The NSSN sends solidarity to the BMA and their Resident Doctor members as they call strike action. We continue to build solidarity and send support to all workers and unions taking action and in dispute.
BMA: Resident doctors set strike date (23 Oct) – Full walk out planned for 14 November in England unless health secretary returns to negotiate. Resident doctors in England are set to strike next month, following the Government’s failure to agree a credible plan for jobs and pay restoration. The BMA resident doctors committee England has announced doctors will stage full walk-out action from 7am on 14 November, while urging health secretary Wes Streeting to avert the action by returning to the negotiating table. The announcement comes after resident doctors leaders met with the health secretary on 13 October to find a way forward on addressing pay erosion and job shortages. RDC had hoped the dialogue would see the Government recognise doctors’ concerns by providing a mandate for a multi-year pay deal or by agreeing to targeted in-year improvements to resident doctors’ pay. In confirming the latest strike dates, RDC chair Jack Fletcher lamented the need for further industrial action, while stressing that the situation was ‘disappointing but not unredeemable’, and urging Mr Streeting to resume talks in good faith read more
Resident doctors in Scotland plan strike in response to pay offer (10 Oct) – Resident doctors in Scotland could take strike action after the Scottish Government ‘shamefully reneged’ on a pay agreement, BMA Scotland announced today. The BMA Scottish resident doctors committee has voted to enter formal dispute with the Scottish Government and plans to ballot members on industrial action read more
NSSN lobbies TUC General Council to #NameTheDate for a national demo against Starmer’s cuts
The NSSN lobbied the TUC General Council last Wednesday for them to enact the policy passed at TUC Congress last month to call a national demonstration. See video and photos on NSSN on X/Twitter @NSSN_AntiCuts
TUC Congress voted for motions from the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and Trades Councils Conference that set out a strategy to take on Starmer’s austerity offensive, specifically: “for the TUC to organise a weekend demonstration against Labour austerity as a launchpad for sustained trade union action in defence of workers and young people.”
The NSSN welcome that these motions were passed unanimously by Congress, and it is now official TUC policy to call a national Saturday demonstration. But the NSSN is now calling on union reps and members now to demand that the TUC name the date for this demonstration. The lobby of the TUC General Council was part of this campaign.
As NSSN Chair Rob Williams said in the NSSN Rally at TUC Congress: The TUC should name the date. He called for it to be on Saturday 22nd November – just before the Budget on 26th November. Rob said that the bosses are lobbying Starmer’s Labour Government in their interests, the trade union movement must mobilise to put our demands forward – no to austerity, make the rich pay!
Consider taking this brief model motion to your next union meeting:-
- This union NEC/branch/union branch committee/trades council welcomes the unanimous vote at this year’s TUC Congress for the motions from the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and Trades Councils Conference.
- We fully support the demand in the motions: “for the TUC to organise a weekend demonstration against Labour austerity as a launchpad for sustained trade union action in defence of workers and young people.”
- We welcome that this is now official TUC policy and call on our union NEC to demand that the TUC name the date for such a demonstration.
- We believe that Saturday 22nd November – just before the Budget on 26th November – would be an ideal day for this demonstration to demand no to austerity, make the rich pay!
Watch the videos of the NSSN TUC Congress rally speakers: Steve Gillan POA General Secretary, Sarah Woolley BFAWU General Secretary, Mick Whelan ASLEF General Secretary, Ian Lawrence NAPO General Secretary, Steve Wright FBU General Secretary, Danny Taylor Unite striking binworker from Birmingham & Joel Mayfield Unite striking binworker from Sheffield, Paula Peters DPAC, Matt Webb Brighton & Hove Trades Union Council and Rob Williams NSSN Chair.
Download and distribute our NSSN Workplace Report
Affiliate your union branch/trades council to NSSN (£50).
Renew/donate online (HSBC: 40-06-41, 90143790)
Cheque (NSSN, 16 Warren Rd, London E10 5QA).
Contact us: email – [email protected].
FINISHING THE JOB: Demand an Employment Rights Bill #2 – Organised by : Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) and Strike Map
As the Employment Rights Bill completes its parliamentary journey, all eyes are on the Tory and Liberal Democrat amendments made to the Bill in the House of Lords. Although these amendments have caused justifiable outrage amongst trade unionists, it is widely predicted that they will be rejected by the government wielding its majority in the House of Commons, and that the original terms of the Bill will be restored. Whilst we recognise the progress made in improving worker’s rights, we believe that a second employment rights bill is needed, one that strengthens the rights of all workers. This would include:-
1. An Immediate repeal of all anti-union laws.
2. A full ban on ‘fire and rehire’, enforceable by injunction.
3. End all zero-hours contracts .
4. A £15 per hour minimum wage with no age exemptions.
5. A statutory right to collective bargaining for all workers and a legal mechanism for creating sector-wide collective bargaining.
6. Amending our labour laws to comply with international standards.
7. Universal employment rights, including for workers on working visas, through a single worker status.
8. All workers to be entitled to all employment rights from day one.
9. A full trade union right to access workers on employers’ premises, enforceable by injunction.
10. End restrictions on industrial action and introduce a positive right to strike, including the right to take solidarity action.
- Sign this form to confirm your commitment to an employment rights bill #2. Please share this action.
Support the striking Birmingham binworkers!
The workers have been on indefinite strike since March after being threatened with pay cuts of up to £8,000 a year, and are facing brutal strike-breaking measures by the Labour council, backed by Starmer’s Labour government. Solidarity is even more essential as the council effectively threatens to fire and rehire the workers. In her speech, Sharon exposed Starmer’s government for not just maintaining Tory ‘fire and rehire’ but actually making changes to its original proposals to open the door to all councils to use this brutal method of cutting the wages of local authority workers.
There is huge support for the binworkers, both in Birmingham and throughout the trade union movement.
Unite demands independent Investigation into blacklisting at Birmingham Council (23 Oct) – Unite the UK’s leading union is demanding than an independent investigation is held into the backlisting of refuse workers at Birmingham council. The union issued its call after its initial concerns were rebuffed by Birmingham council and the employment agency at the centre of the scandal. On 9 October, Job&Talent employment agency manager Mark Assan was filmed telling agency bin workers that they would not be given permanent council jobs if they joined picket lines. He said this had been confirmed by two named Birmingham council managers, Chris Smiles and Rob Edmondson. This is a clear threat of anti-union blacklisting, which is illegal under UK employment law. Birmingham Council has said that it is investigating. However, nearly two weeks after the issue was raised Unite has had no information about any action being taken. All three managers involved – Assan, Smiles, and Edmondson – are still at work. Unite is now demanding that Birmingham council:
1. Convenes an independent investigation into blacklisting, headed by legal experts agreed by both the council and Unite. Unite has no confidence that the council will carry out a fair investigation internally
2. Immediate suspension of the three managers, until this investigation is concluded
3. Declare if any records including lists have been made of Unite members’ activities and immediately destroy any such records.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The council’s treatment of Birmingham bin workers has reached a fresh low. Agency workers are joining Unite in growing numbers, because they are sick of bullying and intimidation. Birmingham Council needs to clean up its act. The managers involved in these threats must be suspended immediately, and an independent investigation into the abhorrent practice of blacklisting swiftly established.”
The blacklisting threat was made after increasing numbers of agency workers started to join Unite and to offer support for those on strike at the three Birmingham bin depots. Agency workers say they are dealing with unsustainable workloads and a toxic bullying workplace culture at the council’s refuse department. Many of the agency staff have worked for Birmingham council for over a decade but have still not been offered directly employed roles. They are now being balloted for industrial action in relation to how they are being treated. After the video of blacklisting threats was made, Unite’s legal director Stephen Pinder wrote to both Birmingham City Council and Job&Talent last week asking what action they were taking. Birmingham Council managing director Joanne Roney simply replied to state that the council would “take appropriate steps to investigate”. Job &Talent has not responded read more
Birmingham bin worker blacklisting scandal rocks council (14 Oct) read more
Birmingham bin agency staff refusing to cross picket lines due to ‘toxic workplace culture’ (8 Oct) read more
- Sign petition to support binworkers
- Send a message of support to Unite and the binworkers
- Donate to the strike fund – Unite WM/7186 Branch, account: 20308397, sort code: 608301. Title donation: BCC Strike Donation
- Send a postcard to tell Birmingham Council’s leader to ‘Stop attacking your workers’ at https://supportbinworkers.unitetheunion.postbug.app/
Support the Unite Sheffield Bin Strike
New strike tactics at Sheffield waste depot aim to cause increased disruption (16 Oct) – Workers at Veolia will now return to work periodically to disrupt employer’s use of agency strike breakers. Striking workers taking part in a year-long dispute in Sheffield are set to cause greater disruption for their employer as new dates for action have been announced. Members of Unite working for Veolia at the Lumley Street depot have been on strike for over a year in their fight for union recognition. In a new tactic designed to disrupt Veolia’s use of agency staff in strike-breaking roles, workers will now periodically return to work before then heading back to the picket line. Workers will now walk out from 10-16 November, 24-30 November, 8-14 December, 22-28 December, 5-11 January, 19-25 January, 2-8 February, 16-22 February and 2-8 March read more
Donate to the strike fund – Unite NEYH, 60-83-01 20173962
Sign the Statement of Solidarity
Support the Unison Gloucestershire phlebotomists strike
Read the latest about the strike, which is now over 200 days long.
The results of the NHS phlebotomists in Gloucestershire Hospitals industrial action ballot returned a 100% YES vote, with a turnout of 100%.
Picketing and plan of action for week 33:
- Monday 27th October: 215 days phlebotomists meeting at the Jenner Room REC from 08:30 to 11:30. No picket.
- Tuesday 28th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08:00 to 12:00.
- Wednesday 29th: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08:00 to 12:00.
- Thursday 30th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08:00 to 12:00.
- Friday 31st: Relaxed picket at both sites.
Donate to the strike fund:-
Please show phlebotomists your support and solidarity by donating to their strike hardship fund:
Make a donation via SumUp
UNISON Gloucestershire DHC Branch 21311
Sort code: 60-83-01
Account number: 20301750
Reference: strikefund
Workers unity against the far-right – The far-right are again trying to whip up racist division by scapegoating refugees and migrants. The NSSN calls for the unions to play a leading role in opposing this offensive, which will only weaken our movement in the interests of the employees. We call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’
See info on counter-protests on union and trades councils social media and the Stand Up to Racism website.
No Pasarán! UVW Joins East London in Pushing Back Far-Right Mobilisation (27 Oct) – “We celebrate this victory, because it is a victory. Our collective pressure has pushed UKIP out of Tower Hamlets. But there is much work to be done. We ought to push the far right from every single borough, city and country. Organise, unionise, join us!” – Nelly Ospino, Executive Committee representative, United Voices of the World. On Saturday 25 October, the far-right group UKIP attempted a demonstration in Whitechapel as part of their ‘mass deportations tour’. They were banned for the day from Tower Hamlets, home to Casa UVW, and forced to hold their demo somewhere else instead read more
Union News
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RMT
New Bus Services Act must stem decline of industry, says RMT (28 Oct) – BUS union RMT welcomed the Bus Services Act becoming law as a step towards stemming the decline of the industry. The Bill was introduced in recognition of the decline in the sector that has arisen because of decades of deregulation and privatisation. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that it had been disastrous for our bus networks, leaving communities poorly served. “We welcome some elements of this legislation Bill such as the removal of the ideological ban on new municipal bus companies. However, we are concerned that the provision of decent bus services could continue to be a postcode lottery, and government needs to go much further and deliver a national plan for high quality locally delivered and properly funded publicly bus services which put passengers before profits. It is also regrettable that the government has ignored previous recommendations of the transport select committee to put in place national arrangements that would have increased protections for the jobs and safety for bus worker and improved services to passengers,” he said. Over 5,000 bus routes have been lost since 2010 and the number of bus workers has reduced by nearly 20,000, nearly a quarter of the entire workforce read more
RMT expresses concerns over Petrofac jobs (27 Oct) – Offshore energy union RMT expressed deep concerns today following the news that Petrofac has gone into receivership, placing the jobs and livelihoods of offshore and onshore in jeopardy. More than 2,000 Scotland-based jobs are at risk as oil and energy services group Petrofac has applied for administration. The union is urgently seeking clarity from the administrators regarding the status of ongoing contracts, outstanding wages, and the future employment prospects of affected members. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey demanded full protection of all workers pay and entitlements, including any unpaid wages, holiday pay, and redundancy rights read more
British Antarctic Survey seafarers win huge pay increase (23 Oct) – RMT celebrated a major win in the maritime industry after securing pay rises of up to 37% for workers at the British Antarctic Survey. The union has been in intense negotiations with the employer and has now won agreement on a new pay scale and wage rates. Pay increases range from 10% to 37% with a huge chunk of members receiving a 26% pay rise. As part of the deal, specialist allowances and end-of-year performance payments have also been secured for staff read more
RMT declares dispute with Network Rail over falling real wages despite rising productivity (16 Oct) – Rail union RMT, has gone into dispute with Network Rail over pay, after years of falling real-terms wages despite major productivity improvements delivered by staff across the railway. Since 2021, cumulative RPI inflation has risen by around 27%, while Network Rail pay awards over the same period total just 17%. That means staff are, on average, 10% worse off in real terms than they were four years ago. Depending on grade, individual losses amount to between £3,500 and £9,600 compared with inflation read more
RMT to ballot Eurostar staff for strike action (13 Oct) – Rail union RMT, will ballot Eurostar members for strike action in a row over safety and conditions at work. The ballot comes as staff face worsening working conditions with unreliable trains, poor service recovery and operational safety concerns piling pressure on the workforce. Eurostar posted revenues of €2 billion (£1.7bn) in 2024. However staff say that money is not being invested in improving fleet reliability or ensuring safe and secure conditions at stations read more
Carlisle support services strike continues for second day on Northern contract (8 Oct) – RMT members working for Carlisle Support Services on the Northern Trains’ revenue and gateline contract are taking their second day of strike action today. The strike follows widespread reports of bullying and harassment by managers, including attempts to pressure staff into breaking the strike, denying extra hours to union members, and forcing redeployments at short notice to remote locations read more
Pay update: 3 year deal offered (29 Sept) – RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2025 – LONDON UNDERGROUND. Talks have taken place with LUL this morning and management clarified the following points during the meeting:
- A base pay increase of 3.4% for 2025
- There was no movement on our demand for LUL to deliver the 2023 commitment to negotiate the extension of Priv travel. LUL is still in discussions with the Rail Staff Travel Committee. LUL management also confirmed they had not set aside a budget for the delivery of this commitment.
- Management have not addressed the issue of reviewing Spot Salaries to our satisfaction.
- In regard to business rules and our demand that every single member receives the full negotiated pay rise. Management stated “no one is to be disadvantaged”, but without clarity about our demand that everyone gets the negotiated pay award.
- Management confirmed they are not considering our demand for an underpin to be included.
- The new offer is a three year offer with a 3.4% increase in year one (as above) and a flat RPI increase with no other improvements in years two and three.
Your National Executive Committee will now discuss this matter and a Reps meeting is likely to be called. Please speak to your Rep to provide your views and feedback ahead of this meeting read more
RMT explains tube strike to BBC News (6 Sept) – RMT Regional Organiser Jared Wood has appeared on BBC London News to discuss our dispute read more
Strike ballot at First South West after poor pay offer (20 Sept) – Bus workers at First South West in Somerset and Cornwall will be balloted for strike action after the company refused to improve a penny-pinching pay offer. The company has made an offer which would see bus workers hourly pay rise by just 58p an hour. The offer includes no improvements to working conditions and has already been rejected by union members in a previous round of talks. RMT wants to see bus workers move closer to their modest goal of £15 an hour, in line with what other bus companies are paying across the South West. But First South West has so far refused to improve its offer. First South West is part of FirstGroup, whose bus division made £96 million in profit last year, with the group overall reporting profits of £223 million and increasing dividends to shareholders read more
Tube cleaners threaten strike action over wages and sick pay (4 Sept) – RMT has declared a formal dispute with outsourcing giant ABM after the company failed to improve on its derisory offer to cleaners working on the London Underground cleaning contract. Despite repeated calls for a fair pay settlement, ABM management have refused to go beyond the statutory London Living Wage uplift and have made no offer whatsoever on sick pay, leaving cleaners with no protection when they fall ill. Unless the company comes back to the table with a serious offer, RMT will move to ballot its members across the Underground cleaning contract for strike action. The potential strike comes against the backdrop of Mayor Sadiq Khan previously calling on TfL to assess its ability to bring cleaning services back in-house, improve sick pay and urging the government to fully implement Labour’s “New Deal for Working People,” which pledges the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation read more
Breakdown in industrial relations – Cross Country – Firstly, I would like to congratulate you and your colleagues again for returning a splendid result in the ballot for industrial action. The union’s National Executive Committee has considered the matter and has taken the decision to call on all our Cross Country members to take the following strike action:
- Members are instructed not to book on for any shifts that commence between:
00.01 hours until 23.59 hours on Saturday 23rd August 2025
00.01 hours until 23.59 hours on Monday 25th August 2025
- Additionally, the union’s National Executive Committee has called the following industrial action short of a strike: No electronic scanning of tickets from 00.01 hours on Sunday 24th August 2025 until further notice.
To comply with legal advice the above industrial action short of a strike will be suspended for the duration of the strikes but will commence again immediately after the strike action has concluded. This dispute is about protecting the future of your jobs, the protection of negotiated agreements and the right of your Union to represent you effectively read more
Orkney Ferries seafarers to take industrial action (16 Aug) – Maritime union RMT, will begin industrial action on Orkney Ferries later this month, in a dispute over pay and conditions. From Thursday 28 August, RMT members will take action short of a strike by refusing to work any overtime until further notice. The move comes after the company failed to enter into meaningful negotiations with the union over the 2025 pay settlement. RMT is the largest trade union representing workers at Orkney Ferries and has consistently raised concerns about pay, working conditions and management’s lack of engagement read more
ASLEF
Train drivers strike in protest at witch hunt as company marks 25 years (25 Sept) – Train drivers who are members of ASLEF will strike on Friday 26th September in protest as the company celebrates 25 years in business. The open access operator, which is owned by FirstGroup – the rail and bus giant which also owns Avanti West Coast, Great Western, Lumo and London Tramlink – has unfairly sacked a driver with a completely clean safety record, who has done nothing wrong, in what has been described as a ‘witch hunt by management’. The action will force the company to slash services on the East Coast main line between London and the north read more
Train drivers to strike on CrossCountry (9 Sept) – Train drivers at CrossCountry will walk out on strike on Friday 3rd October and refuse to work non-contractual overtime from Sunday 21st September over the company’s persistent refusal to adhere to negotiated agreements read more
Rally for striking Hull Trains drivers (29 Aug) – from ASLEF Facebook page: Our solidarity rally started this morning with ASLEF Hull Trains Lead Officer Nigel Roebuck addressing those gathered to show solidarity. we also heard from David Pike, TUC North East, Yorkshire & Humber Regional Secretary, GMB officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, BFAWU General Secretary Sarah Wooley, FBU President Ian Murray who also informed us that the FBU have donated £2,000 to the strike fund and NEU Executive Member Hannah Scott.
ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan closed the rally
“‘Thank you for coming today to show your support for a driver who has been sacked for doing nothing wrong. He is the victim of a witch hunt. He has a completely clean safety of the line record. The company are liars and have lied throughout this dispute. They think we will go away. Today shows that we are right and they are wrong”.
Thank you for your show of solidarity today don’t forget you can Support our members by telling Hull Trains to stop their attacks on union members via the following link https://actionnetwork.org/letters/write-to-hull-trains
#HullTrainsStrike
TSSA
TSSA ballots TransPennine Express for industrial action (14 Oct) – Rail union TSSA is to ballot members working at TransPennine Express (TPE) as Operations Managers for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over on call payments. The action follows the company’s refusal to offer an acceptable on-call, overtime and compensatory time off in lieu (TOIL) package to staff. It relates to staff in the roles of Driver Managers, Operational Development Managers and Driver Operations Managers. The dispute also covers TPE’s proposal to change the on-call process and standards. A ballot of several dozen members within this group of workers will run from 21st of October to the 11th of November and follows the unanimous vote of the relevant TSSA members to reject the offer made by TPE read more
Unite
James Walker industrial action escalates following ‘insulting’ pay offer (29 Oct) – There will be further strikes at James Walker in Cockermouth, as over 250 Unite members have rejected a new pay offer from their employer. The below-inflation offer of three per cent and additional one-off holidays was overwhelmingly refused by the workers, who will now walk out for 18 days over November, December and January, halting production lines. James Walker is a privately owned global industrial business, which supplies high-performance fluid sealing products to virtually every industry sector. Last year, the group made over 12 million in profit last year. Its highest paid director is on £169,000 a year, up from £154,000 last year – a 9.2 per cent increase and far more than workers at its Cockermouth site have been offered…Workers at James Walker previously walked out for 24 hours in September and in mid-October. Action on 22 to 24 October was cancelled to allow members to vote on the latest offer from the company. Industrial action will take place on the following dates: 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 November, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 December and 2, 5, 6 January. The members involved in the dispute are responsible for manufacturing, moulding, inspecting, documenting, packing and shipping of all products, meaning the action will be highly disruptive to the factory’s production. The first wave of strikes cost the company at least £100,000 in lost revenue read more
First Cymru strikes to continue as workers reject latest pay offer (29 Oct) – Staff furious that they continue to be short-changed by profiteering bus company. Bus strikes are set to begin across Wales as workers at First Cymru have rejected the latest pay offer from the company. Unite members voted heavily to reject the new offer tabled by the employer, which had resulted in the good will suspension of strike action initially planned for October 22. However, members have overwhelmingly rejected the offer which still withheld members’ back pay. Strike action declared for the 30 and 31 of October, and 1 and 2 of November will now go ahead, causing significant disruption to the bus network within South West Wales. Additional strike action declared for November 5, 6, 7 and 8 will also take place, and members have indicated a willingness to escalate this dispute with further action throughout the Christmas period read more
SSPCA workers’ strike action over real terms pay cut (28 Oct) – ‘Chronic’ low pay as millions sit in reserves and new executive earns bumper wage. Animals (SSPCA) will take strike action in a dispute over a real terms pay cut and years of ‘chronic low pay’. 24-hour strike action is set to take place on 5 November after no breakthrough in talks with the SSPCA. Unite members overwhelmingly backed strike action after rejecting a two year pay offer which amounts to a significant real terms pay cut. In 2025, the offer on average amounts to around 1.6 per cent with some members having their pay frozen. A one-off payment has been tabled worth around two per cent. In 2026, only a two per cent offer has been tabled. The broader cost of inflation has just hit 4.5 per cent in September. The SSPCA after just one year of being a living wage employer is also planning to end this development. The SSPCA has two main workplaces those being its headquarters in Dunfermline and at Cardonald, Glasgow. Unite’s members at the SSPCA look after the feeding, cleaning, and general health of animals. This includes the veterinary team, animal rescue workers, inspectors who deal with animal neglect and enforce entry to rescue animals, along with helpline workers who deal with calls from the public read more
Shelter workers balloting for strikes over pay and working conditions (28 Oct) – Workers at housing charity Shelter are being balloted for industrial action in a dispute over pay and working conditions. It comes as around 550 workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have been offered a below-inflation 1.5 per cent pay rise. Shelter’s management have refused to negotiate with Unite on pay. Shelter is a leading housing and homelessness charity, which was set up in 1966. One of its core aims is reducing poverty. Its latest financial report from earlier this year showed income totalled £81.33m in 2023/24. This is £7.67m, or 10 per cent, higher than the previous year due to a significant increase in donations read more
Long-term plan needed for Petrofac in Scotland, Unite (28 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, which represents hundreds of workers at offshore contractor, Petrofac, is demanding that all parties including the government work together to ensure a stable long-term future for the company’s workforce. Unite made its call after Petrofac’s parent company filed for administration (yesterday). Petrofac’s UK business is a profitable company with a highly skilled workforce and plenty of work in the pipeline. Unite has been told that prospective buyers are already lining up to take it over. Workers have also received short-term guarantees regarding pay read more
Manchester Christmas market tram chaos as drivers balloted on strikes (28 Oct) – There could be major disruption to festive travel in Greater Manchester next month, as almost 320 tram drivers are being balloted over working conditions and fears around fatigue. The drivers, members of Unite, work for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in Manchester. They operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester. Currently, the drivers’ shift patterns mean they have to work 450 hours over a 12-week period. This results in some drivers working 50 hours on, followed by just two days off, then back into another 50-hour work pattern. Drivers also have fewer rest days compared to all other operational departments. This is causing safety concerns around fatigue, with drivers concerned about operating heavy vehicles while exhausted and unable to have proper breaks. After raising the issue with management, Unite has been told there is no funding available to support any meaningful improvements to working patterns. Instead, adding insult to injury management has asked drivers to start work earlier, adding to increased dangers of fatigue…The ballot closes on 11 November. Strikes could begin in late November, causing widespread tram cancellations and delays in Greater Manchester during the busy festive shopping period. There will also be disruption to services that go to and from Manchester’s world-famous Christmas markets, which start next month and attract millions of visitors each year to the city read more
Village Hotel workers set for new strike action ballot (27 Oct) – Unite cites concerns over jobs, pay and conditions in dispute. Workers at the Glasgow-based Village Hotel are set to be balloted on industrial action to resolve ongoing concerns about fairness and equality in the workplace. The latest dispute follows three weeks of strike action in August at the Village Hotel in Govan, the action was the first hotel strike in Britain since 1979. Following the action and weeks of negotiations involving Village’s senior management and reps, the hotel workers won a series of improvements to pay and conditions. This included the youngest workers winning a pay rise of 10 per cent backdated to 1 April 2024, with some workers getting up to £3,000. Unite is highlighting that Village Hotel management are still failing to pay the Real Living Wage to all its employees and young workers under the age of 21 continue to be paid less than their colleagues for doing the exact same job. The union has been made aware of allegations by workers that there are instances of incorrect overtime payments which it is currently investigating, and the hotel still fails to cover taxi fares for those working late or unsociable shifts. Village Hotels has also failed to formally recognise Unite for the purposes of collective bargaining despite the union having the clear support from the workers. The ballot opens on 30 October and closes on 13 November read more
Inverness based Bear Scotland workers secure union recognition and wage win (27 Oct) – Unite delivers route to success for A9 road maintenance workers. Unite the union can confirm that Inverness based Bear Scotland maintenance workers who deliver services for major roads including the A9 trunk road from Perth to Inverness have secured union recognition and a wage win. Unite secured a negotiated trade union recognition agreement with Bear Scotland in a historic first for the workers alongside delivering pay increases up to 7.25 per cent and improvements to standby payments. The union successfully managed to accelerate the pay grade timeframes for workers meaning that they will now reach higher pay levels over shorter periods of time. The agreement brings the dispute to a close after the workers had overwhelmingly backed industrial action to secure a better pay deal read more
Unite activists rally in capital to demand a better Scotland (24 Oct) – Hundreds of Unite activists are set to join fellow trade unionists, community activists, charities and anti-poverty campaigners at the Scotland Demands Better demonstration on Saturday (25 October) in Edinburgh read more
Further strikes by Aer Lingus cabin crew as dispute escalates (24 Oct) – There will be additional disruption to Aer Lingus flights departing and arriving at Manchester Airport Terminal 2, as cabin crew will walk out on more days. Around 130 workers, members of Unite, will now walk out from 9 to 11 November, 14 November and 16 to 18 November. These strike dates are additional to the walk outs from 30 October to 2 November. It comes as cabin crew working from Manchester Airport have rejected a pay rise of nine per cent this year and three per cent next year. While Unite recognises this is a high number on paper, salaries at Aer Lingus are low with the starting salary of £17,640.25 well below minimum wage. There is also a discrepancy between pay in the UK and Ireland. The starting basic salary for cabin crew in Ireland is €29,833.26, meaning the difference once converted into pounds is £8,249 read more
Further strikes at Imperial College London as pay dispute escalates (24 Oct) – There are set to be further strikes at Imperial College London next week in a dispute around pay. Around 1,200 members of staff will walk out on Monday (27 October) and Tuesday (28 October) after being offered a just two per cent pay rise by Imperial management. This is far below the latest RPI inflation, which stands at 4.6 per cent. The workers include teaching and non-teaching staff, around 240 of which are members of Unite with the others from other recognised unions. Specialist sciences university Imperial College London is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. Its latest financial report showed it had a total income of £1.33 billion in 2024 up from £1.27bn in 2023 read more
Strikes hit major aerospace manufacturer at factories across the UK (24 Oct) – Leonardo workers in Edinburgh, Yeovil, Basildon, Newcastle and Luton to walk out this autumn over pay. Over 3000 aerospace workers are set to walk out in strike action over pay at world-leading defence and aerospace manufacturer Leonardo after the company refused to improve its pay offer. Members of the Unite union are demanding the company returns to the negotiating table and makes an improved pay offer. They were furious after rejecting a pay offer of just 3.2 per cent (a real terms pay cut) from the employer. Strikes will take place at Leonardo factories on the following dates:
- Yeovil, Luton and Basildon – 5-6 and 12-13 November
- Edinburgh and Newcastle – 5-6, 10-18 November read more
Further strike dates at Sellafield site over lack of progress in talks (23 Oct) – Workers demanding site-specific allowances like other nuclear sites. Workers at the Sellafield nuclear site are to take further strike action in the ongoing dispute over Sellafield-specific allowances. Other nuclear projects such as Hinkley Point C offer pay premiums that Sellafield employers have refused to match. In the latest development in the ongoing dispute, workers at 6 subcontractors are to walk out from 27 October to 2 November. This new phase of the escalation plan will cause widespread disruption due to targeting production more effectively in conjunction with an overtime ban read more
Disruption to Christmas shopping in East London as bus drivers ballot for strikes (23 Oct) – There is set to be festive travel chaos in north east London as over 350 bus drivers are being balloted for strike action over union-busting tactics. The workers – members of Unite – work for the Lea Interchange Bus Company (part of Stagecoach) at the Lea Interchange Bus Garage in Leyton, East London. Since a change in management, Unite representatives working at the depot have been the target of aggressive behaviour. The chair of the branch was suspended, dismissed then reinstated, while another rep has been suspended on trumped-up charges following an altercation with management. Unite believes the reps are being victimised and singled out for undertaking trade union activities, which goes against employment law in the UK…The ballot closes on 18 November. Strikes could begin in early December, hitting the key Christmas shopping period, especially as one affected route is the 97 which serves the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. Other routes that will see delays and cancellations should strike action go ahead are 58, 86, 135, 236, 276, 308, 339, 488, D8, W13, W14 and 678 read more. Email messages of solidarity to [email protected]
Strikes to hit BAE factories in pay row (22 Oct) – Workers in Lancashire to walk out at defence manufacturer this winter. Strikes will hit defence giant BAE Systems this winter as workers at two sites in Lancashire will take action due to a low pay offer. Members of the Unite trade union, the UK’s leading union in the defence and aerospace sector, are taking strike action at BAE’s Warton and Samlesbury plants after rejecting the company’s pay offer. They were offered just 3.6 per cent, which is below the rate of inflation, and represents a real-terms pay cut…Unite members in four sections including manufacturing and quality control will now take their first phase of strike action from 5-25 November. This will cripple production and bring both sites to a standstill…In addition to strike action all members of Unite at BAE Warton and Samlesbury sites will cease working overtime, no longer travel off-site, cease any additional training and withdraw from any voluntary roles read more
Unite ballots thousands of HE staff over pay (21 Oct) – Staff at 47 higher education institutions to be balloted by Unite for strike action. Thousands of staff across the UK’s higher education institutions are being balloted for strike action after being offered an appalling real-terms pay cut by their employers. Members of the Unite, along with members of EIS, UCU and Unison, are being asked to take industrial action following a 1.4 per cent pay offer for 2025/26 from UCEA, the employer’s body. This is significantly below inflation and therefore represents a real-terms pay cut. To add insult to injury the real terms pay cut was imposed by universities on 1 August…The ballot opened on 20 October and runs until 1 December. If successful, industrial action could take place throughout the first half of 2026 read more
London Grosvenor Casinos workers ballot for strikes over Christmas party season (21 Oct) – The chips are down for Grosvenor Casinos this upcoming festive party season as almost 140 workers are being balloted over strike action. Licenced gaming staff are looking to take industrial action from the end of November until the New Year, disrupting their employer’s profitable holiday period, after rejecting the company’s offer of a below-inflation 2.5 per cent pay rise. The affected workers do jobs such as running the poker rooms and roulette tables – these are historically difficult roles to fill as they require specialist skills, rigorous training and a legal requirement for staff to hold a licence to work in the industry. The workers operate from the three biggest Grosvenor Casinos in the UK, all based in London. These are Rialto in Leicester Square, the Victoria on Edgware Road and the Gloucester, Gloucester Road. Grosvenor Casinos is a chain of over 50 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK, owned by the highly profitable Rank Group which saw its profits surge 38 per cent to £63.7m in the year to 30 June 2025. During this period, Grosvenor revenues rose 14 per cent, with average weekly takings hitting £7.3m read more
ABP: Craigavon workers to commence all-out strike (17 Oct) – Over 150 workers to down tools in pursuit of decent pay. Workers at Anglo Beef Processors UK (ABP) Craigavon plant, where Unite represents over 150 meat packers, trimmers, distribution, kill line and boning workers, have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action. Unite is seeking a fair pay increase for its members who are paid a piece rate. Management’s offer of three per cent with a one-off cash payment of £100 and three per cent from April 2026, would amount to a real terms pay cut. The strike will see shortages in beef and lamb on the shelves of many supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Aldi… Management at the site have been provided notice of planned all out strike action by workers which will commence from 00.01am on Monday 27 October read more
Manchester travel disruption as bus and tram network workers strike (17 Oct) – Transport for Greater Manchester workers angry at real terms pay cut. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers will begin strike action over pay tomorrow, Unite, the UK’s leading union, has announced. The more than 200 workers, who undertake a variety of roles including ticketing, passenger assistance and information services for the bus and tram network, have rejected a 3.2 per cent pay offer. The offer is a real terms pay cut as the current rate of RPI inflation stands at 4.6 per cent…The dispute is also over issues around stand by, call out and four day working week policies. The workers will strike on 18, 20, 23, 24 and 25 October, with disruption caused across the bus and tram network. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more
Turners tanker drivers to halt fuel deliveries to major Scottish airports (16 Oct) – Unite can confirm that Grangemouth based tanker drivers working for Turners (Soham) Limited are set to strike in a pay dispute impacting major airlines operating at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. Strike action commences at 02:45 tomorrow (17 October) continuing each day up to 23:59 on 21 October when the action will conclude. The announcement follows no breakthrough in talks involving Unite and Turners through the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. The company has refused to improve upon its ‘miserly’ one per cent pay offer for 2025 and offered marginal improvements on working conditions and allowances. Turners further proposed a pay offer in the following year based on the CPI inflation rate in January 2026. The two-year offer was overwhelmingly rejected by Unite’s membership read more
British Veterinary Union calls for more action to address issues in sector (15 Oct) – BVU welcomes CMA report but more needs to be done on transparency, regulation and legislation. The British Veterinary Union in Unite (BVU) has today welcomed the majority of the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) provisional remedies but has warned that more action is needed to address the issues present in the UK veterinary sector. There is particular concern over areas including transparency, regulation, and medicines legislation read more
Lindsey Oil refinery rally to stop jobs exodus as a result of failed government net zero plans (13 Oct) – Hundreds of workers, their families and members of the local community, will gather outside Lindsey Oil refinery in Immingham on Wednesday to demand that the government keeps its promise to preserve jobs and production at the site read more
Sheffield Wednesday workers take action at multimillionaire owner’s failure to pay wages (9 Oct) – Non-football staff joining Unite to challenge ‘disgusting behaviour’ of owner Dejphon Chansiri. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has mobilised against Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri for his repeated failure to pay the club’s non-football staff their full wages. Membership of Unite has rocketed at the club in recent weeks due to ongoing issues over unpaid wages read more
Health and social care workers in Northern Ireland in strike ballot (7 Oct) – Unite to ballot members following failure of department of health to deliver pay parity and safe staffing. Unite is to ballot over 4,500 workers in Northern Ireland’s health and social care system, for industrial action. This follows the failure of the department of health to deliver on pay parity and safe staffing. The union has members among professional and technical staff, including porters, as well as among paramedics in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service read more
Disruption to London police as workers ballot for strikes on pay (7 Oct) – There is set to be major disruption to Metropolitan Police services on Fireworks Night – one of the busiest days of the year for the UK’s biggest force. Over 140 Unite members are currently being balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay, with the plan to walk out on 5 November. Unite members involved in the dispute work for Met CC as call centre staff who take calls when the general public report crimes, and also within the Met’s fleet services as technicians and office staff servicing and dispatching vehicles such as police cars and motorbikes read more
More strike dates called in pay dispute at James Walker in Cockermouth (2 Oct) – Industrial action by 250 Unite members at James Walker and Co in Cockermouth, Cumbria will escalate in an ongoing pay dispute. Workers will now walk out 15 to 17 October and 22 to 24 October after the firm did not budge on its below-inflation offer of 3 per cent despite repeated attempts at negotiation by Unite. James Walker and Co is a privately owned global industrial business, which supplies high-performance fluid sealing products to virtually every industry sector. The group made £12m in profit last year while this site alone made a £1.2m profit read more
Facilities staff at London mental health centre escalate strike action over pay (29 Sept) – Workers in Newham take to picket line again over pay as workplace relations breakdown. Dozens of staff that keep a London mental health facility in a fit and proper state are striking again this month over a failure by their employer to pay decent wages. Unite members at the Newham Centre for Mental Health are striking from today (29 September) until 12 October 2025 due to their anger over pay and conditions. Workers are employed by a private sector outsourcing company, Grosvenor Facilities Management (GFM) despite working in an NHS hospital. They are not paid on NHS pay-scales and earn less than colleagues directly employed by the NHS doing the same facilities roles such as chefs, domestic assistants, porters and maintenance. They have already taken industrial action earlier this autumn and GFM is refusing to negotiate over a reasonable pay deal. The central demand is that staff are paid the same as their NHS equivalent, a proper sick pay policy is introduced and that the company recognises Unite for collective bargaining. These issues were first raised with GFM in December 2024. After two initial meetings, GFM ceased responding to Unite in March 2025. Due to this silence, Unite members determined to improve their pay and conditions and voted unanimously for strike action read more
How You Can Support the Newham strike:-
- Donate to the strike fund: https://gofund.me/5a1a59672
- Model Motion: Solidarity with outsourced NHS workers at Newham Centre for Mental Health – Outsourced workers at Newham Centre for Mental Health are on strike demanding NHS equivalent pay, terms and conditions and union recognition. The domestics, chefs, porters, reception and maintenance workers are some of the lowest paid in London’s NHS. Their employer GFM provides “facilities management” services as part of a 30 year Private Finance Initiative contract worth over £213 million. While GFM and their PFI associates extract multi million pound profits from the NHS, the workers who actually run and maintain the hospital are paid poverty wages and denied basic rights like occupational sick pay and unsocial hours payments. GFM’s denial of occupational sick pay not only disadvantages individual workers but undermines hospital safety by driving sick and infectious workers into work. We resolve to support the GFM workers by making a donation of £___ to their strike fund. We demand the NHS is returned to full public ownership with outsourced workers brought back in-house on NHS pay, terms and conditions.We will send a solidarity message to the striking workers and publicise the GFM workers campaign to our members.
- Donations to strike fund can be made by bank transfer to the ELFT Unite branch LE7113/L. Contact [email protected] for details
West London bus strikes to escalate as workers walk out (25 Sept) – Drivers, engineers and storemen to walk out over below inflation offer. Over 350 workers employed by London Transit bus company in West London are to take further strike action after rejecting the company’s latest pay offer. Workers have already walked out for two days earlier this autumn and are now heading to the picket line on Friday 26 September and Monday 29 September. Drivers, engineers and storemen based at the Westbourne Park depot are furious at the below inflation pay offer they have received from their employer, First Bus read more. Next strike dates – November 4, 5, 6, 14, 17, 18, 26, 27, 28
Strikes to hit Birmingham textiles company (24 Sept) – Workers at Johnson Workwear to walk out over real-terms pay cut. Over 50 Birmingham workers at leading workwear supplier, Johnsons, are taking strike action over the company’s latest pay offer. Members of the Unite union, Britain’s leading trade union, are furious at being offered just 2.8 per cent and overwhelmingly rejected this real terms pay cut. With inflation currently at 4.6 per cent, this offer would worsen the cost-of-living crisis where housing, food and utility prices are rising faster than wages. Johnson are the leading supplier of work wear and protective wear in the UK and provide luxury linen services to hotels, restaurants and the hospitality industry, are a hugely profitable company. Its latest accounts show profits of over £63 million. Strikes are taking place on 26 September, 3 October, 10 October and 17 October 2025. There is also a ban on all overtime that came into place on 18 September. Staff on the factory floor currently earn just £12.38 per hour, just 17 per cent an hour above the national minimum wage read more
Ambulance outsourcing dispute: Unite to ballot for industrial action (14 Sept) – Unite, which represents members working for the National Ambulance Service (NAS), today (Sunday) announced that it will be balloting members nationwide for industrial action following the unilateral decision to outsource inter-hospital ambulance transfers in the Greater Dublin area to a private operator. Earlier this week it emerged that NAS management had initiated a tendering process without consulting the relevant unions. This follows recent proposals, rejected by unions, to reduce minimum paramedic crewing levels in emergency ambulances read more
Tarmac strike in Derbyshire suspended as workers vote on new pay offer (11 Sept) – A strike next week at Tarmac’s Alfreton Blocks Plant in Derbyshire has been suspended after the company put forward an improved pay offer. Over 30 Unite members at the plant, who include maintenance workers, quality technicians and fitters who make aerated concrete blocks for construction projects and pack them on the production line, were set to walk out on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 September then Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 September. They had overwhelmingly voted to reject a pay offer of four per cent, which workers do not believe goes far enough to address years of low pay. However, next week’s strike action has been suspended to allow workers to vote on the new deal…Depending on the outcome of this ballot, the following week’s industrial action could still go ahead read more
Home counties bus chaos as Arriva workers walk out (5 Sept) – Staff at garages in Beds, Bucks and Herts to strike over pay. Over 800 bus drivers, engineers, cleaners and shunters across the South-East of England are taking strike action over derisory pay offers. Members of the Unite union, Britain’s leading transport union, are walking out after their employer, Arriva, failed to make a decent pay offer. They are now set to strike for 16 days across September and October. The dispute covers workers across Arriva the Shires and Arriva Kent Thameside across five depots. These are Luton, Milton Keynes, (both the Arriva The Shires) and Stevenage, Ware and Hemel Hempstead (Arriva Kent Thameside). At the Shires, around 50 routes a day operate out of Milton Keynes and Luton while Kent Thameside operates approximately 30 routes a day out of Hemel Hempstead, Ware and Stevenage…Strikes are to take place on the following dates: Tuesday 23 September – Friday 26 September, Wednesday 1 October – Saturday 4 October, Thursday 9 October – Sunday 12 October, Tuesday 14 October – Friday 17 October read more
Unite announces SQA industrial action ballot as pay dispute escalates (5 Sept) – Pay increase five months overdue to hundreds of workers. Unite can confirm today (Friday 5 September) that around 400 members at the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) are being balloted on industrial action in an escalating dispute over pay. The pay dispute centres on the SQA’s pay offer of three per cent for 2025 just as the broader cost of inflation hit 4.8 per cent in July. Unite is highlighting that any pay increase for the workforce is now five months overdue as it was expected to take effect on 1 April. The union held a consultative ballot of its membership on the pay offer which indicated 97 per cent wanted to be balloted on industrial action if no movement was made by the SQA on the pay offer…The ballot on industrial action opens on Friday 5 September and closes on Thursday 25 September read more
Altrad offshore contractors to be balloted on strike action (2 Sept) – Oil platforms Magnus and Thistle Alpha owned by EnQuest. Unite the union can confirm an industrial action ballot for Altrad offshore contractors working on the Magnus and Thistle Alpha platforms operated by EnQuest opens today (3 September). The pay dispute is based on Altrad Employment Services Limited reneging on a four per cent wage increase which is due to around 50 workers on the platforms effective from 1 January under the offshore Energy Services Agreement (ESA) read more
Unite accuses the SSPCA of worker ‘neglect’ over real terms pay cut (2 Sept) – Trade union cites years of ‘low pay’ while new executive earns bumper wage. Unite the union can confirm that around 140 members employed by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) are being balloted over strike action in a dispute over pay. SSPCA workers have emphatically rejected a two year pay offer which amounts to a significant real terms pay cut. In 2025, the offer on average amounts to around 1.6 per cent with some members having their pay frozen. A one-off payment has been tabled worth around two per cent. In 2026, only a two per cent offer has been tabled. The broader cost of inflation has just hit 4.8 per cent in July… The SSPCA has two main workplaces those being its headquarters in Dunfermline and at Cardonald, Glasgow. The ballot opens today (Wednesday 3 September) and closes on 17 September read more
National Grid and Scottish Power shortages of critical transformer oil due to strikes (27 Aug) – Ellesmere Port Electrical Oil Services workers striking over pay. Energy companies including the National Grid and Scottish Power have shortages of critical transformer oil due to pay strikes by Electrical Oil Services workers in Ellesmere Port. Electrical Oil Services, which supplies oil to lubricate, cool and insulate power company transformers, has informed its clients that stock is very low due to ongoing industrial action. Due to the crucial role the striking plant operators perform, stocks began to run out after just a few days of strike action that began last week and which is still underway… The workers took strike action from 18 August to the morning of 25 August, due to an inadequate pay offer. Further strikes began yesterday (26 August) and will last until 1 September. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more
Turners tanker drivers balloted on strike action in pay dispute (25 Aug) – Grangemouth based drivers deliver fuel for major aviation companies. Unite can confirm that Grangemouth based logistic drivers working for Turners (Soham) Limited are being balloted on strike action in an escalating pay dispute. The logistic drivers work on two contracts which provide fuel services for a number of major aviation companies. Turners has offered a miserly one per cent just as the broader cost of inflation hit 4.8 per cent in July. In its latest after tax profits, Turners recorded £51m for the year ending 2023. The union believes fuel supplies to major aviation companies including Jet 2, easyJet and Emirates operating at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle airports will be directly impacted if the drivers take industrial action following a successful ballot result read more
Jones Engineering: OECD finds Unite complaint merits further consideration (19 Aug) – Complaint related to treatment of workers following 2023 dispute. Unite welcomes OECD offer of mediation. August 19th: Unite today welcomed the decision by the Ireland National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises that a complaint submitted by Unite and the global federation Building and Woodworkers International in respect of Jones Engineering and its American parent company Cathexis merits further consideration. The decision is available here. The complaint centres largely on the treatment of union members by Jones following a 2023 trade dispute surrounding the union’s claim for restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’ read more
Fawley refinery poverty pay canteen strikes escalate (18 Aug) – Strikes by Fawley oil refinery canteen workers over poverty pay have escalated, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The predominantly female workers, employed by catering outsourcer Compass, are paid only slightly more than the minimum wage. They are demanding a pay rise that reflects the rising cost of living and ensures the gap between their wages and the absolute legal minimum does not shrink. London-based Compass Group is the world’s largest catering provider and raked in nearly £1.2 billion in operating profits in the six months to March 2025 – an increase of 11.6 per cent. The workers began strike action in July. The latest round of strike action began today (18 August) and will last until 22 August. Further strikes will take place from 26 to 28 August and from 1 to 5 September. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved. The Fawley refinery is operated by multinational Esso read more
Stoke residents face repair delays unless leave problems resolved (14 Aug) – Stoke on Trent council housing residents will face repair and maintenance delays due to industrial action if a dispute over annual leave is not swiftly resolved. Currently, Stoke council office workers receive two days annual leave more than craftworkers at the local authority. In a consultative ballot of over 225 craftworkers, who include joiners, plumbers and electricians, 99 per cent voted in favour of taking industrial action over the disparity…Unite will begin formal industrial action proceedings if the council does not provide annual leave parity in a timely manner read more
Liverpool University staff halt strike action after hybrid working win (13 Aug) – Unite members at the University of Liverpool have voted to halt planned strike action tomorrow (14 August) and in September after accepting new terms to protect home working. Over 300 workers – professional services staff – took action including striking and holding a rally in June followed by working to contractual hours only (no overtime, no evenings, no weekends) after senior management tried to force through changes to their hybrid working practices without proper consultation with staff or Unite read more
Orkney Ferries workers overtime ban in pay dispute (13 Aug) – Unite claims ferry services will be reduced by industrial action. Unite the union confirmed today that Orkney Ferries workers will take part in industrial action in an escalating dispute over pay. Over 20 outer north and inner isles Orkney Ferries workers represented by Unite will take part in a continuous ban on overtime starting from 00:01 on 28 August. The union claims that due to the ferries relying on the goodwill of workers to take shifts beyond their contracted hours and at short notice that services could be reduced by the industrial action. The latest development in the pay dispute follows Unite’s membership overwhelmingly rejecting a two-year pay offer. Unite members have also reacted angrily to an enhanced ‘recall’ rate given for extra hours worked now being removed by Orkney Ferries read more
Unions lodge notice of first 24-hour strike by workers at Belfast council leisure services (7 Aug) – Joint UNITE-NIPSA press release: Belfast leisure workers are lowest paid in Northern Ireland and are seeking a one pound an hour increase to the current pay offer. Talks ended without management company Greenwich Leisure Limited making any improved pay offer. Unite and NIPSA trade unions have announced a 24-hour strike by leisure staff at facilities operated by Green Leisure Limited in Belfast. 14 leisure centres and two gyms owned by Belfast City Council are operated by the arms-length management company. The strike will commence at 00.01 on Tuesday August 12 and continue until midnight. The industrial action is likely to shut down entirely the operation of several leisure centres, given that more than 200 leisure workers are members of two trade unions. Pay at Belfast leisure centres has fallen behind that of other council leisure facilities in Northern Ireland following the decision to outsource them to Greenwich Leisure Limited. Belfast leisure worker pay is now the lowest in Northern Ireland…The strike follows an overwhelming ballot for industrial action by workers in both unions and represents an escalation from a work-to-rule which came into force on Tuesday 15 July. Labour Relations Agency-mediated negotiations between the trade unions and the employer ended on Wednesday 30 July, after management failed to provide any improved offer read more
CWU
DHL workers voting on “significant” wage offer (8 Oct) – DHL workers are being recommended to vote for a “significant” wage rise offer. Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at the logistics giant are being encouraged to accept an improved deal negotiated by the CWU, after workers accepted the union’s recommendation to reject the initial offer. For warehouse operatives and van drivers, the new offer is a £1000 annual wage increase – a 33% rise from their previous offer of £750. Meanwhile, drivers on a 37- and 37.5-hour week will be offered an £1100 increase, with those on a 45-hour week gaining £1200 – an offer increased by 23.3% and 10.7% respectively. The offer is a substantial increase from previous offers by the company, and much higher in comparison to the standard DHL award, which stood at 2.5% in 2025. It will also be backdated from 1st April 2025, the sum of which will be included in pay at the earliest chance, should the deal be accepted by members read more
Support the Tik Tok workers – CWU UTAW branch (UTAW_uk on X/Twitter)
✊ Join us to demand fair redundancy packages for over 300 workers✊
Last week TikTok announced a mass redundancy putting over 300 of its London employees at risk. TikTok employees have known these cuts were coming and were a week away from voting on union recognition. TikTok has timed this to hurt our movement and avoid scrutiny and transparency on a sham redundancy.
💪 WE’RE DEMANDING A FAIR REDUNDANCY PACKAGE OR REDPLOYMENT FOR ALL
💪 WE’RE STANDING AGAINST TIKTOK’S UNION BUSTING
💪 WE’RE CALLING TIKTOK OUT FOR ITS RECKLESS ATTITUDE TO ONLINE SAFETY
Read more about TikTok’s union busting redundancies here
VM02 Capita workers condemn “heartless and destructive” offshoring redundancies (2 Sept) – The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has said that the strength of feeling among VM02 Capita workers is “unprecedented”, after the firm has announced “heartless and destructive” redundancies. Workers in Payment Management on the Capita contract on VM02 were told of new redundancies on 18th August, with management’s justification being operational changes and consistent financial losses. It is expected that the 150 jobs will be offshored to South Africa, which has already seen a steady stream of VM02 jobs over the years. The union has attacked the timing of the redundancies as unacceptable, with the redundancies being announced just 12 days after a separate redundancy consultation, affecting more than 200 workers, was completed. This means that the same workers who had been told they had retained their roles are immediately facing a fresh bout of uncertainty read more
CWU members in Santander need your support. They have faced outsourcing, offshoring and technology is being used to negatively impact our members futures. They are now fighting back with a joint campaign with Advance Union. All CWU members, family members, friends and the wider public can help us by signing and sharing this petition.
Every signature counts – https://cwu.eaction.org.uk/cwuadvancepetition
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]
MyCSP strike extended (27 Oct) – PCS members at MyCSP will continue their strike action until 28 November, when the current contract ends. PCS members at MyCSP have shown remarkable solidarity, with their ongoing strike action receiving strong support from the general public. Despite this, MyCSP has made little effort to resolve the dispute, and negotiations remain stalled. PCS is frustrated at the continued refusal of MyCSP’s CEO Duncan Watson to attend meetings, demonstrating a clear lack of respect and engagement with staff concerns. We also believe that financial services company Equiniti (which owns 75% of MyCSP) is involved in decision-making, further muddying accountability. PCS is also critical of MyCSP for hiding behind the claim that it will soon cease operations, rather than taking responsibility for resolving issues before the transfer of staff, and the contract, to Capita. At the same time, positive talks are ongoing with Capita about union recognition from day one of the TUPE transfer, which we welcome as a constructive step forward read more
Great public response to PCS campaign to keep police counters open (24 Oct) – More than 10,000 letters have now been sent as part of a PCS campaign for a public consultation into the closure of police station front counters across London. Between 2012 and 2022, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime closed 112 police station front counters as part of a cost-cutting drive. Yet crime data from the ONS indicates that recorded offences in London have continued to rise year on year. Theft has grown faster that other categories, increasing from an average of 45000 offences in 2018 to 53000 in 2022 read more
Support the British Library strikers (24 Oct) – More than 300 PCS members at the British Library in London are striking over their poverty wages for two weeks from Monday (27) to Sunday, 9 November and need your support in person and online. Our members voted 98.23% in favour of industrial action on a turnout of 75.17%. The strike dates coincide with the two-year anniversary of a cyber-attack where staff members’ personal data was leaked on to the dark web, as well as the opening of a major new exhibition, Secret Maps. Their key demand is for an inflation-proof pay rise with restoration, after a second consecutive year of a real-terms pay cut. In a recent survey of British Library members, we found that most struggle each month to make ends meet. While the British Library initially proposed a pay award of 2%, with some receiving as little as 1.6%, they have since increased the offer to 2.4%, which is still way below inflation, citing rising costs across the board including energy bills and building materials. Workers at the British Library are fed up. It’s no wonder that the PCS ballot returned a result of 98% voting in favour of strike action on a turnout of 75%…How you can support the action:-
- Join us on the picket line between Monday, 27 October and Sunday, 9 November every day from 8am to midday – details below.
- Share messages of solidarity on social media using the hashtag #BritishLibraryOnStrike.
- Complete our e-action to ask MPs to call for increased grant in aid funding for the library.
- Ask your MP to support our Early Day Motion on pay at the library.
- Follow us on social media: X: @BritLibrary; Instagram: BritishLibraryPCS
- Donate to our strike fund so workers can continue to strike with no loss of pay.
Picket line and rally timings:-
- Come and show your support for our members on their picket outside the Midland Road entrance of the British Library (postcode N1C 4BS). They will be there every morning of the strike from 8am until noon.
- There will also be rallies on 27, 28, 29 October and 1, 4 November from 11am to noon and 6 November from 6.30 to 7.30pm read more
Civil Service Pensions Finance staff vote for action against privatisation (23 Oct) – PCS members working in the Cabinet Office have voted to take strike action which could disrupt civil service pension payments and contributions in their campaign against their jobs and services being privatised. Our three members working for Civil Service Pensions Finance have voted unanimously for action in an industrial action ballot which ended today (23) over Cabinet Office plans to privatise the work they do and transfer them to outsourcing giant Capita on 1 December. Our members, who are based at Priestley House in Basingstoke, have over 60 years’ combined civil service experience, handle critical payment processing, employer liaison, and authorisations. Strike action could severely disrupt daily pension transactions, including quotes for redundancy and early retirement, and purchase order operations across government departments…We remain open to negotiations with the employer and hope management agrees to our members’ wishes to remain within the civil service read more
DWP announce further office closures in Dover, Warrington and St Helens (22 Oct) – Over 400 members of staff working at the offices will be impacted by the planned closures in September 2026. DWP announced today that in addition to the office closure in Lincoln they plan to close a further three Service and Support Centres (SSC) in Dover, Warrington and St Helens in September 2026. Jobcentre and Health Assessment Centre functions operating in Gregson House in St Helens will not be affected. Dover and Warrington are SSC sites only and will close in their entirety. This decision will result in 160 members of staff in Dover facing relocation to either Ramsgate if they are Counter Fraud, Compliance & Debt or Canterbury if they are currently delivering Retirement Services Directorate work. 253 staff will be impacted by the closures of St Helens and Warrington SSCs, all of whom will be forced to relocate to Wigan if they want to keep their jobs in DWP read more
DWP Lincoln members to strike over office closure (21 Oct) – Over 80 members of staff are at serious risk of redundancy as a result of the planned closure of Lincoln Service Centre. PCS members based in the Lincoln City Hall Service Centre will take strike action from 4 November to 17 November, following a ballot in which they voted by 86.49% for strike action on a turnout of 61.67%. Over 80 members of staff are currently at serious risk of redundancy as a result of the planned closure of Lincoln Service Centre in May 2026. The majority of staff are low paid AOs with very little prospect of being able to relocate into other DWP or other civil service jobs. PCS believes that this decision may be the tip of the office closure iceberg in DWP, with thousands of members working in other so-called “transitional sites” facing a similar prospect to their colleagues in Lincoln read more
Why you should vote Yes for strike action at the Tate (20 Oct) – Members have been subject to years of cuts, downgraded pensions, and below-inflation pay offers which have left workers struggling. Our ballot for strike action over pay opened on 14 October and closes on 11 November read more
Met Police members to strike on 5 November (20 Oct) – PCS members are taking action over their employer’s refusal to pay them a London cost-of-living payment. Our members working as civilian police staff in the Met Police will take strike action on 5 November as part of their dispute over the Met’s refusal to pay them a £1250 consolidated allowance to meet the cost of living in London, that was paid to police officers. Unlike police officers, our members do not receive free travel and are paid less for the same shifts. In many cases, our members and police officers are working side by side doing the same jobs. And the cost of living in London remains the same for police officers and staff alike. Met Police members are also in dispute with management over a mandated return to offices and in January, members took industrial action by refusing to comply with the imposed policy, while continuing to work from home. The Met responded by threatening to dock pay for every day members didn’t attend the office when management demanded it. PCS reps continue to support members with disabilities and caring responsibilities who have been negatively affected by the employer’s decisions read more
Border Force Maritime members vote for strike action (17 Oct) – Border Force workers who patrol UK waters including the English Channel have voted for strike action in a dispute over frozen allowances as well as terms and conditions. PCS members working on patrol boats, whose duties include searching for and identifying vessels at sea engaged in smuggling or small boats crossings, have voted yes for strike action by 96% to 4% against on a turnout of 80%. The more than 120 Border Force Maritime workers who were balloted are angered at having to wait more than six years for the result of a payment review into allowances for their specialist roles. Border Force management has repeatedly failed to meet its own deadlines to present final proposals to the union. The latest date management promised to present proposals to staff – on the week beginning 6 October – came and went with no progress. Management has given assurances about backdating these allowances to 1 April 2025, but PCS believes it may be months before these extra payments are received because proposals have not been forthcoming read more
PCS to fight large-scale job losses at the FCDO (16 Oct) – PCS will strongly resist plans by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to slash its UK-based workforce by up to 30%, putting nearly 2,000 jobs at risk. Members’ meetings are being held after the FCDO gave notice that 1,885 jobs are at risk, saying it needs to lose 25-30% of the workforce to meet its spending review outcome. The news follows a restructure of the senior civil service (SCS); PCS believes redundancy notices have been issued in the SCS, which would breach agreed protocols. The FCDO insists the department needs to get smaller, which PCS opposes. We are concerned that a figure has been provided for job cuts to delegated grades before consulting unions on the workforce plan or a timescale for consultation. One factor in the cuts plan is the reduction in the aid budget. We are opposing this budget cut and have lobbied MPs to explain its impact on programmes in crisis-hit areas read more
PCS members in DWP vote yes to support industrial action (10 Oct) – Members said they were prepared to take potential strike action over pay in the consultative ballot that closed today. PCS members working in DWP, the largest civil service department, have indicated that they are willing to support potential industrial action over pay in a consultative ballot that closed today (10). 80.5% of members voted yes on a turnout of 52.3%. The DWP have refused to submit a business case to the treasury to allow them to increase their spending on pay above the level set by the Civil Service Pay Remit. Members are angry about chronic low pay and wage compression in the department which will see staff in the lowest three grades all sitting at the national living wage from 1 April 2026 after years of underfunding. A survey of PCS members working in the DWP has revealed that many are unable to pay household bills, are turning to credit cards to get through the month and are struggling with debt. Almost 14% of respondents reported using foodbanks for extra support. The survey results also show that up to 20% of respondents claim in-work benefits read more
ONS members vote to renew industrial action mandate (30 Sept) – PCS members in the Office for National Statistics have again voted for industrial action in their dispute over a forced return to workplaces. In a ballot that closed on Monday (29 September), 69% of Office for National Statistics (ONS) members voted to take strike action, while 92% voted to take action short of a strike (ASOS), on a 65.5% turnout. Since May 2024, over 1100 PCS members working for the ONS in various locations (Newport in South Wales, Titchfield in Hampshire, London, Darlington, Manchester and Edinburgh) have been taking action short of a strike by refusing to comply with the new attendance policy, which requires them to spend at least 40% of their time in the office. This action has had no tangible impact on the ONS’s outputs, proving PCS’s argument that there was no need for a more restrictive attendance policy. To increase the pressure on the employer, members have also been working-to-rule since August 2024, refusing to work overtime, out of hours or out of grade. This dispute is symptomatic of wider failings in the organisation, which have attracted criticism from a parliamentary inquiry and the independent Devereaux Review, and are believed to have hastened the departure of the longstanding permanent secretary, Sir Ian Diamond. It is hoped that his recently appointed successor will demonstrate a greater commitment to resolving our dispute read more
Ofgem staff strike over pay inequality – take action now (29 Sept) – PCS members at the UK’s energy market regulator are taking strike action in response to a deepening crisis over pay inequality and they need your support. Despite the critical role they play in overseeing energy companies and protecting consumers, Ofgem workers are paid significantly less than their counterparts in government departments. In some cases, the gap is as wide as 20%. Even more concerning, the lowest-paid employees at Ofgem fall within the bottom 20% of earners nationally. This disparity is not just a matter of fairness it’s a threat to the integrity of energy regulation. Ofgem is struggling to retain experienced staff, and when skilled workers leave, the regulator loses the expertise it needs to hold powerful energy companies to account. That affects everyone. Without strong oversight, energy firms face less scrutiny, and ordinary people paying electricity and gas bills are left exposed to unfair practices and rising costs. PCS members at Ofgem have voted to strike, demanding a fair pay settlement that reflects the importance of their work. Their action is not just about wages it’s about ensuring that Ofgem can continue to function effectively in the public interest. The energy market is complex and volatile, and it requires regulators with deep knowledge and experience. Undervaluing these workers undermines the entire system. The union is calling on supporters to take part in our e-action campaign aimed at building political pressure. By emailing your MP, you can help urge the secretary of state for energy security and net zero to intervene and ensure Ofgem reaches a fair agreement with PCS. Every message sent adds weight to the campaign and helps amplify the voices of striking workers. Political pressure works. Government departments set the tone for public sector pay, and ministers have the power to influence decisions that affect workers across the civil service. By raising this issue with your MP, you’re not just supporting Ofgem staff you’re standing up for accountability, fairness, and the public good. The e-action takes just two minutes to complete, and it could make a real difference. PCS is encouraging all supporters, trade unionists, and concerned citizens to take part and share the campaign widely. Whether through social media, workplace conversations, or community networks, spreading the word helps build momentum and solidarity read more
- show your support on social media with the hashtags #LightsOut #OfgemStrike #PriceCapStrike
- donate to the strike fund: https://www.pcs.org.uk/donate
IOPC members show faith in ongoing negotiations (26 Sept) – Recent ballot results show that confidence is high that PCS reps will negotiate a satisfactory settlement in the ongoing dispute. PCS members at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have sent a clear message of confidence in their reps by choosing not to extend the industrial action mandate in a ballot that closed on 22 September. This decision reflects growing trust in the ongoing negotiations, which have already delivered meaningful improvements to working conditions. However the high “yes” vote (89% on a 40% turnout) does mean members are watching carefully that management follow through on commitments made read more
Support the MHCLG strikers taking action in London (12 Sept) – PCS members at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government continue their industrial campaign with targeted action at the department’s London office on Tuesday (16). Our members hope Steve Reed, the new secretary of state, swiftly enters into negotiations to end the dispute over office closures, attendance polices and recruitment strategy. Earlier this month, our MHCLG members supported strike action with busy picket lines in Birmingham, Darlington, Edinburgh, Hemel Hempstead, London, Leeds and Manchester. And workers in Hemel walked out again on Wednesday. The action has now switched to targeted action which sees over 170 staff walk out until 25 September. Support the picket line in London on Tuesday (16) outside MHCLG London’s office in 2 Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF from 8-10:30am. Send messages of support to [email protected] read more
Second 24-hour strike for security staff in the Houses of Parliament (9 Sept) – The members will walk out on Wednesday 10 September for the second time in two weeks. Over 300 PCS members who work at the Palace of Westminster are taking their second 24 hours of strike action from 7am on 10 September to 7am on 11 September. The members are also taking part in an overtime ban and a work-to-rule. The members are angry about their employer’s removal of six days’ annual leave from contracts, pay stagnation, worsening conditions and a widening ethnicity pay gap. They are also disappointed that the employer wrongly claims that they agreed to reduce their annual leave entitlement and refuses to take this grave concern seriously read more
MPs show support for parliamentary security strikers (5 Sept)
Palestine Solidarity Campaign stands with PCS members in Westminster (4 Sept)
Revenue & Customs Pay 2025 (2 Sept) – PCS rejects the pay offer from Revenue and Customs as it falls way short of the union’s pay claim. Revenue & Customs have written to both PCS and ARC unions to confirm that the HMRC pay offer will be implemented in September salaries. PCS has already rejected the offer (equivalent to 3.25% of the pay bill with a further 0.5% for targeting specific issues including low pay), as way below the demands in our national pay claim. The offer also sees members on terms and conditions transferred on moves into R&C having their pay ranges frozen, except for where increases are required due to National Living Wage increases. Over 2,700 members attended branch meetings to discuss the offer with 58% of members either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the offer, compared to only 15% who were either satisfied or very satisfied. PCS will continue to campaign for the pay rises that members deserve following decades of pay restraint under successive governments. Branches across R&C will be holding members’ meetings with speakers from the union’s national executive committee to hear about discussions the union has held with the Cabinet Office on civil service pay and reward strategy as well as to discuss next steps in the campaign read more
Benton Park View strike rally attracts support from across the movement (9 June) – The strike rally at Benton Park View in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne drew support from across the labour and trade union movement. The rally on Friday marked over 5 months of strike action by employer services members on the site in defence of PCS reps Joel, Gordon and Rachel, dismissed by HMRC for trade union activity. Acting branch secretary Angie Foggett thanked members for their selfless support for the 3 reps. Joel and Gordon gave emotional accounts of the impact of the dismissals on their lives and those of their families… PCS HMRC Group will now meet to discuss the next steps in the campaign read more. Take action, show your support and send solidarity messages to the reps and branch, email HMRC group secretary Steve Swainston: [email protected] read more. Members can also support the campaign by donating to the fighting fund. Donations can be made to the PCS account with the reference ‘BPV Strikes’ –
- Account name: PCS Fighting Fund
- Levy account number: 20331490
- Sort code: 60-83-01
Get the PCS Samba Band to your protests and demonstrations – go to their Facebook page and on X/Twitter @PCS_Samba_Band
Prospect
Prospect responds to Reform UK’s Plan for cuts to the Civil Service (28 Oct) – Following reports in The Telegraph that Reform UK intends to slash civil service jobs, Prospect has warned that the proposals are unrealistic, damaging, and risk undermining our public services read more
Prospect responds to Civil Service Pension Scheme report (24 Oct) – The Public Accounts Committee has published a report warning there is a risk Capita will not be ready for the 1 December takeover of the Civil Service pension scheme from current provider MyCSP read more
Prospect Secures Recognition and Delivers Successive Pay Awards for BA CityFlyer Engineers (23 Oct) – The formal recognition of Prospect as the union representing aircraft engineering staff at BA CityFlyer marked a turning point — and became the catalyst for meaningful change. Since gaining recognition in November 2023, Prospect has delivered a series of pay awards, improved working conditions, and new benefits that have begun to close the gap between BA CityFlyer engineers and wider industry standard read more
GMB
Local govt workers demand ‘significant’ pay rise (24 Oct) – The union – which represents around 150,000 council and education staff – will submit a pay claim at the end of November, along with other unions. In recent years the Local Government Association has maybe below inflation pay offers without even meeting unions to discuss read more
England water companies get worst ever environmental score (23 Oct) – GMB has branded water companies’ poor pollution performance as ‘another example of the catastrophic failure’ of privatisation. England’s water companies got their worst ever combined score for environmental performance in 2024, the Environment Agency has said read more
Teesside wind workers to strike over ‘pitiful’ pay (14 Oct) – More than 150 Teesside workers at Seah Wind will walk out on Wednesday [15 October] and every Wednesday for six weeks after rejecting imposed shift allowances and a 3.1 per cent pay offer that’s both below inflation and industry standards. Workers will also begin a continuous overtime ban after talks with conciliatory service Acas broke down today [Tuesday]. The company, which builds wind turbine monopiles in Middlesbrough, has received millions of pounds of Government money in subsidies to boost the production of green energy. Industrial action highlights the current gap between promises made by companies and the Government on well-paid jobs in renewables and the reality for many workers read more
GMB welcomes ‘historic’ Birmingham Equal Pay agreement (14 Oct) – GMB has today responded to the signing of a legal agreement to settle historic equal pay claims at Birmingham City Council. The news comes after GMB’s four year long fight to end pay discrimination against women workers at the Council read more
Mathew Taylor has ‘huge challenge’ as head of FWA (14 Oct) – GMB Union has responded to the appointment of Matthew Taylor as chair of the Fair Work agency, announced today [Tuesday] read more
Learning disability service workers begin strike vote (13 Oct) – Workers at a Leeds learning disability service have today [Monday] begun voting on strike action. More than 200 workers at Aspire will take part in the ballot after bosses imposed a new sick pay policy, which means staff receive no pay after just one month of illness. Workers have already cancelled essential surgery, while others fear they will be forced to work while ill – putting vulnerable service users in danger. The ballot closes on 27 October. Aspire, formerly part of Leeds City Council before being spun off into a Community Benefit Society in 2015, has refused to reconsider its position despite repeated efforts by the GMB Union to find a fair resolution read more
Teesside military paint workers vote to strike (8 Oct) – More than one hundred military paint workers have voted to strike in fury over ‘pittance’ pay. GMB members at PPG industries, in Shildon, voted to walk out after bosses hit them with a real terms pay cut. PPG produces defence level quality paint for companies, including Airbus and BAE, and GMB members make the military green paint used on army vehicles. The firm has official Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) status due to the dangerous chemicals the workforce use. The company already has an order back log and it’s anticipated that this action will result in significant production delays. Industrial action is now expected this autumn read more
Jobs at Tower Hamlets primary school at risk due to ‘fire and rehire’ proposal
Schools (7 Oct) – Bonner Primary School’s plans will see 11 staff members lose their jobs, while remaining staff will be expected to do more work for the same pay
GMB Union has slammed proposals that will see 20 Midday Meals Supervisors at Bonner Primary School in Tower Hamlets put at risk of redundancy in a ‘fire and rehire’ style restructure. The proposals will see 11 Midday Meals Supervisors lose their jobs altogether, while 9 others will be rehired in new Playworker roles. The new Playworker roles will be on the same pay as Midday Meals Supervisors but with more responsibilities. Teaching Assistants will also be expected to take on additional work to cover the 11 job losses, covering playtime and dining hall activities. GMB has raised concerns about the job losses, worse terms and conditions for staff, and the impact on the health and safety of children. A petition opposing the plans has already gained over 300 signatures read more
Leeds learning disability service faces strike vote (2 Oct) – A Leeds learning disability service faces a strike vote after imposing changes to sick pay. Under the new policy, workers at Aspire will receive no pay after just one month of illness, leaving them to survive on state benefits. This move has already led some workers to cancel essential surgeries, fearing they won’t be able to afford recovery time. Others face the choice of working while ill, potentially putting the vulnerable individuals they care for at serious risk. Aspire, formerly part of Leeds City Council before being spun off into a Community Benefit Society in 2015, has refused to reconsider its position despite repeated efforts by the GMB Union to find a fair resolution. More than 200 GMB members will vote in the ballot, which opens on O13 October and runs for two weeks read more
Airedale strike escalates with three new walkouts (18 Sept) – The Airedale Hospital strike is set to escalate as workers announce the dates of three new walkouts. More than 150 staff on site, including porters, domestics, catering and security staff will down tools on 1,2 and 3 October. The affected workers are employed by AGH Solutions (AGHS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. Unlike their NHS colleagues, AGHS staff are denied access to standard NHS terms and conditions, including the pension scheme, sick pay, annual leave entitlements and enhanced rates for Sunday working. GMB members at the site also walked from 12 – 16 September read more
Newcastle wire rope workers stage further strike (17 Sept) – Almost 100 Newcastle rope workers are set to stage further strikes in a dispute over pay. Staff at Bridon International, in Wallsend, will stage three 24-hour strikes on 18 and 30 of September and 1 October. The dispute centres around a 2.5 per cent pay offer, a figure that represents a real-terms pay cut amid rising living costs and overwhelmingly rejected by staff. Workers are increasingly frustrated over the company’s refusal to return to the negotiating table read more
Europe’s largest quarry braced for strike action (9 Sept) – ‘Huge disruption’ as workers at Tarmac’s Mountsorrel Quarry down tools later this month. GMB Union has today announced that members at Mountsorrel Quarry in Leicestershire have voted to support strike action. The news comes after workers at the Tarmac operated site rejected a pay offer from company management. 90 per cent of votes supported industrial action, with one hundred workers at the quarry expected to join strike action later this month. Mountsorrel is Europe’s largest quarry, producing aggregate materials for construction, road and rail projects across the UK read more
Bacton Gas Terminal workers begin vote on strike action (4 Sept) – Altrad workers at the Shell Bacton Gas Terminal in Norfolk will today begin voting in an industrial action ballot. At the centre of the dispute is Altrad’s offer of a one-time 4 per cent pay uplift, which falls far short of the two-year deal of 11.3 per cent and 5.5 per cent proposed under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry. A recent indicative ballot saw members vote 100 per cent in favour of strike action and if a strike were to go ahead, it would bring work at the site to a halt. Altrad staff at an adjacent site saw their pay increase following another recent GMB dispute. Workers at the Bacton site – who do identical work, including scaffolding, painting, and thermal insulation – are now seeking the same resolution. The ballot closes on Thursday 18th September read more
Derbyshire manufacturer braced for strike action (28 Aug) – Workers refuse to accept a pay packet of pennies, says GMB. GMB Union has today announced that workers at Altrad Belle will begin a week of strike action from Monday 1 September 2025. The news comes after workers rejected a pay offer from company management and voted overwhelmingly to support industrial action. The company, one of the UK’s biggest manufacturers of light equipment for the construction sector, has been slammed for paying skilled workers little more than £12 an hour read more
Bromley parking wardens begin talks in fight against poverty pay (15 Aug) – On Tuesday [19 August] GMB Union will sit down with Apcoa Parking, the private contractor running parking services for Bromley Council. Workers there are currently paid the legal minimum wage of £12.21 per hour – well below the London Living Wage of £13.85 an hour. The talks come while Apcoa is embroiled in ongoing disputes with GMB members in neighbouring Richmond, Wandsworth, and Kingston. In Lambeth, Apcoa workers recently settled their dispute after securing a new rate of £15 per hour read more
Striking Sellafield workers left to urinate in public (14 Aug) – Striking Sellafield workers are being left to urinate in public after the company refused to provide facilities for them. Almost 200 workers have walked out of the Cumbria nuclear facility after overwhelmingly rejecting the 3.5 per cent deal offered by the company. GMB members working for Mitie, have begun their ninth day of strike action today [Thursday]. Not only has Sellafield refused to provide access toilet access to those on the picket line, as yet they haven’t provided GMB with a location to install a Portaloo. The nearest public toilet is several miles away. Mitie’s pay offer would leave these frontline workers, responsible for cleaning, security, landscaping, waste management, postal services, and laundry support the safety and functionality of one of Europe’s most hazardous nuclear facilities, earning little more than £13 per hour read more
Unison
Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
Stop the Council Cuts – Sign the petition: Save our Services – Nottingham City Unison
Christina McAnea celebrates with winning NHS staff (27 Oct) – UNISON’s pay fair for patient care campaign has secured more than £200m for some of the lowest-paid workers in the NHS. UNISON Greater London Region regional secretary Sara Gorton and UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea at Charing Cross hospital with Imperial College Healthcare branch chair Carlene Brown and healthcare assistants from the campaign. UNISON Greater London Region regional secretary Sara Gorton and UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea at Charing Cross hospital with Imperial College Healthcare branch chair Carlene Brown and healthcare assistants from the campaign. UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea joined healthcare assistants from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust last week, to celebrate their winning campaign for rebanding and several years’ back pay for around 650 staff at the Trust read more
Mining museum strike extended into new year as managers fail to make acceptable pay offer (24 Oct) – A long-running strike by more than 40 workers at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield has been extended until the end of January 2026. Staff have been on a continuous strike since mid-August in a dispute over pay. The museum has failed to put forward an acceptable wage-rise to resolve the dispute. The workers feel they have no option but to extend the strike due to the museum management’s ongoing refusal to improve what’s on the table and backtracking on earlier promises. Employees rejected the latest offer last week* as the new terms would leave many staff worse off than a previous version that had already been turned down. UNISON says the extension of the strike is down to the museum’s unwillingness to pay workers what they deserve read more
Venue management backs down after UNISON walkout in Palestine image row (24 Oct) – Union will not stand for political vetting, says Christina McAnea. Following a walkout and demonstration led by UNISON’s general secretary Christina McAnea and Northern Ireland secretary Patricia McKeown earlier today (Friday) over the decision by management at Belfast’s ICC Waterfront to prevent an image being displayed in support of the people of Palestine, the union can report that the venue has now backed down. Chief executive Rob McConnell said he was now willing for the slide, which calls for an end to genocide, illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine to be shown on a screen at the union’s regional council meeting read more
NEXT, unions and making millions (24 Oct) – Despite soaring profits, the high street giant suddenly closed it’s only unionised factory in Sri Lanka without consultation with trade unions and via WhatsApp read more
Swansea health workers win pay justice after health board U-turn, says UNISON (24 Oct) – More than 1,000 healthcare support workers at Swansea Bay University Health Board will finally receive years of compensation they’re owed after their employer agreed to honour a deal to settle a long-running dispute, says UNISON Cymru today (Friday). The board has now confirmed it will implement an earlier pledge to provide back pay to staff who had been paid at the wrong grade for their increasingly complex roles, the union says. Employees had been alarmed that a promise to pay staff what they are owed before Christmas had been put on hold, UNISON says. But just two days after a 2,000-signature petition was handed over by the workers and UNISON criticising the backtrack, the board has announced the payments will go ahead. This is long-overdue recognition for the predominantly female, low-paid workforce who have been at the bottom of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, says the union. They had been carrying out clinical duties for many years, which would normally be associated with a higher grade, including patient observations, blood monitoring and electrocardiogram (ECG) tests. UNISON says the announcement is a major victory for healthcare support workers and a direct result of their determined campaign read more
Welsh Ambulance Service staff to vote on industrial action over NHS pay, says UNISON (23 Oct) – Put NHS Pay Right. Welsh Ambulance Service staff are to be balloted for industrial action over their below-inflation pay award, says UNISON Cymru today (Thursday). Workers represented by the union will be asked from Friday (24 October) if they wish to strike over their wage increase for 2025/26. The union says the settlement fails to recognise the rising cost of living and other pressures facing NHS staff. If employees vote for industrial action, walkouts could take place in Wales as early as Christmas or during the busiest winter months for the NHS. The dispute centres on the Welsh government’s decision earlier this year to simply implement the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommended 3.6% increase for those on the Agenda for Change pay scale, rather than hold talks on a fair pay rise. UNISON says the award is now below inflation – currently at 3.8% – leaving ambulance workers and other NHS staff struggling to make ends meet. Staff belonging to the union across Wales backed strike action in a consultation. Welsh Ambulance Service is the first employer to be targeted as part of an all-Wales campaign to ‘Put NHS pay right’. UNISON represents hundreds of workers across the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, including call handlers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and non-emergency patient transport staff read more
University staff to begin strike vote on below-inflation pay offer (20 Oct) – University staff are the backbone of campus life, keeping institutions running. Support staff at more than 100 universities across the UK will begin voting today (Monday) on potential strike action following a below-inflation pay offer from senior managers, says UNISON. The national industrial action ballot closes on Friday 28 November. More than 90% of members who took part in a UNISON consultation in the summer rejected the 1.4% pay offer for 2025/26 from the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. For years university staff have seen their pay lose value while workloads have soared and job insecurity has increased as institutions cuts costs, says the union. The latest offer from employers amounts to a real-terms wage cut and falls well short of other pay awards in both the public and private sectors, UNISON adds. The union represents professional services staff at universities whose work keeps campuses running safely and effectively. They include administrators, technicians, librarians, student support teams and cleaners. Other unions representing university workers – UCU, Unite and EIS – are also holding ballots on the same offer read more
Support Camden Unison school support staff members at Richard Cobden school for fair pay and safe staffing levels Camden New Journal: School strike over cuts to support staff
NHS staff vote to strike in outsourcing row, says UNISON (25 Sept) – Government warned of widespread walkouts if ministers don’t clamp down on hospital trusts farming out support services. NHS staff vote to strike in outsourcing row, says UNISON. Health workers in Dorset have voted for strike action over plans that could see thousands of employees transferred out of the NHS, says UNISON today (Thursday). Just days ahead of the Labour Party Conference, the union warns there could be further walkouts by NHS staff up and down the country if the government doesn’t clamp down on hospital trusts farming out support services to subsidiary companies, known as SubCos. Low paid staff at three NHS trusts in Dorset have overwhelmingly backed industrial action. In the ballot that closed yesterday, 94% of workers, including porters, caterers and cleaners, backed strike action over their employers’ plans to move them from the NHS to a new company. The trusts – Dorset HealthCare University, Dorset County Hospital, and University Hospitals Dorset – want to move over 1,700 mainly low-paid support workers to a SubCoread more
County Durham and Darlington healthcare staff set to walk out in pay row, says UNISON (28 Aug) – Hundreds of healthcare assistants employed by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have voted to strike in a fair pay dispute, says UNISON today (Thursday). Staff will walk out in the coming weeks unless there’s an improvement in the amount of back pay the trust is prepared to give them, says the union. The NHS workers have been regraded to a higher band of the NHS Agenda for Change salary scale to reflect increasingly complex tasks. But UNISON says they deserve adequate back pay to reflect the extra work they’ve been doing above their pay rate for many years. The trust awarded just seven months’ money but the union says this should be far higher. Despite months of negotiations with the employer to settle the dispute, a fair offer the health workers find acceptable has still not been put forward. In a ballot that closed yesterday, 99.4% of staff said they will walk out unless the employer comes back with a better deal to compensate them for the extra work they’ve done. This is the fifth trust in the north east to be in dispute with staff over wage banding. The other successful campaigns have been at Teesside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, while a dispute in Northumberland is still ongoing read more
Barnsley hospital workers step up campaign for fair pay (28 Aug) – A group of rehabilitation support workers based at Kendray Hospital in Barnsley are demanding to be paid properly for the increasingly complex work they do. The staff, who provide care to patients in the community and are employed by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust, have held a series of protests outside Kendray Hospital, and launched a petition to gain support for their campaign. The union says the workers are carrying out duties – such as performing observations and clinical care tasks – that should be paid at a higher rate read more
Pay up Mitie: Striking cleaners demand the pay that they are owed (16 July) – The striking workers, most of whom are women, are experiencing extreme distress as a result of Mitie’s failure to pay them what they’re owed. NHS cleaners employed by private contractor Mitie in East Lancashire are striking to demand the pay that they deserve. So far, the cleaners have taken six days of strike action. They are striking for the whole of this week. Today, the group met with UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea at UNISON Centre in London. The 40 cleaners, contracted by Mitie, are among the lowest-paid staff in the NHS. They have been routinely underpaid for months, due to payroll problems, on top of which they have yet to receive their COVID-19 recovery payments, which were agreed in 2023. The £1,655 COVID-19 recovery lump sum payment was part of the deal agreed by the government and health unions following strikes in the NHS. It was made in an effort to recognise the sustained pressure facing the health service. Tens of thousands of NHS staff have received the payment. However, the hard-working cleaners employed by Mitie, who are essential to maintaining hygiene standards in hospitals, have received nothing read more
Strike fund appeal for Nottingham healthcare workers (7 July) – Donations are being sought for healthcare support workers as their dispute at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust continues read more
NIPSA
Northern Ireland Health Service: Strike Action Planned (24 Sept) – NIPSA has condemned the latest decision on health service pay, warning that health workers in Northern Ireland are once again being left behind their colleagues across the UK. From 1 August 2025, health service staff in England and Wales received a 3.6% pay increase, backdated to April. In Scotland, health workers are even further ahead. Yet in Northern Ireland, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt and Permanent Secretary Mike Farrar have stated that there is no money in this year’s budget for a pay rise… Next Steps:-
- NIPSA met last week and unanimously agreed that urgent action is needed.
- NIPSA will join sister unions in seeking a mandate for industrial action
through a ballot of members.
- The form of action, up to and including strike action, will be determined by NIPSA’s members read more
Unions lodge notice of first 24-hour strike by workers at Belfast council leisure services (7 Aug) – Joint UNITE-NIPSA press release: Belfast leisure workers are lowest paid in Northern Ireland and are seeking a one pound an hour increase to the current pay offer. Talks ended without management company Greenwich Leisure Limited making any improved pay offer. Unite and NIPSA trade unions have announced a 24-hour strike by leisure staff at facilities operated by Green Leisure Limited in Belfast. 14 leisure centres and two gyms owned by Belfast City Council are operated by the arms-length management company. The strike will commence at 00.01 on Tuesday August 12 and continue until midnight. The industrial action is likely to shut down entirely the operation of several leisure centres, given that more than 200 leisure workers are members of two trade unions. Pay at Belfast leisure centres has fallen behind that of other council leisure facilities in Northern Ireland following the decision to outsource them to Greenwich Leisure Limited. Belfast leisure worker pay is now the lowest in Northern Ireland…The strike follows an overwhelming ballot for industrial action by workers in both unions and represents an escalation from a work-to-rule which came into force on Tuesday 15 July. Labour Relations Agency-mediated negotiations between the trade unions and the employer ended on Wednesday 30 July, after management failed to provide any improved offer read more
Royal College of Nursing
RCN reports 55% rise in members facing racist abuse (27 Oct) – We’re calling for urgent action, demanding employers prioritise tackling racism, and warning politicians to end their use of anti-migrant rhetoric read more
NHS pay in England: ‘We need formal negotiations now’ (19 Sept) – Pay reform talks were promised, now they need to happen, health unions say in a joint letter to the Westminster government. The RCN has joined 13 other health unions in calling on the Westminster government to urgently begin promised direct talks on NHS pay reform and future pay awards. In a joint letter to health secretary Wes Streeting MP, unions representing staff on Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts in the NHS in England urge the government to honour the commitment made last year to tackle the problems in the pay system that are harming staffing and morale. For the first time, the majority of unions have also confirmed they will not take part in the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) process. We will again refuse to submit evidence and have been severely critical of the PRB over recent years read more
RCN Northern Ireland lodges formal dispute over failure to implement pay award (1 Aug) – Absence of a pay award in Northern Ireland will once again push nursing staff out of pay parity with colleagues across the UK read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
RCM calls for urgent action following BBC documentary on Scotland’s maternity services (28 Oct) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has urged the Scottish Government to take immediate action to tackle the systemic challenges facing maternity services, following a BBC investigation. A BBC Disclosure programme broadcast today (Tuesday 28 October 2025) reveals staff shortages, rising workloads, and a lack of specialist and educator roles in maternity services are placing unsustainable pressure on staff and risking the long-term quality of care read more
Royal College of Midwives backs Parliamentary Bill pushing for better perinatal mental health care (24 Oct) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has welcomed a new Bill introduced to Parliament on Wednesday (22 October) by Laura Kyrke-Smith MP, which aims to make high-quality perinatal mental health assessments a routine part of antenatal care for all women in England read more
Partial pay funding falls short for Northern Ireland midwives and MSWs, says RCM (17 Oct) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in Northern Ireland has expressed extreme disappointment that while some funding has been allocated towards 2025/26 Agenda for Change pay, it represents only around half of what is needed to restore full pay parity for midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs). This follows ongoing concerns raised by the health and social care trade unions in Northern Ireland, including the RCM, over repeated broken commitments by the Executive and the Health Minister to maintain pay parity for Agenda for Change staff read more
Historic move sees RCM pull out of NHS Pay Review Body process (19 Sept) – In a historic move after two decades the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has announced that it is withdrawing from the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) process for 2026/27. The decision the trade union says ‘it hasn’t taken lightly’ but one they feel is ‘absolutely necessary’ given lack of progress on NHS pay reform for over a decade which has impacted its hardworking members significantly. The RCM says it believes that direct meaningful negotiations are now the only way forward to truly tackle NHS pay structure reform and headline pay for its members read more
CSP
Pay parity must be restored for HSC staff in Northern Ireland (17 Oct) – Health unions including the CSP are calling on the Northern Ireland health minister to restore pay parity with the rest of the UK as a matter of urgency read more
CSP withdraws from 2026/27 NHS pay review process (19 Sept) – The CSP has joined other unions in withdrawing from this year’s NHS pay review body (PRB) process for England, Wales and Northern Ireland read more
BMA
GPs in England vote to re-enter dispute with Government (18 Sept) – Patient safety concerns over ‘unlimited’ online consultation requests. GPs in England have voted to re-enter dispute with Government over concerns that unlimited online consultation requests could become a ‘critical patient safety issue’. Members of the BMA GPs committee for England voted in favour of re-entering the dispute owing to ‘a lot of confusion and anger’ about the regulatory changes, which are due to come into effect from 1 October read more
Senior doctors prepared to strike (4 Sept) – Indicative ballot reveals consultants and SAS doctors are willing to take industrial action in struggle to achieve pay restoration read more
GPs discuss next steps in funding dispute (3 Sept) – Roadshow in Scotland sees doctors gather to tackle issues facing the profession read more
NEU
Education unions to support NAHT’s legal action against Ofsted (24 Oct) – Today, the National Education Union (NEU) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) are announcing their formal support of school leaders’ union NAHT’s legal action against Ofsted and its proposed new framework. In a show of clear public support, both unions have agreed to provide witness statements and will support NAHT’s judicial review going forward. NAHT launched the legal challenge earlier this year, citing Ofsted’s failure to properly consider the wellbeing of school staff in its development of a new framework and significant failures in the consultation process. The union is currently waiting for the court to determine if permission will be granted for the case to proceed read more
NEU Cymru members at Flint High School continue strike action over workplace bullying and failures to tackle pupil behaviour (24 Sept) – NEU members at Flint High School have today taken their second of three days of strike action this week. Members were on strike Tuesday 23 Wednesday 24 and will be on Thursday 25 September due to the employer’s continuing failure to deal with bullying behaviour from the Headteacher and the inability of the school’s leadership to tackle high levels of behavioural issues. NEU members offered to postpone the first day of action for this week, if the local authority agreed to a meeting with all members, so that they could hear directly the issues they are facing. The offer was rejected, with a counteroffer that they would meet with NEU officials and the workplace representative only. Members did not feel that this was a significant enough gesture to postpone action read more
NASUWT
NASUWT to ballot members over class contact time failure (28 Oct) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union in Scotland are to be balloted for industrial action over the failure of the Scottish Government to make significant progress on its manifesto commitment to reduce teachers’ maximum class contact time from 22.5 to 21 hours per week. The ballot is due to open in mid-November. Members will be balloted for both strike action and action short of strike action. The commitment to reduce class contact time was part of the SNP’s 2021 election manifesto and was then enshrined in the Programme for Government that same year, with a commitment that it would be delivered in the life of this parliament. Despite the next election looming, no tangible progress towards achieving this commitment has been made read more
Employment rights progress long overdue (23 Oct) – Responding to the launch of consultations today on key aspects of the Government’s Employment Rights Bill, including maternity rights, bereavement leave and trade union organising, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “We welcome this further step forward by the Government in moving towards delivering on its promise to boost workers’ rights and create the conditions where all workers are treated with respect and dignity at work…” read more
EIS
EIS Suspends this week’s Strike Action at UWS After Constructive Talks (20 Oct) – The EIS has suspended two days of strike action planned to be taken by members of EIS ULA this week following constructive discussions with the senior management of the University, regarding the removal of the threat of compulsory redundancies. The talks, between EIS ULA representatives and UWS late last week, have resulted in the University confirming that it is now in a position to proceed with its Organisational Change Project without moving to compulsory redundancies. EIS ULA Branch Officials at UWS, who welcome the development, will meet this week to consider the details tabled by the University read more
EIS ULA Opens National Statutory Ballot for Strike Action Over Pitiful Pay Offer (20 Oct) – EIS ULA has opened a statutory ballot of its members for strike action over university employers failing to improve their full and final pay offer, which was tabled earlier this year. The EIS has opened this ballot after the results of their recent consultative ballot saw members overwhelmingly reject the full and final pay offer made by the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and vote in favour of taking strike action to pursue an improved pay uplift. UCU, UNISON and UNITE are also set to open statutory ballots on the joint national pay dispute with UCEA. The EIS ULA ballot will remain open for almost six weeks, closing on Friday 28th November read more
EIS Confirms Statutory Industrial Action Ballot Details, Ahead of SNP Conference (10 Oct) – The EIS has served formal notice of its intention to open a statutory ballot for industrial action over teacher workload. The EIS has formally notified all 32 Scottish local authorities, as the employers of teachers, of its intention to open the ballot next month. The move comes ahead of the opening of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Conference in Aberdeen, and serves as a warning to the current Scottish Government administration read more
EIS ULA Members at RGU and UWS set to strike tomorrow against job cuts (9 Sept) – Members of the EIS ULA at Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) will take co-ordinated strike action tomorrow, Thursday 11th September read more
INTO
INTO Condemns NI Minister of Education’s Visit to Israel (28 Oct) – INTO Condemns NI Minister of Education’s Visit to Israel. The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) condemn the actions of the Department of Education (NI) and Education Minister Paul Givan in taking part in and promoting a tour hosted by Israeli officials read more
UCU
UCU Stop the Cuts campaign
Sign petition against the education cuts
Solent University threatens P&O-style ‘Fire & Rehire’ with pension cuts (22 Oct) – UCU today announced that it has entered a formal trade dispute with Southampton Solent University over plans to force all its staff onto inferior pension schemes, paving the way for a strike ballot if management refuses to resolve the dispute. On Wednesday 24 September Solent vice-chancellor Professor James Knowles announced in a video call with staff that the university intends to move all staff to wholly owned subsidiary company, Solent University Services Limited (SUSL). This will force them out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and onto a second-rate defined contribution pension read more
Strike dates set at University of the Highlands and Islands in dispute over use of compulsory redundancies (21 Oct) – UCU members at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) will take four days of strike action beginning on Thursday 30 October. As well as 30 October, staff will also strike on Wednesday 5, Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 November 2025. UCU members will also take part in action short of strike which will involve staff taking actions including working to contract, not covering for colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities at the university. The strike follows a ballot where 71% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 82%. The dispute is over management pressing ahead with plans to make 16 jobs at the university’s executive office redundant as part of efforts to save £2million. University senior managers are using compulsory redundancies to implement the job cuts; a move the union says is unacceptable. The union also questioned the impact cuts would have on the remaining staff who will be left with unmanageable workloads and said that these new cuts followed multiple cuts and jobs losses in recent years. The union said that the hollowing out of the university’s executive office isn’t sustainable long term with a functioning university read more
UK wide university strike ballot opens (14 Oct) – Over 65,000 UCU members at universities across the UK will be balloted to take strike action in a fight to protect jobs, wages and working conditions, the union announced today. The ballot will open on Monday 20 October and run until Friday 28 November. It will be aggregated across 137 institutions, meaning a successful result will pave the way for strike action at all 137 campuses in the new year. The ballot comes after UCU and its sister unions GMB, Unite, Unison and EIS rejected a derisory a 1.4% pay offer from employer body the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). UCU has also revealed university employers have tried to axe over 15,000 jobs read more
Strikes likely at the University of the Highlands and Islands as staff back industrial action (7 Oct) – Staff at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) have today backed industrial action in a dispute over job cuts and the ongoing use of compulsory redundancies. In the ballot of UCU Scotland members at the university’s executive office, 71% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 82%. 93% of members voting said that they would also be willing to take part in action short of strikes which could include working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, or not undertaking voluntary activities. Following the clear result, members of the UCU branch at the university will now decide their next steps in the dispute. The dispute follows the decision of management at the university to make 16 people redundant as part of efforts to save £2million read more
Dundee University staff back industrial action for the second time in longstanding dispute over job cuts (6 Oct) – Staff at Dundee University have today again backed industrial action in the longstanding dispute over job cuts, as the university continues with a financial and leadership crisis. In the ballot of UCU members at Dundee University, 72% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 58%. 90% of members voting also said that they would be willing to take part in action short of strike which could include working to contract and not covering for any absent colleagues. The crisis is now in its eleventh month since, in November 2024, the now disgraced principal announced cuts of £30million and the possibility of compulsory redundancies. In response, UCU members voted conclusively to take industrial action to force management to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies. The need to re-ballot is a requirement of UK trade union law. The union said that today’s resounding result demonstrated the anger and disappointment with the lack of progress and failure of successive leaderships at the university to deliver a sustainable way forward that protects jobs and the university’s future read more
UCU to launch England wide college strike ballot over pay, workloads and national bargaining (3 Oct) – The University and College Union (UCU) today (Friday 3 October) confirmed it will ballot around 10,000 staff at 68 colleges across England in a fight for fair pay, manageable workloads and binding national bargaining. Ballots will open on Monday 13 October and run until Monday 17 November. The ballot comes after employer body, the Association of Colleges (AoC), recommended a pay award of just 4%. However, it also accepted that many colleges could not afford to raise pay by even that percentage and there is no obligation on employers to do so. UCU, alongside its sister unions NEU, GMB, UNISON and Unite is calling for a New Deal for FE, including a 10%/£3000 pay rise read more
Imperial staff to strike next week in pay and conditions row (2 Oct) – Staff at Imperial College London will take ten days of strike action over the next two months in a row over pay and conditions, the University and College Union announced today. The dispute centres on management’s refusal to increase its below inflation 2% pay award, an offer that members of all three recognised unions (UCU, Unison and Unite) voted to reject read more
UCU calls on Teesside University to rethink job cuts plans (2 Oct) – UCU has today called on Teesside University to think again over plans to cut jobs as part of a restructure of four departments, spread across the institution. Proposals announced this week say that the university intends to delete 39 Principal Lecturer posts across four different schools. Principal Lecturers are senior academics who whilst still carry out teaching are often focused more on research. Those currently in post will be forced to reapply for their jobs, take voluntary redundancy by the end of this month or face being made compulsorily redundant read more
UCU general secretary Jo Grady to visit INTO Manchester picket on Tuesday as part of low pay dispute (29 Sept) – The University and College Union (UCU) today announced that Jo Grady will visit the INTO Manchester College picket line tomorrow as part of the dispute over low pay. UCU members at the private college for international students downed tools on Thursday 25 September and will do so again on Tuesday 30 September. Jo Grady will visit the picket line at the entrance to the college’s main building on Whitworth Street from 8.30am to 9.15am tomorrow and discuss the campaign with members. Despite the disruption and calls from the union to talk, the college has refused to budge from its pay offer of just a 2% rise, a significant real term cut against inflation. The strike comes after an overwhelming 97% of UCU members voted to take strike action in a ballot that saw a turnout of 83% read more
Edinburgh University facing more industrial action as union opens new strike ballot (24 Sept) – Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Edinburgh university are being re-balloted from today (24 September) to take industrial action as a dispute over £140 million cuts and up to 1,800 job losses approaches its eighth month. The dispute follows the announcement of cuts by the university principal, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, in February 2025 in an email to all staff. He announced that the university was looking to make £140 million cuts, and that cuts of that magnitude meant that “nothing is off the table” leaving open the possibility of compulsory redundancies. The ballot will run from today until Tuesday 28 October. UCU members at the university overwhelmingly backed industrial action in May this year with 84% of those voting backing strike action on a turnout of 60% and 93% backing action short of strike such as such as working to contract and refusing to cover for absent colleagues or undertaking voluntary duties. Staff took a day’s strike action in June this year, and the start of term two weeks ago was disrupted by five days of strikes as students returned to university. Trade union legislation, currently being reviewed by the UK government, requires trade unions to renew mandates for industrial action every six months read more
University of Bradford staff announce further strike dates job cuts row (18 Sept) – University of Bradford staff will down tools for 10 days in a fight to save jobs, UCU announced today. Staff will strike every weekday from Monday 22 September until Friday 3 October in their dispute over redundancies, disrupting the first two weeks of the new academic year read more
Strike ballot opens at University of Sheffield staff over job cuts (27 Aug) – Staff at the University of Sheffield are being asked to vote for strike action, announced the University and College Union (UCU) today. The ballot opened yesterday and will close on Tuesday 30 September. The dispute is over management’s plans to put staff in five academic areas at risk of redundancy, as well as continued risk of redundancy to professional services staff across the university read more
Staff at Liverpool Hope University announce strike action over job cuts (31 July) – UCU members at Liverpool Hope University have announced they will take 10 days of strike action across the first two weeks of teaching in response to the university’s plans to slash academic jobs. Staff will walk out from Monday 22 September to Friday 26 September, and again from Monday 29 September to Friday 3 October. The action comes after 69% of UCU members voted in the recent ballot, with 85% backing strike action. The dispute centres on proposed cuts to academic posts across multiple departments, including Education and Social Sciences, Creative Arts and Humanities, and Human and Digital Sciences. UCU says these plans pose a serious threat to the university’s academic mission and the quality of provision for students. Despite a partial retreat by university management, after union-negotiated alternative proposals reduced the number of roles at risk, 11 positions and over 30 staff remain under threat. Management has reopened its voluntary redundancy scheme yet refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies. UCU says there is no financial justification for these cuts, pointing to significant cash reserves and highlighting that the university’s recent deficits stem not from staff costs but from rocketing non-staff expenditure, including major capital projects. Meanwhile, senior leaders at the university have continued to enjoy generous pay packages, with the vice-chancellor receiving a total of £313,000 in 2024 read more
Strike ballot opens at University of Leicester over threat of compulsory redundancies (31 July) – UCU has this week opened a ballot for strike action at the University of Leicester. The dispute is over university leadership’s refusal to rule out a programme of compulsory redundancies in the upcoming academic year read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
Fire Brigades Union raises alarm over plans to cut Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (28 Oct) – Firefighters in Oxfordshire are raising serious concerns over Oxfordshire County Council plans to cut the fire and rescue service across the county. The council has opened a public consultation today, 28 October, on plans to close three fire stations in Eynsham, Woodstock and Henley. The plans would also reduce night-time fire cover, leaving only five wholetime fire engines available across the county at night. Under these plans, the service will also lose five fire engines. Rewley Road and Kidlington fire stations could also be merged into one base in Oxford, with a special rescue vehicle to be cut from Kiddlington. 57 firefighters face being forced to work 12-hour shifts, and firefighters say they could face losing their homes in Kiddlington as a result of the plans for Oxford. The Fire Brigades Union says that these cuts will put public safety at risk, and deepen a crisis in recruitment and retention of firefighters. The FBU is calling for members of the public to raise concerns via the public consultation, which is open for 12 weeks read more
Watering down workers rights bill would be a “disaster” for government, says trade union leader (27 Oct) – The Fire Brigades Union is calling for the government to stand firm and deliver the Employment Rights Bill in full, following reports of talks with businesses seeking to water down new workers rights. The union says any watering down of the bill would be a “betrayal” of Labour’s popular manifesto promise, and calls for Starmer to go further in strengthening workers rights with a second bill read more
“Scrapheap challenge” response to hotel fire shows fire service on the brink of critical failure (23 Oct) – Firefighters are warning that the slow and scrambled response to a fire at a hotel on the Isle of Wight shows how close the fire service is to being unable to keep the community safe. The warning comes as the service plans to implement yet more cuts. Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire service was mobilised to a fire at Cygnet Hotel in Sandown on Saturday evening. Although the hotel was derelict, it was treated as a ‘persons reported’ fire because it had been occupied by a homeless person. Despite this, the service was unable to initially send the right number of fire engines (three) due to the poor availability of appliances on the island. Instead, it initially sent two, leaving just two fire engines available to cover the whole of the island. The service was also unable to provide a second aerial ladder platform, again due to a lack of firefighters. When the second aerial did eventually respond it was only possible because it called on retained firefighters and used on coming nightshift firefighters on overtime to piece together a crew. At 18:22, just under an hour after the original call, senior firefighters made the call to ‘make pumps six’ (to bring the total number of fire engines up to six due to the seriousness of the incident). However, these were not available on the island and fire engines had to cross the Solent from the mainland by ferry to respond. A total of five further fire engines were ferried across from the mainland to provide fire cover for the island, leaving the mainland short read more
Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire service announces plans to force through cuts despite agreed delay (5 Sept) – Chief fire officer Neil Odin has today sent a video message to Hampshire and Isle of Wight firefighters announcing that cuts to the service will go ahead, despite the fire authority voting to delay the decision on 29 August. Firefighters, councillors, members of the public and the fire authority have raised serious concerns that £1.6 million cut to the frontline in the region will put public safety at greater risk. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) has already lost one in four firefighters since 2010, and recent inspections reveal the service is struggling to meet its own emergency response standards. The latest HMICFRS report rated the service as inadequate in staffing and skills, requiring improvement in emergency response and resource management. In the video emailed to fire service staff, the chief also stated that a letter has been sent to government ministers today, calling for the government to commit to funding the service in the future – but not pushing to prevent this round of cuts. The FBU is urging the service to use the £23.9 million reserves it holds to plug the gap while it campaigns for more funding from central government read more
Sign this petition: To Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Authority and Chief Fire Officer – STOP, THINK & REASSESS Dangerous Cuts to Firefighter Numbers
POA
NEC minutes October 2025 read more
General Secretary update read more
National Chair update Sept 2025 read here
Employment rights Bill 2 (25 Sept) – As the Employment Rights Bill completes its parliamentary journey, all eyes are on the Tory and Liberal Democrat amendments made to the Bill in the House of Lords. Although these amendments have caused justifiable outrage amongst trade unionists, it is widely predicted that they will be rejected by the government wielding its majority in the House of Commons, and that the original terms of the Bill will be restored. Whilst we recognise the progress made in improving workers’ rights, the POA believes that a second Employment Bights Bill is needed, one that strengthens the rights of all workers… The Campaign for Trade Union Freedom and Strike Map have arranged a petition, supported by 12 Trade Unions (including the POA) to call for an ‘Employment Rights Bill 2. Please sign the petition by adding your name at https://bit.ly/DemandERB2 read more
NAPO
Research into the experiences of prison staff (24 Oct) – Researchers from the University of Bath and UCL are conducting a study exploring the experiences of prison staff who have experienced challenging or distressing experiences at work. We’re looking specifically into “moral injury”, which is the intense guilt or shame someone may experience after an event that violates their core values or sense of right or wrong. We hope to better understand how these experiences impact wellbeing and plan to develop an intervention to support prison staff read more
BFAWU
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
Nautilus International
Members at CalMac accept pay and conditions offer (27 Oct) – Nautilus International members have voted to accept an offer from Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac). This includes a salary increase of 6% covering the period from 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2027, representing an 18-month pay award read more
NUJ
STV’s decision to rush through job and programming cuts labelled ‘arrogant’ and ‘knee-jerk’ (28 Oct) – The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has told MPs that STV’s decision to axe News at 6 North in its current form regardless of what Ofcom says is “arrogance beyond belief” read more
USA: NUJ calls for release of journalist detained by ICE (28 Oct) – The NUJ has joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in calling for the immediate release of UK journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi read more
Media ban reflects ‘Yes Minister’ approach to community safety partnerships, says NUJ (28 Oct) – The NUJ has called on Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s minister for justice, home affairs and migration, to urgently amend the guidelines published for the recently established Local Community Safety Partnerships, which allow the new local committees to meet in secret read more
NUJ questions Ofcom’s proposal to approve BBC local radio changes (27 Oct) – Regulator is consulting on changes to corporation’s operating licence. The NUJ is concerned about plans by Ofcom to approve changes to the BBC’s operating licence covering its local radio commitments read more
Industry resists improved freelance payment terms (27 Oct) – Counter the big business offensive by lobbying to stop the freelance rip-off. Pushback on the government’s consultation on late payments and poor payment practices was inevitable read more
Ukraine: drone attack kills two journalists (27 Oct) – October deadliest month for media workers in Ukraine this year. War correspondent Olena Gramova and cameraman Yevgen Karmazin have died in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk following a drone attack whilst they were working for Freedom Media. Another reporter, Alexander Kolychev, was also injured in the strike and taken to hospital read more
Journalists at The Mirror vote to strike (22 Oct) – NUJ members at The Mirror have voted yes in a ballot for strike action over compulsory redundancies, rotas and concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on editorial quality. The vote comes after Reach, the commercial publisher that owns The Mirror, announced mass redundancies across the company in September. The Mirror is one of the titles worst affected by the cuts, losing around 40 writers and editors read more
Equity
Equity petition demands “pay Manchester Pride workers what they’re owed” (27 Oct) – Sign the petition calling on Manchester City Council to make up the shortfall for performers and creatives left unpaid following the liquidation of Manchester Pride read more
Manchester Pride going into liquidation “hugely concerning” to those owed money (22 Oct) – After too much uncertainty, the news that the organisation in charge of Manchester Pride is going into liquidation will be hugely concerning to those owed money read more
Warning about Anything Theatre Company Ltd and Directors (23 Oct) – Concern as company director of collapsed tour which left people unpaid puts call out for new production read more
Musicians Union
Dumfries and Galloway Council Consults to Close Music Service (27 Oct) – Take part in the consultation protesting the proposed closure of Dumfries and Galloway’s instrumental music service. Share your views by 23 November 2025 read more
MU Statement on Manchester Pride Entering Liquidation (27 Oct) – The organisation in charge of Manchester Pride recently confirmed it has gone into voluntary liquidation. The MU will be supporting members affected by cancelled performances, and those affected are urged to get in touch with the regional office read more
How Collective Action can Strengthen Connections with Colleagues – and Management (22 Oct) – Welsh National Opera’s Llinos Owen shares her experiences campaigning to protect the orchestra – and how it’s strengthened her connection to both the company and the MU read more
UVW
No Pasarán! UVW Joins East London in Pushing Back Far-Right Mobilisation (27 Oct) – “We celebrate this victory, because it is a victory. Our collective pressure has pushed UKIP out of Tower Hamlets. But there is much work to be done. We ought to push the far right from every single borough, city and country. Organise, unionise, join us!” – Nelly Ospino, Executive Committee representative, United Voices of the World. On Saturday 25 October, the far-right group UKIP attempted a demonstration in Whitechapel as part of their ‘mass deportations tour’. They were banned for the day from Tower Hamlets, home to Casa UVW, and forced to hold their demo somewhere else instead read more
Pay scandal exposed at NHS trust: £30m in pay and benefits and £6m in pension contributions withheld from mainly migrant cleaners, caterers and porters (9 Oct) – A damning new report uncovers systemic racial inequality and financial injustice at the heart of St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (GESH), as hundreds of low-paid NHS facilities workers prepare to strike read more
Migrant concierge & cleaners launch 10 day strike at luxury Paddington flats (22 Sept) – Concierge and cleaning staff at WEQ luxury apartments launch strike action today, running until 29th September, after management refused to award any pay rise in 2025 and following a serious breakdown in talks over inflation-proof pay, equal rights, and compassionate leave. The strike comes after eight hours of ACAS-mediated talks, where a pay deal had finally been secured. But in a last-minute move, management attempted to impose a sweeping contract, giving concierge and cleaners an ultimatum: keep their rights to collective bargaining or receive a 2025 pay rise — but not both… The full strike period will run from Friday 19th September to Monday 29th September, with action scheduled across multiple days and shifts read more
Solidarity Financial Appeal: UVW’s office was targeted in a break-in! – in January, laptops, essential equipment and other valuables worth several thousands of pounds were stolen, disrupting critical support for low-paid, migrant and precarious workers. This won’t stop our fight for justice. The theft comes as UVW leads critical campaigns with hundreds of workers taking strike action across London. Please support UVW during this critical time. Help replace stolen equipment and ensure campaigns for dignity and equality continue. Every donation makes a difference. Donate now: https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/donate. Read more on UVW Facebook page
IWGB
UCL Cleaners – Stop the Cuts! – In August 2025, UCL and Sodexo announced plans to make dramatic cuts to cleaning services at UCL and across students’ halls of residence. UCL say that these redundancies are part of a modernisation and cost-cutting agenda. At the same time, the university is in a very strong financial position, with student numbers up from 38,000 in 2015/16 to 52,000 last year. These changes come after cleaners have reported long standing issues with overwork, unsafe conditions and precarious contracts read more. Strike protest Wednesday 1st October 12noon more info on IWGB Facebook page
IWW/TEFL
Malvern House teachers on why they’re striking (15 Sept) – Teachers at Malvern House London are set to strike at the end of the month (Sept 29-30). Below, they lay out their reasons for taking this step. The decision to strike hasn’t come easily. It follows years of dedication, compromise, and repeated efforts from teachers to improve conditions at Malvern House. But despite our commitment, our voices have gone largely unheard. Teachers at Malvern House London have long asked for fair treatment, recognition, and stability. Many began on zero-hour contracts, waiting months—or even years—for permanent positions. Now, even those so-called permanent contracts are starting to resemble the insecure, unpredictable terms we thought we’d left behind read more
Security Industry Federation
Write to Simon Alderson CEO First Response Group (FRG) – stop the racism, bullying and homophobia at First Response Group more info
Mandate (Ireland)
SIPTU (Ireland)
Galway Community Sector to gather to discuss threat to services (28 Oct) – Community organisations and workers have announced a major public meeting to discuss the threat to vital services across the county, under the banner Together, We Are Community which will take place in The Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry, County Galway, on Thursday, 6th November from 8.00pm read more
SIPTU members in Carroll’s Cuisine in Tullamore vote for strike action (23 Oct) – SIPTU members employed at Carroll’s Cuisine in Tullamore, County Offaly, have voted to take industrial action, up to and including strike action, in a dispute arising from the employer’s refusal to engage with their Union to negotiate a collective agreement governing working conditions at the plant. The campaign of industrial action will commence with work stoppages from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on Friday, 31st October, and Saturday, 1st November. SIPTU members will place pickets at the entrance to the plant during these stoppages read more
No cooperation with FAI management forum without union representation (16 Oct) – SIPTU members employed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have announced that they will not engage with a management forum, or other processes linked to the organisation’s so-called ‘transformation plan’, due to a failure to respect their right to trade union representation read more
SIPTU to ballot ambulance members for industrial action in outsourcing dispute (13 Sept) – SIPTU members in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) are to ballot for industrial action, up to and including strike action, in a dispute concerning attempts to outsource inter-hospital transfers in the Greater Dublin Area to the private sector read more
Dublin Fire Brigade to begin industrial action over safety concerns (1 Sept) – SIPTU members in Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) have served notice of industrial action due to serious safety concerns over the introduction of a new call-out and dispatch system. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is attempting to impose this Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system onto DFB without consultation read more
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Other news
Trade union support for an independent PIP review
Dear Trade Union council, branch, organisation, or colleague,
I am writing about our campaign to tell the minister Stephen Timms that disabled people want an independent PIP review, with trade union involvement, and no more cuts. Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru (DPAC Cymru) were thrilled to see motion 38, disabled workers oppose welfare reforms, and motion 39, oppose disability benefit cuts emergency, pass unanimously at TUC conference 2025 last week. Disabled people are still fighting this battle without respite. The disability minister Stephen Timms was forced to promise parliament that further changes to PIP would only come after a review co-produced with disabled people. Timms has not kept his promise in the slightest.
An open letter initiated by DPAC Cymru demanding an independent review into the PIP benefit, to be led by disabled people and our organisations, has now received signatures from more than 600 people including representatives of more than 25 organisations.
That letter also says that “any review of welfare reform must also, in a process led by disabled people, involve trade unions as democratic organisations representing 1.4 million disabled workers as well as representing the workers responsible for the day-to-day delivery of services that disabled people rely on.”
I hope that you might consider signing our open letter in support of that demand. Signatures are being collected until the end of September.
With the government acting this way, I have also enclosed for your consideration a PDF leaflet about an upcoming trades council conference in Wales that aims to discuss the crisis of working-class political representation, with the Labour Party invited to defend their record. (eventbrite link here)
DPAC Cymru’s coordinating team recently voted unanimously to support that conference and ask if we could send observers. That conference is endorsed by Cardiff Trades Union Council, Swansea Trades Union Council, Newport Trades Union Council, Caerphilly Trades Union Council, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Cardiff Council Unite branch, Cardiff Rail RMT branch, GMB Wales Ambulance Service branch, Cardiff General Unite branch, Unite Community Cardiff & Area, PCS ARMs branch, and Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru.
Thank you to trade union colleagues, in particular trades council delegates, for offering your support, solidarity, and advice through months of protests. You are always warmly invited to send representatives to talk to DPAC Cymru members about your campaigns, and we are always honoured by any opportunity to send a speaker to branches or conferences.
In solidarity, Kind regards, Ben Golightly – Co-coordinator, Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru (DPAC Cymru)
Email [email protected]
Phone 07410 303 652
SHAC Conference report: Tenant conference agrees move towards a national union – “Our voice is not heard”
There was broad agreement among tenants meeting in London on Saturday that ‘our voice is not heard’ and there was a need to work with unions and community bodies to form a national union of tenants. The conference was hosted by SHAC and involved a wide range of tenants including private sector, council and leaseholders read more on Unite Housing Workers branch website
Townsend Theatre Productions presents: WE ARE THE LIONS, MR MANAGER!
– the story of Jayaben Desai and the Grunwick Strike
Written by Neil Gore Directed by Louise Townsend
We Are The Lions Mr Manager!” is the story of the Great Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike of 1976-8, and the inspirational strike-leader Jayaben Desai, one of many newly arrived Gujarati women workers from East Africa.
Grunwick wasn’t a strike about wages – it was about something much more important than that: it was about dignity. Dignity at work. And, for the small band of Asian women strikers, who braved the sun, rain, and snow month-in and month-out on the picket lines, from August 1976 to July 1978, rights in the workplace and pride at work were far more important than any amount of money
- Tour dates and tickets here. Tickets: £15 and £7.50 concessions
General Strike Centenary & The Cramlington Train Wreckers 2026 – As you know, next year is a hugely important year for working history (centenary of the General Strike) .Following the success of The Cramlington Train Wreckers last November (4,000 people attended 7 venues) it is transferring to the 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal next July. We are looking to touring it next year but would like feedback from unions re support. Can you circulate it among your affiliates, please? We also have an event at Glasshouse in May to mark the first full day of the centenary of the General Strike.
We are using both events to encourage a new layer of (young) trade union activists. It is an opportunity to draw in people We had a tremendous intervention in at Durham Miners’ Gala over the weekend. Any support would be appreciated.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers is transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal after a sell out tour at 7 North East venues (4,000 attended!) last November.
www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
www.wisecrackproductions.co.uk
Alan Hardman ‘Need not Greed’ – Alan Hardman’s razor-sharp political cartoons collected for the first time. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Need Not Greed is a career-spanning collection of visual art by one of Britain’s greatest unsung political cartoonists. Alongside Alan Hardman’s essential work, the book also includes a contribution from former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, as well as a foreword by Jeremy Corbyn order a copy – £45 each
Affiliate with STAMMA – at this year’s NSSN Conference, Gary Clark retired CWU Royal Mail rep and a member of the NSSN Steering Committee spoke about STAMMA. STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’! Find out more about this campaign here
From Strike Map – Our final instalment of the ‘Industrial Unionism’ series with Manifesto Press is here. Building on this success of our other pamphlets- which has sold over 2,000 copies, our next pamphlet in our series is the infamous ‘A Manual of Industrial Unionism’ by William Z Foster. Click the button here to pre-order your copy for you and your organisation
Stop the attack on Gaza
Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government.
See Stop the War website for info on protests. The next national Saturday demonstration in central London is 29th November at 12noon details
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, USDAW, BFAWU, CWU, Equity, BMA, NUJ, MU, UVW, GMB, SOR, RCM, RCN, IWGB, Prospect, CSP, NAPO, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)
Palestine Cinema Days 2025 with Reel News: When I Saw You – This film festival, held in Palestine until the genocide made it impossible, is now held worldwide – with over 500 screenings this year – 7.30pm Monday November 3rd The Three Compasses, 99 Dalston Lane London E8 1NH more info
Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation
Spycops inquiry condemned as “fundamentally flawed” in statement by blacklisted workers – The SpyCops public inquiry that restarts evidence hearings this week is described as “fundamentally flawed” by the Blacklist Support Group (BSG). The comments appear in an opening statement for the inquiry’s Tranche 3 hearings. The statement opens with a section stating:
“Undercover police officers infiltrated and spied on trade unions. SDS reported on union meetings, union activists, union campaigns, and industrial disputes. For decades, police and security service records were used to blacklist trade union and leftwing political activists from employment. Through official and unofficial routes, the police intelligence was disseminated to government departments, major private sector employers and the unlawful blacklisting bodies; the Economic League and the Consulting Association”. The statement goes onto catalogue 10 years of missed opportunities and broken promises in relation to blacklisting, including highlighting how intelligence gathered by undercover police is used to provide state organised vetting for employers known as ‘List X companies’. One section of the statement reads: “The failure to fully investigate blacklisting is either a remarkable lack of curiosity, or an intentional self-imposed restriction of the Inquiry’s terms of reference. Either way it is against the public interest and is a failure to fulfil the Inquiry’s terms of reference as laid out by Parliament”.
BSG’s opening statement is published on the inquiry’s website as part of the submission by Imran Khan KC, who also represents Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE, Suresh Grover and the Monitoring Group. Full statement in link below – BSG section starts at page 35.
Blacklist Support Group
book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/
blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
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
Please support – MassArt in USA: rescind the suspension and drop all punishment for the exercising of free speech and protest! Union educator Peggy Wang was successfully brought back to work by supporters after a 3-month-long campaign against MassArt administration’s attempts to fire her for participating in a peaceful pro-Palestinian protest. But now, MassArt administration is suspending her without pay for 2 weeks, punishing her through retaliatory measures. We demand that MassArt immediately rescind the suspension and drop all punishment against her. Those in the MassArt community should have the right to free speech, assembly, and protest; pro-Palestinian protests should not be an exception! Send letter of protest
Support Nigeria Solidarity
From Rob Williams NSSN Chair:-
At an international conference this summer, I had the privilege to meet Adaramoye Michael, National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign in Nigeria. Michael is one of the Nigerian activists facing trial for treason, which can carry the death penalty, for the ‘crime’ of protesting against bad governance and poverty. The trial of Michael and other defendants has been delayed repeatedly but is now set for 9 October, 2025. Please show your support by asking your branch to pass the Nigeria Solidarity motion that can be found here: Union Motion – Nigeria Solidarity, sending protest letters to the Nigerian High Commission (template here: Letter to Embassy on #EndBadGovernance Protestors Repression – Google Docs), donating to the campaign if possible, and taking solidarity photos in the days before 9 October.
Further details on www.NigeriaSolidarity.com/Events.
Türkiye: No to union-busting at Digel read more
Diary
2025
