have joined forces as an interested party with FBU, PCS, UNITE, GMB, and RCN as indicated in previous POA Circulars 015/20, Circular 072/20 and Circular 074/20. The legal challenge is on Pension Contributions Cost Cap. The BMA also have an overlap case and both cases will be heard together. The High Court this week gave permission for the challenge to go ahead by way of Judicial Review in November 2022. It is anticipated that it will be a 5-day hearing this was following the age discrimination found proven in earlier proceedings at the Court of Appeal read more
Pay review body recommendations (7 July) – Please find attached letters that are self-explanatory. I know that Government is in disarray but the delay to the announcement on pay for Prison Officer Grades and OSGs is totally unacceptable read more
NAPO
Probation Pay Negotiations and more (8 July) – The following update on pay has been agreed as a Joint Trade Union Bulletin read more
NUJ
BREAKING NEWS!! NUJ slams government decision to reject broadcasting reforms (12 July) – Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish Secretary, issues a statement on the publication of the report of the Future of Media Commission and the Irish government’s response to it read more
NUJ signs joint statement objecting to charges for media coverage of the party conferences (10 July) – The Conservative and Labour parties have introduced charges for journalists’ access to conferences. The NUJ has joined an alliance of media and free speech organisations, saying the charges will restrict open democracy and asking them to be dropped. They said the £125 imposed by the Conservative Party could have a profound impact on freelance journalists, smaller outlets and local journalists. Labour had imposed £5, but since the letter, said that it was a voluntary carbon offset charge read more
Staff at Reach to ballot for industrial action over pay (28 June) – NUJ members at Reach titles will be balloted in coming weeks, following rejection of a 3% pay offer. The dispute over pay follows months of talks with Reach plc, to agree a fair and decent pay award for staff within the company. Despite the union’s extensive negotiation efforts including senior talks with Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, the company has failed to recognise the significant contribution of journalists and increase their final offer of 3 per cent or £750 for employees. The Reach NUJ Group chapel has overwhelmingly rejected the pay offer and has voted to ballot for strike action and/or action short of a strike. The union will now prepare to ballot members and on 24 June, informed Reach of its intention read more
BBC North West journalists vote for work to rule – NUJ members are making a stand about the damaging impact of job cuts on news outpt in the region. As well as working with a significantly reduced workforce, staff at BBC North West are now expected to take on more and more technical duties previously carried out by skilled technical staff. If allowed to continue, the quality of the regional news programmes will suffer and deteriorate, they say. More than 97 per cent of NUJ members in the chapel voted in favour of industrial action. It follows the BBC’s decision to cut £25m from BBC England’s budget, leading to 450 job cuts cross England. The vast majority of journalists who work for BBC North West are NUJ members read more
Prospect
Energy members attend seminar on stress and fatigue (5 July) – More than a dozen Prospect members working across the energy sector attended a special seminar on fatigue and stress at New Prospect House in May read more
USDAW
Government failure to tackle insecure employment slammed by Usdaw on the fifth anniversary of the Taylor review (11 July) – Retail trade union Usdaw has today criticised the Government for their failure to tackle insecure employment, leaving millions of worker in poverty. Responding to a BEIS select committee inquiry, the union laments repeated failures to implement the recommendations of the 2017 Taylor Review and 2018 Low Pay Commission, along with not delivering on a 2019 manifesto promise to improve workers’ rights with an employment bill. Usdaw continues to call for a new deal for workers read more
#ReinstateMax: defend sacked Tesco USDAW rep Max McGee – months on from exhausting all appeals, Max McGee is preparing to take Tesco to an Employment Tribunal over his trade union victimisation and sacking. A GoFundMe page has been set up to donate to Max’s reinstatement campaign and trade union comrades are encouraged to raise the campaign at their Trade Union branches and Trades Councils over the coming weeks. Link to the page below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/reinstate-max-usdaw-rep-socialist
Messages of solidarity and photos can be sent to [email protected]
UVW
Fighting back through the courts against sacking at St James Tavern in Brighton (8 July) – This week UVW strike leader and now former pub manager at St James Tavern in Brighton, Jake Marvin, applied to the employment tribunal for interim relief following his summary sacking just days after the workers’ first picket line on Saturday, 25th June. Interim relief is when a boss is ordered to reinstate a worker where the employment tribunal believes they have been sacked for trade union activities. Applications for interim relief are incredibly rare and even rarer to win. But the evidence that Jake was sacked for building the union in his workplace is undeniable and includes a leaked Whatsapp message from the pub landlady, Victoria, that his sacking was planned weeks in advance. And an open admission from the violent pub landlord Zakaria to the local member of parliament for Brighton, Kemptown, Lloyd Russell-Moyers, that he would sack any workers who took part in union activities read more
Shocking union-busting by “out of control” bosses in Brighton pub dispute (4 June) – The conduct of the landlords in the dispute at the Saint James Tavern (SJT) in Brighton has shown exactly why the workers’ needed to organise and fight back. The workers have been subjected to vicious union-busting, physical assaults, and illegal sackings. The emphatic support for the workers from former SJT employees, many of whom have left because they no longer feel comfortable working at the pub in the centre of Brighton, speaks volumes. One former SJT worker has described the pub as a “living hell for the patrons and staff”. This was a community pub, part of the fabric of the community, which bar staff enjoyed working in until Zakaria Abedi and Victoria Bennett became landlords and began what some of the workers have called a ‘reign of terror.’ UVW is continuing to urge Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub company that leases the SJT, to intervene in the dispute. The landlords have been reported to local licensing authorities read more
IWGB
Overworked Migrant Cleaners at Vodafone Launch Campaign Over Pay and Sick Pay (7 July) – At the peak of the cost of living crisis, outsourced migrant cleaners from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) working at Vodafone HQ launch a campaign for fair pay and proper sick pay, following years of chronic overwork and victimisation. Several cleaners have faced harassment from management and disciplinary action from subcontractor Mitie for turning down extra responsibilities beyond their job description, following sweeping redundancies of catering staff made during the pandemic. In early 2021, cleaners began organising with the IWGB at Vodafone HQ and they have already won the London Living Wage for cleaners at Vodafone buildings nationally, as well as the hiring of some new staff, though workers continue to face excessive workloads. Vodafone increased its profits by 24% to €5.1 billion in 2021 and subcontractor Mitie’s profits soared by an enormous 187% to £167 million on the back of short-term COVID related contracts. Last year, Mitie faced resistance from the IWGB for its mistreatment of key workers cleaning Southwark hostels. Cleaners are demanding £12.50/hr, full sick pay (which other outsourced workers in the same building enjoy), the hiring of more cleaners, and that Mitie immediately reverse all unfair disciplinary action read more
Outsourced Workers at LSHTM Set to Strike over Pay Following Escalating Union Victimisation – Outsourced cleaners, porters, post room, and security staff working at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have voted unanimously in favour of strike action over poverty pay amidst the cost of living crisis. In April, workers from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) launched a campaign to bring an end to a discriminatory pay gap that would pay the majority-migrant and BAME workers below the lowest grade of the university-wide pay scale. This follows only months after a damning report revealing ingrained structural racism across the prestigious university, at academic staff and student level read more
The outsourced workers will strike 18 to 20 July during LSHTM graduation celebrations over poverty pay! Support striking workers and their fight back against the #CostOfLivingCrisis by donating to the strike fund
Barristers take action over pay and conditions
South Eastern Circuit – Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey)
Midland Circuit – Birmingham Crown Court
Northern Circuit – Manchester Crown Court
North Eastern Circuit – Leeds Crown Court
Western Circuit – Bristol Crown Court
Wales & Chester Circuit – Cardiff Crown Court
Week 1: Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th June 2022
Week 2: Monday 4th, Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th July 2022
Week 3: Monday 11th, Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th July 2022
Week 4: Monday 18th, Tuesday 19th, Wednesday 20th, Thursday 21st and Friday July 22nd 2022.
In w/c 25th July: the days of action are suspended for 1 week.
In w/c 1st August: the days of action recommence for a further full week.
SIPTU (Ireland)
Care and Community Sector campaign will escalate after successful first wave of strikes (6 July) – SIPTU members in the care and community sector have committed to escalating their campaign of industrial action following a successful first wave of strikes this week which saw hundreds of workers join picket lines and attend protests across the country read more
Mandate (Ireland)
Mandate say Penneys restructuring must take place through agreement (7 July) – Mandate Trade Union, which represents more than 5,000 workers in Penneys in Ireland, has said that any restructuring withing the company, which may include redundancies, must take place through agreement with the workers’ representatives. Penneys announced a restructuring process on the 29th June and since then Mandate has been engaged with the company since then read more
Mandate supports ‘Companies (Protection of Employees’ Rights in Liquidation) Bill 2021’ (6 July) – Mandate Trade Union General Secretary Gerry Light has today spoken at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade & Employment in support of the Companies (Protection of Employees’ Rights in Liquidation) Bill 2021. Mr Light called on the government to give recognition to the Debenhams workers in particular for their “determination” and “courage” in fighting for this legislation for more than 406 days read more
International news
(From Unison website) Turkey: UNISON is standing together with our Turkish friends (11 June) – (from Unison General Secretary Christine McAnea) In a court in Ankara, I saw first-hand how the Turkish state is determined to deny justice to trade unionists accused of ‘terrorism’ for doing their union duties read more
(From NUJ website) Pakistan: journalist arrested for alleged violation of country’s constitution (7 July) – NUJ urges release of Imran Riaz Khan and an end to ongoing investigation read more on NUJ website
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
Support GARY CARNEY, TRAIN OPERATOR – LONDON UNDERGROUND
Defend Adrian Mitchell RMT driver on London Underground
Donate to solidarity campaign of Moe Muhsin Manir Unite bus rep Email messages of support to Moe: [email protected]
Trade union rep victimisation at Woolwich Ferry reaches ‘obscene levels’, says Unite
Unite: Ealing’s Labour council ‘actively helping’ Serco ‘hound’ union rep from civil enforcement job
St Mungos management escalate dispute by suspending Unite rep – sign petition: End the culture of fear at St Mungo’s – model motion
St Mungo’s: Unite will not tolerate victimisation and bullying
Sign petition: Reinstate Gary Bolister sacked GMB rep at Islington Council
Watch Reel News video: Victimised union reps: Act like it’s you and fight back
Reinstate John Boken Shropshire NEU rep – For more details and send solidarity messages, email [email protected]
Sign petition to support Redbridge NEU Rep Keiran Mahon
Watch Reel News video: Huddersfield teachers strike to defend Louise Lewis
Victimised Tesco warehouse rep Max McGee fighting for reinstatement read more. There is now a GoFundMe to support the campaign (https://www.gofundme.com/f/reinstate-max-usdaw-rep-socialist) and Max can be invited to speak at Usdaw and other union branches plus trades councils ([email protected])
QC appointed to lead the independent Unite inquiry into blacklisting (25 Mar) – Unite is delighted to announce that Nick Randall QC and John Carl Townsend have been appointed to investigate the possible collusion by union officers in blacklisting. Over the past months, evidence gathering by Thompsons solicitors has continued, with many blacklisted construction workers and other witnesses having already been interviewed. The work of the independent investigators is expected to start officially on 11 April read more
#SPYCops Inquiry exposes state surveillance of workers movement
Keep up with developments and read and watch campaigners’ statements on the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) and Undercover Policing Inquiry websites and spycops info Facebook group
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/blacklistSG/
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
The NSSN is continuing to report on how workers are organising during the coronavirus pandemic
The NSSN is opening up our weekly email bulletin, website and social media platforms of Facebook and twitter to provide a public forum for workers during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis. We want to be a place where we can all share queries and experiences that workers are facing in their workplaces. These include reports of action taken by workers to defend themselves from their employers.
You can read about many of these actions in our weekly bulletin and out social media groups, especially our Facebook group: NSSN – defend workers’ rights under Coronavirus.
You can also send the NSSN your reports and queries via our website, twitter – @NSSN_AntiCuts and email – [email protected]
We welcome the information being sent to union members concerning the spread of coronavirus, including the Accord, Advance, AEP, AFA-CWA, ASLEF, BDA, BECTU Sector of Prospect, BFAWU, BOS-TU, College of Podiatry, Community, CSP, EIS, Equity, FBU, FDA, GMB, HCSA, MU, NAHT, NASUWT, National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD), Nautilus International, NEU, NGSU, NUJ, PFA, Prospect, RCM, SoR, TSSA, TUC, UCU, UNISON, Unite, URTU, USDAW, WGGB and the RCN
But it is absolutely vital that unions retain their ability to organise and act independently in defence of their members and workers generally. This includes the right of unions to take industrial action. We are already aware of workers being forced to take unofficial action on health and safety grounds. We also believe that unions should have oversight of any government bans on protests and picketing. This is the same Tory government that tabled more new anti-union laws in the Queens Speech in December 2019 and cannot be trusted and is now attacking the right to protest through its Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
We believe that it is essential that workers are protected during this worrying period and are not impacted, whether in terms of their safety as well as their pay and employment rights. The Tory government have announced measures that include some workers receiving 80% of their wages. This furlough scheme was due to finish but has now been extended because of the 2nd lockdown. But it’s clear that the Tories are looking to end it asap.
However, we believe that no worker should pay the price for any spread of the virus. We say: work or full pay. Any worker who is required not to attend work or is unable to do so because of COVID, childcare or transport closures should receive full pay and not be forced to take annual leave. But unions have to remain vigilant that any government payments actually happen and also covers all workers, including those in precarious employment such as zero-hour contracts and in the gig economy.
We have drafted this model motion which we’ve made into a bulletin that can be downloaded and printed off to be distributed. Feel free to use in your union and trades council, in totality or partially to highlight the issues that need to be addressed.
Keep an eye out for other Facebook and social media groups and pages that are being created. The Coronavirus Support Group for Workers has been set up on Facebook and is a useful forum and you can catch up on disputes at Strike Map UK
Diary
July
15-17 Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival 2022 read more
September
11 NSSN TUC Rally 1pm Brighton
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
