Date for your diaries!! 2024 NSSN Conference – Saturday 22nd June, 11am-4.30pm, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL Facebook event
The NSSN stands in solidarity with the GMB union and their members at Amazon who are escalating their action from today.
GMB: Amazon workers announce new strike dates (12 Mar) – GMB union has announced further strike dates at two Amazon sites. The strike dates come just days after GMB members at the company submitted an application for mandatory recognition at Amazon to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The CAC – the Government body responsible for regulating collective bargaining between workers and employers – can force companies to recognise a trade union if more than 50 per cent of the work force are members. Workers will down tools at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre as well as at Amazon’s new flagship HQ in Birmingham, a £500 million site that only opened its doors in October. Strike action will take place in Coventry on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 March and in Birmingham on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 March.
Rachel Fagan, GMB Organiser, said:
“Fresh strike action will be a huge blow to Amazon bosses, just days after workers made their bid for union recognition. Now two Amazon sites will take strike action this spring to force the company to listen to workers. Amazon bosses may have hoped this campaign would fade away, but instead union membership at Amazon has exploded as more and more workers are standing up to demand Amazon listens. When Amazon are ready to listen, the message they’ll hear is simple; £15 an hour and union rights for UK Amazon workers”.
GMB: Amazon on brink of forced union recognition (5 Mar) – Amazon could be on the brink of being forced to recognise a trade union for the first time. Amazon could be on the brink of being forced to recognise a trade union for the first time in the UK, after GMB made a formal bid to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The CAC – the Government body responsible for regulating collective bargaining between workers and employers – can force companies to recognise a trade union if more than 50 per cent of the work force are members. After over a year of industrial action, union membership at the company’s Coventry site has grown significantly and GMB is confident of surpassing the legal threshold for recognition. However, the union warns decision makers of Amazon’s track record of using union busting, dirty tricks to sidestep recognition – after an earlier recognition bid was met by the company flooding the fulfilment centre with 1,000 new workers in a week. Union recognition would mean Amazon would be forced to sit down with GMB on matters relating to pay, worker safety, terms and conditions read more
Two years since P&O – Joint RMT-Nautilus International Demonstration at Westminster – Wednesday 20 March from 13:00 to 14:00 Old Palace Yard (opposite Parliament)
Join us: Westminster rally to condemn government failures to prevent another P&O Ferries scandal
Joint statement – P&O Ferries’ 2 year anniversary (15 Mar)
Steel unions ballot for action
The NSSN stands in solidarity with steelworkers as steel unions begin balloting their members for industrial action. We will support any action that they take against Tata Steel’s intention to make 75% of the 4,000-strong Port Talbot workforce redundant. This would also result in thousands more losing their jobs at other Tata steel plants, contracting companies, and threaten related jobs such as on the rails and the wider local economy. And as we did in 2016, when the steelworks were under the same threat, we continue to demand the works be nationalised to save jobs and working-class communities.
Just yesterday, the struggle to save Port Talbot steelworks reached a new stage when tata announced the closure of the coking ovens. The whole of the union movement must come behind the steelworkers and their fight to save steel jobs and defend communities, in Port Talbot and in other steelmaking areas.
Unite: Port Talbot coking oven closure result of years of Tata betrayal (18 Mar) – Strike action vote to save jobs and prevent blast furnace closure ongoing read more
Unite: Tata workers urged to vote yes to industrial action over shutdown plans (1 Mar)
Community Statement – Morfa Coke Ovens, Port Talbot (18 Mar) read more
Community confirms plans to ballot for industrial action at Tata Steel UK (4 Mar)
Sign the Unite petition: https://surveys.unitetheunion.org/233412289055859
Find out more about the campaign: www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/the-fight-for-steel
Fight the Tory attack on our #RightToStrike
About 5,000 trade unionists marched in Cheltenham on 27th January in opposition to the new Tory anti-union Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (MSL), and to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Thatcher’s banning of union rights at GCHQ in the town.
It was just days after the U-turn by the state-owned LNER train operating company that was reported to have signalled its intention to have used the MSL against ASLEF. The union had reacted to this threat by putting in 5 additional strike days. This apparent retreat was a defeat not only for LNER bosses but for Sunak’s Tory Government.
It showed that workers’ action can smash this vicious Tory attack on our right to strike.
It is now vital that the statement that was passed at the Special TUC Congress in December – setting out a campaign of defiance and non-compliance – is implemented and built upon:-
- We will develop practical solidarity plans for unions actively engaged in strategies of non-compliance.
- Support any worker subject to a work notice, including with support from across the trade union movement, if their employer disciplines them in any way.
- Ensure that where any affiliate is facing significant risk of sanctions because of this legislation, we convene an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee to consider options for providing practical, industrial, financial and/or political backing to that union.
- Call on all employers and public bodies with oversight to oppose this counterproductive legislation. Employers and public bodies from across the public sector and the country have already signalled their opposition to the Strikes Act. All employers and public bodies must reject it
- Refuse to tell our members to cross a picket line.
- Call an urgent demonstration in the event a work notice is deployed and a union or worker is sanctioned in relation to a work notice.
This is the basis for the fighting strategy that workers and unions need and now needs to be enacted.
FBU: Fire union calls on employers to refuse to implement “authoritarian” strike ban (12 Mar)
Defend The Right to Strike
Strike Map and the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) have launched a ‘write to your council campaign’ to seek their commitment to not issue work notices and defend the right to strike as key employers read more in the Morning Star
Stop the attack on Gaza
Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government
See Stop the War website for info on protests.
A number of unions have issued statements on the situation in the Middle East, including: the TUC, FBU, RMT, NEU, Unite, Unison, PCS, ASLEF, TSSA, UCU, EIS, CWU, Equity, BMA, NUJ, UVW, GMB, SOR, RCM, RCN, IWGB, Prospect, CSP, NAPO, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)
NSSN sends solidarity to UCU and its members at Queen Mary University in London after security broke into the Queen Mary UCU office in order to remove posters expressing solidarity with Palestine. For developments, follow Queen Mary UCU on X/Twitter @qm_ucu
(From Novara Media) Indian Port Workers Refuse to Handle Israeli Weapons (20 Feb) – An Indian trade union representing more than 3,500 workers at 11 ports has called on its members to refuse to handle military equipment being sent to Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza. In a statement from 14 February, the Water Transport Workers Federation of India said it will “refuse to load or unload weaponised cargoes” from Israel or any other country which could handle military equipment for the war in Palestine read more on Novara Media
NSSN news
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it and/or making an additional donation to help our work. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month via a standing order.
You can either pay online to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790.
Or you can pay by cheque to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’ and post to NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.
Feel free to use this affiliation letter.
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Katrine on [email protected]
The NSSN is developing a campaign pack for social care, which we hope to make available in the not-too-distant future for supporters to use in their localities. As part of this, communications officer Dave Gorton is keen to hear from supporters who:
(1) work in social care (either local authority, private or independently provided)
(2) represent social care workers for a trade union
(3) are in need of social care provision themselves or act as an (unpaid/underpaid) carer for a family member
Dave can be contacted in the first instance via [email protected]
Union News
You can receive this bulletin via email or you can choose to unsubscribe and stop receiving them. Like everyone else, the NSSN has to adhere to new data protection regulations. Therefore you must click here to subscribe/unsubscribe. Reports from unions do not necessarily reflect NSSN’s views.
RMT
Gateline workers to take strike action (15 Mar) – Contracted out gateline workers at Northern will take strike action on Saturday in a dispute over pay, union recognition and working conditions. RMT members working for Carlisle Support Services on the Northern contract will set up picket lines in Manchester, Leeds and Wigan. The strike action will start on Saturday at 12.01am and finish 11.59pm the same day. Among the demands of workers is the ending of zero hours contracts and the removal of the Timegate app which has failed to accurately calculate pay and leave allowance read more
RMT to launch strike ballot on Scotrail over DOO (13 Mar) – Scotrail workers will be balloted for strike action over Driver Only Operation (DOO) trains, RMT can reveal. Bosses at the Scottish government run train company have said Barrhead and East Kilbride routes can run services without a second member of staff at the discretion of the driver. Over a 100 hundred conductors who will be affected by Scotrail’s plans will be balloted read more
Bidvest Noonan cleaners begin 48 hour strike action (4 Mar) – RMT members working for Bidvest Noonan on Alstom NTL and TPE contracts will take strike action from Monday. The cleaners are taking action over pay and working conditions having rejected the latest offer from the company. Strikes will take place in Glasgow and Manchester. Following the conclusion of the strike, RMT members will take industrial action short of strike from Wednesday by not undertaking any biological hazard cleaning read more
Hitachi Rail strike spreads from East Coast to Great Western Mainline (17 Feb) – RMT members at Hitachi Rail will take 48 hours strike action at the end of the month over a pay dispute. Workers who maintain rolling stock and the signalling system will take the stoppages between Thursday 29 February and March 2. The depots that will be taking action are the London North Pole, Doncaster Train Maintenance and Bounds Green and Craigentinny Train Maintenance. Hundreds of workers will join the action which follows a referendum where Hitachi workers rejected a pay offer from the private company. Strike action will now be taking place on depots on the East Coast and West Coast mainlines read more
ASLEF
ASLEF announces strikes on LNER and Northern trains (14 Feb) – ASLEF, the train drivers’ trade union, has announced strikes and an overtime ban at two train companies – LNER and Northern – for their persistent failure to comply with existing agreements. ASLEF, the train drivers’ trade union, has announced strikes and an overtime ban at two train companies – LNER and Northern – for their persistent failure to comply with existing agreements. Members at LNER will take strike action on Friday 1 March for a failure by the company to adhere to the machinery of negotiation (‘regarding London North Eastern Railway’s abrogation of the diagramming and rostering agreements, and continued failure to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery’). Members at Northern will also take strike action on Friday 1 March for a failure by the company to adhere to existing agreements. And members will take action short of a strike (a ban on non-contractual overtime) on LNER and Northern from Thursday 29 February to Saturday 2 March read more
TSSA
Further strikes announced at ScotRail (15 Mar) – Rail union TSSA has announced further strike action at ScotRail in a long running dispute over on call working arrangements. Strikes have been declared for the 30th and 31st of March by our Operations Team Manager (OTM) grades in the latest stage of a dispute going back to late 2021. Similar action took place last December. Since then, and after high-level in person talks between ScotRail bosses and TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, the company has done nothing to suggest they are prepared to shift their ground read more
Looming industrial action at South Western Railway (15 Mar) – Rail union TSSA is warning South Western Railway (SWR) that potential industrial action, including a strike could be on the cards after the two sides have formally failed to agree in an escalating dispute over the imposition of changed working arrangements among Control staff. The union has now officially served a ‘Failure to Agree’ notice to SWR —the first stage of an official process that, without an agreement in the short term, could lead to industrial action by its Train Service Managers. This is despite the union’s efforts to engage in meaningful dialogue over several months and because the company has undermined TSSA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with SWR read more
TSSA to ballot London Underground members (19 Feb) – TSSA rail union is set to ballot members working as Customer Service Managers (CSM) at London Underground. TSSA rail union is set to ballot members working as Customer Service Managers (CSM) at London Underground in a dispute about changes to working practices. TSSA members are extremely concerned about London Underground’s ‘Station Changes’ proposals which will dramatically reduce the number of CSM roles, changing their terms and conditions, pay and potentially work locations. TSSA has been to ACAS to try and resolve the dispute and to seek assurances regarding the proposed changes. When the dispute was not resolved through these channels TSSA was left with no option but to ballot for industrial action. Ballot papers will be sent to TSSA members on 22 February and must be returned by 7 March. TSSA are encouraging members to Vote Yes to “strike action” and “action short of strike action” read more
Unite
New Holland tractor shortages if Basildon CNH workers strike (19 Mar) – 500 workers balloted for strike over broken pay agreement. Around 500 workers employed by CNH Industrial at its New Holland tractor factory in Basildon are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Tuesday). Strike action would severely compromise the supply of New Holland tractors, which are shipped across the world. The workers are angry that the company has reneged on an agreement struck during 2022 stating pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year. CNH is instead offering four per cent for 2024, rather than the 7.4 per cent it should be under the original agreement. For 2025, the company is offering the rate of inflation as of December 2024. Last month, CNH announced revenues of $24.7 billion for 2023 and a pre-tax earnings of more than $2.38 billion read more
Port Talbot coking oven closure result of years of Tata betrayal (18 Mar) – Strike action vote to save jobs and prevent blast furnace closure ongoing. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has slated Tata’s shock announcement today that it will be closing the coking ovens at Port Talbot steel works with near immediate effect. Although the coking ovens were known to be in a state of disrepair, Tata had not indicated to trade unions during recent consultations that they were at risk of imminent closure. In fact, on Friday (18 March), Tata told the unions that it hoped to increase their capacity in the near future. The closure of the coking ovens does not change Unite’s position that there should be no job losses at Port Talbot or Llanwern and that a blast furnace should remain operational. Unite regional secretary for Wales, Peter Hughes, said: “Tata’s decision to close the coking ovens is the result of years of betrayal. From the start, it has set out to manage the decline of UK steel while accepting government handouts to keep operations on life support. “Tata needs to halt its plans and wait for Labour’s promised £3 billion to reinvigorate the UK’s steel industry. The time to fight for Port Talbot is now, which is why we are urging Tata’s workers to vote yes to strike action.” Unite is currently balloting 1,500 Tata workers for industrial action. The vote closes on Tuesday 9 April and strike action could begin before the end of April read more
Dounreay power station faces threat of strike action (18 Mar) – Unite the union confirmed today (Monday 18 March) around 450 of its members employed by Magnox Limited based at Dounreay power station are being balloted for strike action in a pay dispute. The ballot which is now open will close on 2 April. The dispute is a result of an inadequate pay offer of 4.5 per cent effective from April 2023 which was emphatically rejected by 95 per cent in a consultative pay ballot. The offer amounts to a substantial real terms pay cut, the true rate of inflation, RPI stood at 11.4 per cent. Unite’s Magnox membership includes craft technicians, general operators, chemical and electrical engineers, and maintenance fitters and safety advisors read more
Valve Components in East Kilbride announces closure placing 100 jobs at risk (15 Mar) – Unite confirms ‘no notice’ given to union or workforce as it prepares legal action against company. Unite the union can confirm today (15 March 2024) that it has been informed Valve Components based in East Kilbride has become insolvent with around 100 workers set to lose their jobs. Valve Components Limited (VCL) provided ‘turnkey’ production services to the aerospace, oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. This included equipment engineering, prototype testing and project management services. It is part of the privately owned Glenalmond Group. Unite can reveal that it has already approached a number of Glasgow based employers in the aerospace and manufacturing industries to explore the job opportunities for the Valve Components workers read more
Northern Ireland public transport trade unions agree to re-enter discussions with Translink management (15 Mar) – Joint Trade union release: The three public transport trade unions, UNITE, GMB and SIPTU, have agreed to re-enter discussions with Translink’s management with the aim of achieving a resolution to the ongoing pay dispute over the 2023-24 pay offer. Members of all three trade unions voted last week voted decisively to reject the previous pay offer, which was considered to be inadequate. The unions agreed this approach following discussions with reps and officials. The three trade unions have agreed to not make any further public comments on the dispute ahead of the conclusion of talks read more
Security guards escalate strikes at London’s Guys and St Thomas’ hospital (15 Mar) – Security workers at London’s Guys and St Thomas’ hospital will take fresh industrial action after the trust declined to pay them a wage increase worth £2,000, which equals just 0.96 pence per hour. Unite, the UK’s leading union, said its members will walk out for seven days from 07:00 on Monday 18 March. As a result, safety could be compromised as the officers play a crucial role in protecting staff and patients across two hospitals in South London: St Thomas’ Hospital and Guys Hospital…The latest wave of strikes follows two previous days of industrial action which took place because the security guards are amongst the lowest paid at the hospital. The workers are also paid less than their counterparts at hospitals across London, such as Kings’ College Hospital, where a security officers’ salary starts at £30,000 per annum read more
Unite to protest at Good Morning Britain over NHS pay (14 Mar) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is to lobby at the Good Morning Britain studios on Friday (15 March) as part of its campaign for its members at Barts NHS Trust, over withheld payments. The protests are part of the escalation campaign on behalf of the union’s members at Barts. The chair of Barts, the former home secretary Jacqui Smith, is a regular contributor to the programme. Unite members working as porters, cleaners and facilities staff at the largest NHS trust in the UK, are fighting for a lump-sum payment owed to them. Last year the government awarded a lump sum payment of at least £1,600 to the majority of NHS workers who worked during the Covid pandemic. However, Unite’s members at Barts have been denied the payment. They were employed by the outsourcing company Serco during the Covid pandemic before transferring back into the NHS, just after the imposed deadline for staff to receive the payment. Barts bosses have rejected their demands to receive the payment and have refused to ask the treasury for additional funding to cover the payment read more
M25 strike chaos on as Balfour Beatty told to share massive profits (13 Mar) – Vital M25 maintenance workers strike as Balfour Beatty announces £10bn revenues. Around 150 M25 maintenance workers employed by Balfour Beatty have voted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday). The workers, who provide vital maintenance for the entire M25, are angry at Balfour Beatty’s meagre pay offer of 3.4 per cent. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 4.9 per cent this is a real terms pay cut. Increasing tensions, is the fact that the workers also received a below inflation pay rise last year. Today, Balfour Beatty announced that its revenues for 2023 have increased by seven per cent to £9.6 billion, while underlying profits from operations rose by two per cent to £236 million…The workers operate from depots based at Barnet, Uxbridge, Swanley, Epping and Dartford and strike action will cause serious disruption to journey times. Dates for industrial action will be announced in the coming days read more
London Sanctuary housing pay strikes intensify as repairs grind to halt (13 Mar) – Cancellation of over 200 repair jobs from initial industrial action set to worsen as more strikes set. Pay strikes by London Sanctuary Housing repair workers are to intensify, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Three days of strike action in late February and early March led to more than 200 repair jobs on Sanctuary Housing’s stock in London being cancelled, Unite understands. A further five days of strike action in March will cause increased delays to Sanctuary’s repair schedule. Around 50 repair workers, who are based in Hackney but carry out repairs across London, are striking over a four per cent pay rise imposed in 2023. This was a significant pay cut, as the real rate of inflation, RPI, at the time was 11.4 per cent. Meanwhile, Sanctuary Housing revenues for last year stood at £943 million, with its surplus increasing by 73 per cent to £101.3 million. Sanctuary Housing’s CEO, Craig Moule, is paid £380,000 a year…Adding to tensions, is the fact that Sanctuary Housing has completely ignored the workers’ requests for their union, Unite, to be recognised and has locked them out of collective pay negotiations. Currently, Sanctuary Housing does not engage in pay negotiations with any union. The workers will strike again on 20, 21, 22, 25 and 26 March. Industrial action will further escalate if the dispute is not resolved. The strikes will impact scheduled and emergency repairs to Sanctuary Housing’s stock in London read more. Pickets at 9A Kingsmead Way, London E9 5QG. Contact the Unite LE/1111 Housing Workers branch to offer support or if you are a housing worker wanting to get organised [email protected]
Unite to hold Stocksbridge, ‘Night for Steel’ (13 Mar) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, will tonight hold a Night for Steel in Stocksbridge in Sheffield with all proceeds going to local charities. Unite is currently involved in an extensive campaign to ensure the future of the UK steel industry which is currently facing an existential threat to its existence due to decades of underinvestment and a lack of political will read more
Flintshire and Stafford military equipment maintenance strikes intensify (12 Mar) – MoD owned DE&S Deca workers angry after decade of falling wages. Pay strikes by skilled military, avionic and electronic equipment maintenance workers in Flintshire and Stafford intensified today (12 March). The workers, employed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) owned DE&S Deca, have endured over a decade of pay freezes and below inflation pay rises. Due to wages not keeping up with inflation, the annual spending power of many workers’ annual salaries has fallen by more than £7,000 since 2010…One of Deca’s most important functions is to offer an in-house repair facility to drive down the high prices charged by the private defence industry. Since 2015, DE&S Deca has saved the MoD more than £225 million, with £37 million pounds worth of savings achieved in 2022 alone. The workers, based in Sealand, Flintshire and Beaconside, Stafford, began industrial action in October. They are striking again today (12 March), tomorrow (13 March) and Thursday (14 March). The strike action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved and the workers’ resolve remains solid despite DE&S Deca’s attempts to punish them for striking by targeting their annual leave read more
Cambridge University revealed to have £6 billion as workers languish on poverty-level wages (11 Mar) – In depth research from Unite, the UK’s leading trade union, has uncovered that Cambridge University is sitting on over £6 billion of cash and investments while trying to maintain it can’t afford to help its lowest paid workers. The revelations coincide with fresh strike action by university workers. Cleaners, librarians, museum workers and many other staff at the university have been in a long-running pay dispute over the failure of the institution to acknowledge the cost of housing in Cambridge as well as the wider inflationary pressure on its lowest paid workers. Some are being paid less than £23,000 per year yet live and work in one of the most expensive parts of the country. Unite has compiled a financial report that shows that Cambridge University is in rude financial health read more
Offshore chemists, heating and ventilation engineers set for strike action (11 Mar) – Dozens of Unite members at IES Callenberg and SGS UK Limited involved in working rota disputes. Unite the union confirmed today (Monday 11 March) around 60 members in the offshore sector including chemists, heating and ventilation engineers have emphatically backed strike action in disputes over working rotas. The IES Callenberg members supported strike action by 82.8 on a 72.5 per cent turnout. The dispute involves around 50 offshore workers who provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services on offshore platforms operated by BP, TAQA, CNR, Repsol, Serica and CNOOC. Unite can confirm its IES Callenberg membership will take three-days of strike action over a series of months. This involves strike action on 25-27 March; 15-17 April, 6-8 May, and 27 May until the close of play on 29 May. The union’s SGS UK Limited membership also supported strike action by 89 per cent on a 100 per cent turnout. Chemists employed by the company provide services to the offshore oil and gas industry. The dispute exclusively centres on chemists servicing BP’s platforms the Clair, Clair Ridge, ETAP and Glen Lyon. The chemists will take week-long strike action over a series of months. This involves strike action on 25-31 March; 15-21 April; 6-12 May and 27 May until the close of play on 2 June read more
Striking Drax canteen workers escalate dispute on International Women’s Day (8 Mar) – Female strikers say: “Our message on International Women’s Day is – We are fighting back, and we will win.” On International Women’s Day, striking Drax canteen workers, who are predominantly female, have escalated their industrial dispute over fair pay. The workers, who have been striking since early December in a dispute with their employer Baxter Storey and Drax’s management, announced today that they have voted to extend their strike action mandate. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The women at Drax are an inspiration and demonstrate the exact qualities that International Women’s Day celebrates: Empowered women effecting change to better their own lives and those of others. They have the full backing of Unite behind them as they strike for a fair pay rise.” Unite rep at the Drax canteen, Diane Power, said: “On International Women’s Day, we remember women who stood up against the status quo and created meaningful change. Today is particularly important for those of us who are striking at Drax because we are doing just that in our own workplace… Fresh strike dates will be announced in the coming days read more
Biomedical scientists in Merseyside to strike over pay dispute (6 Mar) – Highly skilled scientists working in the microbiology department at a Merseyside hospital are to take substantial industrial action over pay, Unite announced today (6 March 2024). The workers, who are members of Unite the UK’s leading union, based at the Whiston Hospital on Merseyside are to take 36 days of strike action between March and June (see notes to editors), beginning with three days from 14 March. The workers, who covered all Covid testing for the region, have been informed they do not qualify for the essential services payment worth £4,000. The workers, employed by the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, are taking unprecedented action due to the failure of the trust to pay the scientists in the microbiology team the same £4,000 payment that other members of the pathology department have received read more
Bus strikes looming as Arriva Northumberland workers balloted over pay (5 Mar) – Hundreds of bus workers in Northumberland could strike later this spring, Unite the union announced today (5 March 2024). Over 300 Unite members who work as drivers and engineers across Northumberland are being balloted for industrial action after rejecting a pay increase of just four per cent from their employer, Arriva Northumberland. The ballot opens today (Tuesday 5 March) and closes on 19 March. Workers at other bus companies in the area, such as Go North East, have had substantial increases following campaigns by Unite read more
Tata workers urged to vote yes to industrial action over shutdown plans (1 Mar) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, today (Friday) began formal industrial action proceedings over Tata’s plans to close its Port Talbot blast furnaces and shed 2,800 jobs. Yesterday evening Port Talbot steelworks, Tata UK HQ and Cardiff Castle were illuminated with a message urging Tata workers to vote yes for strike action. Unite says Tata’s decision to rush through the plans is incomprehensible given that the union has secured significant investment from Labour for the company’s UK operations. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tata is planning to deal an absolutely devastating blow to Port Talbot and Llanwern that will spread destruction across the Welsh economy and risk national security. Unite will combat Tata’s plan with everything we have, including our multi-million pound strike fund. Now is the time for the steel workers of Port Talbot and Llanwern to fight for their communities and vote yes to industrial action. Tata knows there are other choices to be made – Unite has secured commitments from Labour that £3 billion for UK steel will be made available in the next parliament. Tata needs to change course, Unite won’t stop until it does.” Unite officially notified Tata today that it will be balloting around 1,500 workers at its Port Talbot and Llanwern sites from Friday 8 March to Thursday 11 April. Industrial action could begin before the end of April read more
Mitie boss must pay healthcare workers what they are owed or strikes will continue, say UNISON and Unite (29 Feb) – Mitie chief executive Phil Bentley must pay healthcare workers in the West Midlands the lump sum they are owed, say UNISON and Unite today (Thursday). The general secretaries of the UK’s two largest unions have written to Mr Bentley to say strikes* planned for today (Thursday) from 5am and next Friday (8 March) will go ahead unless hospital staff get a one off £1,655 payment** that other NHS staff have already received. Cleaners, domestics, porters and catering employees are among around 300 workers set to take to picket lines again in protest following action which began with Unite in December. All are contracted by Mitie to work at three hospitals run by The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and are among the lowest-paid staff in the NHS read more
DHL exposed of inflicting brutal pay cuts on East Midlands airport workers while company plans 20 billion takeover (28 Feb) – Union preparing to take campaign to German headquarters. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has revealed that its members who are employed by DHL at East Midlands Airport and are currently in a longstanding pay dispute, have suffered a brutal real terms pay cut of over six per cent since 2020. The workers who are responsible for bringing critical medical supplies as well as other cargo into the UK, worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. They played a crucial role in bringing lifesaving drugs and equipment into the UK despite not being issued the required PPE. Despite their dedication DHL has now been exposed of systemically reducing their pay in real terms. The workers, many of whom are paid less than £11 an hour, began an extended pay dispute last month and are set to take 24 days of industrial action during February and March. Speaking to the striking DHL workers during a picket line visit at East Midlands airport today (28 February), Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “We will not sit back and watch your employer DHL make millions and refuse to give you a decent pay rise…” read more
Vital Derby rail maintenance workers to strike over failure to make pay offer (26 Feb) – Safety critical workers responsible for maintaining and preparing trains across the East Midlands are to begin strike action next month after their employer failed to make any form of a pay offer, Unite announced today (26 February). Around 70 Unite members at Alstom Engineering based in Derby are taking strike action on four days beginning on Wednesday 6 March. The workers are responsible for service and preparation of trains and carriages, fault finding and logging of incidents online and general problems with the fleet for East Midlands Rail and industrial action is likely to create a shortage of available rolling stock. Alstom has failed to make any pay offer despite the pay anniversary being 1 December with the real rate of inflation (RPI) running at above five per cent at the time adding to a cost-of-living crisis… Initial strike dates are set for 6, 7, 10 and 11 March but further dates are likely to be announced if Alstom fails to return to the negotiating table with an offer read more
Abellio London bus controllers to take further strike action (26 Feb) – Bus company staff in London are to escalate strike action next month after their employer failed to make an improved pay offer, Unite confirmed today (26 February 2024). Around 40 staff who work in the control rooms for Abellio buses (to be known as Transport UK from 2 March) and who control the bus routes, instruct drivers on traffic jams or accidents and ensure overall safety on the routes are to take a further 9 days of action beginning on 7 March… Controllers, managers and supervisors based at both Battersea bus garage and Twickenham bus garage are staging walkouts on the following dates: 7, 8, 9, 17, 19, 22, 27, 28 and 29 March read more
Sainsbury’s Birmingham and Essex lorry drivers strike threat over outsourcing (23 Feb) – Anger that transfer to Wincanton will deprive 500 drivers of significant benefits. Around 500 Sainsbury’s lorry drivers based in Essex and Birmingham are being balloted for strike action over attempts to outsource their jobs. The workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are directly employed by Sainsbury’s. The company, however, plans to transfer them to Wincanton at the end of April. The transfer would result in the workers no longer being eligible for benefits they receive as Sainsbury’s employees. These include a 15 per cent Sainsbury’s discount card worth up to £1,600 a year in savings, as well as share save and incentive schemes. In November last year, Sainsbury’s upgraded its profits forecast to between £670 and £700 million for 2023 having raked in £340 million for the six months to 16 September 2023… The ballot for strike action opens this Monday (26 February) and closes on 11 March. Industrial action will cause severe disruption to deliveries from the distribution centres in Coleshill, Birmingham and Waltham Abbey, Essex to Sainsbury’s stores read more
Health visitors in Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board to take historic industrial action over unsustainable workloads (21 Feb) – Unite the union has today (21 February) announced its health visitor members at Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board will take industrial action. The health visitors at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board (CTM), have had their request for accurate job descriptions denied on multiple occasions and are faced with increasing and unsustainable demands for their specialist knowledge and expertise. The service is struggling under a tsunami of demands post-Covid alongside the impact of the ongoing economic crisis on families. The 67 workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union recorded a 100 per cent yes vote in favour of industrial action. This action short of a strike, includes no unpaid overtime, no statistical reporting for the Welsh government and no covering for vacant caseloads. Action will begin on 26th February and continue until late July. This is the first time health visitors have taken industrial action as a distinct group of workers in Wales read more
Slough facing chaos as Saba Park Services to strike over pay (21 Feb) – Over 30 of Saba Park Services parking enforcement officers in Slough will take strike action following a dispute over pay, according to Unite. The UK’s leading union said industrial action will take place from 26 February to 10 March – leaving the council without parking attendance, back office support, CCTV monitoring or enforcement in bus lanes read more
Strike action at Newtownards factory to severely impact Lakeland dairies profits (19 Feb) – Workers determined to defend £1 pay an hour differential between skilled grades and bare legal minimum. Strike will bring production to a standstill. Unite the union members working at LE Pritchitt & Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lakeland Dairies, which operates the company’s Global Logistics Centre in Newtownards will take a first week of strike action (beginning on Wednesday 21 February) in a mounting pay dispute. Negotiations ended last week without agreement after management refused to provide an increase which maintained a £1 an hour pay differential with the minimum wage for fully trained production operators read more
Strikes by hundreds of Ford white collar workers on cards (14 Feb) – Attend Acas talks or face industrial action proceedings Ford told. Ford is facing the prospect of strikes across its UK sites by salaried and managerial staff, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday). The company has been told it must attend negotiations with the conciliation service Acas or Unite will begin preparing to ballot its members for industrial action. Offers put forward by Ford for over 3,000 salaried staff and managers have been rejected by over 90 per cent by both sets of workers. The offer for many of the salaried staff is an unconsolidated one-off payment of five per cent of their salary for 2024, meaning their actual wages will not increase this year. Management grades, who have recently organised and achieved union recognition, have been offered a performance related bonus payment, which provides no guarantee of a cost-of-living increase. In addition, the company has proposed changes to the current absence processes, despite acknowledging there is no issue with staff attendance read more
Gloucestershire Lucozade workers to strike over pay (2 Feb) – Over 180 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Suntory Beverage & Food in Coleford, Gloucestershire, will begin a week of strike action on Monday 5 February after management failed to address the cost-of-living crisis. Workers received a two year pay deal effective from April 1 2022, with a commitment from the employer to review the second year’s increase, should inflation exceed five per cent between January to June 2023. The inflation rate far exceeded this but the one-billion-pound Suntory Beverage & Food, which produces household name drinks including Lucozade Energy, Lucozade Sport and Ribena, has not met expectations in relation to this commitment read more
Gillingham workers to picket at PHINIA over removal of paid lunch break (26 Jan) – Unite the union today has announced that 60 Gillingham-based PHINIA employees will take part in discontinuous industrial action from 07:30 on Monday 29 January, as the company plans to remove staff member’s paid lunch break. Unite, the UK’s leading union, will be fully supporting workers throughout industrial action with the first strike beginning on Monday 29 January and running throughout February, with a total of seven days of strikes already announced. PHINIA features on the New York Stock Exchange as PHIN and recently reported a net revenue of approximately $800 million. Now the fuel systems company is seeking to revoke a contractually binding paid lunch break that was secured as part of negotiations 20 years ago…In a deplorable development, PHINIA has threatened to fire and rehire the entire workforce to try to force through its planned change read more
Mid Ulster District Council Leisure workers to continue all-out strike for improved coaching payments (26 Jan) – Strike by leisure workers continues at both Cookstown and Greenvale Leisure Centres. Approximately 30 members of Unite the union employed at both Cookstown Leisure Centre and Greenvale Leisure Centre are taking strike action in demand of improved payments for coaching duties. The all-out (indefinite) strike commenced on Monday [22 January] and in the absence of movement by council management is set to continue into a second week. The industrial action follows a ballot of the workers which returned an 80 per cent mandate for strike action. The workers are seeking improved payments for coaching duties which are outside their standard contract of employment read more
Kaefer contractors resume strike action at Mossmorran gas plant (22 Jan) – Around 90 Kaefer maintenance and repair contractors based at the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant will resume strike action this week as part of an ongoing payment dispute. A 24 hour stoppage starts tomorrow (Tuesday 23 January) with a further round scheduled to start on Thursday (25 January) morning. There will then be further strikes next week and into February. Strike action took place between 27 November to 4 December last year in relation to the dispute. Picket lines will be held outside the Mossmorran plant from 07:00 on both mornings. The dispute centres on the contractor Kaefer not making a cost of living payment for 2023. Unite says its membership has been left with ‘no choice’ but to resume strike action. The union has taken aim at the operator Shell for the impasse stating it is refusing to support any negotiated deal with Kaefer at the Mossmorran plant read more
400 Unite members at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis start two weeks of strikes (14 Jan) – Around 400 Unite members employed by Alexander Dennis will start a two week strike today (15 January) as part of a bitter pay dispute at the Falkirk based bus manufacturer. The strike action will continue until 29 January when the action will conclude. Unite represents coach builders and spray painters at the Camelon factory. The union’s members previously took two weeks of strike action between 4 to 17 December 2023… In December 2023 Alexander Dennis offered a penny-pinching additional 0.5 per cent on its original four per cent wage offer (4.5 per cent), and four per cent for 2024. The pay offer was emphatically rejected by the workforce read more
Long running Cardiff bin strike to extend into February (12 Jan) – Strike action by Unite members working within Cardiff council’s refuse and recycling department is being extended by a further four weeks. The current strike action which started on 28 December, was due to end on Thursday 25 January will now continue until Thursday 22 February. The fresh strike dates are in response to Cardiff council’s failure to make any progress in relation to Unite’s concerns on a number of local issues. The most prominent of these being the widespread bullying culture within the refuse and recycling department alongside the ingrained use of agency labour. Unite is concerned that Cardiff council are showing no desire to resolve the dispute, indeed the council leadership have disgracefully announced they intend to attack the annual leave accrual of striking workers read more
End bullying and anti-union attacks at Cardiff Labour council
Bedford warehouse workers at Movianto head to picket line over trade union recognition (9 Jan) – Workers at Movianto, a specialised medical warehousing company in Bedford, are striking from Monday 8 January after their employer refused to recognise Unite for collective bargaining purposes. Over 85 Unite members have been campaigning for their union to be officially recognised but Movianto has strongly resisted such moves. Workers voted in favour of industrial action by nearly 80 per cent read more
CWU
Post Office workers offered 3.75% rise plus extra benefits (23 Feb) – Union recommends negotiated deal raising wages and improving annual leave arrangements. Around 1,500 CWU members working on Post Office Counters and in Supply Chain and Admin grades are being urged to vote YES to an agreement reached in talks between the CWU and management that will lift pay rates and introduce a range of other enhancements read more
Save Enniskillen EE (ex-BT) site – The EE Enniskillen call centre is a lifeline for our community. It’s closure threatens over 300 jobs, eroding the heart of our local economy. This is a community crisis. Local businesses, public services, and the Fermanagh economy stand on the brink of a devastating blow
PCS
You can show your support to the strikes by PCS members by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
PCS National ballot opens today (18 Mar) – The postal ballot opens today (18) and runs until 13 May, asking members if they are prepared to take strike action over our national campaign demands. Opening today, 18 March. the postal ballot will run until 13 May, after which the national executive committee will meet to consider the next steps in our national campaign. It is vital that all PCS members take part to ensure we beat the 50% threshold for strike action read more
NI Agriculture department settles disability case for £50,000 (14 Mar) – The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has settled a case with a hearing-impaired man for £50,000 without admission of liability read more
Pensions Regulator strike suspended (13 Mar) – The strike action has been suspended as a result of TPR agreeing to enter into meaningful negotiations with PCS. The strike action which was due to restart today and continue into next week has been suspended as a result of TPR agreeing to enter into meaningful negotiations with PCS over the proposals we have made to end the dispute. Importantly TPR has agreed with the key proposal that they commit to securing the funding for the full percentage pay increase to the overall pay pot suggested by the 2024/25 Treasury Pay Remit Guidance. The have stated that they are already engaging with DWP on the pay strategy for the year ahead. They have also committed to submitting a pay flexibility case for the Pay Remit Guidance in 2024/25 which will guarantee additional money to the basic pay remit pot. TPR have also agreed “to engage in meaningful consultation, on matters relating to TPR’s employee value proposition, including reward, annual leave entitlement and the pay and terms and conditions of staff TUPE transferred to TPR.“ The agreement from TPR management is as a result of PCS members taking over 50 days of strike action since 2023. We have reminded TPR that we still have a mandate for strike action until 8 May and that a failure to progress the issues in good faith and time will result in further strike action. TPR members remain in the PCS national campaign and will be participating in the ballot due to start on Monday 18 March read more
ONS strike ballot opens over mandatory return to the office policy (13 Mar) – Management is insisting that the members should be present in the workplace for at least 40% of the working week. A ballot of PCS members at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has begun in response to management’s insistence that all staff should be physically present in the workplace for at least 40% of their working week. 1,200 members in Newport, Titchfield, London, Darlington, Manchester and Edinburgh are being asked to support strike action and action short of strike. The ballot will close on 2 April read more
Sign our petition for members in Hinduja Global Solutions to keep their jobs (12 Mar) – Members in HGS in Liverpool have been told they will need to relocate 40 miles to keep their jobs. In November 2023 Hinduja Global Solutions announced a significant restructure on the Disclosure and Barring Service contract, which they planned to take effect from 1 April 2024. Staff were told that the restructure was a direct result of the new contract for services between HGS and DBS. The impact on PCS members in Liverpool has been damaging because the changes mean a 41% reduction in headcount (later reduced to a 26% cut) and withdrawal of all staff from the Tithebarn Street office, meaning HGS would no longer have a presence in the city read more
HMRC sacks PCS rep in Newcastle (5 Mar) – A PCS rep has been sacked, in the aftermath of the strike in Benton Park View, with a second PCS rep facing similar charges. Given Newcastle management have history when it comes to sacking union reps, PCS will be consulting members and PCS Legal. HMRC management in the department’s Benton Park View branch in Newcastle, have sacked Gordon Askew, a member of the branch executive committee, on the grounds of ‘potential’ computer misuse read more
Border Force members at Heathrow to be balloted for strike action (1 Mar) – PCS members who work for the Border Force in Heathrow Airport are to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over shift patterns and working conditions. More than 600 Border Force officers based at Heathrow Airport are to be balloted for strike action, which could take place during the Easter holidays, potentially causing long queues at the UK’s largest airport. In a ballot that opens today and runs until noon on March 22 they will be asked if they are prepared to take strike action read more
Support the strike at National Museums Liverpool:-
Email the chairman of the NML board about paying the £1500 (26 Feb) – Use our online template to ask Sir David Henshaw to make the £1500 cost-of-living payment to PCS members at National Museums Liverpool. PCS members working for the seven museums and galleries that make up National Museums Liverpool (NML) are currently on strike because their employer is refusing to pay them the £1500 cost-of-living payment that the government agreed to pay last year read more
Solid start to strike at National Museums Liverpool (19 Feb) – Saturday was the beginning of eight weeks of strike action, with a massive turnout on the picket line and high levels of public support. PCS members working for the seven museums and galleries that make up National Museums Liverpool started strike action on Saturday 17 February in their dispute with the employer of its refusal to pay staff a £1500 cost-of-living payment. The strike is planned to continue until 14 April. On the first day of the strike on Saturday, around 70 striking members were on the picket line outside the World Museum Liverpool, which was closed to the public because of the strike. Many were dressed in historic costumes to represent museum exhibits, including Greek gods, suffragettes and even a dinosaur. There was music, dancing, and a vibrant and positive feeling among the pickets, many of whom have never been on strike before. The pickets started outside the World Museum and then marched through Liverpool to the Museum of Liverpool at the Pier Head, led by a member dressed as Zeus, king of the Greek gods read more Visit the picket line on 17 February from 8:30-11am at World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EN
DVSA strike action suspended (6 Feb) – Following intensive talks with senior management at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency we have suspended our planned strike action which was due to take place from Thursday to Sunday (8-11 February). Following the negotiations which concluded yesterday, we are pleased to report that we have reached an improved proposal, presented as a full package, which meets the 8 demands PCS members were balloted on. These include members’ safety, terms and conditions and the standards of safety that driving tests require. Our members believe in the quality of the public service that they provide, that helps keep those using our roads as safe as possible. It is important to us that the integrity of that driving test, the safety of that driving test and of the service that we provide to the public is maintained. To allow us to fully consult members on these proposals, we have suspended the planned strike action. Members must now attend work on those dates. We will contact members shortly to outline the details of a consultative ballot on management’s proposals read more
Prospect
Changing the threshold for excluding MPs from Parliament to Charge not Arrest would be a massive retrograde step (18 Mar) – Parliament was due to hold a vote on plans to exclude from the Palace of Westminster MPs accused of sexual or violent crimes but the plans are to be watered down read more
Prospect ballots members at Defence Equipment & Support on strike action (16 Feb) – Prospect union is balloting its members at Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), a Ministry of Defence (MoD) agency, on industrial action. The ballot comes after the employer failed to meet the union’s pay claim and imposed an unagreed pay offer for 2023/2024. Under the imposed pay offer, the majority of DE&S employees will receive a consolidated pay increase of 3.25% or less. Prospect is recommending that members vote yes to both strike action and action short of strike (ASOS) read more
Prospect moves to strike action over pay at AWE (10 Jan) – Prospect members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) are moving to strike action after two months of action short of a strike have failed to produce any meaningful movement from the company read more
FDA
Penman calls on government to resolve conflict between civil servants’ legal obligations and ministerial instructions (14 Mar) – As reported in the Guardian, the FDA has written to Home Secretary James Cleverly and Minister for the Cabinet Office John Glen to raise concerns that the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill places civil servants in a conflict between their professional and legal obligations and instructions from elected ministers read more
FDA calls for Education Secretary to retract “irresponsible and dangerous” comments (13 Mar) – As reported in Tes, the FDA has called on Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to publicly retract her comments as they have “damaged” the credibility and trust that stakeholders have in Ofsted. During a Q&A event at the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference Keegan said she would “probably have punched” Ofsted inspectors following an inspection of a school she had recently visited read more
GMB
Waitrose ready-meal makes slash hundreds of jobs (18 Mar) – A food manufacturer which makes ready meals for Morrisons, Aldi and Waitrose is set to 100s of jobs. Pilgrim’s Food Masters makes chilled and frozen meals, announced up to 260 redundancies at the company’s site in Dean Way, Southall. Pilgrim’s will now enter a statutory 45-day consultation with staff. Up to 1,000 Pilgrim’s workers were faced with fire and rehire at one of the company’s other London factories – but after pressure from GMB members bosses withdrew the threat read more
Northern Ireland transport unions re-enter Translink talks (15 Mar) – Unions have issued the following joint statement: “Northern Ireland’s transport unions – GMB, SIPTU and Unite, have agreed to re-enter discussions with Translink management…” read more
Northern Ireland transport workers reject pay deal (13 Mar) – Transport workers in Northern Ireland have rejected a pay deal from Translink read more
Wolverhampton faces waste strike chaos (13 Mar) – Household waste could pile high when workers at the city’s incinerator walk out. GMB union has today announced workers at Wolverhampton City Council’s Energy from Waste site will take strike action this month. Workers will down tools on Wednesday 20 – Friday 22 March in a dispute with council bosses over pay. Workers at the site, which processes over 100,000 tonnes of household waste each year, are angry at facing a pay freeze since April 2022 despite cost of living pressures. Their union, GMB, believes the council are currently breaching the terms of their contract which guarantees annual pay negotiations. Workers at the site are expected to transfer over to a new employer, expected to take place next month read more
Wisbech Asda workers announce strike dates (13 Mar) – Workers at Wisbech have announced their strike dates. Around 170 Wisbech Asda workers will walk out from 00:01 to 23:59 on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 March – Easter weekend. The strike has been caused by cuts to hours and an increase in a bullying management culture. Workers are also angry about poor levels of training and support for their job roles, the equal pay claim dragging on for years, health, safety and fire safety issues being ignored and a lack of collective bargaining with GMB Union. Wisbech will become just the second Asda store to face strike action, after more than 100 GMB members walked out at Gosport last month read more
Asda Lowestoft strike vote dates announced (29 Feb) – GMB union has announced the dates Asda Lowestoft workers will vote on strike action. The ballot will open on 5 March and close three weeks later on 26 March. If workers vote to strike, the would be among the first Asda staff in the country to take industrial action read more
Amazon workers announce new strike dates (12 Mar) – Fresh industrial action comes as the retail giant could be on brink of forced union recognition. GMB union has today announced further strike dates at two Amazon fulfilment centres. The strike dates come just days after GMB members at the company submitted an application for mandatory recognition at Amazon to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The CAC – the Government body responsible for regulating collective bargaining between workers and employers – can force companies to recognise a trade union if more than 50 per cent of the work force are members. Workers will down tools at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre as well as at Amazon’s new flagship HQ in Birmingham, a £500 million site that only opened its doors in October. Strike action will take place in Coventry on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 March and in Birmingham on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 March read more
Cumberland’s urgent care team to strike (11 Mar) – Cumberland’s urgent care team is set for strike action. Approved Mental Health social workers in the Urgent Care Team, who have been fighting for more than two years for a job evaluation, will walk out for 48 hours from 9am 15 March to 9am 17 March. The Urgent Care Team is on the front line of mental health care – on call across Cumbria 24 hours a day and making on the spot decisions on whether immediate detention is necessary. In July 2022, these dedicated professionals applied for a regrading of their role, believing it was incorrectly evaluated. Cumberland Council denied their request. Now, following a successful strike vote, the members have been forced to take industrial action read more
Thirty five Birmingham schools facing strike threat (8 Mar) – Council bosses must act urgently to avoid springtime school strikes. GMB Union has today announced the names of thirty-five Birmingham Schools that will begin a formal strike vote next week. The ballot comes after the union accused Birmingham City Council on delay in resolving the equal pay crisis impacting city workers. Nearly ninety per cent of Birmingham workers backed strike action in a council wide consultative ballot earlier this month, with further waves of formal strike ballots expected to be announced read more
Methryr Tydfil faces library and lesiure strikes (29 Feb) – GMB members at Merthyr Leisure Trust voted unanimously for industrial action. Leisure services across the town will be affect, including the beleaguered Rhydycar leisure centre which could see yet another delay for the re-opening of the £6 million swimming pool. Workers are owed a pay uplift in line with local government staff, following a decade old promise. The trusts failure to honour the commitment of around £1 an hour to staff has led to staff striking for owed pay. In a further twist on Tuesday evening, the council announced plans on its Facebook page to offload the leisure trust to a private provider without any consultation read more
NI education faces ‘further industrial action’ (21 Feb) – GMB Union has warned of further industrial action among school workers in Northern Ireland. The union, which represents more than 3,000classroom assistants, kitchen staff, bus drivers, cleaners, admin workers and others, met with Education Minister Paul Givan at Stormont today [Tuesday]. Mr Givan made it clear that within the current public sector pay budget of £684 million there was nothing to address the pay and grading review for school staff, which has been ongoing since 2018. GMB will now go back to members, with a view to taking further industrial action read more
Ofsted should meet striking Swindon social workers (21 Feb) – GMB Union made the call withsocial workers at Swindon Borough Council will walk out on 27 and 28 February following a ‘botched’ pay and re-grading review. On the same day, Ofsted inspectors are due to visit the council’s children’s services department following a failed inspection in July. In the wake of the inspection, the council developed an improvement plan, but the ‘botched’ review has undermined the plan and thrown the whole department into chaos. GMB has written to Ofsted advising the inspectors of concerns and asking them to meet the striking social workers read more
Wiltshire Traffic Wardens Balloted For Further Strike Action To Mark Second Anniversary of GMB’s Longest Running Dispute (13 Feb) – GMB, the union for Wiltshire Council, has called a further strike ballot of traffic wardens opposing the removal of a 10% unsocial hours allowance, that would see each of them lose about £180 per month in take home pay. Social workers who provide the out of hours service are already planning a three-day strike, starting Friday 16th February, over a loss of a 20% allowance that will see them each lose from £500 to £750 per month read more
Brighton Refuse Workers Call For Meaningful Talks To Avoid Escalation Over ‘Service Delivery Issues’ (12 Feb) – Hard-working GMB members at City Clean are frustrated by management not dealing with issues. Brighton refuse workers have called for scheduled talks with the council over a series of service delivery issues affecting residents’ bin collections to be meaningful. A consultative ballot of GMB’s 119 members at the City Clean depot saw 95 per cent in favour of being balloted for industrial action over the changes read more
Regent’s Park gardeners strike (31 Jan) – Regent’s Park gardeners are on strike over pay today. Workers, employed by private contractor Idverde, will walk on on Thursday 1 February for 24 hours in anger at the fact they received lower pay than gardeners at the other Royal Parks. Staff at Regent’s Park were handed the prestigious BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries) award for their work just last year read more
Wiltshire Social Workers announce 3 months of strike action (29 Jan) – Workers in the out of hours emergency service to strike every weekend until 19 May. Members of GMB, the union for Wiltshire Council, have today informed their employer that they will be taking strike action every weekend for three months. The dispute centres around a proposed pay cut by the council, which would see a contractual out-of-hours bonus removed, costing some staff up to 20 per cent of their annual salary. The strike is an escalation of a dispute by GMB members across the council which has been running for 2 years and has seen 11 days of strikes by traffic wardens read more
Defence manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce faces strike threat (23 Jan) – Rolls-Royce members working in the submarine sector will begin balloting for industrial action. The vote at the Derby-based company comes as workers rejected the latest offer in an ongoing dispute on pay. Rolls-Royce is a world leader in the field of submarine technology, as well as being the supplier to Britain’s domestic nuclear submarine fleet. In agreement with the company, any industrial action will not jeopardise the UK’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent, safety of submarines or operational submarines at sea. Workers will begin balloting on Monday 29 January with a result expected after four weeks. GMB is Britain’s largest union in defence and nuclear manufacturing read more
South Tyneside faces third round of bin strikes (9 Jan) – Council needs to deal with bullying and release independent report. South Tyneside refuse workers will begin a third round of industrial action next week. Full strike action will be taken 9-12 January. Workers will put their concerns direct to councillors at the next full council meeting on 24 January read more
Unison
Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
Stop the Council Cuts – Sign the petition: Save our Services – Nottingham City – started by Nottingham City Unison
Dudley MP raises Mitie strikers’ struggle in the Commons (13 Mar) – Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt MP says she will make sure the case of the Dudley workers is looked at read more
UNISON ‘unequivocally condemns’ Tory donor’s ‘horrific abuse’ (13 Mar) – ‘No woman in public life should have to accept this kind of abuse and intimidation’. UNISON considers comments made by Frank Hester, the Tory Party’s biggest donor, that looking at Diane Abbott MP makes you “want to hate all black women” and the MP “should be shot”, to be racist and sexist, unacceptable and dangerous read more
Proposals that seek to limit the right to peaceful protest must be rejected, says UNISON (12 Mar) – Union is ‘extremely concerned’ at reports that MPs, councillors and Labour-affiliated unions should cut ties with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign read more
Bedfordshire NHS hospital staff in 48-hour strike over pay (11 Mar) – Staff across two Bedfordshire hospitals say they are being asked to perform medical tasks above their pay grade, such as inserting cannulas. Hundreds of NHS emergency hospital staff are expected to take part in strike action in a dispute over pay and rebanding of roles. Some 400 workers at the Bedford and Luton & Dunstable hospitals will walk out for 48 hours from 07:30 GMT. The union Unison said healthcare assistants were being asked to carry out clinical tasks without extra pay read more on BBC website. Unison: ‘Ripped off’ Bedfordshire NHS staff vote on strike action
Blog: Healthcare assistants are taking a stand over fair pay, a blog post by Clare Williams (8 Mar) – Strike action is a last resort and can still be avoided if the Trust do the right thing and give a firm commitment to back-pay eligible staff up to 1 July 2019 as a minimum read more
NHS staff across Teesside announce strike date in pay dispute, says UNISON (27 Feb) – Around 1,000 healthcare assistants at North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will take strike action next month in a dispute over pay… Staff at the trusts’ seven sites* will walk out for 24 hours from 7am on Monday 11 March as part of their campaign to be paid on a higher wage band which accurately reflects the work they have been doing read more
Barnet UNISON Mental Health social worker re-ballot results (23 Feb) – Our Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers re-ballot results are now in. We had a 91% turn out with a 100% VOTE for strike action. Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers have already taken 27 days of strike action which equates to approximately 4,050 lost contact days for Mental health service users in Barnet. Today UNISON submitted the results to the Barnet Council Chief Executive. UNISON has agreed to go into talks with Barnet Council and ACAS. UNISON have agreed a couple of dates in early March. UNISON has from the outset been prepared to negotiate to reach a resolution to what has become the longest running Mental Health social worker strike in UNISON’s history. Barnet UNISON has agreed a new strike timetable with our members which will begin in April in the unfortunate event that we are unable to reach a resolution. The strike timetable would be a significant increase in the number of strike days taken by the social workers so far:-
- From 15 April to 26 April 2024 (two weeks).
- From 13 May to 1 June 2024 (three weeks).
- From 17 June to 12 July 2024. (four weeks).
Our members are 100% behind UNISONs negotiating team and remain hopeful that a positive resolution can be secured to avoid any further strike action read more Send messages of support to [email protected]
Yoga instructors pose a strike problem for unbending council (16 Feb) – Together with colleagues teaching Pilates and aerobics, the instructors backed industrial action as Colchester City Council remains stubborn on pay. Yoga, Pilates and aerobics instructors employed by Colchester City Council are to take strike action later this month after nearly a decade without a pay rise, UNISON announced today. The fitness instructors will walk out for seven days from Wednesday 28 February until Tuesday 5 March read more
NIPSA
HSC Pay Offer 2023/24 (6 Mar) – Patrick Mulholland Deputy General Secretary: NIPSA has now received a formal pay offer for the 2023/24 pay year. See link below – Pay Offer – Letter to Trade Unions.pdf. The HSC Central Panel Branches unanimously agreed to recommend to members that we accept the offer. This should not be misconstrued as a blanket endorsement of the offer. Members are encouraged to attend Branch meetings in the coming days. Details of which shall be issued through your Branch Secretary read more
Royal College of Nursing
Voting opens for new HSC pay offer in Northern Ireland (4 Mar) – Eligible members will have until 6pm on Thursday 21 March to have their say. The RCN is now consulting eligible members in Northern Ireland on the Department of Health’s new pay offer for Health and Social Care (HSC) staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions. Voting is now open and closes at 6pm on Thursday 21 March 2024. You will not be able to cast your vote after this time. If you vote more than once, only your latest vote will be counted read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
‘Keep vital maternity services open’ say RCM (12 Mar) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has called on local commissioners to rethink plans to close vital maternity and neonatal services at the Royal Free Hospital or the Whittington Hospital in North London. Under the current plans, one of the two maternity and services would close. The RCM along with midwives and maternity staff has been one of the leading forces campaigning to keep these services open, joining regular demonstrations outside the Royal Free Hospital. Now the RCM is responding to the Start Well consultation and is calling on its members, all those that work in maternity services, those that use maternity services and their families to respond with a resounding ‘no’ to the proposals while there is still time read more
Long overdue pay offer finally arrives for midwives in Northern Ireland (26 Feb) – Months of waiting and campaigning, two days of strike action and a reformed Executive the RCM says has ‘finally’ resulted in a ‘long overdue’ pay offer for its members in Northern Ireland. The proposed pay offer would see the restoration of pay parity with England with an uplift of 5% and a one-off payment of £1,505 read more
CSP
Workplace justice should be free for all – so take action to stop tribunal fees, says CSP (13 Mar) – CSP is urging its members to take action to oppose government plans to reintroduce employment tribunal fees, by responding to a consultation on the plans read more
Members urged to vote on Northern Ireland pay offer (26 Feb) – An offer on pay for Health and Social Care Northern Ireland staff will be put to CSP members following a breakthrough in talks read more
SOR
NI radiographers urged to share views on pay deal (4 Mar) – Northern Ireland’s Department of Health has put forward a 23/24 pay offer, and the Society of Radiographers is seeking member responses read more
Scottish NHS pay deal still awaiting government sign-off (5 Feb) – Agenda for Change trade unions and professional bodies reached agreement with government early last year, but delays continue read more
BMA
Donate to support striking junior doctors
Industrial action under attack (13 Mar) – The Government’s imposition of minimum service levels during strikes could lead to chaos and harm patient safety, argues BMA deputy council chair Emma Runswick read more
Frustration turns to action as junior doctors in Northern Ireland strike for first time (6 Mar) – Doctors earning lowest rate in the UK walk out for 24 hours in fight for pay restoration. It is hard to have a pay dispute when there has not a devolved government to argue with, while at the same time government in Westminster insists your dispute is a devolved issue. Yet this has been the case for junior doctors in Northern Ireland. Even since last month, when the Northern Ireland executive was reformed after two years of stalemate, they have been told the devolved government’s hands are tied until Westminster comes to an agreement with junior doctors in England. Earning as little as £13 an hour, the lowest rate in the UK, BMA members in Northern Ireland had to act. From 8am 6 March, about 2,000 junior doctors walked out on strike for 24 hours as they call for restoration of pay to 2008 levels in real terms, with an above-inflation uplift this year to stem the immediate workforce crisis read more
Government tables revised pay offer for consultants (5 Mar) – BMA seeks agreement from senior doctors on pay and terms and conditions proposal. Consultants are being asked to back a new offer on pay and conditions, described by BMA consultants committee chair Vishal Sharma as a ‘positive step forward’. The BMA is encouraging consultants in England to endorse a new offer CC says will further improve terms on pay as well as institute significant improvements towards renewing the independence of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration read more
NHS Wales: Consultants and specialist doctors to strike (4 Mar) – BMA members have voted in favour for strike action over a dispute in pay. BBC Wales health correspondent. Consultant and specialist doctors in Wales have voted in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay. The industrial action takes place from 7am on 16 April until 7am on 18 April. They will walk out over workplace conditions caused by extreme pressures, and unsafe staffing levels, the British Medical Association (BMA) said read more on BBC website
Junior doctors in Wales announce new strike dates in fight to restore pay (5 Feb) – BMA Cymru Wales’ junior doctors committee has announced new strike dates as part of the dispute over pay. In the absence of a credible pay offer to form the basis of talks to end the dispute, junior doctors from across Wales will take part in two further walkouts in February and March this year. The first, a 72 hour full walkout will take place from Wednesday 21st February and the second a 96 hour full walkout from Monday 25th March. The new rounds of strike action follow a 72-hour full walkout by junior doctors in January. The committee decided to announce new dates after the Welsh Government failed to produce a credible offer to end the dispute read more
Junior doctors embark on tenth round of industrial action (27 Feb) – Government failure to present revised pay offer forces another walk-out. ‘None of us want to be here,’ says foundation year 2 Callum Parr, one of dozens of striking doctors stood on the freezing-cold picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in central London read more
HCSA
HCSA junior doctors announce five-day strike in February (9 Feb) – Junior doctors from HCSA – the hospital doctors’ union will strike for five days across England in February in the latest step in their pay dispute. This follows the government’s ongoing failure to address pay erosion, which has seen junior doctors’ pay fall by more than a quarter since 2008. Junior doctors will walk out from 7am on Saturday 24th February until 7am on Thursday 29th February read more
NEU
NEU lobby of supply teacher agency’s London office – The NEU is lobbying the London office of Teaching Personnel, one of the largest supply agencies, to highlight the gross profiteering and exploitation at the heart of the UK’s broken supply model.
Date: Wednesday 20 March
Time: 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Address: Teaching Personnel, 10 Bloomsbury Way, L ondon WC1A 2SL
Speaker and events:
• Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union to speak.
• Street theatre and singers.
Cathedral School Llandaff using agency workers during strike (12 Mar) – NEU Cymru considers legal action over CSL’s shock use of agency staff. Today (12th March) as teachers from the school again take to the picket line outside the Cathedral School Llandaff this morning, NEU Cymru is shocked to learn that CSL is using an agency to put on revision classes – a clear legal breach read more
NEU launches preliminary ballot on pay and funding (2 Mar) – Fair pay is not just a request, but a necessity. Schools deserve proper funding for staffing provision – and the necessary funding to cover a pay rise. The NEU will today (Saturday 2 March) open its preliminary electronic ballot over pay and funding. Around 300,000 teacher members working in maintained schools and sixth forms across England will be consulted on whether they are prepared to take part in industrial action to win funding from Government for pay and additional staffing resources. This forms part of an ongoing campaign to secure a long-term correction in pay. Additional funding would ensure that a fully-funded, above-inflation pay rise could be achieved. The preliminary ballot opens on 2 March and closes on 28 March read more
Please support the following strike action (email address of NEU reps included):-
Bradford Grammar / Bradford (TPS) 18 March Tom Bright [email protected]
Dame Allan’s Schools / Newcastle (TPS) 19 March Brian Metcalf [email protected]
The Study Prep School / Merton (TPS) 19 March John Gourlay [email protected]
Kent College / Canterbury (Pay) 19-20 March Christopher Lilley [email protected]
King Solomon High School / Redbridge (Conditions of Service) 19-21 March Venda Premkumar [email protected]
Tring Park School for the Performing Arts / Herts (TPS) 19-21 March Barhey Singh [email protected]
St Ursula’s Convent School / Greenwich (Victimisation of Rep) 19-22 March Tim Woodcock [email protected]
St Michael’s CofE School / Sefton (Pupil Behaviour) 20 March Alastair Devey
Lady Eleanor Holles School / Richmond (TPS) 20-21 March Susan O’Connor
Lycee Francais De Gaulle / Kensington & Chelsea (Pay) 21 March John Friend [email protected]
St Mary’s School Ascot / Windsor & Maidenhead (TPS) 21 March Elaine Hurrell [email protected]
St Joseph’s RC Primary / Suffolk (Conditions of Service) 21-22 March Susan Groome [email protected]
NASUWT
Pension threats prompt strike action at Newcastle school (18 Mar) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Dame Allan’s Schools in Fenham are taking the first of six planned days of strike action tomorrow over attempts to downgrade their pensions. Teachers are facing the forcible withdrawal of their pensions from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to an inferior Defined Contribution (DC) scheme, which will pay out less in retirement. Teachers have been told that if they do not accept the transfer of their pensions, they will be dismissed from their jobs and reengaged on new contracts which include the DC pension arrangements. We do not accept that there is any financial necessity for the school to undermine teachers’ financial security in this way read more
Tring Park School teachers take strike action over pension sabotage (12 Mar) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts have begun a series of strike days due to a dispute over their pensions. After being offered a pay rise below levels of inflation, teachers at Tring Park School have now been told that if they wish to remain in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme – the standard scheme for teachers across England – they will need to take a pay cut in order to compensate for their employer’s contributions. Their only alternative is to move to a scheme of lower value. Strike action took place at Tring Park School on Tuesday 12th March and will take place again on Wednesday 13th March. Further days are planned on 19th, 20th and 21st March read more
Teachers at Cheshire college strike over pension attacks (6 Mar) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Abbey Gate College in Chester are taking strike action today over attacks on their pensions. The College is planning to remove staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and enrol them in an inferior scheme, which will pay out less in retirement. Staff can opt to remain in the TPS, but only on the condition they accept a significant cut to their pay read more
Teachers at Chetham’s School of Music to strike over attempts to downgrade pensions (26 Feb) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester are starting the first five planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) over attempts to make teachers choose between their pension or their pay. Chethams, which is the UK’s largest specialist music school, is attempting to remove staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and enrol them in an inferior Defined Contribution scheme. If teachers choose to remain in the TPS they must accept a reduced salary read more
EIS
Lecturers begin targeted strike action in constituency areas of key Scottish Government ministers (12 Mar) – Lecturers in three Scottish colleges will take targeted industrial action over the coming weeks. With Dundee & Angus College taking the first of two days of targeted strike action, starting Monday, and continuing on Wednesday this week. Fife College lectures are set to take two days of strike action next week followed by Glasgow Clyde College the week after. Each of these colleges sit within the parliamentary constituency areas of Scottish Government Ministers with the responsibility for these public bodies; Dundee & Angus College for the Minister for Higher and Further Education (Graeme Dey), Fife College for the Cabinet Secretary for Education (Jenny Gilruth) and Glasgow Clyde College for the First Minister (Humza Yousaf) read more
INTO
NITC receive Pay Offer (11 Mar) – The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) today considered a draft agreement from Management Side with a pay offer which has the potential to bring a settlement to the ongoing pay dispute. The out working of this agreement would lead to a significant increase to the starting salary for teachers and an uplift in teachers’ and school leaders pay from 1st September 2023. The constituent members of the NITC have agreed to consult members in the coming week, with a view to responding to the offer by Tuesday 26th March 2024 read more
UCU
NSSN sends solidarity to UCU and its members at Queen Mary University in London after security broke into the Queen Mary UCU office in order to remove posters expressing solidarity with Palestine. For developments, follow Queen Mary UCU on X/Twitter @qm_ucu
UCU statement in support of Diane Abbott (15 Mar) – UCU sends full solidarity to Diane Abbott, whose treatment over the past week has been nothing short of a national disgrace read more
Strike threat at University of Winchester over ‘catastrophic’ job cull (14 Mar) – UCU confirmed strike action could be on the cards at the University of Winchester after its members voted to consult over taking industrial action at a packed meeting last Friday. Staff have been put at risk of redundancy in changes that would see the university close its English language programme; institute for climate and social justice; centre for religion, reconciliation and peace; and managed housing, and see cuts to psychology, acting and apprenticeships. The university claims it needs to make the cuts due to a £6m structural deficit. There are 40 jobs planned to go in the current phase, with fears of further job cuts pending read more
Northumbria University strike ballot opens Monday over job cuts (14 Mar) – UCU announced a strike ballot will open at Northumbria University on Monday 18 March after management refused to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of plans to make £12.5m of staffing cuts. The ballot closes on Friday 26 April. Talks between management and UCU to resolve the dispute were due to take place earlier this week but the university cancelled them without explanation. The union has now been told that senior management will not meet for talks. The university has also pulled back from a joint statement that had previously been agreed read more
UCU condemns Gove extremism plans (14 Mar) – UCU, which represents 125,000 education workers, has today condemned Michael Gove’s plans to redefine ‘extremism’ as a ‘worrying shift towards authoritarianism’ read more
Strike ballot at New College Durham over low pay (11 Mar) – UCU has opened a strike ballot at New College Durham in a dispute over low pay. The ballot will close on Monday 15 April and a successful result paves the way for strike action if the employer refuses to make a realistic offer. The ballot comes after staff voted to reject a paltry pay offer of 4% (from August 2023). According to its most recent accounts the college has over £9m in assets, a £2m increase on the year before, and is rated as having outstanding financial health by the government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency, yet UCU’s research shows it spends less of its income on pay than any other college in the region read more
Two new strike dates at North East college group in low pay dispute (4 Mar) – Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees will strike on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 March. The strikes come after an overwhelming 79.3% of UCU members at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy and Redcar and Cleveland College who voted, rejected the latest pay offer from employer Education Training Collective (ETC). Turnout was 64%. UCU also confirmed it will open a new strike ballot on Wednesday (6 March) that will run until Monday 15 April so it can continue to take industrial action if ETC refuses to settle the dispute. A successful ballot will allow the union to take strike action for a further six months. The dispute is over the 22/23 pay award read more
Strike ballot opens at Goldsmiths in bid to stop cull of over 130 jobs (29 Feb) – A strike ballot will open tomorrow over plans by Goldsmiths, University of London to cull 130 jobs as part of its ‘transformation programme’. The ballot will run until Thursday 28 March. Goldsmiths’ transformation programme lead wrote to UCU yesterday threatening to cut 130 full-time equivalent posts. These redundancies will mainly hit the departments of theatre and performance, history, English and creative writing, visual cultures, politics and international relations, music, anthropology, sociology, educational studies, psychology and social, and therapeutic and community studies. With so many academic staff on fractional and part-time contracts, the cuts will impact far more than 130 people read more
Outrage over ‘callous’ fire & rehire threat at SOAS (29 Feb) – UCU has launched an indicative ballot on taking strike action at SOAS, University of London over fire and rehire plans that place 34 staff at risk of losing their jobs and being rehired on worse terms and conditions. The cuts would eliminate all term time English-language and study skills support for international students. The indicative ballot runs until Wednesday 6 March and a successful result paves the way for an industrial ballot and strike action if SOAS management refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies read more
Aberdeen University staff overwhelmingly back industrial action in row over modern languages cuts and job losses (7 Feb) – Staff at the University of Aberdeen have today backed strikes in a dispute over plans to end single-honours degrees in modern languages and put 30 staff at risk of redundancy. In the ballot of UCU Scotland members, 80% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 60%. On 30 November, the same day that the Scottish Government launched its Scottish languages bill, the university announced a consultation with proposals to end single honours degrees in French, Gaelic, German, and Spanish; to end both single and joint honours degrees; or to end all language degree programmes. At the time, amidst widespread criticism, UCU general secretary Jo Grady called the proposals ‘academic vandalism’ read more
Eight days of strike action begins today at London’s biggest college (16 Jan) – Staff at Capital City College Group (CCCG), London’s largest further education college group, begin eight days of strike action today in a long-running pay dispute. CCCG has campuses across London, including in Westminster, Camden and Enfield. Staff at CCCG have already taken three days of strike action in what began as a national dispute over low pay and poor working conditions. UCU has now settled disputes at 60 colleges with pay awards of up to 10%. The union said CCCG is an isolated employer and must look to other colleges and settle the dispute by making an acceptable offer read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
‘Allowed to act with impunity’: Firefighters’ union responds to Northants PFCC standing down (18 Mar) – The Fire Brigades Union has responded to the announcement that Northamptonshire PFCC Stephen Mold will not stand for re-election, calling for an end to the police, fire and crime commissioner model. Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said: “Firefighters and the public have welcomed the news that Stephen Mold will not run for re-election as Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner. Following eight months of scandal, culminating in unacceptable sexism, Mold should have been formally held to account…” read more
Northamptonshire PFCC position “untenable” after sexist remarks, says union (15 Mar) – Stephen Mold, the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Northamptonshire has been reported as using sexist language in a meeting with firefighters in relation to the county’s new Chief Fire Officer, Nikki Watson. He has not denied that he used this language, and referred himself to the fire service’s Monitoring Officer read more
Fire union warns government of Grenfell-style risk over weak high-rise evacuation policy (13 Mar) – The union representing the overwhelming majority of firefighters has slammed new government guidance on building evacuation, saying that failings have left residents vulnerable to further Grenfell-style tragedies. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended in October 2019 that the government develop guidelines for the evacuation of high-rise buildings. It finally published these in February 2024, more than four years later. Now, in a letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly, Fire Brigades Union leader Matt Wrack said it was a “disgrace” that it had taken so long and described the guidance as containing “little of real substance” read more
Fire union calls on employers to refuse to implement “authoritarian” strike ban (12 Mar) – The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has called on all fire service employers to refuse to implement the government’s new minimum service levels, condemning the legislation as a “draconian attempt to ban strikes”. In a letter sent to all fire service employers in England, the FBU has warned that implementing work notices will “irreparably damage” industrial relations and threaten public safety. New regulations issued as part of the Minimum Service Levels (Strikes) Act will give fire service employers power to issue ‘work notices’ during period of strike action. ‘Minimum service’ in the fire and rescue sector has been set at 73% of fire engines crewed, while control rooms will be expected to operate as if no strike was happening. Firefighters, control staff and other fire service employees could face dismissal for remaining on strike during a period of industrial action once a work notice has been issued. The regulations are expected to be approved by parliament soon. They will apply only in England. The governments of Scotland and Wales have already said that they will not issue work notices and/or that they have no intention of introducing their own regulations to make the legislation operative. Fire service employers are different depending on the region, and include fire authorities; police, fire and crime commissioners (PFCCs); mayors; and devolved administrations. Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: The government’s minimum service levels amount to a draconian attempt to ban firefighters and control staff from taking strike action. This is an attack on the fundamental democratic rights of fire service employees…” read more
POA
Access to sanitary products (16 Feb) – Dignified access to hygiene products such as tissues, soap, and toilets for staff is considered essential within a workplace. In November 2022, People Business Committee approved the roll out of period products across the HMPPS estate. This provision aims to create a dignified access point to products, by making them free at the point of need read more
Pensions litigation – England & Wales claims (15 Feb) – As you all will be aware, Thompsons Solicitors are now instructed on all our age discrimination claims for injury to feelings that arise from the decision to force members to move from their Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) to the Alpha Pension Scheme from 1 April 2015. This follows the retirement of Ivan Walker, the solicitor who previously handled these claims. The purpose of this circular is to give a general update on these claims, and to explain how to have your case transferred over to Thompsons if this has not already happened read more
NAPO
Calling all Reps and ‘wanna be’ Reps! (14 Mar) – Ranjit Singh, Assistant General Secretary, and Annoesjka Valent, National Official – TUO, will be launching some ‘Repping Reps’ sessions together with other national Link Officers and Officials read more
Operation Protect! Probation Workloads Campaign (14 Mar) – Following on from our mail-out last Friday and developments around the ECSL scheme, to reiterate that, the probation trade unions will be going back to the employer to continue talks and to demand urgent measures to address this situation. Through feedback from our meetings with members, we have developed and shared a suite of measures to fix the workload crisis. These go much further than those already agreed with the employer and we will be pushing HMPPS to implement these as a matter of urgency. Our Operation Protect campaign remains the highest priority for the unions and we intend to press on with our efforts to bring down workloads and the stress and dangers that this brings to staff and communities read more
ECSL – Napo’s position (13 Mar) – The Ministerial announcements on Prison capacity are in the news regularly. From the outset we want to make it clear that Napo’s starting point for any discussion on prison overcrowding is that it is a tragedy. Too often the focus is on one part of the unfolding crisis, but we believe it’s important to first acknowledge the sheer scale of what is happening. This is beyond even the terrible and degrading conditions individuals are imprisoned in while being denied the opportunity of rehabilitation, the impact on victims denied what they believed justice would be, as well as being placed at risk by this policy and the unbearable anxiety caused to the families of both prisoner and victim read more
BFAWU
Statement responding to Lord Walney’s attacks on the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (13 Mar) – We are alarmed by reports that the government is considering banning MPs and councilors from engaging with groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), following an intervention from Lord Walney. We are proud affiliates of PSC, sharing its aim of promoting the rights of the Palestinian people and working to end the oppression they face. Over many years our conferences have all passed policy resolutions to this effect read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
BALPA
Bristow helicopters pilots in BALPA to strike in pay dispute (20 Feb) – The British Airline Pilots’ Association has given notice to Bristow Helicopters that it will call on its members to strike in March. BALPA has been in negotiation with the company for months, but Bristow has failed to put forward any offer that its pilots and tech crew could support read more
Nautilus International
Joint statement – P&O Ferries’ 2 year anniversary (15 Mar) – P&O Ferries’ brutal sacking of 786 dedicated seafarers in March 2022 was a nadir in modern industrial relations. Two years have since passed – but the government has done nothing to stop another P&O Ferries scandal. Despite admitting to acting illegally, P&O Ferries have faced no sanctions and have seemingly been let off the hook. Having feigned outrage at P&O Ferries’ actions, ministers have reneged on their promise to clamp down on bad bosses, failed to deliver an Employment Bill and failed to close the legal loopholes exploited by P&O Ferries. And the paltry reforms that they have pushed forward fall far short of what’s needed read more
Lloyd’s Register bosses accept pay rise whilst denying cost of living uplift to staff (15 Mar) – Top management earning as much as £1,000,000 per year at maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register are rewarding themselves with a 10% inflation-busting pay rise, even as the company refuses to give hardworking staff a cost of living uplift and seeks to replace jobs in the Netherlands with insecure employment in cheaper labour countries read more
Nautilus members vote to accept new CBAs with VWH and Spliethoff (12 Mar) – Nautilus members have voted strongly to accept the results of negotiations between the Union and the Dutch Association of Employers in Merchant Shipping (VWH) on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for 2024 read more
NUJ
STV journalists vote for strike action as pay talks break down (11 Mar) – Journalists at STV are set to go on strike after an industrial ballot showed overwhelming support in favour of industrial action at the Scottish broadcaster. Members of the NUJ have voted 89 per cent in favour of strike action after last minute talks at ACAS resulted in the management refusing to improve its offer to resolve a pay dispute. STV News faces a summer of disruption to its flagship news programming as journalists are expected to walk out of newsrooms and onto picket lines. NUJ members at the broadcaster will be meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss the form and timescale of industrial action read more
Musicians Union
MU Responds to BPI’s Latest Offer for Session Musicians (12 Mar) – The BPI’s latest offer for session musicians is not worth the paper it’s written on. In this blog, MU Assistant General Secretary Phil Kear explains why and what the union is doing about it read more
Community
Statement – Morfa Coke Ovens, Port Talbot (18 Mar) – Alun Davies, National Officer for Steel at the steelworkers’ union Community, said: “The early closure of the coke ovens is a massive blow but we knew they have been deteriorating and our number one concern is the safety of our members. Tata know the unions will not accept any compulsory redundancies and we are working to conclude negotiations on an enhanced redundancy and retention package. Regretfully the coke ovens were always going to close during the transition period, but once the national consultations conclude we will ballot for industrial action should Tata confirm their intention to close Blast Furnace Number 4” read more
Community confirms plans to ballot for industrial action at Tata Steel UK (4 Mar) – Alun Davies, National Officer for Steel at Community, the steelworkers’ union, said: “Community representatives from all Tata Steel UK plants have unanimously agreed to serve notice on the company should Tata confirm their intention to close Blast Furnace Number 4. This would be a national dispute and Community will ballot all members on a site-by-site basis including the downstream plants…” read more
USDAW
Violence against shopworkers doubles in the retail crime epidemic – an Usdaw survey finds (13 Mar) – Retail trade union Usdaw has today (13 March) launched shocking statistics from their annual survey of over 5,500 retail staff showing that 18% of shopworkers suffered a violent attack last year, compared to 8% in 2022 read more
B&Q stores could face disruption as Usdaw members vote for industrial action over pay at a GXO distribution centre in Swindon (5 Mar) – Members of Usdaw at a GXO distribution centre in Swindon, which operates a B&Q contract, have voted unanimously for industrial action over pay. The ballot of over 100 Usdaw members had an 87% turnout and was conducted after the company’s offer of 5.25%, with some investment in an attendance bonus and a damage bonus, was rejected. The ballot gives Usdaw a mandate to take industrial action from week beginning 18 March read more
UVW
Harrods’ hospitality workers ready to strike for third time if 2024 pay promise not kept (16 Jan) – Following two UVW victorious disputes for workers’ tips in 2017 and a huge 25 percent wage increase in December 2021, Harrods’s hospitality workers are ready for a third strike if Harrods doesn’t keep its 2024 pay rise promise. The London luxury store has offered them a pay review with an increase by 1 April 2024, following moves by UVW bar and kitchen staff. A majority of workers and UVW members voted positively in December over their willingness to declare a third pay dispute read more
IWGB
Workers at debt charity vote to strike following “aggressive intimidation” from management (8 Mar) – Frontline workers at the debt advice charity Rooted Finance will down tools later this month after their ballot to strike passed with a 100% yes vote. The decision to walk out on March 18 and 19 follows what workers have described as “anti-union and intimidatory tactics” from management read more
Find out more about the couriers’ strikes on the X/twitter of the IWGB Couriers’ branch @IWGB_CLB
Mandate (Ireland)
SIPTU (Ireland)
Minister Ryan Failing to Address Transport Worker Abuse (13 Mar) – SIPTU representatives have expressed disappointment at the failure of the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, to agree on a date to meet workers to discuss the worsening situation concerning abuse and anti-social behaviour on the public transport network read more
Other news
Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’! Find out more about this campaign here
Affiliate with STAMMA – STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Fight blacklisting and victimisation of union reps
Hazards urgently need our support
Many workers were blacklisted because they raised complaints about health and safety or took on the role of a union safety rep. So when our blacklisting campaign was first starting back in 2009, Hazards magazine set up the Blacklist Blog on their website. Alongside our FaceBook page it is the go to online resource for what our campaign has achieved over the past 13 years. www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Hazards is now in financial difficulty and needs the support of the union movement. Its major funding stream has vanished almost overnight. The magazine and the Hazards centres around the country need union branches or official unions to take out a regular subscription to keep the union movement’s flagship safety magazine in operation. If you or your union committee can afford it, please support Hazards:
UCU condemns ‘baffling’ dismissal of University of Sussex lecturer (25 Aug) – UCU has today condemned plans by the University of Sussex to make a member of teaching staff redundant after having advertised a new permanent post that includes all his current duties. Philosopher Lecturer James Furner has been employed at the university on consecutive fixed term part-time contracts since 2021, but on 22 August the university wrote to him to say that his employment will come to an end this month. Yet on July 7 it advertised a new full-time post of Lecturer in Philosophy stating that the post-holder ‘will be expected’ to teach the same four undergraduate modules that James taught in 2022-3. A petition has been launched in protest against the plans read more
Sign petition: Reinstate Anne Howie RMT Activist – Anne Howie RMT activist at Manchester Piccadilly is facing dismissal with no due process
UVW to sue LSE for disability discrimination and trade union victimisation after sacking strike leader (24 Aug) – “My condition has got something to do with it, but I think there’s more to it. I’ve always been at the forefront of the fight… because I consider myself a union leader” – Geovanny Moreno Buitrago, LSE cleaner and UVW member. UVW strike leader Geovanny Moreno Buitrago, a migrant cleaner from Colombia at the London School of Economics (LSE), was sacked after being off sick with a herniated disc as he tried to return to work. UVW is appealing and suing for his dismissal on grounds of disability discrimination and trade union victimisation. In spite of two expert medical opinions, Geovanny’s willingness to come back to work, his own recommendations on what he is capable of doing, and LSE’s own health policies, LSE sacked him read more
Support Lee Fowler – Another blacklisted construction worker sacked after making complaints about safety on site read more about Lee’s case
Felixstowe 4’ protest demands justice at CK Hutchison AGM (18 May) read more
UK facing taps and pipes shortage as Warrington based GXO drivers strike over sacking of Unite rep (12 May) read more
Protest as Hackney Unison chair amongst those handed compulsory redundancies in libraries shake-up: 6pm Wednesday 17th May Hackney Town Hall Read more on Hackney Citizen website
#SPYCops Inquiry exposes state surveillance of workers movement
Construction blacklisting: Evidence sought in union officials’ collusion inquiry (11 Apr) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is stepping up its search for information into the possible collusion by trade union officials into the blacklisting of construction workers. In April 2022 Unite established an independent inquiry into allegations that some union officials may have colluded with the blacklisting of construction workers. Unite has instructed a legal team of Nick Randall KC (Matrix Chambers), John Carl Townsend (33 Chancery Lane Chambers) and Paul Heron from (Public Interest Law Centre), to examine and investigate whether any union officials from Unite or its predecessor unions (T&G, UCATT, Amicus, AEEU or MSF), were involved in the blacklisting of construction workers. The inquiry is now entering its next stage and an online portal has been launched to allow anyone who has any information relating to the inquiry to submit information read more
Builders Crack: The Movie
In the current situation, this long lost film from the 1990s about rank and file union organising in the construction industry is intended to lift the spirits, but also to spark a debate in our movement. Hope the youngsters in this film put a smile on your face.
Watch – Share – Discuss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VZ-QMA1FMg
Blacklist Support Group
Book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklist-SG/
Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Blacklist Support Group financial appeal: the Blacklist support group is desperately short of funds, to continue the incredible work we need more finance, would you please consider making a donation, raise it at your branches and trade councils. Please make cheques payable to Joint sites committee and send to 70 Darnay Rise Chelmsford Essex CM1 4XA. Please forward onto your contacts many thanks Steve Kelly (JSC Treasurer)
Blacklisted t-shirts available at: https://shop.hopenothate.org.uk/component/hikashop/product/78-blacklisted-t-shirt
Keep an eye out for other Facebook and social media groups and pages that are being created. You can catch up on disputes at Strike Map UK. Also, check out Organise Now! – Support for new worker organising.
International
(From NUJ website) Somalia: journalist killed in newsroom (14 Mar) – Abdikarin Ahmed Bulhan’s is the first journalist killed in Somalia this year. The NUJ is calling on authorities to swiftly investigate his murder and hold the perpetrator to account read more
Egypt: Solidarity with Mahalla Textile Workers (11 Mar) – Since 22 February 2024, El Mahala Textile in Egypt has been in turmoil. The action began when around 3,700 women gathered protesting low wages read more
Solidarity with the striking textile workers at Ozak in Turkey – read more on Twitter of Solidarity with the People of Turkey @spotturkey
Diary
2024
June
22 NSSN Conference 2024 – 11am Conway Hall, Holborn, London
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
