2023 starts as 2022 ended – with workers on the picket line. The first week of the year sees railworkers on strike nationally
RMT members will be on strike Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday while ASLEF are out on Thursday. The NSSN will continue to support these strikes as well as all the others that are taking place as workers face the brunt of the cost of living squeeze
RMT calls out government (2 Jan) – RMT calls out government for “blocking” rail resolution ahead of strikes starting tomorrow. 40,000 workers on Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will take action on 3, 4, 6 and 7 this week, shutting down most rail services across the country. Despite the union’s best efforts over the Christmas period, rail employers have not arranged any formal negotiations with RMT to resolve the dispute. Both Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group are being directly blocked by government ministers from producing an acceptable proposal on job security, pay and working conditions. RMT remains available around the clock for talks so all parties can come to a negotiated settlement. The situation stands in stark contrast to other areas of the railway where the Department for Transport does not have a mandate. RMT has secured deals with Scotrail, Transport for Wales, contracts on Eurostar and areas where the railway is under the control of metro mayors read more RMT National Dispute Fund
ASLEF: Train Drivers’ Union Announces New Strike Date (20 Dec) – ASLEF has announced another one-day strike on Thursday 5 January after members at 15 train companies voted overwhelmingly for more walk-outs in a long-running dispute over pay. The strike will bring services on affected lines to a halt and comes as more and more people in many different sectors of the economy are withdrawing their labour as employers refuse to help their employees during this cost of living crisis read more
NSSN news
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. 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 Katrine on [email protected]
The NSSN is developing a campaign pack for social care, which we hope to make available in the not-too-distant future for supporters to use in their localities. As part of this, communications officer Dave Gorton is keen to hear from supporters who:
(1) work in social care (either local authority, private or independently provided)
(2) represent social care workers for a trade union
(3) are in need of social care provision themselves or act as an (unpaid/underpaid) carer for a family member
Dave can be contacted in the first instance via [email protected]
Union News
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RMT
Cleaners strike for fair pay and decent conditions (29 Dec) – Contracted cleaners on the rail network will take strike action at the end of 2022. ISS cleaners on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) are taking strike action on the 30 and 31 December over pay, imposed rosters and attacks on working conditions. ISS cleaners on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) are taking strike action on the 30 and 31 December over pay, imposed rosters and attacks on working conditions. And across the national railway, over 1,000 contracted out cleaners will take strike action on 31 December in the first national strike of its kind. Cleaners working for the likes of Atalian Servest, Churchill and Mitie are demanding £15 an hour, company sick pay, decent holidays and good pensions from contractors who are raking in profits worth millions of pounds read more National Rail cleaners dispute pickets
Ministers missing as rail strikes go ahead (23 Dec) – Government ministers have abdicated their responsibility to sort out strikes by blocking rail employers from making a deal with RMT. Since meeting the minister last week there have been no further scheduled negotiations to try to prevent upcoming strikes on Network Rail read more
Seasonal message from National Secretary Darren Procter (22 Dec)
Eurostar security staff cancel strike action (21 Dec) – Eurostar security staff cancel strike action following an improved offer. Strike action by RMT members working on the Eurostar security contract for Mitie tomorrow (December 22) has been called off after the company made an improved pay offer of over 10 per cent and an uplift of nearly 30 per cent for the lowest paid. The union has also secured guaranteed hours on permanent shift patterns and employees who work flexibly will be offered choices which suit their individual requirements. The new deal includes an uplift of 10.3 per cent including back pay and a 28.89 per cent increase for the lowest paid staff read more
RMT announces 4 weeks of industrial action – Rail union, RMT will put on a series of 48 hour strikes in December and January after industry bosses failed to offer any new deals to reach a settlement. Over 40,000 members across Network and 14 Train Operating Companies will take strike action on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December and on January 3, 4, 6 and 7. There will also be an overtime ban across the railways from 18 December until 2 January, meaning RMT be taking industrial action for 4 weeks. Despite every effort made by our negotiators, it is clear that that the government is directly interfering with our attempts to reach a settlement. The union suspended previous strike action in good faith to allow for intensive negotiations to resolve the dispute. Yet, Network Rail have failed to make an improved offer on jobs, pay and conditions for our members during the last two weeks of talks. At the same time Rail Delivery Group, representing the train operating companies, have also broken a promise to make a meaningful offer on pay and conditions and even cancelled negotiations that were due to take place yesterday. We also have evidence from all 14 of the train companies denying that Rail Delivery Group has the authority to conduct negotiations on their behalf, even as the RDG urged us to come back to the table read more
Reinstate Branch Secretary Jason Moriarty – A new newsletter has been produced as a part of our organising to get Jason Moriarty reinstated. Please download it to learn more. The RMT offers full support and solidarity with our comrade Jason Moriarty following his disclosure to his employer, London Underground, of a disability read more
TSSA
TSSA announces strike on London’s Elizabeth Line (23 Dec) – Dozens of TSSA members working on London’s Elizabeth Line will take strike action early next year in a dispute over pay and proposed changes to pensions after members voted by nine to one in favour of strike action. The walkouts by staff at Rail for London (Infrastructure) Limited are highly likely to bring the Elizabeth Line – Transport for London’s flagship service – to a halt in the first strike of its kind since the line was opened in May 2021. Strike action will take place on Thursday 12 January 2023. Action short of a strike (effectively comprising a ‘work to rule’ instruction to only work contracted hours, take breaks, not provide contingency cover) will run from 12 January to 28 February 2023 read more
TSSA Christmas rail strikes (21 Dec) – Hundreds of TSSA members across three train operators are set to take strike action between 26 and 29 December with severe impact on rail services expected, especially in the Midlands and South West. Rail workers from CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains will each take 24 hours of strike action in the ongoing dispute over pay, job security and terms and conditions read more
TSSA issues new ballots to redefine national rail dispute (20 Dec) – Rail union TSSA is putting several train operating companies on notice for more industrial action in the new year by re-balloting thousands of members along new lines aimed at ending government efforts to block progress towards a deal in the ongoing national rail dispute. For the first time in the long-running dispute the union will have the opportunity to ballot different groups of members separately to maximise industrial strength and turnout, reflecting the feeling across different groups fighting for better pay, job security and conditions. The companies involved are Avanti West Coast, c2c, East Midlands Railway, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, LNER, and Northern read more
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Veolia strikes at Merseyside household waste sites postponed after improved pay offer (3 Jan) – Strike action planned by more than 180 Veolia workers at 22 household waste and recycling sites across Merseyside has been suspended following a revised pay offer. Strike action scheduled to take place from Monday 2 January to Saturday 7 January has been postponed to allow workers to be balloted on the new offer. If the offer is rejected strike action scheduled to last from Sunday 15 January until Saturday 21 January will take place read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Welwyn and Hatfield grounds maintenance workers strike over poverty pay rates is now indefinite – Workers on Welwyn and Hatfield council’s outsourced grounds maintenance contract, employed by Continental Landscapes, are striking over low pay. The Hertfordshire-based workforce, who are responsible for all of the council’s grounds maintenance contract, including grass cutting and hedge trimming, are currently being paid just £10.12 an hour. Continental Landscapes has offered an increase of seven per cent, however with the real rate of inflation (RPI) currently standing at 12.6 per cent, this amounts to a real terms pay cut. The workers, who are members of Unite, have now upped their action. The strike action is causing extensive disruption to Welwyn and Hatfield’s grounds maintenance programme read more
From a local supporter: “The mood is hardening on the picket line. The picket line starts at 7.30am but the finishing time has now been extended from 10am to 3pm. This is a landmark case, which when won would send a signal out to the whole sector that such poor wages will no longer be tolerated, Minimum wage increase of less than 3% or not.”
Government ignoring sick and injured workers in pension age increase plan (30 Dec) – Research by Unite, the UK’s leading union, has discovered that the government is failing to take account of workers being forced out of their profession due to ill health and injury, as it prepares to increase the state pension age read more
Unite responds to Ben Wallace comments on public sector pay disputes (29 Dec) – Responding to defence minister Ben Wallace’s attack today on the trade unions, Sharon Graham Unite general secretary said: “This government is spinning a web of lies to divert the blame for who is really responsible for the economic crisis engulfing the country. The unions ‘holding the country to ransom’ is another to add to their long list. Ben Wallace’s comments are puerile. The truth is that it is bandit capitalism that’s holding the country to ransom…” read more
Wirral bin strikes end after Unite secures 15 percent pay rise (28 Dec) – Over 200 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Biffa, on the outsourced Wirral council contract, have secured a 15 per cent pay rise backdated to April 2022. Class 2 HGV drivers will also see their hourly rates increase by £1.49 on top of the percentage pay increase. From April 2023, the workers will see their pay increase again by between seven and nine per cent, depending on the RPI rate of inflation read more
Threat of Heathrow strikes over as Menzies workers accept improved pay offer (23 Dec) – The threat of further strike action at Heathrow Airport has ended after workers employed as ground handlers by Menzies at the airport accepted an improved pay offer. The 400 plus workers, who are employed as ground handlers, took 72 hours of strike action last month. A further 72 hour strike was due to begin on Friday 16 December but was called off at the eleventh hour, due to an improved offer by the company. The workers have now been balloted on the offer which has been accepted. They will receive an increase of 9.5 per cent backdated to May 2022 and then a further one per cent from January 2023 read more
Welsh Ambulance Service workers vote for strike action to save NHS (22 Dec) – Around 1,000 Welsh Ambulance Service workers will stage industrial action, their union, Unite, announced today (Thursday). The workers, including paramedics, EMTs and emergency call handling staff, voted by 88 per cent to strike. Unite will announce strike dates early in the new year. They will join more than 1,600 ambulance workers and Unite members in England, who took strike action on 21 December. Unite’s Welsh Ambulance Service members say such is the decay across the entire health service, that where they once saw 10 patients a day, often they can now deal with only one per shift, spending hours and even whole days at a time sitting outside A&E with patients waiting to be seen read more
Go North East bus strikes off after Unite secures pay deal worth up to 13.1% (22 Dec) – Around 150 Go North East bus engineers have won a pay deal, with the vast majority of workers receiving a rise of between 10 and 13.1 per cent, depending on their grade. The deal also sees the workers’ attendance bonus automatically incorporated into their hourly rate, increasing it by a further 14 pence on top of the percentage pay rise. The workers at depots in Dunston, Sunderland, Consett, North Shields, Washington, Hexham and Gateshead voted to accept the pay deal following negotiations last week. Strike action that was due to begin this week has now been called off read more
New strikes hit offshore installations after pay offer rejected (22 Dec) – Petrofac workers take further action in bitter dispute over pay and conditions. Unite, the UK’s largest industrial union, confirmed that around 170 members are taking 48-hour strike action at Petrofac Repsol installations offshore from today (22nd December). The action follows workers rejecting the latest pay offer from the company by 79 per cent on an 89 per cent turnout in an increasingly bitter dispute over pay and working terms, which has seen previous rounds of industrial action. The installations impacted include the Arbroath, Auk, Bleo Holm, Claymore, Clyde, Fulmar Alpha, Piper Bravo, Saltire, Tartan Alpha, and Flotta oil terminal. Unite also confirmed that a further 48-hour strike will impact the Montrose platform starting on 29th- 31st December read more
Shocking Scrooge-like actions by contractors in Pembrokeshire Valero dispute (21 Dec) – Construction contractors employing workers at the Valero oil refinery in Pembrokeshire have been castigated for their Scrooge-like attitude as workers have been denied Christmas holiday pay. The 138 workers, employed by contractors under the terms of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI), embarked on indefinite strike action in pursuit of an increase in bonus payments to offset rapid inflation three weeks ago. The workers, who are responsible for construction maintenance roles at the vast refinery, currently receive a bonus of 15 pence an hour. They want this increased to £2.37 an hour, the maximum allowed under the agreement. In response two of the contractors, Altrad and Jenkins and Davis, are now refusing to pay the workers their holiday pay for the Christmas and New Year shutdown, despite this being a legal requirement. The two companies are also refusing to pay workers for holidays booked before the industrial action began read more
Greencore workers receive bumper pay increases in time for Christmas (21 Dec) – Hundreds of workers supplying Sainsbury’s and Tesco are in line for inflation busting pay increases in time for Christmas. Drivers get pay increases up to 33 per cent. Lowest paid production workers in line for 21 per cent pay boost. 700 workers employed by Greencore at its Kiveton site in Sheffield are in line for bumper pay increases just in time for Christmas. Greencore, Kiveton makes prepared meals such as quiches and soups for major supermarkets including Tescos and Sainsbury’s read more
Department for Infrastructure must intervene to avoid strike which will hugely impact Rathlin Island community (21 Dec) – Strike action set for early new year after private sector operator refuses to provide pay increase to ferry workers. Ferry workers vote for strike action with a 85 percent majority after three years of a pay freeze. Unite the union has called on the Department for Infrastructure to intervene to avoid a strike action which will stop the ferry service between Ballycastle and Rathlin Island four days a week. The strike follows a ballot of ferry workers which returned a 85 percent mandate in pursuit a cost of living pay increase. Despite this ballot, the owner of the outsourced ferry service has refused to move on the workers’ pay claim – which comes after three years of a pay freeze. With the latest twelve month retail price inflation standing at 14.0%, another year’s pay freeze would amount to a real-terms pay cut of more than a one-seventh of their wage read more
Abellio London bus pay dispute intensifies with strikes over festive period and January (20 Dec) – Abellio has profits of €401m but has imposed ‘unacceptable’ pay offer. Bus drivers employed by Abellio in South and West London will take a further 11 days of strike action in late December and throughout January in a dispute over pay. The bus drivers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have already taken 10 days of strike action in November and December. The last strike from the first round of industrial action ended last Saturday (17 December). The company, which made profits of €401 million in 2021, has imposed an ‘unacceptable’ pay offer. The deal does not meet the drivers’ demands and leaves full time drivers with under two years’ of service on £3.29 less per hour than their colleagues with more than two years. The dispute initially involved 950 drivers, but the anger amongst the workforce is such that membership of Unite has doubled read more
Please donate: Over 2,000 Abellio Bus Drivers at 6 garages have set strike days in a fight for pay justice. This is the first dispute at Abellio for over 10 years. The pay claim is for £20 per hour which might seem like a lot. However the the company made over £40 million in profit in 2021. It would cost the company about £11 million to pay our demand. The Abellio bus drivers are some of the lowest paid bus drivers in London. The dispute is also about fairer schedules which are exhausting and also to stop bus route cuts. The drivers have had enough. Membership has grown dramatically in the last few months. Now we are requesting financial support for the strike from branches. This money will be used primarily to top up strike pay as drivers will be losing a significant amount on strike days. We really appreciate any support and please feel to make contact for further information.
Account Details: Unity Trust Bank, Acc No: 20210456, Sort Code: 608301, Branch Name: TGWU1/768, Hayes Branch LE/768. Contact [email protected]
Reinstate Radek (Radoslaw Worbel) sacked Unite London bus rep at RATP London United Fulwell bus garage – send a message of complaint to [email protected] and a message of support to to Radek via the Unite Bus Combine: [email protected]
Greene King strikes go ahead over Christmas & New Year’s Eve (20 Dec) – Seven days of strike action begins tomorrow (Wednesday 21st December). Brewery workers offered a “Scrooge” pay deal. Greene King’s refusal to offer a fair pay increase in the midst of a cost of living crisis mean strikes will go ahead over Christmas. Workers will take three days of strike action between 21st December and 23rd December and a further four days between 28th December and 31st December. Supplies of well-known beers and ales to pubs, restaurants and shops including IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale will be affected. The 188 workers, including production and distribution workers, drivers and draymen, who are members of Unite are based at Bury St Edmunds, Eastwood (Nottinghamshire) and Abingdon (Oxfordshire) read more
Construction giant Murphy protests in UK and Ireland over union busting (20 Dec) – Demonstrations call for four sacked trade union members to be reinstated. Demonstrations will be held outside the offices of Murphy construction companies in Newbridge, County Kildare, Warrington, Stafford and London tomorrow (21 December) over union busting at the group. The protests form part of a campaign to secure the reinstatement of four Unite members, including a Unite shop steward, who were dismissed by the group’s Irish subsidiary, Murphy International. Unite believes the reasons for the sacking are spurious and linked to the workers’ trade union membership read more
No Christmas cheer for Unite workers at Coop Funeralcare as pay dispute continues (19 Dec) – Management tactics fail to dent workers’ resolve in fight for a fair wage deal as coffin strike likely to enter fourth month. Unite can today (Monday 19 December) confirm that the failure of the Coop to make an improved wage offer to their workforce will see the ongoing pay dispute continue beyond Christmas. Unite members at the Cooperative Funeralcare’s only UK coffin manufacturing facility in Govan is likely to enter its fourth month as workers continue to fight for a fair wage offer. Workers will take strike action from Monday 19th December continuously until Friday 23rd December read more
Go North East strikes suspended following pay talks (17 Dec) – Planned strike action by engineers working for Go North East, due to begin next week, have been suspended at the eleventh hour. The 150 engineers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, were due to begin a week-long strike on Monday 19 December. The industrial action would have caused considerable disruption to the bus network throughout the region. However following last minute talks at the conciliation service Acas, Go North East made an improved pay offer. As an act of good faith Unite, suspended the strike action in order to ballot its members on the improved offer read more
Merseyside facing Christmas waste chaos as Veolia workers strike over Scrooge pay (15 Dec) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Veolia on household waste and recycling sites throughout Merseyside, will take extensive strike action after Christmas, due to the company’s Scrooge like pay offer. The 180 workers will begin strike action at the 22 sites where they are employed on Wednesday 28 December with the initial strike ending on Saturday 31 December. There will then be further strikes beginning on Monday 2 January and ending on Saturday 7 January and from Sunday 15 January until Saturday 21 January. The majority of the workers are paid just £9.50 an hour, including those who have a HGV class two driving licence, with class one HGV drivers receiving just £11.87 an hour read more
Abellio East Midlands workers to stage further strikes at Christmas over ‘drastic pay cuts’ (16 Dec) – Company with €401m profit fails to make any pay offer despite soaring prices. Workers at train company Abellio East Midlands will begin further strike action later this month over the company’s refusal to make any pay offer despite soaring living costs. Over 140 workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, took four dates of strike action in October as well as a further two days earlier this month and will strike again on 23 and 24 December. More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved. Abellio made a net profit of €401 million in 2021. However, it has blamed its failure to make a pay offer on the Department for Transport (DfT), claiming that ministers have not authorised it to make a pay offer to its workers. The workers are based at depots in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham and employed as cleaners, technicians, shunters, engineers, inspectors, lathe operators, team leaders and supervisors read more
Community support workers in Hounslow stage protest as strike goes ahead (12 Dec) – What: Striking charity workers stage protest; Where: Hounslow council buildings, TW3 3EB; When: 12.30pm on Tuesday 13th December. Community support workers in Hounslow stage protest as strike goes ahead. Workers employed by Hestia taking strike action on 12 and 13 December, will stage a protest at the Hounslow council building on Tuesday 13 December. Hestia Hounslow LIFE is a referral service which provides adult services in Hounslow. Staff say the charity is refusing to address understaffing and imposing unrealistic changes in working practices which will make it near impossible to provide the important services that at risk Hounslow residents desperately need. This is despite the referral service receiving an increase in funding from the local authority. Hestia management are also refusing to negotiate with Unite over a cost of living pay increase and the provision of adequate travel expenses. Bosses have outrageously threatened Unite members with disciplinary action if they discuss pay with colleagues during work read more
Support Arrow XL workers strike – Low paid workers employed by Arrow XL will protest tomorrow outside the prestigious Logistics UK Awards, where the company’s sister company Yodel has been shortlisted for an award. The demonstration will feature a banner reading: Arrow XL Time to Deliver Fair Pay. The 350 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, at the company have been taking strike action since October in a dispute over pay. Many of the workers are only paid the minimum wage, with other workers paid just above £9.50 an hour…The workers will begin all-out (continuous) strike action from Friday (9 December). They had been striking on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The industrial action began in October read more
Strike dates set to hit Highlands and Islands Airports in lead up to Christmas – Disruption likely as Unite members at HIAL take action in pay dispute. Unite the union, which represents members across eleven airports in the HIAL group, including those working in Fire and Rescue, Security and administration, has confirmed today (6 December) that strike action will take place commencing at 00:01 hours and concluding at 23:59 hours on 19th December 2022; And commencing at 00:01 hours and concluding at 23:59 hours on 22nd December 2022. Members of Unite voted by 73.5 per cent in favour of taking strike action and by 92.8 per cent in favour of taking action short of strike in a bid to improve pay for rural communities amid a cost of living crisis. The union has previously warned that strike action will cause huge disruption over the winter break and festive period. The workforce has already rejected an 5 per cent offer which they deemed unacceptable with inflation soaring to hit a 40-year high of 14.2 per cent (RPI). The eleven airports across the HIAL Group are Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick read more
Bristol council housing officers continue striking over terrible working conditions – Around 50 Bristol council housing officers and team leaders, responsible for managing the local authority’s 27,000 tenancies, will continue striking over unsustainable workloads on 14, 15 and 16 December. The workers previously took four days of strike action in late October. The workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are angry that Bristol council is refusing to act even though the extra work is causing high rates of stress and anxiety. They are calling on the council to reduce workloads and allocate additional resources read more
Great Western Railway engineers continue strike action over pay – Around 350 Great Western Railway (GWR) engineers will take further strike action on Thursday 15 December over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers previously went on strike in October. Despite GWR’s parent company First Group, which is based in Aberdeen, making pre-tax profits of £654 million in 2021/22, the company is refusing to offer the workers a pay rise. It will be the third year in a row their pay has been frozen. Meanwhile the real rate of inflation, RPI, is at 14.2 per cent. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members at Great Western Railway have not had a pay rise in three years. Now, with soaring living costs, their wages are falling even further behind. Great Western and First Group have no reason not to address this when their profits are so high. It is sheer greed on the part of the employer and our members have Unite’s full backing in striking for a fair pay rise.” The striking workers are based at depots and stations in London, Exeter, Tiverton, Plymouth, Swindon, Swansea, Reading, Penzance, Oxford and Bristol. If the dispute is not resolved then more strikes will be scheduled read more
Harrods’ strike breaking agency employed under new anti-union law named and shamed – Protective Security Group Ltd workers ‘didn’t know’ they had been brought in to break pay strike. The agency brought in to break a pay strike by Harrods’ security guards and CCTV operators has been named and shamed as Protective Security Group Ltd. Under the new anti-trade union law passed this summer by the government, Harrods has been allowed to replace striking workers with agency staff. The company threatened the workforce with the legislation previously and is one of the first employers in the country to use it. To break the strike, Harrods, owned by the Qatari state, has contracted Protective Security, which is registered in Ruislip, Middlesex, and has two directors, Jonathon Robinson and Edward Thomas Miller. Unite understands that Protective Security workers brought into work at Harrods during the strikes were not told there was industrial action taking place and were uncomfortable crossing a picket line…More than 50 Harrods uniformed security guards and CCTV operators are striking over a ‘pay cut dressed up as a rise’. The workers began three days of strike action over a seven per cent pay offer on 25 November and will strike again on 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 26 December. The offer is a pay cut when the real rate of inflation, RPI, stands at 14.2 per cent and rising read more
UK facing Christmas pickle crisis as industrial action at pickled onion factory Mizkan in Rochdale intensifies – Lovers of some of UK’s most popular pickles face being denied their favourite condiments this Christmas as strike action at the Mizkan Euro factory in Rochdale intensifies in a dispute over pay. The factory produces Haywards Pickled Onions, Sarsons Vinegar and Haywards Pickled Vegetables. The 50 plus workers, who are members of Unite, the UK leading union, have already taken 19 days of strike action since October. The strike action is a result of the company only being prepared to offer its workers a five per cent pay increase, with the real inflation rate (RPI) now standing at 14.2 per cent, this is a very substantial real terms pay cut. Due to the just in time nature of supermarket deliveries, the strike action will almost inevitably create severe shortages at a time of year when many consumers relish these products, often with cold meat and cheese. Pickled onions and pickled vegetables are at the highest demand at this time of year read more
Strikes stepped up at Fawley refinery as heavy-handed policing deepens tensions in dispute – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed in engineering construction roles at Fawley oil refinery in Hampshire will step up strike action in a dispute over bonus payments. The 130-strong workforce, who are employed by three contractors Altrad, Bilfinger and Enerveo, are seeking a bonus payment of £2.37 an hour, the maximum allowed under the relevant industrial agreement (National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry [NAECI]). The Fawley refinery is operated by ExxonMobil, which last month recorded a quarterly profit of £17.3 billion. Tensions in the dispute have dramatically increased due to intimidatory behaviour by Hampshire police and false allegations made the employer read more. Send messages of support to [email protected]
UK braced for Dulux paint shortages as Imperial Chemical workers in Stowmarket strike over deplorable pay offer – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Imperial Chemical in Stowmarket, Suffolk, will begin strike action later this month following a derisory pay offer by the company. The workers, who recorded a 94 per cent yes vote in favour of strike action, have been offered a pay increase of just 4.3 per cent. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, now running at 14.2 per cent, this amounts to a huge real terms pay cut. The workers will initially take two 24-hour periods of strike action on Wednesday 30 November and Wednesday 7 December. The workers are principally employed as production operatives and produce paint. The most popular brand is Dulux paint and the strike action will quickly result in shortages of the product in DIY stores and supermarkets read more
Tenants groups in Belfast and Craigavon challenge NIHE on impact of unresolved strike – Workers enter their fifteen week of strike action for improved pay as LRA-mediated talks are due to commence this week. Striking housing workers at NIHE have linked up with tenants associations and residents groups across the three housing regions impacted by the ongoing industrial dispute which is now entering its fifteenth week. The pay dispute is in relation to the 2021-2022 year and housing workers are seeking two pay grade increases and a cost of living payment. At present workers have had a 1.75 percent increase for that year imposed after it was recommended by the National Joint Council. Unite Regional Officer Michael Keenan confirmed that his union’s members had secured strong support from tenants groups who were bearing the brunt of the unresolved strike read more
Support strikes at Muller Stonehouse, Gloucestershire – Super-rich Muller wants to milk more from workers to boost profits. Nearly 70 HGV drivers and shunters employed by the German dairy giant and who are responsible for delivering milk products to supermarkets nationwide have been on strike since August. The dispute is over imposed rota changes which destroy workers’ ability to spend time with their families. In contravention of an agreement signed with Unite earlier this year, Muller is trying to impose a five days on two days off rota system. The changes would require all drivers to work at least one day every weekend. The company, which made a £16.5 million profit in 2020 and forecast more in 2021, wants to impose the rota to save money when they contract third party hauliers to deliver products read more
Southampton Airport faces shutdown as workers prepare to strike after three year pay freeze – Southampton Airport faces shutdown as workers prepare to strike after three year pay freeze. No pay increase since 2019. The workers made huge sacrifices during the pandemic to keep the airport safe. Workers at Southampton Airport who haven’t had a pay increase since 2019 will take a series of one day strikes beginning on 5 November after months of unacceptable delays by airport bosses. Airside operations controllers, firefighters, technicians and engineering workers will take 1 day of strike action on Saturday 5 November, Saturday 12 November and Saturday 19 November read more
Walsall Housing Group workers to strike over imposed pay cut – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are stepping up strike action this week after their employer Walsall Housing Group imposed a real-terms pay cut on the workers. The company has imposed a 3.1 per cent increase and an additional £300 one-off payment on the workers, far below the current real inflation rate (RPI) of 12.3 per cent. The Walsall Housing Group workers play an essential role in keeping tenants’ homes safe and repaired. Over 40 members of Unite at Walsall Housing Group will take 12 days of strike action over the coming weeks on October 21, 24, 28 and 31 and then on 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28 November read more
Derby Alstom pay cut strikes to impact East Midlands Rail maintenance – Alstom profits at £233m but workers offered just four per cent. More than 70 highly skilled workers who maintain the rolling stock at Alstom’s Derby site will strike over pay on 27 October and 29 October. If the dispute is not resolved more strikes will be scheduled. The workers will also begin industrial action comprising of a work to rule and an overtime ban on 19 October over the four per cent pay offer, well below the RPI rate of inflation of 12.3 per cent. French-based Alstom’s latest financial report shows it made sales of £13.6 billion in 2021/22 and net profits of £233 million read more
Arriva drivers in Northumberland to strike over threatened closure of Jesmond depot – Bus drivers employed by Arriva will begin strike action later this month in opposition to the company’s plans to close its Jesmond depot. The strike will involve over 100 bus drivers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union. Beginning on Thursday 21 October, it will be an all-out (continuous) strike. The drivers recorded a 97 per cent vote in favour of industrial action. The Jesmond depot is due to close on Monday 31 October. The closure threatens jobs and will result in a poorer bus service throughout Newcastle and Northumberland. The company has failed to adequately consult Unite over its plans read more
Workers at Causeway Coast and Glens council to commence all-out strike action tomorrow after councils vote down pay increase – Offer of two pay points plus a cash lump sum to end dispute was rejected at last night’s council meeting by a single vote in the chamber. Unite the union has confirmed that its members at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council will commence continuous strike action at the local authority tomorrow (8 Sept). The decision by workers followed last night’s vote at full council at which a proposal to settle the strike by offering two pay point increments and a lump sum to workers – similar to that provided in Derry City & Strabane and in Mid-Ulster District Councils – was voted down by a majority of one councillor. General Secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, pledged her union’s full support to the striking council workers read more
CWU
Support the CWU strikes in Royal Mail & Post Office – The CWU has launched a strike fund – please support: Unity Bank, CWU General Fund, 60-83-01 33019822
We support the call of the CWU for Royal Mail and BT to be re-nationalised. Follow the latest news via CWU’s Facebook page, website and Twitter @CWUnews
Strikes 14 & 15: Royal Mail workers standing firm everywhere against bullying bosses (16 Dec) – All regions and divisions report strikers’ morale boosted by last week’s London rally & anger growing at company tactics. Pompey chimes for our leader & London’s festive challenge. “It was brilliant to have Dave Ward down here in Portsmouth,” said South East Region secretary Ruth Harris yesterday. “It was another morale boost for our members who were still buzzing from last Friday…” read more
Royal Mail Property & Facilities members to strike on Thursday (13 Dec) – P&FS members, who keep Royal Mail company premises clean and safe, will be striking for the third time. CWU outdoor secretary Mark Baulch represents P&FS cleaners, while Carl Maden is the union’s national officer for engineers and admin grades within this part of the business and have been involved in separate negotiations with this RMPFSL’s senior management team over the past few months. “P&FS is a separate bargaining unit,” says Carl. “However, it can get frustrating when we feel we’re making progress with P&FS management, but then it would appear that they have to go back to Group for approval – which we believe has proved to be the stumbling block several times in this set of negotiations. There’s a real irony here – and a major source of frustration at times” read more
Post Office Crowns & Admin strikes resume – Supply Chain overtime ban begins (13 Dec) – Staff in Crown Offices and Admin grades began a two-day walkout yesterday – their seventh and eighth – while their Supply Chain colleagues have begun a two-week overtime ban. Speaking to CWU News today, acting DGSP Andy Furey said: “This dispute has now been ongoing for nearly seven months. The first strikes were back in early May. Our Post Office members have now voted twice by enormous, 90 per cent-plus, majorities for this action and they’ve certainly shown their ongoing determination to win the fair pay deal they deserve. According to reports I’ve received from our reps around the UK, this latest bout of action has, once again, been solidly supported. “I’m honoured to represent such a fantastic group of members – their strength and solidarity truly is an inspiration” read more
PCS
Make donations to support PCS members on strike to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy Account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
Picket lines 1-6 January – As 2023 gets underway PCS members will be continuing their strike action and holding picket lines. Please go along and show them support if you can. As our targeted strike action continues, use the list below to find out where your nearest picket line is and plan in a visit. This week members at the Rural Payments Agency in Newcastle, Workington and Caernarfon walk out from Tuesday (3) to 13 January. DVSA members in the Midlands and Eastern regions round off their latest action on Tuesday, while their colleagues in Wales, London and the South East and South West strike from Wednesday (4) until 10 January. All National Highways workplaces are on strike on Tuesday (3) and Wednesday (4) and on Friday and Saturday (6 and 7) traffic officer service employees in the East Midlands and Eastern regions are taking action. At the Toxteth, Liverpool Duke Street and Liverpool City jobcentres, DWP members will strike until 7 January. Members in Everton and Innovation Park will also join the action from 3-7 January and all members in Doncaster Crossgate House will strike. You can also show your support by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
- Signing our petition to tell prime minister Rishi Sunak to intervene and hold meaningful talks to end the strikes.
- Support us on social media with the hashtags: #PCSonStrike #BlameTheGovt
Small number of airport checks highlights security concerns (30 Dec) – Just 5% of the usual stops are being carried out by military personnel at immigration desks at 6 UK airports underlining serious concerns about border safety, says PCS. Border Force workers are the latest PCS members to take strike action as part of our national campaign over pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms. The airports affected are London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester, and also the port of Newhaven read more
National Highways strike continues (29 Dec) – Road traffic officers and control room operators in South West England and the West Midlands begin two days of strike action tomorrow. Strike action among National Highways members has been moving from region to region since starting on 13 December. PCS members working for National Highways in all regions will strike on January 3 and 4 read more
Driving examiners’ strike moves to the Midlands and East of England (27 Dec) – Driving examiners in 71 test centres in Eastern England and the Midlands are walking out from tomorrow (28) as the DVSA strike action moves across the country. The strike action by driving examiners, ADI examiners and local driving test managers began in Scotland and northern England on 13 December and has now reached the Midlands and Eastern England. The action is part of our national campaign on pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms read more
DVLA Strike dates announced (23 Dec) – Our rolling programme of action across the UK will see members working for DVLA starting to take strike action from 9 January. In our national strike ballot on pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms, which closed last month we achieved one of the highest votes in favour of strike action in the DVLA. In DVLA, nearly 94% of members voted for strike action on a 56.25% turnout, well above the required legal threshold of 50%. The initial phase of our strike action will be targeted at areas that will have a significant impact on employers’ operations and the government. We are therefore asking members working on Drivers Medical at Swansea Morriston main site and at the DVLA Birmingham office to take strike action on 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 January read more
Further strike action called in HMCTS on 7 and 14 January (21 Dec) – PCS has served notice of additional strike action in HMCTS as part of our long-running dispute over Common Platform. PCS has today (21) served notice of additional strike action in HMCTS over the Common Platform dispute. It will take place on Saturday 7 January and Saturday 14 January and will involve legal advisers and court associates in courts across the country. Our action continues to apply pressure on HMCTS to do the right thing and rethink the failing Common Platform system read more
Further strikes announced in DWP (21 Dec) – PCS has served formal notice on DWP that we are extending the strike action that is being taken as part of the national campaign. Further strikes will take place from Tuesday 3 January to Saturday 7 January 2023. Benefit Processing members in Doncaster Crossgate House, a threatened closure site, have been on strike since Monday 19 December, and are joined tomorrow by the rest of the PCS members, including the Jobcentre, at the site. All members in the building will now take strike action during the first week in January, usually a busy one in Jobcentres. Similarly, members in Toxteth, City and Duke Street Jobcentres in Liverpool have taken strike action from 19 December read more
Over 400 more members at the Rural Payments Agency to join strike action (21 Dec) – All PCS members in RPA Workington and Newcastle will join customer service centre members who are already on strike. More than 400 PCS members working at the Rural Payments Agency are set to join the union’s strike action next month. The move almost quadruples the number of members taking action at the agency, with the 120 call-centre workers who walked out in Workington, Newcastle and Caernarfon from December 13-17 being joined by all 301 colleagues in Workington and Newcastle from January 3-6 and 9-13 read more
Road traffic officers and control room operators to strike (15 Dec) – Road traffic officers and control room operators working for National Highways tomorrow (Friday, December 16) begin 3 weeks’ strike action across England. PCS union members will strike:
- in the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber tomorrow and Saturday
- in London and South East from 22-25 December
- in the West Midlands and South West on 30 and 31 December
- in the East Midlands and Eastern region on 6 and 7 January.
- In addition, all members will strike together on 3 and 4 January read more
HGS members threaten indefinite industrial action – The 82 workers, employed by HGS to run the contact centre and back-office functions of the government’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), have already taken four weeks of strike action. Talks with conciliation service ACAS broke down earlier this month, leading the union today (29 Nov) to tell managers they will strike for a further two weeks from 12 December, as well as imposing an indefinite overtime ban from 26 December read more
GMB
Ambulance staff and public stand together as the government’s language becomes ever more extreme (21 Dec) – Steve Barclay’s insulting comments about the nation’s NHS staff are wildly out of touch with reality and the people of our country, says GMB Union. This dispute could be solved if the Government does the sensible, grown up thing and starts to talk pay now, rather than deliberately smear ambulance workers who look after public read more
Ambulance admission and transfer deaths more than double, shock figures reveal (21 Dec) – The crisis in the nation’s ambulance service is laid bare in a letter to the Secretary of State, Steve Barclay MP, from Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary. The union is releasing the figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, ahead of tomorrow’s ambulance industrial action read more
Amazon workers in Coventry first in UK to strike (16 Dec) – Amazon workers at a Coventry warehouse will become the first in the UK to take formal strike action. Hundreds of workers have voted to walk out in anger over the company’s 50 pence per hour pay offer. The ballot closed today [16 December 2022] – a majority of more than 98 per cent of workers voted to strike on a turnout of more than 63 per cent. Any industrial action is likely to take place in the new year. Amazon UK Services Limited reported that it paid just £10.8 million in tax in 2021, despite recording a pre-tax profit of £204 million read more
GMB NHS Pay Offer Consultative Ballot Result (15 Dec) – GMB members reject latest NHS Scotland pay offer by two-thirds after consultative ballot. Responding to a clear rejection of the latest NHS Scotland pay offer by GMB members across NHS Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service (where 66 per cent voted to reject and 34 per cent voted to accept) read more
Almost 300 Mersey Care workers to strike over pay (13 Dec) – Almost 300 health care workers at Mersey Care will take strike action over pay. Staff including nurses, health care assistants, support staff, cleaners and admin staff will walk out for 24 hours from 00:01 on 28 December 2022. They will join more than 10,000 GMB ambulance workers who will strike on the same day across England and Wales. Mersey Care workers voted to strike over the Government’s imposed 4 per cent pay award – another massive real terms pay cut. GMB representatives will now meet with the trusts to discuss requirements for emergency cover read more
GMB union: ExxonMobil ‘throwing money’ at agencies rather than our members (9 Dec) – GMB, the energy union, are preparing to name and shame companies who are providing strike-breakers in the midst of a trades dispute at Fawley oil refinery near Southampton. The union have been informed that agency workers have been retained on full pay until strike action recommenced, following a temporary suspension of action actioned by GMB and sister union Unite. Strike action at the refinery was suspended for Monday to Wednesday of this week to allow negotiations to take place, only for GMB to be told that talks would not be happening as there was “nothing to discuss.” Read more
Fresh Sunderland bus strike dates (9 Dec) – Sunderland’s bus strikes are set to continue after drivers turned down a below inflation pay deal. The new strike dates are December 23, 24, 26 and 27. An overwhelming majority of GMB members working for Stagecoach Sunderland rejected the deal, which amounted to a real terms pay cut. Stagecoach’s regional bus services made an operating profit of £58 million in the financial year 2021/22 – more than double the year before. Almost 200 Sunderland bus drivers have taken several days of strike action already in anger over ‘poverty pay’ read more
GMB warns Wiltshire motorists to check for unlawfully issued parking tickets during strike days (7 Dec) – If Wiltshire don’t follow the letter of the law, then parking fines issued during the strike are open to legal challenge, says GMB. GMB, the trade union for Wiltshire Council staff, has learned of plans to deploy untrained managers to stand in for their striking traffic warden members. Wiltshire Civil Enforcement Officers [wardens] are due to be taking strike action from 10 to 17 December and during the last strike no wardens went out to work on strike days. The members are taking strike action due to a proposed removal of a contractual, unsociable hours uplift of 10 per cent to their salaries, which compensates them for having to work on Saturdays and Sundays plus evenings and early mornings. GMB has learned that the council is planning to use managers who have not been properly trained to patrol and potentially issue Parking Charge Notices and highways staff to cover other duties normally carried out by the CEO read more
Newcastle energy company announces strike dates – Workers at a Newcastle energy company have announced when they will strike over a real terms pay cut. More than 200 workers at Baker Hughes, in Walker, will take eight days of industrial action from 12 – 15 December and 12 – 18 January. GMB members at the company – who makes undersea pipelines and cable conduits for the oil and gas industry – have overwhelmingly turned down pay offers of as little as four per cent. With inflation at 12.3 per cent, both offers amount to massive real terms pay cut read more
Almost 100 workers strike after ‘Grinch’ bosses cancel Christmas – Almost 100 Durham chemical workers will go on strike tomorrow (30 Nov) after ‘Grinch bosses’ cancelled their Christmas holidays. GMB members Thomas Swan, in Consett, voted overwhelmingly to walk out over a real terms pay cut. Following the vote, company bosses cancelled all prebooked holidays over the Christmas period. The strike will last for 24 hours, with further industrial action set for Dec 7, 14 and 21 and 4 Jan. A revised offer of 5.1 per cent – capped at £1,500 – was overwhelmingly rejected read more
Money shortage fears as 1,200 G4S Cash workers vote to strike – G4S faces its first ever strike after 1,200 GMB members voted to walk out. The workers, who deliver cash and coins to the likes of Barclays, HSBC, Tesco, Wetherspoon, Santander, Asda and Aldi, returned a 97 per cent vote for industrial action. The 48 hour strike is scheduled to take place from 3am on Monday 5 December 2022, sparking genuine fears of cash shortages over Christmas. The last time G4S Cash workers voted to strike; the Bank of England is thought to have pressured G4S into improving their offer because they the Bank’s insurer demands minimum staffing levels. G4S Cash, part of Allied International, originally offered members a part pay freeze, though have now tabled an offer of 4 per cent and lump sum bonus based on contracted hours read more
Polyflor profits hit £52 million as struggling workers strike – Flooring company Polyflor has seen profits rise to more than £52 million while hard up workers take strike action to make ends meet, says GMB Union. James Holstead – Polyflor’s parent company – posted a 9.6 per cent rise in revenue year-on-year to £291.9 million for the year that ended June 30. Pre-tax profit increased 1.6 per cent £52.1 million. Almost 200 workers at the firm are in midst of three weeks’ solid strike action until 14 October. Pickets will be staged from 8 to 10am and 4 to 6pm, Monday to Friday outside the factory on Radcliffe New Road, M45. Workers voted to strike over a pay dispute. Shortly after they received a message from the company saying ‘process shifts for process workers are to be suspended…please do not turn up for your shift(s) from 6am on Thursday 1st September’ read more
Solidarity with GMB after yet another arrest on a bin picket line – For the second time in months, GMB Southern Region officers have been arrested on a picket line of their striking refuse members. Previously, arrests were made on the Wealden picket. They appeared at Hastings Magistrates Court on 29th June. The case was adjourned to Brighton Crown Court and was due to take place on November 16th but has been delayed again. This is an outrageous attack on the right of trade unions to strike, picket and protest. The NSSN sends our continued solidarity and support read more about Surry strike
Unison
Further strikes inevitable unless government holds talks and moves on NHS pay, says UNISON (22 Dec) – Union announces that two further days of industrial action will take place on January 11 and 23. Two further strike days involving ambulance staff working for five services in England are to take place in the new year, says their union UNISON today (Thursday). Ambulance workers belonging to UNISON and employed by services in London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East and South West are to take action over pay and staffing again in January. Staff will be called out on strike on Wednesday 11 and Monday 23 January 2023. This follows a noon to midnight strike yesterday (Wednesday) and is a direct result of the government’s repeated refusal to negotiate improvements to NHS pay this year, says UNISON. The two dates next month are, as UNISON has warned, an escalation of this week’s action. The January strikes will each be for 24 hours from midnight to midnight and involve all ambulance employees, not just the 999 response crews, as was the case on Wednesday read more
UNISON ambulance workers strike over pay and staffing (20 Dec) – Ambulance staff working for five services in England – London, Yorkshire, North West, North East and South West – will be taking part in industrial action tomorrow (Wednesday) over pay and staffing. Paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians and other 999 crew members are among those who will be on picket lines from midday to midnight read more
Environment Agency staff start industrial action over pay, says UNISON (12 Dec) – Wages there have been held down for years. Thousands of Environment Agency workers in England will stop attending incidents such as floods, water pollution, spills, waste fires and fly-tipping in December and over Christmas, as they begin industrial action from today (Monday), says UNISON read more
Health workers in Northern Ireland need all our support (12 Dec) – This winter will bring more worry and stress for families struggling to pay their heating bills. UNISON is supporting members taking action because we’re determined to get more money into their pockets read more
Stop Hackney Council cutting library services read more about the campaign here
Support striking care workers at St Monika Trust in Bristol – Care workers, registered nurses and residential home staff employed by Bristol-based St Monica Trust have been taking action over fire and rehire threats and cuts to pay read more
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
NIPSA
NICS Pay Update (21 Dec) – Further to the General Secretary’s article issued yesterday, 20 December 2022. It has been confirmed that Management Side is not in a position to issue a “final” offer to Central Trade Union Side today. However, indications remain that there will not be any further significant funding that would meaningfully change the overall offer put forward at the pay discussion with Management Side on the 16 December 2022. Civil servants are due to receive a significantly lower pay offer than those made to other public servants, so we have to ask the question – why are civil servants less valued by the government than other workers? If we wish to force the hand of the government, which is coming under pressure from other trade unions, then civil servants now need to join the action by those workers. If we want a fair pay rise, we will have to be in the fight. For that reason, the Civil Service Executive Committee is recommending rejection of the envisaged offer and are proposing that we ballot for industrial action. The industrial action is likely to take the form of strike action and action short of strike action read more
HSC Industrial Action: Impact on Schools (14 Dec) – NIPSA Health Strike: As you will be aware the RCN is calling its members out on strike action (Thursday 15 Dec and Tuesday 20 Dec). This is likely to impact on the availability of nursing staff cover within schools. It is imperative that under no circumstances should Classroom Assistants undertake nursing duties or feel under any pressure to cover the tasks which would be outside their job description and list A of clinical interventions. If nurses are not going to be present in school as a result of their lawful industrial action, we should ensure solidarity with them and no cover will be available by NIPSA members. Classroom Assistants must not undertake nursing tasks. Unfortunately, this may mean that some pupils cannot attend school during the strike days read more
Members put the Heat on Employers! (14 Dec) – NIPSA Health Strike: As we return to industrial action short of strike, I would like to say a big thank you to activists and members for showing the bravery and determination to stand up for the key issues of Pay, Safe Staffing and Mileage despite the freezing conditions. The day was a great success, sending a clear message to Employers and the Government and whilst Trade Union action has secured the implementation of the Pay Review Body recommendation of £1400 or 4% there remains to be a freeze on providing the “inflation busting” pay rise which will be crucial to retaining and recruiting the workforce to ensure Health Services are Safe for all. The Industrial Action colleagues will clearly not resolve our issues overnight, with the lack of an Executive it falls to the Department and nationally Central Government to resolve these issues. NIPSA is prepared for the long road ahead returning to the continuous action short of strike and work to rule to reinforce the key concerns around not just Pay but to expose the distress associated with Staffing limitations that causes constant stress and anxiety working in unsafe conditions read more
Royal College of Nursing
NHS pay dispute: January strike dates and locations announced (23 Dec) – RCN members will strike on 18 and 19 January at employers across England. Ministers have the power to stop strikes but have failed to open negotiations on NHS pay. Now, more hospitals in England will see strike action. These will take place on 18 and 19 January – with further dates to be confirmed in the new year. You can find the full list of employers where strike action is happening on these dates here. Two days of strike action were held in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on 15 and 20 December. Thousands of nursing staff took to picket lines to make their voices heard read more
Strike planning to continue after members reject revised NHS pay offer (21 Dec) – RCN Scotland planning for strike action in the NHS continues after members in Scotland rejected a revised NHS pay offer. Early in the new year we will announce dates for strike action read more
Day two of nursing strikes: RCN issues ultimatum to government (20 Dec) – Open formal pay negotiations within 48 hours or face another wave of strike action, warns RCN leader, as the second day of strikes begins in England, Northern Ireland and Wales read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
Royal College of Midwives
Health Secretary acknowledges tireless work of midwives and MSWs as RCM pushes for date to meet (22 Dec) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has finally received a response to their letter to Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, more than a week after asking him to meet to discuss the growing crisis in maternity services read more
Midwives in Wales vote yes to industrial action (13 Dec) – In a clear and defiant message to the Welsh Government, midwife and maternity support worker (MSW) members of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have voted yes to taking industrial action over pay. In the ballot that closed yesterday over 95.14% voted for industrial action short of a strike, based on a turnout of 55.39% of eligible RCM Wales members . On the question are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of a strike, more than nine out of 10 (91.46%) voted yes read more
‘This changes nothing’ says RCM as 4% pay award implemented in Northern Ireland (9 Dec) – The inadequate pay award for midwives, maternity supports workers (MSW), and their HSC colleagues will do nothing to reduce their frustration. That’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) responding to the announcement that the 4% pay award for HSC staff is to be implemented in Northern Ireland. The RCM – who represent most midwives and MSWs in Northern Ireland – consulted its members on the pay offer last month. Nearly 90% said they would be prepared to take industrial action if the current NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendations of a 4% pay award were implemented read more
RCM to consult its members on the latest Scottish Government pay offer (1 Dec) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is consulting its members in Scotland on the latest Scottish Government pay offer made late last week. The RCM online consultation opens today and closes on 15 December. The RCM – which represents most midwives and also maternity support workers (MSWs) in Scotland – says while the latest offer is an improvement on the last, it falls far short of what was asked. This is especially the case for those skilled and experienced midwives on higher pay bands who are the backbone of maternity care in Scotland read more
CSP
CSP to announce rolling wave of strike action (23 Dec) – CSP members in England will be asked to take strike action from January in the ongoing battle over NHS pay. With the government continuing to refuse to talk to NHS unions about pay, the CSP now has no choice but to use the industrial action mandate secured by members in more than 100 trusts in England. The exact schedule and form of the action will be confirmed in early January but is likely to feature a series of strikes on consecutive days in different parts of the country read more
Scottish government to implement latest pay offer (23 Dec) – The Scottish government has announced it will be implementing the latest offer for staff across the NHS in Scotland. This news follows on from the acceptance of the offer by a number of health unions, including the CSP. This pay award will mean all staff receive a minimum of a £2,205 uplift to their pay and represents an overall 7.5 per cent increase on the pay bill read more
BMA
BMA Junior Doctors national strike ballot on pay will start on January 9 2023 in England. Keep up to date via @BMA_JuniorDocs on twitter
NEU
NEU announces dates of formal ballots over pay – NEU writes to employers with notification of intention to carry out national ballots. Today (18 Oct) the National Education Union is writing to employers with notification of our intention to carry out national ballots of around 300,000 teacher and support staff members in England and Wales. These formal postal ballots will open on Friday 28 October 2022 and close on Friday 13 January 2023. Dates for potential strike action are yet to be decided, but likely to be from week commencing 30 January 2023. The formal ballots will ask members “Are you prepared to take strike action in furtherance of this dispute?” Each dispute is about the failure to give a commitment for a fully funded above-inflation pay rise (as measured by September 2022 RPI) read more
NASUWT
Scottish teachers to take further strike action (19 Dec) – NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union has today given notice to the Scottish Government and employers of two further days of strike action on 10 and 11 January in its ongoing dispute over teachers’ pay. NASUWT members in primary schools/settings will strike on 10 January, with teachers working in secondary schools/settings taking strike action on 11 January. The NASUWT is calling for a fully funded 12% pay award for 2022/23. The current pay offer tabled by ministers and COSLA amounts to a further real-terms pay cut, following over a decade of pay freezes and below-inflation pay awards which have left teachers in Scotland almost £50,000 worse off as a result of their pay failing to keep pace with inflation read more
IOM teachers begin strike action – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union in the Isle of Man will begin a programme of six planned days of strike action tomorrow (30 Nov) and Thursday in an escalation of the ongoing dispute over pay, workload and working practices. Teachers in the Isle of Man have experienced a 30% real-terms cut to their pay since 2010, a loss which will be further exacerbated by the current below-inflation pay award which is being imposed on teachers despite its overwhelming rejection by NASUWT members. The NASUWT is calling for a multi-year fully funded pay offer that begins to address the real-terms historic erosion of pay. In addition, the NASUWT has put forward proposals to address the workload and working practices issues that are dogging the profession. However, despite our best attempts to negotiate with the DESC, the lack of sufficient progress has left teachers with no choice other than to escalate industrial action read more
Further industrial action at Glasgow school over failure to protect teachers from abuse – Further strike action by members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Bannerman High School in Glasgow will take place tomorrow (29 Nov) after talks with Glasgow City Council failed to make sufficient progress in addressing violent and abusive pupil behaviour, amid continuing threats to withhold pay from some members. The NASUWT has been in negotiations with Glasgow City Council in a bid to resolve the dispute. While some progress has been made to identify appropriate safeguards to address risks to the health and safety of employees, the employer is still threatening to send staff home without pay if they refuse to stay in a classroom with a pupil who is threatening their safety. Strike action is planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, with a further eight days planned during December. This follows an initial day of strike action last Thursday (24th November) read more
Ballot opens on industrial action over teachers’ pay – The NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union is today (27 Oct) opening its formal statutory industrial action ballot of teachers in England and Wales over pay. The ballot in England and Wales will remain open until 9 January. The Union opened a ballot of members in Scotland yesterday (Wednesday) which will remain open until 21 November. The ballots are the result of the failure by the Westminster, Scottish and Welsh governments and employers to guarantee teachers and headteachers a fully-funded real-terms pay award of 12%. Members in schools and sixth-form colleges are being balloted over both strike action and action short of strike action. A timetable for and details of what any possible industrial action will entail will be determined once the ballots are concluded read more
NAHT
Industrial action ballot England: Industrial action ballot open – VOTE NOW read more
EIS
New Year’s Resolution for Scottish Government and COSLA: Pay Scotland’s Teachers Fairly (23 Dec) – The EIS has said that the New Year’s resolution for both the Scottish Government and COSLA must be to pay Scotland’s teachers fairly by coming back with a greatly improved pay offer. Scotland’s teachers have not received a pay rise for the year 2022, despite being due for a pay increase in April read more
EIS Announces 16 New Strike Dates for Teachers as Dispute over 5% Pay Offer Intensifies – The EIS has announced an additional sixteen days of strike action in schools across Scotland, as a dispute over a sub-inflationary 5% pay offer for teachers intensifies. Yesterday (24 Nov), in the first day of national pay strike action by teachers in four decades, EIS members were on the picket lines as the strike led to the closure of every state school on mainland Scotland read more
UCU
Give docked strike pay to students in financial hardship, say UWE staff (22 Dec) – Every penny of pay docked from staff who took strike action at the University of the West England University should go to students in financial hardship, said UCU. The UWE UCU branch has written to UWE vice-chancellor Professor Steve West, who is also president of employer body Universities UK, demanding he put all the wages he has taken from staff who went on strike directly into a fund to support students hit by financial hardship and in need of mental health and wellbeing support. Last month UWE staff went on strike for three days over attacks on pay and poor working conditions alongside workers at 149 other universities in the biggest industrial action ever to hit higher education. Staff who have had their pay docked are demanding a pay rise to help them during the cost-of-living crisis. RPI is 14% yet university employers imposed a pay award of just 3% for 22/23. Professor West takes home over £330,000 per year read more
Staff at Truro & Penwith College begin six days of strike action today in pay dispute – Staff at Truro & Penwith College were on picket lines today (1 Dec) pressuring management to begin meaningful negotiations in a long running dispute over low pay. Today’s strike is the first of six extra days of action being taken because management is refusing to negotiate with UCU officials read more
Staff to strike at Barnet & Southgate College – UCU today confirmed Barnet and Southgate College will be hit with two days of strike action later this month in an ongoing dispute over low pay. UCU members at the college will walk out on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 December. The industrial action follows a ballot in which 98% of those that voted called for strike action. Staff have already taken three days of action in October in the dispute over management’s paltry 2% pay award for the previous two financial years (1% 2020/21 and 1% 2021/22). Inflation is currently at 14.2% and UCU is demanding a significant uplift to help staff meet the cost of living crisis read more
Staff to strike at University of Sheffield International College – UCU has today announced that members at the University of Sheffield International College will take three days of strike action from Monday 28 November in a long running dispute over low pay. The action will be the first ever strike to take place in a privatised higher education provider. The full days of strike action are: Monday 28 November, Tuesday 29 November, Wednesday 30 November. Staff will be picketing all main entrances on each day of strike action. Staff will also work to rule from Thursday 1 December, which includes working strictly to their contracted hours, refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues read more
Furness College staff to strike over low pay – UCU has today announced three days of strike action at Furness College. Staff will walkout on Tuesday 6 December, Wednesday 7 December and Thursday 15 December following the results of the ballot in which 85% of those who voted said yes to strike action. Members will also be engaging in action short of strike action from 8 December until 13 May 2023, this could include not doing additional work or covering for absent colleagues. The action come after the employer offered a pay award of just 2.5% alongside a one off payment of £750 for those earning less than £25k and £500 for those who earn more. RPI is currently at 14.2% so the award means staff pay has fallen dramatically behind inflation. UCU is demanding an increase of at least 10% to help staff meet the cost-of-living crisis read more
Staff to strike at Darlington College – UCU has today announced three days of strike action at Darlington College. Staff will walkout on Tuesday 6 December, Wednesday 7 December and Monday 12 December following the results of the ballot in which 95% of those that voted said yes to strike action. The strikes come after the employer imposed a pay award of just 1% alongside a one off payment of £250. RPI is currently at 12.6% so the award means staff pay has fallen dramatically behind inflation. UCU is demanding a pay award of at least 10% to help staff meet the cost-of-living crisis. Staff at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, recently won a deal worth 9.2% for the majority of college lecturers read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
New data reveals “hypocritical” fire bosses on six figure sums whilst firefighters forced to foodbanks (29 Dec) – Fire service bosses are being paid six figure sums as firefighters face ‘real terms’ pay cuts and ‘In Work’ poverty. Chief fire officers are paid an average pay of £148,000, with the highest being £206,000 – over six times more than an ordinary firefighter (basic annual pay for a competent wholetime UK firefighter). The stark inequalities in pay for firefighters and management were revealed in data released as a result of Freedom of Information requests. The staggering sums are paid to top level management while some firefighters have to rely on food banks and take on additional jobs to afford the basics. Meanwhile, firefighters and control staff working under senior management are being forced into a ballot for industrial action. Firefighters and control staff have rejected a 5% offer, with inflation currently at 10.7%. After a decade of below or at-inflation pay settlements, the Fire Brigades Union has had reports of firefighters and control staff being forced to foodbanks and struggling to pay their bills. This most recent pay offer, a ‘real terms pay cut’, has led to a ballot for strike action read more
Over two thousand firefighters and control staff rally in Westminster (7 Dec) – On 6 December, over 2,000 firefighters and control staff from across the UK assembled in Westminster to protest low pay after their strike ballot opened yesterday. Extraordinary scenes saw speechmakers including MPs speaking to a packed Methodist Central Hall and hundreds of firefighters and control staff gathered outside in an overflow area. MPs including Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn addressed the crowds, as well as FBU general secretary Matt Wrack and several FBU officials and members. After the rally firefighters and control staff marched to Parliament to lobby their MPs on the issue of pay read more
FBU strike ballot opens (5 Dec) – A strike ballot for firefighters and control staff opens today Monday 5th December. Firefighters and control staff are being balloted on potential strike action on a “derisory” 5% pay offer. That pay offer had recently been rejected by FBU members in a consultative ballot by 79% on a 78% turnout. Annual CPI inflation currently stands at 11.1%. Due to restrictive anti-trade union laws the ballot will be a postal ballot only. If you’re an FBU member and your postal address has changed or you think it might be wrong, it is vital that you contact [email protected] as soon as possible read more
Merseyside firefighters, control staff and Green Book staff vote for Action Short of Strike – Merseyside firefighters, control staff and green book staff (non-uniformed staff) have “overwhelmingly” voted to take action short of strike in relation to a host of issues in Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. The percentage of those voting who voted “Yes” to Action Short of Strike is 88.06%. The action short of strike will consist of a refusal to undertake pre-arranged overtime, beginning no earlier than Thursday 1st December 2022 and potentially lasting for 6 months. The ballot comes after a serious break down in industrial relations between Merseyside Fire Brigades Union and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority and the failure to reach agreement on several issues read more
BFAWU
Bakers Union and MP’s Tell Scrooge Bosses to Pay Workers Redundancy Before Christmas (17 Dec) – The Bakers Union and MP’s are again demanding that Orchard House Food pay workers, at their recently closed Gateshead plant, the redundancy payments they are owed before Christmas. As things stand the company that supplies the likes of Marks and Spencer and Pret A Manger, and which is still a going concern with a factory still open in Corby, is saying they can’t pay them their redundancy payments until after the New Year. Resulting in these workers being left without any income over the New Year and struggling to pay for basics like food and energy. Local MP’s are seeking urgent meetings with senior management of Orchard House Foods. Ian Mearns MP has also tabled an Early Day Motion calling on Orchard House Foods to pay the workers the money they are owed before Christmas read more
Trade Union Coordinating Group “Fair Pay Now” pamphlet read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
NAPO
Cafcass Pay offer rejected – Unions seek ACAS intervention (16 Dec) – Over the last fortnight, the Cafcass trade unions have been running consultative ballots on the derisory 2.51% pay offer covering the 2022/23 pay year. Given the impressive number of members that have attended joint meetings it is no surprise that Napo (97.3%) and UNISON (93.3%) members who voted, have overwhelmingly rejected the offer. Following the dispute lodged by the unions last month, the General Secretary and Cafcass Napo Vice-Chair Nicola Taylor-Ebong joined Napo and UNISON representatives to meet with Cafcass senior management. Here we formally advised them of the ballot results and indicated our preparedness to suspend a potential Industrial Action ballot while we seek to exhaust all potential avenues to find a resolution of the dispute. The meeting saw some full and frank discussion, but unfortunately no resolution. Under these circumstances, the procedure provides for either of the parties to seek the involvement of ACAS (The Arbitration and Conciliation Advisory Service). Following a request from the unions, the employer agreed to make the necessary arrangements for this to take place and ACAS have today made initial contact with the unions read more
NUJ
Zwarte Piet has “no place in modern society” says Black Members’ Council (23 Dec) – The NUJ’s BMC has applauded members and other journalists who have covered this year’s festival of Sinterklaas, by placing the ‘black face’ portrayal within a wider context of racist stereotypes read more
NUJ members vote for industrial action at STV (22 Dec) – There has been an overwhelming strike vote at the Scottish broadcaster. The results of the ballot were 85 per cent for strike action and 93 per cent for action short of a strike. STV’s original offer was £2,000 to each employee read more
Hertfordshire Constabulary accepts liability for unlawful detention of journalist (21 Dec) – The National Union of Journalists has welcomed an admission from the police force recognising journalist Ben Cawthra was falsely imprisoned following his arrest in November read more
Prospect
Elon Musk must stop playing Scrooge (23 Dec) – Prospect union has slammed Twitter for emailing UK staff at risk of redundancy after 5pm on the Friday before Christmas, giving them less than one working day to reply accepting the offer of an Individual Consultation meeting read more
Strike action on the Elizabeth Line announced (23 Dec) – Prospect members working at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) which operates the Elizabeth Line are to take strike action over pay, from 0630 on 12th January until 0630 on 13th January read more
Environment Agency workers to begin industrial action on Monday (15 Dec) – Prospect members working at the Environment Agency will begin industrial action on Monday 19th December in a dispute over pay read more
Prospect announces next steps for industrial action ballots as Minister confirms no more money for pay (14 Dec) – Paymaster General Jeremy Quin has written to Prospect confirming that the government have decided to make no more money available to address the cost-of-living crisis facing civil servants. The letter was in response to Prospect’s demands following an indicative ballot showing widespread support for industrial action read more
Equity
Equity speaks out following persecution of Iranian actors and artists (20 Dec) – The UK trade union Equity today adds its voice to international condemnation of the Iranian authorities following reports of executions and death sentences conferred onto protesters, including 26 year old theatre actor Hossein Mohammadi. Equity’s International Committee for Artists Freedom understands that a number of performers expressing solidarity with the protesters have also been arrested. The most high profile name currently being Taraneh Alidoosti, one of Iran’s most famous actors read more
Sign and share this petition to reinstate the English National Opera (ENO) funding and lobby your MP to back our industries and their workforce
Community
Steelworkers go to No. 10 to call for urgent government help (19 Dec) – Today, steelworkers from Tata Steel UK, British Steel, Liberty Steel, Celsa Steel and Outokumpu will march on No. 10 Downing Street to deliver a petition to the Prime Minister. They will be led by Community’s General Secretary Roy Rickhuss, and march against a backdrop of worrying times for the industry after months of silence from the government read more
USDAW
Supreme Court grants Usdaw permission to appeal in the Tesco ‘fire and rehire’ case (22 Dec) – The Supreme Court has granted Usdaw permission to proceed with its case against Tesco – in an ongoing battle over the supermarket giant’s use of ‘fire and rehire’ practices. The highest court in the UK permitted the union, which is represented by social justice law firm, Thompsons Solicitors, to proceed with its case against Tesco, which wants to ‘fire and rehire’ its staff in order to remove their entitlement to a long-term financial benefit called Retained Pay read more
IWGB
Follow updates on UCL strike by following @IWGBunion on twitter
New survey reveals the hidden cost of living in the gig economy this Christmas (20 Dec) – As people across the country struggle with the cost of living crisis this Christmas, a new survey by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) reveals the extent of its triple impact on platform workers in the gig economy, who are also being hit with plummeting pay and soaring costs. Over 260 workers responded to the IWGB survey about how the cost of living crisis has impacted them over the past six months. Many gig workers are paid poverty wages by multinational corporations like Amazon, Uber and Deliveroo. However, because they are categorised as self-employed, they are also liable for business costs such as fuel and insurance. As a result, platform workers are doubly impacted by the cost of living crisis, while also facing intensified exploitation in the form of pay cuts read more
UVW
Save ASIRT: solidarity on the picket line (21 Dec) – “We’ve been on the #saveASIRT picket to fight for our own jobs but, more importantly, to fight for our service users. When migrant families have nowhere else to turn, ASIRT can be a lifeline. We must defend free immigration advice” Pouneh Ahari, ASIRT worker, striker and UVW member. UVW members at ASIRT are fighting to save the free legal support service for migrants and refugees and for a voice at work. These brave workers went out on strike on 21 December to try and stop the closure of ASIRT, a unique charity offering crucial support to asylum seekers in Birmingham. In a beautiful display of solidarity they were joined on the picket line by service users and their families, trade unionists and members of the public read more
Migrant cleaners at Mercedes-Benzes luxury car showroom to ballot for strike action over poverty wages (9 Dec) – “It’s £13 an hour or strike! There’s no other option for us because the current situation is so dire and the cost of living crisis is only going to get worse… We are not asking for anything extraordinary, we are asking for a very reasonable increase, affordable and fair” – José, cleaner and UVW member. Migrant cleaners working at the Mercedes-Benz showroom in Dartford have had enough of earning poverty wages. They will be balloted for strike action during Christmas with a view to strike early next year for a 30% pay rise. The luxury car giant reported a whopping net profit of €23.4 billion for 2021 while their cleaning contractors pay migrant workers pitiful wages read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
Go-Ahead accepts invite to WRC talks after SIPTU members vote for industrial action (22 Dec) – The management of Go-Ahead Ireland has agreed to attend conciliation talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) following an overwhelming vote for industrial action by SIPTU members employed by the private bus operator in a dispute over pay read more
Mandate (Ireland)
Mandate welcomes Dunnes’ acceptance of union’s claim for pay increases for company’s workers (22 Dec) – Union disappointed at company’s failure to address unified pay scale, more full-time jobs and access to longer working hours but will redouble campaign to achieve these goals. The Mandate Trade Union has today welcomed the awarding of an 8% pay increase to Dunne Stores’ workers which is an acceptance of the union’s pay claim which sought this pay rise in July. However, Cathy McLoughlin, member of the union’s Dunnes’ National Committee expressed her and Dunnes’ staff’s disappointment that the company didn’t create a single unified pay scale, more full-time jobs and provide access to more working hours. The union plans to redouble its campaign to achieve these and other aspects of its claim read more
Corrib Oil Ballinasloe workers to strike on Thursday, 22 December (19 Dec) – workers at Corrib Oil, Ballinasloe, to strike next Thursday over company’s refusal to recognise their right to be represented by mandate trade union. Staff at the Corrib Oil filling station in Ballinasloe will strike next Thursday, 22 December over the company’s refusal to recognise their right to be represented by the Mandate Trade Union read more
Other news
Enough is Enough launches campaign and petition to Defend the #RightToStrike – The right to strike is under threat. New legislation proposed by the Tory government intends to override a workers’ right to withdraw their labour, forcing them to work against their will. The right to strike is a fundamental democratic right. It underpins our ability to win dignity in the workplace and earn a decent standard of living. It is no accident that this right is under attack at the very moment the public is fighting back against the cost-of-living squeeze. This government is determined to force workers to pay the price for a crisis caused by the greed of the elite yet again. We won’t accept it. We, the undersigned, pledge to defend the right to strike and oppose this latest legislation #RightToStrike
SHAC the Social Housing Action Campaign’ and other housing campaigners are demanding a freeze on social rents, shareholder rents, and service charges. The campaign is already moving government. In August, government announced a cap on around 5% (instead of the 10% that would have been likely under the previous formula). But we don’t believe that this is low enough or broad enough. We need urgent funding to pay for campaign materials and basic admin costs. We also need trade unions to help us get our message across. Please see here to find out more, download our model motions for unions, or make a donation to account name ‘The Social Housing Action Campaign’, account number 20434685, Sort Code 60-83-01
Hi All – Thanks for your continuing support for Trade Union Education at The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (Conel). Please find attached some courses were have advertised for next term and beyond. All courses are advertised in the https://www.tuc.org.uk/TUCcoursesAs.
Couple of updates:-
- Employment law diploma is now full for Jan 2023.
- Cert in employment law have moved it to classroom.
Seasons Greetings
Best Regards
Jonathan Jeffries
PS If you need any ICT courses contact [email protected]. We also do bespoke courses for trade unions
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
QC appointed to lead the independent Unite inquiry into blacklisting – 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/blacklist-SG/
Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Blacklist Support Group financial appeal: the Blacklist support group is desperately short of funds, to continue the incredible work we need more finance, would you please consider making a donation, raise it at your branches and trade councils. Please make cheques payable to Joint sites committee and send to 70 Darnay Rise Chelmsford Essex CM1 4XA. Please forward onto your contacts many thanks Steve Kelly (JSC Treasurer)
Blacklisted t-shirts available at: https://shop.hopenothate.org.uk/component/hikashop/product/78-blacklisted-t-shirt
Keep an eye out for other Facebook and social media groups and pages that are being created. 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. Also, check out Organise Now! – Support for new worker organising.
International
From NUJ website – Yemen: journalist Hala Badway released (15 Dec) – All charges against Badway arising from social media posts in December 2021 have been dropped. The National Union of Journalists has joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in welcoming the acquittal of Yemeni journalist Hala Badway read more
Diary
July
1 NSSN national conference
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
