NSSN 747: Support the BMA Resident Doctors strike

The NSSN sends solidarity to the BMA and their Resident Doctors members who will be going on strike from 7am this Friday 14^th November to 6.59am on Wednesday 19^th November. Details of picket lines can be found via Strike Map

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

BMA slams ‘indefensible’ pay offer (31 Oct) – Association says Government offering ‘neglect dressed up as restraint’. The BMA has said the Government’s suggestion it can only increase doctors’ pay by 2.5 per cent in 2026 is ‘indefensible’. In a document published on Thursday, the Department for Health and Social Care said it has ‘developed financial and delivery plans which currently allow for a pay uplift of 2.5 per cent without having to make trade-offs against headline government health commitments’. The BMA hit back today saying that Government – given current RPI inflation is at 4.5 per cent – is suggesting a real-terms pay cut for doctors. It calculated that newly qualified doctors, would see a rise of just 47p per hour based on these projections, with hourly pay increasing from £18.62 to £19.09. The association has been calling for the Government to agree a multi-year pay deal to help restore doctors’ pay to 2008 levels in real terms, as well as fix the specialty-training bottlenecks that are leaving many foundation year doctors at risk of un- or under-employment read more

Doctors in Scotland prepare to vote for better pay (31 Oct) – Resident doctors in Scotland ready themselves for ballot on whether to strike owing to remuneration deal. Resident doctors in Scotland are to vote on whether to take strike action on pay in a five-week ballot in the run up to Christmas, the BMA has announced. If they vote yes, resident doctors could go on strike – for the first time in Scotland – early next year. The ballot opens on Friday 14 November – the first day of the next scheduled strike by resident doctors in England, who are calling for pay restoration south of the border read more

Join Unite Community national day of action against cuts and sanctions on Budget Day

Join the Unite Community national day of action against cuts and sanctions on Budget Day Wednesday 26 November 2025 read more

Westminster protest – from noon College Green, Westminster, London on Wednesday 26 November

Unite Community is calling a national day of action to protest against the ongoing cuts and sanctions to people’s benefits. It’s important to note that one in six claimants are currently working. This government has escalated benefit sanctions to a new high, issuing 611,000 sanctions in the last recorded period—the highest number under any government, including previous Labour governments. Unite Community urges all members to lobby their Members of Parliament (MPs) at parliament on Wednesday 26 November during the Autumn Budget. Unite Community will be meeting at College Green, opposite the Houses of Parliament, to show our solidarity with disabled people, workers, and in support of our communities

From DPAC Wales about protests around Budget day:-

25th Nov. Cardiff People’s Assembly

26th Nov. London – Unite Community & others

26th Nov. Swansea Unite Community

26th Nov. North Wales Unite Community

26th Nov. Cardiff Unite Community (to be confirmed)

Find out more about Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)

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 22^nd November – just before the Budget on 26^th 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.

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Affiliate your union branch/trades council to NSSN (£50).    

Renew/donate online (HSBC: 40-06-41, 90143790)    

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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.

• Watch Reel News video of the 20th September demonstration in Birmingham

BREAKING NEWS!! Birmingham public and businesses support Unite’s call to restart bin talks (11 Nov) – Council has refused to engage in talks since July and is ignoring Unite’s calls to restart them. Nearly 6,000 households in Birmingham displaying posters or bin stickers in support of striking refuse workers are backing the call for the council to rejoin negotiations. More than 150 businesses, faith groups and community groups have also pledged support to Unite’s campaign calling for the council to enter new talks. Unite wrote to council leader John Cotton at the beginning of November, calling for fresh negotiations on ending the bin strike but has not received a response. The bin workers began indefinite strike action eight months ago today. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The people of Birmingham are fed up with the council’s refusal to enter negotiations to end the bin strikes. The council is wasting millions of pounds fighting a dispute that could be resolved fairly for a fraction of the cost…” read more

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%.

Gloucesteshire phebotomists have been in strike for over 225 days.

Picketing and plan of action for week 34:

• Monday 10th: No picket. Phlebotomists meeting at Redwood Education Centre, Mayhill Way, Gloucester from 08.00 to 11.30 .
• Tuesday 11th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
• Wednesday 12th: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
• Thursday 13th: Joint picket outside Sandford Education Centre, Keynsham Road, Cheltenham from 08.00 to 09:00 then attending board meeting from 09:00 to 11.30.
• Friday 14th: Relaxed picket both sites.

Solidarity Rally Monday 17th November – The phlebotomists are inviting trade unionists, colleagues and supporters to stand with them on their 236th day of action on Monday 17th November outside Gloucester Shire Hall. Their shop steward, Caroline Hayhurst, will be joined by TUC general secretary Paul Nowak and UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea on their picket line. They’ll then be joining a mass solidarity rally at Shire Hall, Gloucester: https://unsn.uk/PhlebsRally.

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.’

STUC: St Andrew’s Day Anti Racism March & Rally 2025 – Saturday, 29 November 2025 at 10:30am. Muster at 10:30am at Barrowlands Park (G1 5BG) where the march will begin and proceed to Adelaide Place (209 Bath St, Glasgow G2 4HZ) for an indoor rally at 12pm details

See info on counter-protests on union and trades councils social media and the Stand Up to Racism website.

Trans Day of Remembrance – Thursday 20th November 

   

Union News     

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RMT     

RMT National Dispute Fund      

Halt the tube cleaning contract tender, fair pay, sick pay and pensions for all, insource all sub-contractor staff – Thursday 20th November @ 08:00 outside city hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE (nearest stations: Canning Town (Jubilee line); Custom House (Elizabeth line); Royal Victoria (DLR) read more

RMT demands end to outsourcing on publicly owned Northern Trains ahead of Manchester day of action (11 Nov) – Rail union, RMT is stepping up its national campaign to end outsourcing across the railway with a day of action to put pressure on Northern in Manchester on Wednesday 19 November. RMT members employed by Carlisle Support Services on the Northern revenue protection and gateline contract took 48-hour strike action last month in response to a culture of bullying and harassment by management. Now they are demanding they be taken in-house by the government owned operator as part of the wider rollout of Great British Railways (GBR) to put an end to all outsourcing on the rail network once and for all read more

RMT calls for BTP cuts reversal and safer railways following Huntingdon stabbing (6 Nov) – Rail union, RMT has called for cuts to the British Transport Police (BTP) to be reversed and for urgent action to deliver a safer, properly policed railway following the horrific mass stabbing last Saturday read more

RMT takes visa fight to Downing Street as rail workers face being forced to leave the UK (6 Nov) – RMT is taking its campaign to protect transport workers from losing their UK visa status directly to the Prime Minister on Friday. General Secretary Eddie Dempsey will be joined by a group of members employed at Transport for London (TfL) who, under recent changes to the Skilled Worker visa rules, are being told they must leave the UK, despite holding permanent contracts of employment and working in key frontline roles. The union is demanding urgent transitional protections for all affected staff and will be joined at Downing Street by MPs supporting the campaign. The Mayor of London has also called on the government to think again. Earlier this week, RMT met with the Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp MP. At that meeting, the union highlighted the unfair impact of the policy on workers who were employed permanently and had a clear and reasonable expectation that they would be eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. The Minister accepted that the union had “fair concerns” and agreed to consider the position of permanently employed staff read more

RMT welcomes legislation on Great British Railways (5 Nov) – Rail union, RMT has welcomed government legislation going through Parliament tomorrow which will establish Great British Railways (GBR) read more

RMT secures three-year no strings pay deal on London Underground (4 Nov) – RMT has won a three-year pay deal on the tube following strike action and sustained negotiations with the employer. The union also managed to secure commitments addressing work-life balance among staff, including “fatigue friendly” rosters, further discussions on staff travel, and a consistent Boxing Day payment of £400. The deal will keep pace with the Retail Price Index of inflation, protecting the value of RMT members’ wages over the next three years read more

RMT strike action at Cross Country suspended (30 Oct) – RAIL union RMT has suspended strike action planned for Saturday November 1, following talks with the company to resolve issues regarding the undermining of safety-critical roles and threats to safety and jobs. The company has provided proposals aimed at resolving the issues at the heart of the dispute which will require approval from the Department for Transport 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

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

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   

West Coast derailment – TSSA statement (3 Nov)

TSSA statement on LNER mass stabbing incident (2 Nov)

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 backs Railways Bill but calls for just transition to GBR (5 Nov) – Rail union TSSA has described as a ‘significant step forward’ the introduction to Parliament of legislation which will formally create a new public body – Great British Railways (GBR), bringing passenger services under one roof. The union believes the Railways Bill (being laid before Parliament today) marks a turning point away from the failed years of rail privatisation which began under the Conservatives in in the 1990s. TSSA has consistently campaigned for Britain’s rail network to return fully to public hands read more

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     

BREAKING NEWS!! Diligenta staff to take large-scale industrial action in pay dispute (12 Nov) – Unite members at five Diligenta sites will start industrial action on 18 November. Unite members employed by finance sector outsourcer Diligenta are set to take industrial action in a dispute over pay. The strike action is a result of Diligenta’s management failure to give its workforce an acceptable pay rise this year. Approximately 1,000 Unite members working at Diligenta sites in: Liverpool, Glasgow, Reading, Edinburgh and Stirling will hold an initial 24-hour strike on Tuesday 18 November from 00:01 until 23.59 read more

BREAKING NEWS!! MCL Medics set to strike on Harbour Energy platforms (11 Nov) – Unite the union can confirm that over a dozen offshore medics employed by MCL Medics, who provide lifesaving services, are set for strike action. The medics work on the Armada, Britannia, Jasmine, Judy, Lomond, and North Everest assets owned by Harbour Energy. In a long-running dispute over pay levels and training allowances, MCL Medics have backed strike action, and unanimously rejected an unacceptable pay offer from the company. The medics are now set for three 24-hour stoppages over 21-22 November, 5-6 December and 19-20 December. A continuous ban on overtime will also start on 21 November read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Imperial College union membership grows as strike escalates (11 Nov) – Dodgy pay figures used by hugely wealthy university driving anger amongst workers. There has been an increase in the number of Imperial College London workers taking industrial action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said as it announced further strikes. Unite membership at Imperial has increased by 10 per cent due to the dispute and is continuing to grow, with other unions also reporting an increase in new members at the university. Workers are angry that the university’s management is refusing to restart talks even after it was revealed that faulty benchmarking data was used to calculate an insulting two per cent pay deal it has imposed on the workforce. This imposed deal is in effect a substantial real-terms pay cut, as RPI inflation currently stands at 4.5 per cent. This equates to staff having to work for a week for free this year… Around 1,200 teaching and non-teaching workers are involved in the dispute, including around 250 Unite members. The workers took four days of strike action in October. They will walk out again on 13, 14, 25, 26, 27 and 28 November. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

BREAKING NEWS!! Leonardo workers reject latest pay offer and continue strike action (11 Nov) – Leonardo workers in Edinburgh, Yeovil, Basildon, Newcastle and Luton to walk out this autumn over pay. Over 3000 aerospace workers will strike over pay, at world-leading defence and aerospace manufacturer Leonardo, after rejecting the company’s latest pay offer. Members of the Unite union are demanding the company returns to the negotiating table and makes a further revised offer that is acceptable to staff in the midst of the current cost-of-living crisis. They are furious after rejecting an original pay offer of just 3.2 per cent and have now rejected a further offer of 3.6 per cent from the employer. Both offers are below the RPI rate of inflation which is running at 4.5 per cent and therefore represent a real-terms pay cut for workers…Strikes will take place at Leonardo factories on the following dates:-

·       All sites (Yeovil, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Basildon and Luton) – 12-13 November

·       Edinburgh and Basildon only – 14-18, November, 19-20 November, 21-23 November and 24-25 November

·       Yeovil only – 25-28 November.

 In 2024, Leonardo had revenues of nearly 18 billion euros and profits of over 1.5 billion euros. If the company fails to make an improved offer then a further escalation in industrial action is likely read more

• Donations can be paid to the following account:

Branch – Unite SC/162 Leonardo (Previously Selex)

Account name – Unite SC/162 LEONARDO Branch

Bank Name – Unity Trust Bank

Account No. – 20324258

Sort Code – 60-83-01

Please send any messages of support or donations to :

[email protected]

or Raymond Morell, Crewe Toll Factory, Ferry Road, Edinburgh

EH5 2XS. Please ensure that any donation is accompanied with details to acknowledge our thanks and to send a receipt.

Dramatic escalation in strikes at First Cymru as drivers furious at stalled pay talks (10 Nov) – Workers to strike for two months continuously from mid November until mid-January. Hundreds of bus workers at First Cymru in South Wales are dramatically escalating their strike action in a row with their employer over pay. Workers are furious at the rates of pay and the attempts by First Cymru to refuse to pay back-pay from the pay anniversary. Strikes will now take place from 20 November continuously until 21 January. Drivers feel they have been left with little choice but to escalate strike action given the refusal of First to negotiate in a reasonable manner. The continued withholding of agreed back pay and the £50 “bung payment” the company offered to workers to break the own picket line has greatly increased the anger and frustration. Drivers are asking for a reasonable rate of pay that takes the current cost of living and inflation into account… The dispute covers workers operating from depots in Swansea, Port Talbot, Bridgend, Carmarthen, Haverford West and Ammanford read more

VUE St Enoch’s workers balloted in first-ever Scottish cinema chain strike (10 Nov) – Unite cinema members join Village Hotel Glasgow in hospitality workers fight back. Workers at the most profitable VUE cinema in Scotland are being balloted by their union, Unite, over jobs, pay and conditions in what could lead to the first strike action at a Scottish cinema chain. Unite can confirm that dozens of workers at VUE’s St Enoch centre site are being balloted over efforts to secure the Real Living Wage, trade union recognition, and safe subsidised transport for workers at the end of shifts. Unite represents the overwhelming majority of the customer assistant and team leaders at the VUE St Enoch’s site…The ballot opens tomorrow (11 November) and closes on 25 November. VUE becomes the second Glasgow hospitality venue to hold an industrial action ballot in the past week with Village Hotels in Govan holding a ballot over jobs, pay and conditions read more

Unite response to “outrageous” National Grid profits (6 Nov) – Responding to today’s profit report from National Grid that shows annual profits of £2.29 billion, Unite, the UK’s leading trade union in the energy sector, responded with fury. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is yet another example of outrageous profiteering by energy companies. The National Grid should be publicly owned to reduce energy costs for the public and businesses alike…” read more

Unite members win high court victory in pay battle with BAE Systems (6 Nov) – A High Court ruling today has permitted Unite members at BAE factories in Lancashire to go ahead with industrial action as planned. This followed a last-gasp attempt by BAE to prevent lawful strike action on spurious grounds. Commenting on the victory, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This unsuccessful attempt by BAE to prevent a lawful strike will have severely damaged the goodwill it has with its workforce. BAE is a multi-billion pound company making record profits. It now needs to come back to the negotiating table with an acceptable offer for striking workers in its Air division, rather than wasting money on pointless legal threats. Otherwise, our members will be taking strike action throughout November in their fight for fair pay.” Read more

Bosch Rexroth workers in strike ballot over detrimental contract changes (6 Nov) – Workers facing losing up to £1000 per month. Unite has confirmed today (6 November) that around 280 of its members working at Bosch Rexroth in Glenrothes are being balloted on strike action over detrimental contract changes. The dispute is a result of the overwhelming rejection of Bosch Rexroth’s proposed new contracts for the workers which are detrimental to existing terms and conditions. The adverse changes include the company implementing short-time working without the negotiated agreement with Unite. This could result in workers losing up to 40 per cent of take-home pay per month equivalent to a loss of nearly £1,000. Bosch Rexroth also propose to impose an annualised hours system which could put workers up to 70 hours in debt. Under this system, if a worker is paid for more hours than they have  worked, an employer can recover the overpayment on a debt basis…The ballot opens today (6 November) and closes on 20 November read more

Strikes to hit GXO Logistics in Motherwell as drivers battle inferior pay (6 Nov) – Impact to supplies for major companies including Costco, Superdrug and Whyte & Mackay. Unite, Scotland’s leading union, has announced that its members employed by GXO Logistics based in Motherwell will begin strike action tomorrow (Friday) in an escalating dispute over ‘inferior’ pay. The initial strike action and a continuous overtime ban will start at 00.01am on 7 November and ends at 23.59 on 14 November. Unite has warned that if the company fails to come back to the negotiating table with an improved pay offer, then a series of strike dates will run through November, December and into January 2026 (see notes to editor). The drivers are demanding an improvement on the current pay offer and a rate which would bring them into line with other GXO drivers working on other contracts based out of Motherwell. The current wage gap between the drivers and others placed on different delivery contracts is estimated at around 10 per cent read more

Immingham DB Cargo workers celebrate £11,700 pay victory secured by Unite (6 Nov) – A group of Immingham DB Cargo workers are celebrating after Unite secured them £11,723 each in backpay. Unite successfully negotiated the settlement for three long serving staff after it was discovered that workers employed after them were receiving higher overall pay. The issue dated back to 2017, when the three workers were not included in an updated pay structure that saw newer employees receive paid breaks read more

Luton easyJet disruption looms for Christmas as DHL workers ballot for strike (6 Nov) – easyJet check in and baggage handling staff employed by DHL in strike vote over pay. Luton easyJet passengers are facing Christmas disruption as DHL check in and baggage handling staff ballot for strike action over pay. Around 200 workers are being balloted over an inadequate pay offer from DHL of 3.6 per cent from 1 October 2025 and a further 0.6 per cent from 1 January 2026. This offer is a real terms pay cut as the current RPI inflation rate stands at 4.5 per cent…The workers are balloting until 4 December. Strike action would severely impact easyJet’s Luton operations read more

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust leadership must act on damning CQC report (5 Nov) – Leadership must start consultations with Unite over ending ‘toxic management culture’. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust bosses must act on a damning CQC report that rated their leadership inadequate, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Unite called for immediate consultations to improve serious leadership failings that the CQC said were “putting people at risk and leaving staff feeling unsupported and undervalued.” Staff morale at the trust was found to be amongst the lowest in the country read more

Collective bargaining: ‘Action Plan’ no substitute for legislation (5 Nov) – Unite warns that proposals will fail to close collective bargaining gap between Irish and European workers. Unite, which organises workers throughout Ireland, today (Wednesday) expressed disappointment at the scarcity of concrete commitments to expanding workers’ rights in the new Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining read more

Cambridgeshire facing bus standstill as Stagecoach workers ballot for strike action (4 Nov) – 350 Stagecoach drivers and engineers in strike vote over pay. Bus services across Cambridgeshire are facing a standstill as 350 Stagecoach workers ballot for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The drivers and engineers, based at Cambridge, Peterborough and Fenstanton, have rejected a two year pay deal that does not reflect the rising cost of living and the demands of the job. Stagecoach made operating profits of £97.3 million in the year to April 2024 on sales of £1.6 billion read more

Transport for Greater Manchester strikes escalate (4 Nov) – Bee network staff intensify industrial action over pay. Pay strikes by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers will escalate this week, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. More than 200 workers, who undertake a variety of roles including ticketing, passenger assistance and information services for the bus 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 low paid workers, who are demanding a rise that reflects the rising cost of living, previously took three days of strike action during the second half of October. Along with members of Unison involved in the same dispute, they will strike tomorrow (5 November) and 12 November. Disruption will be caused across Manchester’s bus and tram network. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more

Leonardo strike suspended following new pay offer (4 Nov) – Strike action that was due to take place tomorrow (5 November) at defence and aerospace manufacturer Leonardo has been suspended following a new pay offer from the company. Unite members at factories in Yeovil, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Basildon and Luton were due to walk out in a row over pay after a below-inflation pay offer had infuriated the highly skilled staff. After last-minute talks, Unite has agreed to suspend strike action to allow for a ballot of members to take place on the new offer. Strike action is still scheduled to take place later in November should the new offer be rejected by members…If the offer is rejected then strike action will take place on 12-13 November (Yeovil, Luton and Basildon) and 10-18 November (Edinburgh and Newcastle) read more

Leicestershire braced for winter bus disruption as Arriva workers ballot for strike (4 Nov) – 300 Arriva drivers, depot and office staff angry over inadequate pay offer. Leicester, Hinckley and Coalville are braced for winter bus disruption as 300 Arriva workers ballot for strike action over pay. The drivers, depot and office staff are angry over an inadequate pay offer from Arriva, which made pre-tax profits of €156m in 2024 read more

Lindsey oil workers must be furloughed until future of site is secured, Unite demands (31 Oct) – Lindsey oil workers must be furloughed until a buyer is found that preserves jobs and production at the site, Unite, the UK’s leading union, demanded today. Unite’s call came as 125 staff worked their last day after being made redundant last month. The rest of workforce could be issued with redundancy notices as soon as 31 December. When operational, the refinery supports 420 directly employed workers plus a further 500 contract jobs and potentially thousands in the supply chain. It is widely understood that the preferred bidder for Lindsey wishes to mothball the site and use it as a storage terminal read more

Newhaven workers to strike over pay and unreasonable behaviour by employer (30 Oct) – Veolia workers furious at company attitude to negotiations and poor pay offer. Workers at a Newhaven incinerator plant are to take strike action this winter due to the poor pay offer from their employer. Nearly 20 Unite members at the Veolia ERF (Energy Recovery Facility) in Newhaven, Sussex are exasperated by the company’s low-ball pay offer alongside their appalling approach to negotiations in Acas-mediated talks. Workers have been trying to negotiate a better pay deal since February, with a pay anniversary of 1 January, so are now close to being owed a full year of back pay. Veolia, who Unite have a long-running dispute with in Sheffield, are refusing to enter negotiations in good faith and will now see their ERF shutdown from 10-14 November, 15-19 December, 12-16 January and 9-13 February…Unite is currently involved in a long-running dispute with Veolia over trade union recognition at a Sheffield refuse site read more

Amulet Security workers at the Bank of England striking over pay freeze (29 Oct) – Security workers at the Bank of England have unanimously voted to strike after their employer announced a pay freeze. The almost 40 members of Unite work for outsourced firm Amulet Security (Churchill Security Solutions) Limited, which took over the contract at the Bank from Mitie Security in February this year. Previously, Unite has been able to negotiate pay, with talks starting in the summer and pay increases brought in from 1 March. However, Amulet has told Unite it can’t afford to fund a pay increase due to taking over the contract earlier this year, adding that any pay award would have to be funded by the Bank of England as the client. Yet after seven months of stringing workers along, the Bank of England has now refused to give its contract workers at Amulet any form of pay increase this year. This is a substantial real terms pay cut, with the current RPI inflation rate standing at 4.5 per cent…Workers will initially walk out for 24 hours from 7am on 13 November, with a picket line outside the Bank of England on London’s Threadneedle Street read more

GNI: Gas workers vote for industrial action (29 Oct) – Move follows company breach of collective agreement. Management must act to avoid escalation. Unite, which represents workers throughout the energy sector, said today (Wednesday) that members in Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action after the company breached collectively agreed procedures in relation to a member. Earlier this month, GNI attempted to convert a Unite member’s legitimate grievance into a disciplinary action while denying their right to be represented during the process, as required under long-standing collectively-agreed procedures read more

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

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

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

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

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]

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

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

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

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

   

CWU   

CWU LIVE – Your Royal Mail Questions Answered with Dave Ward and Martin Walsh (7 Nov) – It’s a big session for our Royal Mail Group members on this week’s episode of CWU Live. Dave Ward, General Secretary, and Martin Walsh, Deputy General Secretary (Postal), sit down with us to discuss all the latest Royal Mail updates and take members questions read more

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]     

British Library on Strike: A round up (10 Nov) – Between Monday 27 October and Sunday 9 November, over 300 PCS members at the British Library were on strike over the employer’s failure to offer an above-inflation pay award for a second consecutive year. PCS organised 11 days of picketing in total, all of which were a resounding success. For many workers, this was their first time taking part in strike action – but you wouldn’t have known that from the electric atmosphere on the picket line. Most days consisted of regular chanting from picketers (“What do we want? Fair pay! When do we want it? Now!”), an impromptu chorus of Solidarity Forever, and an eclectic strike playlist including Skepta, Britney Spears and Billy Bragg. British Library workers were also met with enormous public support. Picketers were routinely greeted with honks from passing cars, raised fists from passerby, and baked treats from supporters. We also received donations towards PCS’s strike fund, including from the FBU. The FBU’s general secretary, Steve Wright, said “The FBU stands in solidarity with the striking workers of the British Library. All workers deserve respect, fair treatment, and appropriate compensation in return for their service”. We welcomed over 20 speakers to the picket line including renowned trade union leaders, politicians, and writers read more

Call on MPs to support striking British Library workers (5 Nov) – PCS members are over halfway through their 2-week strike against chronic low pay at the British Library, support them by using our e-action to call on MPs to demand increased grant in aid funding for the library and stand up for fair treatment. Complete the e-action to send a clear message that British Library workers in London deserve better and we’re with them every step of the way. PCS members at the library have been out in number every day since their strike started on 27 October. They are demanding 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. This dispute isn’t just about pay it’s about dignity, respect, and the future of our national institutions read more

How you can support the action:-

• Join us on the picket line.
• 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.

Strong support from DWP Lincoln strikers against office closure (7 Nov) – Members from the DWP Lincoln Service Centre based in city hall have been on strike since Tuesday over the callous decision by the department to close their office, putting nearly 100 jobs at risk of redundancy. The picket line has witnessed amazing solidarity throughout the week from PCS National President Martin Cavanagh, PCS DWP Group President Angela Grant, NEC member Bridget Corcoran, as well as non-striking members working in the jobcentre below their office. Other PCS members from Lincoln have visited the picket line and a local authority worker also based in city hall bought breakfast for members. The striking Lincoln members remain totally committed to winning this important dispute not just to protect their own jobs but in support of thousands of other DWP staff whose jobs are at risk if the DWP refuses to abandon its destructive estates strategy read more

Met Police members in fantastic show of strength (7 Nov) – Hundreds of PCS Met Police members joined picket lines and a rally in support of their fight for better pay on a one-day strike. Our members working as civilian police staff in the Met were on strike on Wednesday as part of their dispute over their employer’s refusal to pay them a £1250 consolidated allowance to meet the cost of living in London, that was paid to police officers. They are also in dispute with management over a mandated return to offices. Strike day started early with members on the line as early as 6.30am in Bow, Lambeth, Sidcup, Hendon and New Scotland Yard. Flags, banners and placards were held high and strikers converged on New Scotland Yard for a rally addressed by PCS President Martin Cavanagh, and MPs John McDonnell and Richard Burgon read more

Mayfield report misses key issues (6 Nov) – PCS notes the content of the recently published Mayfield report and is extremely disappointed that as a significant stakeholder in social security provision, the ministers with responsibility for DWP denied PCS the opportunity to consult on it read more

DWP group executive committee strike submission (1 Nov) – The PCS DWP Group Executive Committee met this week to discuss the outcome of the consultative ballot and to make a decision on next steps. Following the employer’s refusal to reopen pay talks and discuss a business case to address the chronic low pay in DWP, the GEC voted unanimously to seek authority to take industrial action. The consultative ballot took place between 9 September and 10 October, where 52.3% of members cast their vote, 80.5% telling PCS they are willing to vote for strike action in a statutory ballot read more

Border Force Maritime workers to strike on 14 November (31 Oct) – Over 120 members, who patrol UK waters, will take strike action over pay and conditions. More than 120 Border Force Maritime workers who patrol UK waters, including the English Channel, will take strike action on Friday 14 November in protest over frozen allowances and unresolved changes to terms and conditions read more

Members at MOPAC ballot for Industrial Action (29 Oct) – PCS members working at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) are voting to strike over a derisory 2% pay offer. After months of negotiation and a series of inadequate pay offers, members working for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) are voting on industrial action. The ballot opens on 3 November and closes on 1 December read more

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

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

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

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 writes to Richard Tice over Reform UK’s plans for public sector pensions (10 Nov) – Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy has written to Richard Tice MP following his announcement that Reform UK are proposing to transition public servants onto a new defined contribution system. Reform are proposing to change public-sector pensions from a defined benefit system to a defined contribution scheme for new entrants, reflecting what has happened in the private sector and resulting in less generous payouts in retirement. A defined benefit scheme gives a guaranteed annual income for life after retirement, while a defined contribution pension provides a pot that can be drawn on until it runs out read more

British Library pay talks stall as members prepare for industrial action (7 Nov) – Prospect members at the British Library have expressed frustration at continued delays in resolving this year’s pay negotiations. Although the Library’s pay settlement date was in August, a formal offer was not made until October, and even then, the proposal fell short of expectations, offering a 2.4% increase and an £800 underpin. The Library has been waiting for confirmation of its settlement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which is not expected until December. In the meantime, staff have been left in limbo. Members have voted decisively to reject the pay offer, and despite positive recent discussions, there is still no improved offer on the table. Prospect is now seeking authorisation to hold a formal industrial action ballot should meaningful progress not be made soon read more

Campaign win at the Postal Museum (6 Nov) – Staff in one area of The Postal Museum were facing challenging working conditions due to the lack of a proper cooling system. The issue was seriously impactly staff wellbeing and overall quality of life at work read more

ONS take industrial action over hybrid working policy (5 Nov) – Prospect members at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have vote to extend further industrial action short of strike in their ongoing dispute over the department’s handling of its return-to-office policy. The policy, announced in spring 2024 and implemented later that year, requires staff to attend the workplace at least 40% of the time. It was introduced without meaningful consultation and ignores successful flexible and hybrid working arrangements that have previously delivered strong results for both ONS and the public read more

Members at Cutty Sark secure better working conditions (5 Nov) – This summer, Prospect members at Cutty Sark successfully campaigned to address extreme heat and direct sunlight exposure at the site. The admissions desk, located under a large glass canopy, created a greenhouse effect inside. Staff working the south-facing desk were subjected to direct sunlight at any hour of the day, leading to heat exhaustion, migraines, and general discomfort. Concerns raised to management initially went largely unaddressed, leaving team members feeling dismissed and disillusioned read more

   

GMB  

Northern Ireland health and social care workers get pay rise (7 Nov) – GMB Union has welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Health he has received Executive approval to pay all health and social care staff in Northern Ireland the Agenda for Change pay uplift of 3.6 per cent, back dated till the 1 April 2025 read more

Nottingham’s A&E critical incident ‘crisis waiting to happen’ (6 Nov) – GMB Union, representing ambulance workers and paramedics across the East Midlands, has today responded to the crisis announced at one of Nottingham’s busiest A&E’s. Nottingham University Hospital Trust announced a critical incident at Queens’ Medical Centre (QMC) Hospital, due to an extreme backlog in A&E services. Workers raised the alarm after reports 38 ambulances were parked outside QMC on Sunday evening, with patients and paramedics forced to wait inside their vehicles for as long as 12 hours. The incident saw almost the entire ambulance fleet of Nottinghamshire Division for East Midlands Ambulance Service stuck waiting in hospital parking bays, unable to respond to other urgent 999 calls in the community read more

Blocked water bonuses ‘minimum public expects’ (5 Nov) – Six water companies have blocked bonus pay outs to bosses over serious pollution incidents and other performance issues, under new rules on executive pay read more

Attacks on retail workers ‘horrifying’ (5 Nov) – Attacks on retail workers are ‘completely horrifying’, GMB Union has said in response to a new survey. The poll, by the Retail Trust, shows 77 per cent of shop staff have experienced intimidating behaviour in the past year and 23 per cent were physically assaulted. A further 43 per cent said they are being abused or attacked every week, a 10 per cent rise on last year read more

NHS pay rise of 2.5 per cent ‘not good enough’ (5 Nov) – GMB Union has responded to the Government’s recommendation to the NHS Pay Review Body that health workers should get a pay rise of 2.5 per cent read more

Airedale workers win pay boosts after strike (5 Nov) – Hospital porters, caterers and cleaners employed by AGH Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Trust, have won a significant step forward in their campaign for full NHS pay and conditions. After sustained strike action and fresh negotiations in October, workers voted to accept a new deal that brings them closer to parity with their NHS colleagues read more

Asda managers score historic recognition win (5 Nov) – Almost 1,000 Asda distribution workers are now covered by a collective agreement with the GMB. The workers, who include shift and department managers across 23 ASDA distribution sites, voted for GMB to negotiate on their pay and conditions. The ballot was authorised by the Central Arbitration Committee read more

Amazon job cuts ‘show all that’s wrong with company’ (5 Nov) – GMB has responded after Amazon announced 14,000 job cuts globally read more

Coventry council ‘sleep-walking’ into multi-million pound equal pay bill (5 Nov) – Fresh pressure is mounting on Council Leader George Duggins for crisis talks with unions. GMB Union, representing workers across Coventry City Council, have today warned that the authority could face an equal pay liability totalling tens of millions of pounds read more

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

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

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

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

   

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    

Protect Hackney Libraries

NHS staff need greater protection amid growing racist rhetoric, says UNISON (11 Nov) – Helga Pile responds to NHS Providers survey which reveals discrimination concerns read more

Police staff pay award announced (31 Oct) – Members vote overwhelmingly to accept 2025 pay offer. UNISON police staff members in England and Cymru have voted by an overwhelming majority to accept this year’s pay offer. Nearly half of all UNISON police staff members who were eligible to vote in the ballot took part. Unite and GMB police staff members also voted to accept the pay offer read more

NHS pay figure is an insult to staff (30 Oct) – Head of health Helga Pile responds to suggested NHS pay rise. Commenting on the government’s submission to the NHS Pay Review Body that it can afford only a 2.5% pay rise for healthcare staff in 2026/27, UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: “Yet again ministers are trying to get away with giving staff a way-below-inflation pay rise. This is an insult. It will go down badly right across the NHS, just as workers are bracing themselves for the challenges of winter. To make matters worse, the talks and additional funding to fix deep-rooted problems within NHS salary structures, promised by the government in 2024, have yet to materialise. It’s likely this amount won’t even be enough to ensure the NHS can comply with minimum wage laws when the rate goes up in April…” 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

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

NIPSA

Statement from HSC Trade Unions Northern Ireland (7 Nov) – Health Trade Unions acknowledge today’s announcement from the Health Minister that the NI Executive has agreed that the Department of Health can proceed to allocate the funding required to restore pay parity in 2025/26. We recognise that this moves the issue of pay in the right direction, reflecting the repeated demands made by our collective membership that the commitment to pay parity must be honoured. We will now need detailed discussions with the Minister and officials on next steps following this movement on funding. We remain very mindful that the movement on funding has happened after the link to pay parity has already been broken and after several unions expressed their intention to ballot members for industrial action. Unacceptable delays in addressing pay that have been repeatedly experienced over recent years must be dealt with moving forwards. We are also very mindful of the particularly difficult position faced by the lowest paid within our health service, with many paid the minimum wage. We will continue to press the case that low pay must be comprehensively dealt with through actions such as the health service moving towards the real Living Wage read more

NIPSA Voices Strong Opposition to Education Authority’s Cost-Cutting Plans (6 Nov) – The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance has raised significant concerns following the Education Authority’s (EA) announcement of immediate cost-reduction measures. These include increased charges for school meals and reductions in staff overtime payments.‍ NIPSA is urgently requesting a meeting with the EA, emphasising the Authority’s obligation to consult with trade unions prior to implementing any changes that affect employees. The union is calling for complete transparency regarding the potential consequences of these measures on both students, families and education support staff, as well as any alternative options that may have been considered read more

   

Royal College of Nursing     

RCN wins landmark case: chief nurse reinstated after racism concerns ignored (7 Nov) – The case exposed systemic failures in tackling race discrimination and highlights the vital role of RCN advocacy in challenging injustice 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

The RCM says no time to waste as Scottish Government launches national review into maternity services (6 Nov) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has said there is no time to waste, following the Scottish Government’s announcement of a new national review into maternity care read more

RCM members celebrate victory over pay in Northern Ireland (6 Nov) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has today thanked its midwife and maternity support worker members in Northern Ireland for all their efforts in securing victory in their fight for pay parity. The eleventh hour announcement from Health Minister Mike Nesbitt today means that those HSC staff will receive the promised pay rise, fully backdated to April 2025 read more

CSP

CSP welcomes restoration of pay parity for health service staff in Northern Ireland (6 Nov) – Health minister Mike Nesbitt has confirmed pay parity for health service staff in Northern Ireland, bringing them back into line with colleagues in Wales and England read more

SOR

Statement from HSC Trade Unions Northern Ireland on restoring pay parity (10 Nov) – The NI Executive has agreed to restore pay parity in 2025/26 read more

BMA

Doctors in Scotland prepare to vote for better pay (31 Oct) – Resident doctors in Scotland ready themselves for ballot on whether to strike owing to remuneration deal. Resident doctors in Scotland are to vote on whether to take strike action on pay in a five-week ballot in the run up to Christmas, the BMA has announced. If they vote yes, resident doctors could go on strike – for the first time in Scotland – early next year. The ballot opens on Friday 14 November – the first day of the next scheduled strike by resident doctors in England, who are calling for pay restoration south of the border read more

BMA slams ‘indefensible’ pay offer (31 Oct) – Association says Government offering ‘neglect dressed up as restraint’. The BMA has said the Government’s suggestion it can only increase doctors’ pay by 2.5 per cent in 2026 is ‘indefensible’. In a document published on Thursday, the Department for Health and Social Care said it has ‘developed financial and delivery plans which currently allow for a pay uplift of 2.5 per cent without having to make trade-offs against headline government health commitments’. The BMA hit back today saying that Government – given current RPI inflation is at 4.5 per cent – is suggesting a real-terms pay cut for doctors. It calculated that newly qualified doctors, would see a rise of just 47p per hour based on these projections, with hourly pay increasing from £18.62 to £19.09. The association has been calling for the Government to agree a multi-year pay deal to help restore doctors’ pay to 2008 levels in real terms, as well as fix the specialty-training bottlenecks that are leaving many foundation year doctors at risk of un- or under-employment read more

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

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   

Sixth form college pay and workload consultation results (10 Nov) – National Education Union members who teach in sixth form colleges have voted to accept a 4% pay offer from the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA), while simultaneously rejecting a lack of movement from the SFCA in relation to workload demands within the 2025/26 pay claim. Over 4,300 members across 72 colleges were consulted on both questions. Members voted by 93.9 per cent to accept the pay offer on a turnout of 62.9 per cent, whilst rejecting by 86.6 per cent the response by the SFCA to the workload demands on a turnout of 61.4 per cent read more

Joint unions say DfE proposals will heap unsustainable pressure on schools (6 Nov) – Education unions representing teachers and school leaders in England – NASUWT, NEU, NAHT, ASCL and Community – today warn the Government’s proposed pay award for teachers will hit morale, damage recruitment and retention, put unsustainable pressure on school budgets and lead to cuts and redundancies. The unions have written to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson following the Department for Education’s submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Ministers have recommended a 6.5% pay uplift spread over three years, weighted towards later years read more

Solidarity for striking support staff needed! – Schools, along with councils, backpay the the cost-of-living pay uplift to April each year once it’s been agreed. BUT Cathedral Schools Trust have only been paying school support staff this from September: meaning they have been pocketing 5 months-worth every year! Leaving staff who are often on minimum wage, term-time only contracts; some needing to work second jobs to survive, worse off than colleagues in other schools across Bristol. Support staff in the NEU and UNISON decided enough is enough, and balloted overwhelmingly to strike! Please join picket lines this week (5th and 6th November), as well as Tuesday and Thursday the following week from 7.30-9am. There are also pledges from over 100 teachers to not cross picket lines, which has already forced 1/3 of the schools to announce they will have to be closed! Those on strike will be financially supported by national sustentation funds if needed, but sacrificing 7 days pay to show solidarity to colleagues, is a big ask. Therefore, Bristol & North Somerset NEU have launched a hardship fund to support, and are requesting donations from individuals or union branches to ensure that this strike is successful, and it is made clear to Cathedral Schools Trust (and anyone else who thinks it’s ok to steal from support staff wages) that Unison Bristol , North Somerset NEU and Bristol NEU will not stop until we win what our members are owed!

Donate here:-

Name: NEU Bristol District

Sort code: 60-83-01 

Account number: 20406969

Reference: CST Hardship Fund read more on Bristol NEU Facebook page

• Support the strikes:-

   

Action	Date	Contact
Cathedral Schools Trust / Bristol  (Support Staff Pay)	11, 13 Nov	Tom Bolton  [email protected]    Jon Reddiford  [email protected]
Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School / Coventry  (Conditions of Service)	11 Nov	Chris Denson  [email protected]
Lordship Lane Primary School / Haringey  (Conditions of Service)	11-12 Nov	Efe Kurtluoglu  [email protected]
Pinehurst Primary School / Liverpool  (Transfer of Employer)	10, 11, 14 Nov	Peter Glover  [email protected]
Flint High School / Flintshire  (Conditions of Service)	12-13 Nov	Cheryl Latham  [email protected]
Whitefield School / Waltham Forest	10-12 Nov	Pablo Phillips [email protected]
Capital City College 6th Form Angel / Islington	10-14 Nov

• There is a solidarity rally at the Capital City College 6th Form Angel picket line from 8am on Wednesday 12^th November – speakers include Jeremy Corbyn MP
• NEU Strike Action: Bishop Ullathorne School – NEU Members at Bishop Ullathorne School in Coventry, part of the Holy Cross MAT, will be beginning a series of six days of strike action due to increasing workload concerns and a total lack of proper consultation and negotiation.  NEU members are disappointed it has come to this and do not take this decision lightly. However, they feel it is a necessary action due to decisions from the MAC and school leaders that are negatively affecting staff at the school, and the education of the pupils. Striking is always a last resort but talks with the employer last week concluded with no offer of any movement on any of the issues raised by staff. 70 members of staff are being called on to strike. Staff workload is at breaking point, and despite promises of no increase in the number of lessons for each teacher, that decision was reversed with only 3 days-notice before the end of the summer term. The Holy Cross MAC are also refusing to adopt a JNCC (Joint Negotiating and Consulting Committee) so that staff and MAC representatives can meet around the table for regular meetings to discuss and resolve issues.  It is worth noting that the Diocese have been clear with the NEU that all MACs in their body should adopt a JNCC, so the MAC and CEO are ignoring their own Diocese position. “Members have told us that workload concerns are huge.  We had increases in teaching load over a year ago which made issues worse, and with no notice at all, and despite previous promises, this has happened again.  Students learning conditions are staff working conditions, and a leadership unwilling to address major concerns of staff is really problematic. We also find it astonishing that the MAC refuses to adopt a proper negotiating body (JNCC) when their own Diocese advice is to do so.  Why do they not want to hear their own staff voices?”   –   Chris Denson, Joint Secretary Coventry NEU.
• Picket lines will run from approximately 7am to 9.15am on strike days.  For further comment, interviews or media requests, or to send messages of support, please contact us on [email protected]. Strike dates called: 11th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th and 27th November

NASUWT   

Pay proposals will heap unsustainable pressure on schools (6 Nov) – Education unions representing teachers and school leaders in England – NASUWT, NEU, NAHT, ASCL and Community – today warn the Government’s proposed pay award for teachers will hit morale, damage recruitment and retention, put unsustainable pressure on school budgets and lead to cuts and redundancies. The unions have written to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson following the Department for Education’s submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Ministers have recommended a 6.5% pay uplift spread over three years, weighted towards later years read more

NASUWT comments on Curriculum and Assessment Review (5 Nov) – Commenting on the Curriculum and Assessment Review, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “NASUWT teachers have been clear that the current National Curriculum is not fit for purpose. It lacks breadth and balance, marginalises creative and artistic learning, and remains overly large and inflexible. It does not reflect the diversity of the pupil population or the wider society it is supposed to serve read more

Teachers at Kettering school take strike action over inadequate management (3 Nov) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Meadowside Primary School in Kettering will be taking the first of six planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) over adverse management practices which are affecting teachers’ health and working conditions. Teachers are facing excessive workload, a lack of transparency and effective communication and lack of career progression. NASUWT teachers also began an ongoing programme of action short of strike action last Wednesday (29th October) under which they have withdrawn from specific non-teaching activities which they believe are driving up their workloads and distracting them from focusing on teaching and learning read more

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

   

EIS   

EIS Announces Victory for Lecturers as UWS Guarantees No Compulsory Redundancies Following Eight Days of Strike Action (10 Nov) – The EIS ULA has announced the successful conclusion of its long-running dispute with the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) after the University formally committed to a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for academic staff. The resolution brings an end to the period of industrial action, which saw dedicated EIS members take eight days of strike action across UWS campuses in a resolute defence of job security and the quality of education. The EIS views this outcome as a clear victory achieved through the collective strength and determination of its membership read more

EIS-FELA proposes way forward for Further Education sector in crisis (7 Nov) – The EIS-FELA has issued a stark warning that Scotland’s Further Education (FE) sector is at a critical crossroads — facing a crisis of finance, governance and identity with defunding and a drift towards privatisation threatening its public mission read more

Teacher Pay Offer – EIS Opens Member Consultation, Recommends Acceptance of 2-Year Deal (6 Nov) – The EIS has opened a consultation with members over a revised, final pay offer from local authority employers. Following a special meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee earlier on Wednesday, where the revised offer was discussed, the EIS is recommending to its members that they should accept the 2-year pay offer 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

INTO

INTO Response to EA’s Proposed Cuts (5 Nov) – Mr. Pengelly should look elsewhere for his swingeing cuts. That the EA Chief Executive’s press release today sees fit to include the Music Service in this current round of further cuts is both insulting and tone-deaf, representing another orchestrated assault to the Arts. This vital service supports thousands of our young people, allowing them to grow and indeed flourish mentally and emotionally. Already having just survived previous cuts in funding, more and more of the cost is being passed on to parents, thereby impacting low and medium-income families to the point that music tuition will be a pastime solely of the elite. Mr. Pengelly has no idea how detrimental further cuts to the Music Service will be to our young people, or how off-key this approach is. ‘Non-statutory’ does NOT mean ‘of no value’. The almost 20% increase to school meals for paying parents could not have come at a worse time, particularly when the Education Minister confirmed that there will be no holiday hunger scheme payments made again this year. Families will be forced to tighten their financial belts yet again, in an attempt to ensure their children are well-fed. Mr. Pengelly should look elsewhere for his swingeing cuts, and stop targeting both the Arts and the nutrition of our young people read more

UCU     

UCU Stop the Cuts campaign  

Sign petition against the education cuts  

UCU Lobby of Parliament – Fund Adult Education

Growth, Health & Social Cohesion: #ANewDealForFE

Wednesday 19 November 11am Assemble Parliament Square details

National coalition calls on Chancellor to invest in adult and community education in Autumn Budget 2025 (10 Nov) – A group of 13 leading organisations from across the lifelong learning and skills sector, including UCU, has called on the chancellor to prioritise investment in adult and community education in the forthcoming Autumn Budget, warning that continued underfunding threatens both the economy and social inclusion read more

Lancaster University industrial action begins Monday with 1 in 4 jobs set to be axed (5 Nov) – Staff at Lancaster University will begin industrial action on Monday 10 November over management’s threat to axe one in four workers. The action comes after an overwhelming 94% of UCU members who voted backed action short of strike, with 88% also backing strike action. The UCU members will be working to rule, refusing to cover absent colleagues, and refusing to undertake any work outside of their job description. The action could continue for up to six months and UCU is also considering going out on strike before Christmas unless management rules out compulsory redundancies. Management is attempting to axe over 400 staff by the end of this academic year (Friday 31 July 2026) including over 200 academics. In total around one in four staff are up for the chop. Despite this, the university is pushing ahead with plans to open a campus in India and refuses to set out how many millions of pounds this will cost read more

Strike dates set at Dundee University in long running dispute as employer announces further job cuts (3 Nov) – UCU members at the Dundee University will take five days of strike action next week beginning on Monday 10 November. As well as Monday, staff will also be striking during the rest of the week on Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12, Thursday 13 and Friday 14 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 re-ballot where 72% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout 58% read more

More strikes to hit University of Nottingham in November and December over vicious job cuts (30 Oct) – UCU has today announced further strike action at the University of Nottingham as part of its ongoing dispute over vicious job cuts. UCU members have taken 20 days of strike action since September and will now take a further 22 days before Christmas. The full strike dates:-

• Week 1: Monday 10 – Friday 14 November
• Week 2: Monday 17 – Friday 21 November
• Week 3: Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 November
• Week 4: Monday 1 – Friday 5 December
• Week 5: Monday 8 – Friday 12 December

The action comes after over 650 staff have already been axed over the past two years. The university’s latest plans to reorganise the academic departments and push for a higher surplus could see over 200 jobs go, mainly impacting teaching and research staff read more

Mass strikes to hit University of Sheffield & Sheffield Hallam in November and December over job cuts (30 Oct) – A combined 28 days of strike action will hit the city of Sheffield over the next two months in rows over job cuts at Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam universities, UCU announced today. The dispute at the University of Sheffield centres on management’s plans to put staff in five academic areas at risk of redundancy, as well as a continued risk of redundancy to professional services staff across the university. The full details and number of job losses have yet to be confirmed by the university but are expected in the next two weeks read more

Edinburgh university staff back industrial action again in longstanding dispute over cuts and redundancies (28 Oct) – Staff at the University of Edinburgh have today (Tuesday) backed industrial action for a second time in a longstanding dispute over £140million cuts, job losses and compulsory redundancies. In the re-ballot of members of the University and College Union (UCU) at the university, 86% of those voting backed strike action on a turnout of 60%.  94% of members who took part in the vote also backed action short of strike which could include actions like working to contract; refusing to cover for absent colleagues or undertaking voluntary duties; and a marking and assessment boycott read more

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

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

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

UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.     

     

FBU   

FBU lodges objection to “indefensible” and “undemocratic” plans to cut Buckinghamshire fire service (10 Nov) – The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has written to Buckinghamshire fire authority, formally objecting to plans to remove seven retained fire engines and to close fire stations at Great Missenden and Stokenchurch. The fire authority is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 12 November, to vote on whether to take the cuts to public consultation. The union says that there is “no rationale” for shutting stations and cutting retained appliances, saying that communities should not be punished for fire service management failures. The FBU has also written in objection to a proposal by the fire authority to confer wider “operational independence” on the chief fire officer. The union raises the alarm that this would enable decisions, including the threatened reduction in fire cover, to be made “by an unelected officer without the level of democratic scrutiny, public visibility and consultation that the Authority has itself committed to in the current Community Risk Management Plan.” Read more

Reform leader branded “captain chaos” as Kent fire authority in disarray (9 Nov) – The Fire Brigades Union has slammed the record of Reform’s ‘flagship council’ as it emerged that Kent and Medway Fire Authority was in disarray following the removal of five councillors, including its chair and vice chair. Reform UK won a majority on Kent County Council in May but have since suspended nine councillors. These include five members of the fire authority, including its chair (Brian Black), its vice chair (Izzy Kemp, removed only this week), Robert Ford, Paul Thomas and Oliver Bradshaw. The removal of the councillors from the Fire Authority means that Kent’s fire and rescue service Chief Executive Anne Millington has tight limits on expenditure without a body to sign off bigger spends, due to the inability of the fire authority to carry out its full functions. The Fire Brigades Union, which represents firefighters across the UK branded the situation “a shambles and a threat to public safety”, dubbing council leader Linden Kemkaran “captain chaos”. It said that local union reps had written to the new council leader on asking for a meeting, but that no meeting had been forthcoming, nor any response to the letter received read more

1 in 5 fire engines in London unavailable due to cuts as service faces “austerity” budget (7 Nov) – The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has issued a stark warning against proposals to further cut the “overstretched and under-resourced” London Fire Brigades’ budget next year. In a letter sent to all London MPs this week, the union highlighted that between 20 and 30 fire engines are routinely unavailable each day across the capital due to cuts to crews. On 1 November, 34 fire engines were completely unavailable for call outs. This includes specialist Fire Rescue Units; Command Units; and Turntable Ladders vital for high-rise, USAR, and hazardous materials incidents. The union says these figures expose an organisation “operating beyond safe limits”, while senior management of the service has proposed a budget containing £6 million in cuts and £12 million further unidentified ‘savings’. At the same time, LFB plans to borrow heavily for estates and a new headquarters while reducing operational budgets. The proposed 2026–27 budget removes the entire uniform allocation, reduces investment in critical communication systems, and delays community risk management projects intended to make improvements following the Grenfell Tower fire, Manchester Arena attacks and the culture review. The union says this approach amounts to a “false economy”, risking firefighter and public safety read more

FBU hits back at Reform UK “threatening firefighter pensions” (5 Nov) – FBU general secretary Steve Wright comments on remarks from Richard Tice who suggested that Reform could get rid of defined benefit pensions for public sector workers read more

Austerity worsening bonfire night “chaos” says union, as attacks on firefighters reported (6 Nov) – The Fire Brigades Union says that firefighters are pushed “far beyond safe limits” responding to a huge number of calls on bonfire night without the resources needed. The Scottish fire and rescue service reported responding to over 700 calls yesterday. The London Fire Brigade reported responding to the highest number of bonfire night calls since 2016 this year, receiving 821 calls on 5 November. Attacks on firefighters also see an increase on bonfire night. Incidents this year included a crew of firefighters in Merseyside being attacked with fireworks while fighting a tower block fire read more

Firefighters make Bonfire night call for Reeves to fund fire service in upcoming budget (5 Nov) – The Fire Brigades Union is calling for urgent government funding for the fire and rescue service in the upcoming budget, saying services are facing bonfire night without adequate resources. Bonfire night is annually one of the busiest nights of the year for fire and rescue call outs 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 Oct 2025 read here  

POA written pay submissions 2026/27 – Please find enclosed a copy of the POA Written Pay Submissions covering Public Sector Prisons in England and Wales for 2026/27. The remit group covers all POA members from Bands 2-5 and managers at grades 7-12. HMPPS written submissions can be accessed via the Prison Service Pay Review Body Website at this link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/690367515c84b1206832a866/HMPPS_Written_Evidence_to_PSPRB_-_2026-27_FINAL.pdf. The POA are due to give oral evidence to the Review Body on 13th November 2025 read more

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

BFAWU     

Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more     

BALPA

BALPA response to Kentucky plane crash (5 Nov) – Our thoughts are with the victims and those who lost loved ones in the aircraft accident at Louisville Muhammad Ali airport in Kentucky, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured read more

Nautilus International

Marine Scotland Compliance members accept two-year pay and conditions deal (4 Nov) – Marine Scotland Compliance members have unanimously accepted a two-year pay and conditions offer following a 2025 consultation. The deal, covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027, delivers a cumulative pay increase of 7.64% and important improvements to family leave and annual leave read more

NUJ   

NUJ reacts to BBC leadership resignations (10 Nov) – The NUJ has issued a statement in response to the resignations of Tim Davie, BBC director-general, and Deborah Turness, BBC News chief executive read more

NUJ submits evidence on the safety and surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland (7 Nov) – The NUJ has responded to the Northern Ireland Select Committee’s call for evidence on policing and security in Northern Ireland. In the submission, the union reiterated longstanding calls to safeguard journalists’ rights and defend media freedom read more

NUJ’s Highland branch expresses ‘deep concern’ around STV cuts (7 Nov) – The NUJ’s Highland branch has passed a motion warning that STV’s proposed cuts to jobs and programming would, should they materialise, be a huge blow to viewers and democracy in Scotland read more

BBC Aberdeen, Dundee Orkney and Shetland chapel shows solidarity with STV colleagues (6 Nov) – The chapel has passed a motion expressing solidarity with colleagues at STV while urging the company’s management to reconsider large-scale cuts to jobs and programming 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

Manchester City Council asked to come clean on Pride finance knowledge (7 Nov) – Did Manchester City Council know that Pride couldn’t pay before performers took to the stage? Equity asks Council to pay gigging performers and freelance creatives read more

Equity will go to Court of Appeal over Spotlight judgment (7 Nov) – Equity and eight union members have today, Friday, won permission to appeal the recent High Court judgment which found against the union’s case that casting platform Spotlight should be regulated. While there is no automatic right to appeal, Equity’s case has been granted on grounds that it has “a real prospect of success” and “is of some general importance”. It will now go forwards to the Court of Appeal read more

Equity delivers 3,000 signature Save Square Chapel petition to Arts Council England (5 Nov) – Petition calls for the reopening of the popular local arts venue in Halifax read more

Equity applauds Department of Education plans to scrap the English Baccalaureate (5 Nov) – Equity has hailed a government-commissioned report calling for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) to be scrapped as a “significant step” towards arts education for all read more

Musicians Union

Northern Ballet: Update for Members (7 Nov) – An update regarding information circulating online about the BBC Concert Orchestra and Northern Ballet read more

University of Nottingham to Suspend Music Courses (6 Nov) – A consultation to close music at Nottingham is the latest in a string of proposed university music closures read more

Community

Joint union statement to the School Teachers’ Review Body in England (30 Oct) – A statement to the STRB from ASCL, NAHT, NEU and Community, representing the majority of teachers and school leaders in England, calls for urgent, significant and fully funded movement towards complete reversal of the real terms pay cuts for teachers and school leaders since 2010. Huge pay cuts against inflation for teachers and school leaders have been much greater than for other comparable professions.  Pay cuts and excessive workload have driven a recruitment and retention crisis in our schools.  To repair the damage to our education service, the Government must invest properly in our teachers and school leaders read more

USDAW

Usdaw gives notice of an industrial action ballot and calls on the company to withdraw their new contracts (7 Nov) – Usdaw, the trade union for staff working at car care products manufacturer Tetrosyl and Tetrosyl Express, has today given notice of an industrial action ballot over a dispute about the company using ‘fire and rehire’ to reduce terms and conditions for staff at their Rochdale site. The ballot will open on 14 November and close on 28 November read more

UVW   

Dismissed after attending her sister’s funeral, Jemima fought back and got her job back! (5 Nov) – “I told myself my union had to intervene, and yes, they did. I’m so happy today because the union defended me tremendously well. It’s good to belong to a union that knows what they’re doing — a community, a family that truly cares” – Jemima, school cleaner and UVW member. After nearly 20 years of service as a school cleaner in London, Jemima, originally from Ghana, was dismissed after returning from unpaid compassionate leave to attend her sister’s funeral. With the support of United Voices of the World (UVW), she challenged her dismissal and won reinstatement. Her victory proves that no worker should suffer for doing what’s human and just, and that together, we can hold employers accountable 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

Staff at Grand Theft Auto VI developer Rockstar fired en masse in “calculated attack on workers” (31 Oct) – Over 30 members of UK staff at Rockstar Games, developers of the Grand Theft Auto series, were fired on Thursday 30th October due to trade union activity. The staff, who were all part of a private trade union Discord channel and members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), were dismissed in what the union argues constitutes unlawful and retaliatory dismissals. Organisers at the IWGB have reported that amongst the staff dismissed were those with visas sponsored by Rockstar and those with medical conditions who will lose access to essential workplace healthcare schemes. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series is the most profitable videogame franchise in the world – the last installment generating a staggering $1 billion in its first three days of sales and going on to make over $7 billion. Grand Theft Auto VI, releasing in early 2026, is expected to break all records and earn Rockstar upwards of $10 billion. The IWGB, which sees this as a brazen act of illegal union busting, says it will be mounting a full and robust defense of its members who it believes have been targeted unfairly for exercising their legal rights read more

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 1^st 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)   

Sign NOW! #RespectAtWork

SIPTU (Ireland)   

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

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

Sign this petition: Take Action for Workers’ Rights!

  

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

Web dpac-cymru.carrd.co

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

www.worbella.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    

STAMMA website    

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 29^th 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 3^rd 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.

https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/T3P1-Opening-Statement-Imran-Khan-Partners.pdf

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     

Iran: Sharifeh Mohammadi’s Death Sentence Overturned — replaced with a 30-year prison term – Dear friends and supporters, We have an important and urgent update to share about Sharifeh Mohammadi’s situation. Thanks to the tireless mobilization of Iranian and international labour organizations, women’s rights and human rights groups, her lawyers and countless concerned individuals, Sharifeh’s death sentence has been overturned by the Supreme Court of Iran. This extraordinary outcome is the result of our collective pressure and solidarity — a powerful reminder that when we raise our voices together, we can make a difference. However, the fight is far from over. The Court has now replaced the death sentence with a 30-year prison term — a cruel, baseless, and outrageous punishment for a labour and women’s rights activist whose only “crime” has been defending the rights and dignity of workers, women, and oppressed people. This sentence must be unequivocally condemned and immediately withdrawn. Sharifeh Mohammadi should never have spent a single day behind bars for her peaceful and legitimate activism. Thirty years of imprisonment for Sharifeh is not justice — it is a blatant violation of human rights and a concerted attempt to silence the voice of Iran’s labour and women’s movements. Our movement will not stop here. We call on labour unions, feminist networks, and human rights organizations and concerned individuals worldwide to amplify their solidarity and demand the complete withdrawal of all charges against Sharifeh Mohammadi and her unconditional release. Your solidarity has already saved a life. Together, we can and must win Sharifeh’s freedom. With gratitude, urgency, and determination, Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi

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