The NSSN salutes the heroic strike by the Birmingham binworkers, who have been taking indefinite action since March against the brutal fire & rehire by the Labour council, leading to the slashing of their wages by up to £8,000 a year. Outrageously, the council has used vicious strike-breaking measures, backed by Starmer’s government.
However, in an incredible and historic development, agency workers have joined the strike to fight against bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting.
We joined the strike rally yesterday of all the binworkers, on the first day of the agency workers’ action.
The long-running dispute is now at a pivotal stage, and a great victory can be won. All unions must now come to their aid. The NSSN will continue to help build solidarity – victory to the Birmingham binworkers!
- Go to the Facebook pages of Unite the Union and Unite for a Workers Economy for videos and photos of yesterday’s strike rally, and keep an eye out on Reel News on X for videos of yesterday’s strike rally via @ReelNewsLondon
Unite: Birmingham bins rally on first day of strike action by agency workers
There was a rally in support of Birmingham bin workers on the first day of strike action by agency workers employed by Job & Talent.
In an unprecedented development, the workers who are directly employed by Birmingham council will now be joined on picket lines by agency workers employed by Job & Talent on the refuse contract. The Job & Talent workers voted in favour of strike action over bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting at the council’s refuse department two weeks ago. The number of agency workers, many of whom have worked in the refuse service for more than a decade without job security or full employment rights, who will join the strike action is growing daily. Meanwhile, strikes over fire and rehire pay cuts of up to £8,000 by directly employed bin workers, which have been running since January, could continue beyond May’s local elections.
The directly employed bin workers voted in favour of extending their industrial action mandate earlier this month. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Birmingham council will only resolve this dispute when it stops the appalling treatment of its workforce. Agency workers have now joined with directly employed staff to stand up against the massive injustices done to them. Instead of wasting millions more of council taxpayers’ money fighting a dispute it could settle justly for a fraction of the cost, the council needs to return to talks with Unite and put forward a fair deal for all bin workers. Strikes will not end until it does.” 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/
Watch Reel News video of the 20th September demonstration in Birmingham and keep an eye out on Reel News on X for videos of yesterday’s strike rally – @ReelNewsLondon
After Starmer & Reeves’s Budget and Starmer’s employment rights U-turn, TUC must call demo!
After weeks of speculation, Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves has presented her Budget. While workers desperately need policies that reverse the attack on living standards of the last 15 years or so, instead the Budget effectively means ‘same again’.
The NSSN has been campaigning for a Budget that makes the rich pay not workers and working-class communities. But yet more austerity is what faces us.
- And now, Starmer’s government has disgracefully done a U-turn on his promise to enforce workers’ employment rights for day one. The undemocratic Tory 50% strike ballot thresholds, brought in by Cameron are still in place, despite it being a manifesto commitment to scrap them. All this, with a 160 seat majority!
We will continue to support workers taking action to resist the cost of living squeeze, while at the same time continuing to demand that the TUC calls a national weekend demonstration against Starmer’s austerity offensive. This action was passed at September’s TUC Congress and is now TUC policy. The TUC and the unions must now name the date!
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.
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SAVE THE DATE!! 2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm at Conway Hall in London
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 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
Phlebotomists mark longest-running strike of NHS workers in history with Gloucester rally, says UNISON (17 Nov) – Settling dispute could be done for fraction of chief executive’s salary. Striking health workers will be joined by senior union leaders and supporters today (Monday) to highlight the longest-ever walkout by NHS employees as phlebotomists in Gloucestershire mark their 236th day of industrial action, says UNISON. The 36 specialist staff, who take and handle blood samples from patients, have been on strike since March in a dispute over their demand to be paid fairly for the skills and expertise needed for their roles, says the union. Putting them on to the right pay band would cost their employer, the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, approximately £60,000 per year, says UNISON. It would also recognise the valuable contribution the workers make to health services across the county, adds the union. UNISON has calculated that the cost of ensuring all the trust’s phlebotomists are on the correct wages is just a quarter of chief executive Kevin McNamara’s annual salary for 2024/25 of around £245,000 read more
Picketing and plan of action for week 38:
- Monday 1st December: No picket. Meeting Jenner Room Redwood Education Centre at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.30 to 11.00.
- Tuesday 2nd: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
- Wednesday 3rd December: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
- Thursday 4th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
- Friday 5th: Relaxed picket at both sites.
Donate to the strike fund:-
Please show phlebotomists your support and solidarity by donating to their strike hardship fund:
Make a donation via SumUp
UNISON Gloucestershire DHC Branch 21311
Sort code: 60-83-01
Account number: 20301750
Reference: strikefund
Also, you can donate to the strike fund by buying a ‘I Give a Phleb’ badge from Strike Fund
Union News
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RMT
RMT warns of surge in violence against rail workers while BTP presence cut (2 Dec) – Rail union, RMT says a sharp rise in attacks on rail workers are taking place at the same time as the British Transport Police (BTP) presence is being cut on the network read more
£1.8 billion extracted by private business since 2016, RMT report reveals (28 Nov) – Private rail companies have quietly extracted £1.8 billion from the railway in dividends since 2016, new RMT analysis reveals. The findings, published to mark the first anniversary of the Passenger Railways (Public Ownership) Act receiving Royal Assent, expose the sheer scale of cash leaving the system under privatisation. The report shows more than £510 million was paid out during and after the pandemic and £190.6 million in 2023/24 alone. This is wealth extracted from the network into private shareholders pockets, instead of being reinvested to strengthen and modernise the railways read more
RMT members at Svitzer Terminals vote for strike action over sick pay (27 Nov) – RMT members employed by Svitzer Terminals at Fawley Esso Refinery have voted overwhelmingly for strike action following the company’s continued failure to resolve the long-running dispute over contractual sick pay. The dispute originates from the TUPE transfer of staff from Solent Towage to Svitzer Terminals, after the company failed to apply sick pay properly in line with long-standing practices. RMT has made multiple attempts over months to resolve the issue through talks but these have failed. This dispute affects all grades employed onboard the Svitzer tugs operating out of the refinery read more
RMT warn of national ballot over assaults after EMR go into dispute on the issue (26 Nov) – Rail union RMT, have put employers on notice over increasing assaults, warning of a national strike ballot across all train companies, if action is not taken. The union has gone into dispute with East Midlands Railway (EMR) following two recent violent incidents at the company. Staff members have had hot water thrown at them and been attacked with a fire extinguisher while at the weekend, rival football fans engaged in a mass brawl on a train stopped at Derby. RMT members have raised repeated concerns about reduced British Transport Police presence, faulty or inadequate safety equipment and the company’s lack of meaningful engagement on these issues. Members say they have exhausted all internal company processes, but no effective action has been taken to address the daily risks they face read more
DLR sick pay dispute leads to four days strike action (24 Nov) – RMT members working as cleaners on the DLR will begin strike action on Thursday over a lack of sick pay. Bidvest Noonan the contractor at the centre of this storm, has failed to offer company sick pay to its staff despite the fact a fellow contractor Amulet did so on the DLR. Both contractors operate on DLR under KAD who is a company hired by TfL to run the service. RMT has tried repeatedly to engage with Bidvest Noonan over the issue but the contractor said it was “discussing the matter with TfL,” despite having had more than six months to respond to the union’s demand for contractual sick pay. With no progress and no sign of meaningful engagement from the employer, members have no choice but to take strike action read more
RMT announces strike action on CrossCountry (21 Nov) – RMT will take strike action on CrossCountry next month after the company failed to resolve long-running issues on pay, staffing and previously agreed commitments. The union has tried repeatedly for months to reach a negotiated settlement. But regretfully the company has failed to honour agreements on overtime payments, staff resourcing and wage discrepancies for different grades. With no credible progress being made, RMT members have no other option than to take strike action on the following days:-
• Saturday 6 December
• Saturday 13 December
• Saturday 20 December
• Saturday 27 December read more
Carlisle Support Services must end pay freeze and return to meaningful talks as Northern revenue staff strike (14 Nov) – RMT heavily criticised Carlisle Support Services today for shutting down negotiations and refusing to make any pay offer, on the day contracted out Northern Trains revenue and gate line members take strike action 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
ASLEF
West Coast derailment – TSSA statement (3 Nov)
TSSA statement on LNER mass stabbing incident (2 Nov)
Budget tackles child and transport poverty, but should have gone further (27 Nov) – The Labour Government’s 2026 Budget saw key announcements on passenger rail fares, fuel duty, the two-child benefit cap and the national minimum wage. Many of these changes reflect long-term lobbying by ASLEF. But the government can and must go much further, much faster to address the cost-of-living crisis and inequality 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
TSSA
TSSA demands government reinstate day one unfair dismissal rights (28 Nov) – Labour affiliated transport and travel union TSSA has urged the government to reinstate its plans to give workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one in the job. The government has announced a u-turn on its manifesto pledge – instead moving to introduce the right to claim unfair dismissal after six months read more
TSSA members to take industrial action at TransPennine Express (17 Nov) – TSSA rail union members working at TransPennine Express (TPE) as Operations Managers have voted unanimously in favour of both strike action and action short of strike, in a dispute over on call working arrangements. To date TPE has refused to offer an acceptable on-call, overtime and compensatory time off in lieu (TOIL) package to staff in the roles of Driver Managers, Operational Development Managers and Driver Operations Managers. Several dozen members at TPE responsible for safety issues and operational problems around the clock were balloted – and of those choosing to vote 100 per cent were in favour of strike action and action short of a strike read more
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Metrolink Manchester strikes over driver fatigue postponed after negotiations (2 Dec) – Strikes by 320 tram drivers working for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited this weekend have been put on hold after their employer came forward with an offer of improvements to rotas and shift patterns. The drivers, members of Unite, were due to walk out from this Friday (5 December) to Sunday (7 December) in a dispute about fatigue, a lack of proper rest breaks and rota patterns which they felt put themselves and passengers in danger. The drivers work at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in Manchester and operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester. However, industrial action is now postponed following negotiations between Unite, the employer and Transport for Greater Manchester, which have ended in a new offer for drivers. They will now be balloted from now until Friday (5 December) on whether to accept this. If the ballot is unsuccessful, strike action on 19, 20 and 31 December will go ahead read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Bilfinger offshore workers to strike over pensions (2 Dec) – Unite has announced that over 400 offshore members employed by Bilfinger UK Limited have supported taking strike action in an escalating dispute over pensions. A majority of Bilfinger workers have emphatically backed strike action in a fight to secure a fairer pension deal. Unite members are demanding that Bilfinger move to a gross earnings pension scheme like many other private sector and offshore companies because workers are losing out on thousands of pounds in pension contributions due to their pattern of pay being weekly. The majority of Bilfinger workers are enrolled in a statutory minimum workplace pension scheme where the company pays a maximum three per cent of “qualifying earnings” contribution. The qualifying earnings income is between £6,240 and £50,270. Anything above or below that does not factor in pension contributions. It means Bilfinger’s annual pension contribution is capped at £1,320.90 per year irrespective of income. Unite estimates that around £2254 is being lost every year in employer pension contributions when compared with a gross salary pension scheme for a worker earning £59,580.36…If Bilfinger fails to act on the pensions issue then strikes will be called in the coming weeks read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Council and school staff need a fair pay rise, say unions (2 Dec) – Unions representing 1.4 million council and school staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling for a wage rise of at least £3,000 to recognise soaring workloads and increasing household costs, they say today (Monday 1 December). Unite, UNISON and GMB have submitted their joint annual local government pay claim for 2026-27, demanding a substantial award from April after years of effective pay cuts, which have left staff struggling to keep up with rising household bills. The unions are warning pay for council and school staff continues to lag behind many other public services. In turn, low wages have led to a recruitment and retention crisis while demand for key services – such as social care, children’s services and housing support – has soared. Local authority employers gave a 3.2% uplift this year, but that has already been surpassed by inflation, which currently stands at 3.6%. The pay claim for 2026-27 calls for an increase of at least £3,000 or 10% (whichever is greater) for all staff, as well as a minimum hourly rate of £15. Unions say that since 2010, the real value of local government pay has fallen by more than 26%. That has left many workers finding it hard to keep pace with housing costs, food prices, transport fares and energy bills read more
BREAKING NEWS!! Metrolink tram driver strike escalates over festive season and New Year’s Eve (2 Dec) – There will be further industrial action by 320 tram drivers working for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited this festive season, including on New Year’s Eve. The drivers will now walk out on 19, 20 and 31 December in addition to the strikes planned for this coming weekend, 5 to 7 December. This will impact journeys during a key part of the Christmas party season, as well as travel to and from New Year’s Eve events including the St Peter’s Square fireworks which attract around 20,000 spectators a year read more
Welsh bus workers celebrate significant pay win after strike action (1 Dec) – First Cymru drivers get pay increase after eight days of strikes. Bus drivers across South Wales are celebrating a pay win after securing an above-inflation award. Members of the Unite trade union had been locked in a bitter struggle with their employer Frist Cymru and taken eight days of strike action to highlight the low levels of pay they were receiving. On Friday, workers accepted a new offer from the company that will see them get a five per cent increase backdated to 1 April. This will see drivers’ pay move to £14.25 per hour now and then rising progressively to £15 per hour from 1 Jan 2027. In addition to the drivers, the pay uplifts will apply to all other grades, including engineers, admin & clerical, and service personnel. Cleaners will see a temporary uplift to pay until 1 April 2026 when the Real Living Wage of £13.45 will apply and surpass this increase read more
Casey child safeguarding report recommendations must be adopted taxi drivers tell Parliament (30 Nov) – “Out of area” licensing loophole endangering passengers and destroying livelihoods. Taxi drivers will protest outside Parliament on Wednesday demanding the government adopt the Casey report’s recommendation that the ‘out of area’ licensing loophole is immediately closed. When: 10:00 Wednesday, 3 December 2025
Where: Parliament Square Garden, opposite Parliament, SW1P 3BD read more
Christmas Guinness drought as workers announce eight days of pay strikes (28 Nov) – Diageo workforce unanimously votes to reject inadequate pay offer and to take strike action. The UK is facing a Guinness zero drought this Christmas as workers at the company’s Belfast brewery announced eight days of strikes next month in a dispute over pay. The workers who are members of Unite, will begin strike action on Friday 5 December and walkouts will continue until the early hours of Saturday 13 December. The approximately 90 workers are demanding a substantial increase in pay to close the pay gap with Diageo employees at the company’s site in Runcorn, England read more
VUE St Enoch’s workers support first-ever Scottish cinema chain strike (27 Nov) – Unite cinema members join Village Hotel Glasgow in hospitality workers fight back. Workers at the most profitable VUE cinema in Scotland have overwhelmingly backed strike action in a historic first at a Scottish cinema chain. Dozens of workers at VUE’s St Enoch centre site will now take strike action in order to secure the Real Living Wage for all workers aged 18 and over, trade union recognition, and safe subsidised transport for workers at the end of shifts. Strike action will take place for four weeks from Thursday 11 December and end on Wednesday 7 January. Unite represents the overwhelming majority of the customer assistant and team leaders at the VUE St Enoch’s site… VUE becomes the second Glasgow hospitality venue to be hit by disruption after Unite’s membership at Village Hotels in Govan also overwhelmingly supported strike action. The Village Hotels strike is set to begin on Friday this week (28 November) lasting for five weeks until 2 January 2026. VUE Entertainment Limited made a profit amounting to £25.3m in 2024, up from £10.5m in 2023 read more
Festive and January sales London bus chaos as drivers vote to strike (27 Nov) – There will be travel chaos in London this December and January as 350 bus drivers will walk out in a dispute over union busting and bullying. The drivers, who are members of Unite, work for the Lea Interchange Bus Company (part of Stagecoach) at the Lea Interchange Bus Garage in Leyton, East London. They operate several routes across north east London. Unite representatives at the depot have been the target of aggressive behaviour since a change in management a few months ago. The chair of the branch was suspended, dismissed and then reinstated, while another rep has been suspended on trumped-up charges following an altercation with management. Unite believes the reps are being targeted for undertaking trade union activities, which goes against employment law… After 98 per cent of Unite members voted to strike, drivers will walk out on 12 and 13 December and 8 and 9 January. This will impact busy Christmas and January sales shopping periods as one affected route is the 97 which serves the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. Other routes that will see delays and cancellations will be the 58, 86, 135, 236, 276, 308, 339, 488, D8, W13, W14 and 678 read more. Email messages of solidarity to [email protected]
Unite Hospitality Village Hotel Glasgow Strike Action (27 Nov) – Workers at the Village Hotel Glasgow, including staff in the Pub & Grill and the franchised Starbucks – have taken the bold step of launching five weeks of strike action from 28 November 2025 to 2 January 2026 read more
Pay win delivered for GXO Logistics drivers in Motherwell (27 Nov) – Two-year deal secures boost to jobs, pay and conditions. Unite the union can confirm it has delivered a significant pay win for GXO Logistics drivers based in Motherwell. The drivers who deliver supplies for major companies including Costco, Superdrug and Whyte & Mackay are set to benefit from a five per cent increase in basic pay backdated to April. A four per cent increase will be applied from January 1 2026 until the end of March 2027. There is also a boost to overtime payments read more
New family reunification rules an assault on workers and children (27 Nov) – Workers collateral damage as government panders to anti-immigrant sentiment. Unite, which represents health care assistants (HCAs) and others on general employment permits, today (Wednesday) accused the government of abusing workers and families to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment. The union was responding to the policy document on Non-EEA Family Reunification published by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan today read more
Government North Sea plans: ‘Tinkering around the edges that will not deliver’ (26 Nov) – In response to the government’s North Sea Future Plans consultation response (published today), Unite, the UK’s leading union, has described it as tinkering around the edges by a government still lacking a coherent plan for the long-term transition of work for oil and gas workers read more
Bank of England security strike off as workers accept ‘excellent’ deal (26 Nov) – Strikes by security officers at the Bank of England this week have been called off after workers accepted an improved pay offer. The 40 Unite members involved in the dispute work for Amulet Security (Churchill Security Solutions) Limited, which took over the contract at the Bank from Mitie Security in February this year. After months of being strung along, they were initially told they would be offered no pay rise, then workers received an offer of 3.8 per cent in year one and three per cent in year two which was rejected. Workers were due to walk out on Monday (24 November) until Friday (28 November). However, strikes were cancelled when workers accepted an improved offer of four per cent backdated to 1 March 2025 and another four per cent from 1 March 2026. Workers have also been given an additional day of annual leave read more
NO to union-busting at Sanctuary read more on Unite Housing Workers LE/1111 branch website
Bassetlaw ICU nurses strike over fire and rehire contract changes (26 Nov) – Forced rotation of nurses between Bassetlaw and Doncaster attempt to run down Bassetlaw’s ICU services. Intensive care nurses at Bassetlaw hospital will strike tomorrow over fire and rehire contract changes that will force them to rotate between Bassetlaw and Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The nurses fear the transfers are one more step towards Bassetlaw hospital losing its ICU permanently through ‘decommissioning by stealth’. Unite is considering legal challenges to Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust should it proceed with its plans to terminate the nurses’ current contracts and rehire them on new ones. The trust claims the rotation plans are to increase the nurses’ exposure to level three patients (those who are ventilated or have multiple organ failure). The Trust’s proposal, however, would not guarantee increased exposure to Level 3 patients. Unite believes the real reason behind the plans is to run down Bassetlaw’s ICU services. The nurses began action short of strike action through a ban on working on any ward or unit other than Bassetlaw ICU on 13 November. They will take strike action tomorrow (27 November) and Friday (28 November). Industrial action will intensify if the fire and rehire plans are not dropped read more
Unite’s anger as Aer Lingus plans to close Manchester Airport base (24 Nov) – Unite has today (24 November) responded with anger to proposals by Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus to close its Manchester Airport base. The airline has issued a redundancy notice, which has put over 200 workers at risk including 150 cabin crew who are represented by Unite. Aer Lingus claims this is due to the base “underperforming’” but has failed to provide any information to support its claim. Last year, Aer Lingus recorded an operating profit of €205m and has projected profits of around £35 million from just two aircraft operating three long haul routes at Manchester Airport…Cabin crew at Aer Lingus, who work on the three routes to Barbados, New York JFK and Orlando operating out of Manchester Airport Terminal 2, have been involved in a pay dispute with their employer since last month and have walked out in several days of strike action. While Unite members have voted for further strike action, the union has offered to halt this in order to properly negotiate with Aer Lingus on the future of the Manchester base read more
Transport for Greater Manchester strikes increase after employer cancels talks (24 Nov) – In Manchester Good Employment Week TfGM acting as anything but good employer. Strikes by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers will go ahead tomorrow after the employer cancelled planned talks today (Monday). More than 200 Unite members, who undertake vital roles including ticketing, passenger assistance and information services for the bus network, began industrial action in October. TfGM is breaking the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter it signed up to by refusing to enter into talks with Unite to find a fair resolution to the dispute read more
Bosch Rexroth workers set for week-long strike action over detrimental contract changes (24 Nov) – Dispute based on Glenrothes workers losing up to £1000 per month. Unite has confirmed today (24 November) that its members working at Bosch Rexroth in Glenrothes have emphatically supported strike action over detrimental contract changes. Over 280 Unite members are now set for strike action after 95 per cent of Unite’s members backed strike action in a high turnout. Strike action will start at 06:00 on 8 December and ends at 05:59 on 15 December. The escalating dispute is a result of Bosch Rexroth workers overwhelmingly rejecting new contracts which are detrimental to existing terms and conditions. The company plans to impose short-time working without the negotiated agreement with Unite. Workers could lose up to 40 per cent of take home pay per month equivalent to a monthly loss of nearly £1,000. Bosch Rexroth also plan to impose an annualised hours system which could put workers up to 70 hours in debt. If a worker is paid for more hours than they have worked, an employer can recover the overpayment on a debt basis read more
Christmas delivery chaos as UPS workers ballot for strikes (21 Nov) – Consumers are facing major delays to Christmas and January sales parcel deliveries nationwide as Unite members working for UPS ballot for strike action. Over 2,000 Unite members at the firm, which is headquartered in Feltham, West London, are being balloted over industrial action in a dispute about pay and conditions. Workers including delivery drivers have rejected the company’s latest pay offer of a 2.8 per cent increase and 3.2 per cent increase for 2025 and 2026 respectively. The pay offer is less than the inflation rate (RPI) of 4.5 per cent and a real terms pay cut…The ballot opened this week and closes on 3 December. UPS has already attempted to interfere in the democratic process by putting up posters in its workplaces advising workers not to vote in the ballot. Action could begin in mid-December, hitting last-minute Christmas gift deliveries as well as purchases made during the popular Boxing Day and January sales read more
Manchester festive travel disruption as Metrolink tram workers to strike (21 Nov) – There will be major travel disruption in Manchester next month, as 320 tram drivers working for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited have voted to strike. The drivers, members of Unite, work at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in the city and operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester. This dispute centres around fatigue. Currently, the drivers’ shift patterns mean they 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. They also have fewer rest days compared to colleagues in other operational departments such as engineering and customer support, meaning drivers have suffered from fatigue due to not having adequate breaks and are concerned about operating heavy passenger vehicles while exhausted. Unite has repeatedly raised the issue with management but has been told there is no funding available for improvements to working patterns…The KeolisAmey Metrolink tram system is the largest in the UK, handling a record 45 million journeys last year with four million of these taking place last December. It is part of Greater Manchester’s integrated transport network the Bee Network. Tram drivers will initially walk out from Friday 5 December to Sunday 7 December, impacting major events in the city, such as the world-famous Manchester Christmas markets, Ed Sheeran, Jamiroquai and Pete Tong concerts and the Manchester City vs Sunderland game on 6 December at the Etihad Stadium. It will also cause disruption to people socialising in hospitality venues in the run-up to Christmas read more
First Glasgow workers strike ballot to force buses off the road (19 Nov) – Dispute to hit Glasgow bus depots as workers demand better jobs, pay and conditions. Unite has confirmed today (Wednesday 19 November) that workers who clean and refuel buses for First Bus in Glasgow are being balloted over jobs, pay and conditions. Around 50 First Bus cleaners, fuellers and shunters at the Caledonia, Scotstoun, Blantyre and Overtown bus depots are involved in the dispute. The bus workers and cleaners are demanding that a proposed pay increase is brought into line with other bargaining groups including drivers, because they are the lowest paid within the First group. Without the cleaning, refuelling and re-charging of First Glasgow’s fleet then buses across Glasgow will have to be taken off the roads for safety, cleanliness and re-charging reasons… The ballot opens today (19 November) and closes on 16 December. If the ballot is successful, then strike action is expected to take place from late December read more
Unite launches strikes ballot over Edinburgh council tracking drivers (19 Nov) – Ballot opens on Friday 21 November and closes on 5 January 2026. Unite the union will ballot around 100 workers employed by the City of Edinburgh Council in a dispute over tracking drivers in housing services. The dispute is over the use of data collected by telematics in vehicles. In June 2025, Edinburgh council proposed introducing ‘exception reports’ which record each time a vehicle is used more than an hour before or after a shift. These reports are thereafter sent on to line manages.
Unions previously negotiated a telematics policy with the council so that it was based on the system improving driving standards and ensuring safety. It had protections against using the technology to intrude on members’ privacy. The policy was agreed to in May 2023. Under the policy, managers must request telematics data from Fleet Services and have legitimate reasons for accessing the data. The council is now trying to breach its own policy through exception reports. Unite’s housing services members are concerned about ‘overreach’ into their privacy, and the potential abuse of the telematics system by management to target workers which will lead to disciplinary triggers if a commute takes more than an hour. The union has raised repeated concerns with Edinburgh council to avoid an escalation in the industrial dispute, but management have continued to signal their intention to proceed with the exception reports… The ballot opens on Friday 21 November and closes on 5 January 2026. If the ballot for industrial action is successful, then industrial action in the new year by Unite’s members would lead to all housing services repairs and maintenance being cancelled for Edinburgh tenants. In a consultative ballot in August, Unite’s members across all housing services trades including electricians, joiners, heating engineers, and plumbers overwhelmingly backed strike action and action short of a strike read more
Diligenta staff start national strike in pay dispute (18 Nov) – Unite members at five Diligenta sites walk out today over pay cut. Unite members employed by finance sector outsourcer Diligenta have today (Tuesday 18 November) started industrial action across five sites in a dispute over pay. Diligenta management have been told for months by Unite that the strike action could have been avoided if they had given its workforce an acceptable pay rise this year. The strike action will cause considerable disruption to Dilgenta’s many clients, but the company has only got itself to blame. Management have had every opportunity to make Unite members a fair pay offer but has refused to even take part in negotiations. 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. The dispute is now set to escalate as further strikes have now been scheduled for Friday 28 November, Monday 1 December, and Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 December read more
Mental health unit workers in London escalate strike action in pay row (17 Nov) – Staff in Newham walking out for six weeks this winter to win liveable salary. Dozens of staff that keep a London mental health facility in a fit and proper state are striking from today over a failure by their employer to pay decent wages. Members of Unite will begin a further two weeks of industrial action from 17 November to 30 November, followed by an additional four-week strike over the Christmas and New Year period, running from 8 December to 5 January. This escalation comes after three previous rounds of industrial action causing disruption for patients, staff and the public over four weeks in September and October. Grosvenor Facilities Management (GFM), generate millions in profit from the taxpayer through NHS outsourcing and PFI contracts but it continues to refuse to cover the modest cost required to lift this small group of workers out of poverty pay and bring them in line with their NHS colleagues on NHS terms and conditions. Instead of engaging constructively, GFM has spent thousands of pounds bussing in staff from other sites and contracting expensive agency and catering companies to run a skeleton service 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
Turners’ tanker drivers resume halt to fuel deliveries at nation’s largest airports (17 Nov) – New supply shock to Edinburgh and Glasgow airlines
Unite can confirm that Grangemouth based tanker drivers working for Turners (Soham) Limited are set to resume strike action today (17 November) in an escalating pay dispute impacting major airlines operating at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. Strike action commences at 02:45 on Monday (17 November) concluding at 23:59 on 18 November. This will be followed by further strike action on 20 to 21 November over the same timeframe. The latest announcement follows an ongoing impasse in talks involving Unite and Turners through the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. The company has so far refused to improve upon its ‘miserly’ one per cent pay offer for 2025 and marginal improvements on working conditions and allowances. Turners has 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
Further bus strikes hit South West London as dispute escalates (14 Nov) – Drivers, engineers and stores workers 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 four days earlier this autumn and are now heading to the picket line on 14, 17, 18, 26, 27 and 28 Nov. Drivers, engineers and stores workers based at the Westbourne Park depot are furious at the below inflation pay offer they have received from their parent company, First Bus read more
SAS cabin crew balloted over potential strike action this Christmas (13 Nov) – Pay row means flights to Scandinavia under threat in festive season. Over 100 cabin crew working for SAS Crew Services, based out of Heathrow, are being balloted over potential strike action that would see festive flights to and from Scandinavia under threat. Members of the Unite union are furious at a lack of a decent pay offer from the company with the current offer below the rate of inflation and not being backdated to their pay anniversary date. SAS has only offered a 3.5 per cent pay increase which, with inflation currently at 4.5 per cent represents a real-terms pay cut for hard-working cabin crew staff… Cabin crew are vital to SAS’s UK operations and any industrial action would see widespread flight cancellations in the run up to Christmas. The ballot will open on 14 November and closes on 4 December. Industrial action could then be taken across the festive period read more
Strike action at BAE Systems escalates after High Court victory (13 Nov) – Workers furious with management behaviour and poor pay take further strikes. Workers at BAE Systems factories in Lancashire are escalating their strike action over pay following a dramatic victory in the High Court last week. Over 5200 Unite members voted in a strike ballot over a poor pay offer from the company but were nearly denied their human right to withdraw their labour after BAE chose to take the union to court and seek an injunction. Unite, the UK’s leading trade union in the defence and aerospace industry, won a famous victory that has meant initial strikes went ahead last week. Now, following a refusal by BAE management to negotiate it has imposed a pay increase that has been rejected by an overwhelming number of members several times. As a result, a select group of workers are taking further strike action that will see more production lines at Warton and Salmesbury grind to halt. Strike action will now take place from 26 November until 17 December dependent on exact worker designation and shift patterns read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
CWU
DHL workers voting on “significant” wage offer (8 Oct) – DHL workers are being recommended to vote for a “significant” wage rise offer. Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at the logistics giant are being encouraged to accept an improved deal negotiated by the CWU, after workers accepted the union’s recommendation to reject the initial offer. For warehouse operatives and van drivers, the new offer is a £1000 annual wage increase – a 33% rise from their previous offer of £750. Meanwhile, drivers on a 37- and 37.5-hour week will be offered an £1100 increase, with those on a 45-hour week gaining £1200 – an offer increased by 23.3% and 10.7% respectively. The offer is a substantial increase from previous offers by the company, and much higher in comparison to the standard DHL award, which stood at 2.5% in 2025. It will also be backdated from 1st April 2025, the sum of which will be included in pay at the earliest chance, should the deal be accepted by members read more
Support the Tik Tok workers – CWU UTAW branch (UTAW_uk on X/Twitter)
✊ Join us to demand fair redundancy packages for over 300 workers✊
Last week TikTok announced a mass redundancy putting over 300 of its London employees at risk. TikTok employees have known these cuts were coming and were a week away from voting on union recognition. TikTok has timed this to hurt our movement and avoid scrutiny and transparency on a sham redundancy.
💪 WE’RE DEMANDING A FAIR REDUNDANCY PACKAGE OR REDPLOYMENT FOR ALL
💪 WE’RE STANDING AGAINST TIKTOK’S UNION BUSTING
💪 WE’RE CALLING TIKTOK OUT FOR ITS RECKLESS ATTITUDE TO ONLINE SAFETY
Read more about TikTok’s union busting redundancies here
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]
BREAKING NEWS!! British Library staff announce further strikes (2 Dec) – The members will take another 5 days of strike action in addition to the two weeks already taken. Over 300 PCS members working at the British Library will strike from Monday 8 to Friday 12 December 2025 in their ongoing dispute over pay. The members took two weeks of strike action in October and November read more
Brilliant start to month-long Lincoln DWP strike (1 Dec) – The weather was miserable but spirits were high on day one of the month-long strike on the PCS picket line at the DWP Lincoln Service Centre picket where members are taking action against the closure of their office which threatens 93 jobs. The strike will continue until 5 January unless the DWP is prepared to enter meaningful negotiations with PCS to find a way of keeping the jobs for staff currently under threat of redundancy. Around 20 members braved the cold and wet weather on the picket line. Our striking members have really appreciated the support from DWP branches and from around the trade union movement read more
Members at DWP Lincoln to start fresh period of strike action (28 Nov) – The next period of strike action begins on Monday 1 December and is set to continue until 5 January read more
PCS signs recognition deal with Capita for new Pension Scheme contract (28 Nov) – In a big step forward for industrial relations for members administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme, PCS and Capita have signed a key union recognition agreement. PCS and Capita Pensions Solutions have signed an agreement confirming union recognition for the workers administering the pension schemes for 1.7 million civil servants. The agreement means that the PCS members – based in Liverpool and Cheadle – will have a real voice in their workplace. The agreement between PCS and Capita is a big step forward for industrial relations for the members concerned, and offers a complete contrast to the previous contractor – MyCSP, a subsidiary of Equiniti – who dogmatically refused to recognise the union, leading to a strike lasting from July 2025 until their contract with the Cabinet Office ended. Capita takes over the Civil Service Pensions contract on 1 December read more
More strike action announced at Border Force Maritime (27 Nov) – Following the success of their strike action on 14 November, which rendered several vessels non-operational, our Border Force Maritime members will strike again on 1 December over frozen allowances and unresolved changes to terms and conditions. More than 120 PCS members who patrol UK waters, including the English Channel, are striking from 6am to 6pm, across all Maritime staff. In a ballot which closed last month, 96% of members voted for strike action and 94.95% for action short of a strike, on a turnout of 80% read more
Last chance to vote in MOPAC strike ballot (27 Nov) – The ballot for strike action over pay closes at noon on Monday 1 December. Members working for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime were handed a derisory 1.5% pay offer for 2025-2026 – an offer MOPAC grudgingly increased to 2% after sustained pressure from PCS’s MOPAC branch. This was despite MOPAC admitting it had already budgeted for a 2% pay rise, making its opening offer not just inadequate but deliberately unfair. With the Cabinet Office setting the civil service pay remit at 3.25% for 2025 and inflation running at 3.6%, the 2% award imposed in October this year is nothing short of a real-terms pay cut read more
Support PCS Tate strikers (25 Nov) – More than 150 members at Tate Galleries are taking seven consecutive days of strike action from tomorrow (26) until 2 December. Pickets will be taking place at Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, and Tate Modern – so please support them. The dispute centres on the Tate’s failure to offer an above-inflation pay rise for a second consecutive year – amounting to a real-terms pay cut. In an astounding result for PCS, a recent ballot returned a turnout of 87.7%, with an overwhelming 98% voting in favour of strike action. While pickets will only be taking place at three sites, the action involves members at Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate Modern, Tate St Ives, and Tate Stores. The first day of strike action is set to coincide with the autumn budget in the hope of drawing attention to how a reduction in grant-in-aid funding has negatively impacted cultural institutions across the country read more
DWP pay ballot to start in the new year (21 Nov) – The DWP group will be conducting a statutory ballot of members recommending that they vote yes for strike action on pay to begin in January. The GEC would like to thank DWP members for taking part in the consultative ballot which concluded on 10 October. Members were asked, if they were prepared to take industrial action on pay and have answered in their thousands – 80.5% being in favour of Industrial Action on a 52.3% turnout. This was a significant result for the group and exceeds the turnout required in a statutory ballot. This result clearly shows the strength of feeling amongst the DWP membership. Members made it clear that they are unhappy with the derisory offer from DWP, how DWP distributed the monies available under the treasury remit guidance and DWPs complete refusal to submit a pay flexibility case (business case) to increase spending on pay in the department. The DWP group executive committee has received approval from the national disputes committee to move to a statutory ballot on pay. The National Disputes committee has approved the request to run a statutory ballot across the DWP. It is anticipated that this ballot will run between 5 January and 16 February read more
British Library Revised Pay Offer Rejected (20 Nov) – PCS received a revised pay offer from the British Library which included a minimum pay increase of 3.8%, backdated to 1 August 2025 for all eligible staff. Members met yesterday and unanimously rejected this revised pay offer. While this offer, received on 13 November, is in line with the Civil Service Pay Remit, it falls short of PCS members’ expectations… It’s no surprise then that at a members’ meeting yesterday, members voted unanimously to reject the revised offer. PCS has written to the British Library asking for further improvements to the pay award by no later than noon on Monday (24 November). As always, PCS remains willing to work towards reaching a fair resolution. However, we will consider escalating the dispute if our demands are not met read more
Support members in VOA – Contact you MP about the hostile takeover
In April 2025 the then exchequer secretary to the Treasury James Murray MP announced that the Valuations Office Agency (VOA) would be integrated into Revenue and Customs (R&C) by April 2026 without any discussion with PCS read more
Westminster Security Staff To Strike On Budget Day (17 Nov) – PCS members in the parliamentary security department are striking on Budget Day (26 November) over attacks on their terms and conditions, including the loss of 6 days’ paid annual leave/rest days following the imposition of an extended shift pattern. Members affected had been contracted to work a shift pattern of 8 hours, but this was extended to 12 hours resulting in the loss, and without a new or revised contract being issued by the employer. The issue has been a bone of contention between PCS and the employer for a number of years, resulting in strike action in September after members voted massively in favour of industrial action. PCS referred the matter to the Arbitration, Conciliation Service (ACAS) for mediation following the strikes, but this concluded without agreement on 29 October because of the employer’s refusal to engage constructively with the process. This is in spite of PCS stopping all actions during the mediation period. PCS is committed to working towards a resolution but so far, the employer has not shown a willingness to do the same. The dispute has not been resolved and members will resume strike action on 26 November read more
PCS enters dispute with FCDO over job cuts and performance pay (11 Nov) – The department has failed to meaningfully consult the unions on its restructuring and job cuts programme and has imposed a new and potentially discriminatory performance pay system. PCS has written to the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) to lodge a dispute with the department over FCDO’s failure to meaningfully consult with PCS on the planned major restructuring and job cuts programme. The programme is intended to affect 25%-30% of staff, and is scheduled to start on 12 November. A failure to meaningfully consult unions on potential job losses is a major breach of a national agreement between the Cabinet Office and the civil service trade unions. This national agreement known as the ‘protocols’ applies to all government departments planning changes which can or will lead to redundancy and job cuts. The other element of our dispute with FCDO is opposition to the potentially discriminatory performance pay system, which has also been imposed by the department 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
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
Get the PCS Samba Band to your protests and demonstrations – go to their Facebook page and on X/Twitter @PCS_Samba_Band
Prospect
Prospect calls on government to take action on civil service gender pension gap (1 Dec) – Prospect, jointly with the FDA, has written to Cabinet Office Minister Anna Turley calling for urgent action to tackle the civil service gender pension gap, which stands at 45%, higher than the UK average of 36.5% 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
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
GMB
Christmas crisp shortage? Hula-Hoops workers vote to strike (28 Nov) – The UK faces a Christmas crips shortage as almost 50 workers making Hula-Hoops, McCoy’s, Pom-Bears and Discos vote to strike. A majority of 85 per cent of process operatives at KP Snacks in Billingham vote for industrial action after the company imposed additional duties and responsibilities without any increase in pay. Bosses have now halted all holiday requests while it evaluates the potential impact of industrial action, in what looks like a punitive measure. GMB Union is seeking legal advice on whether this decision is unlawful. Members will now meet to discuss strike dates read more
Taxi and private hire licence overhaul ‘welcome’ (28 Nov) – GMB Union has welcomed a planned overhaul of the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing by the Government. Under the scheme, announced this week, the Transport Secretary will have the authority to impose national minimum standards across England, while the number of licencing authorities could be reduced to just 70, from 263 read more
Amazon’s reputation ‘on the floor’ on Black Friday (28 Nov) – GMB Union, representing workers across Amazon’s UK operations, has today [Black Friday 28 November 2025] commented on the company’s workers rights record read more
Salford chemical workers in rights fight (28 Nov) – Chemical workers at Luxfer MEL Technologies in Salford are taking action to protect their union recognition. Currently, the company recognises GMB Union to negotiate on pay, conditions, jobs and other key workplace issues. Bosses have now announced they will end the voluntary arrangement in January. In response, GMB will apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for statutory recognition, a stronger, legally binding form of union recognition that cannot simply be removed by the company read more
Bromley Parking Wardens to stage march and strike demo (21 Nov) – GMB members to take strike action today and tomorrow and march to Bromley town centre tomorrow. GMB union members working for APCOA Parking in Bromley have overwhelmingly rejected a last-ditch pay offer from their employer and will be striking today and tomorrow. With an almost 100 per cent turnout, nearly 95 per cent of GMB members voted to reject the pay offer. As a result, the planned 48-hour strike action will go ahead 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
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
Shell Bacton Gas Terminal workers begin strike action (20 Oct) – Altrad workers at the Shell Bacton Gas Terminal have today [20 October] started their strike in a row over pay. The strike ballot, held by GMB Union, saw 100 per cent of members backing strike action on a 96 per cent turnout. The dispute was triggered by Altrad’s offer of a one-time 4 per cent pay uplift, which is far below the two-year deal of 11.3 per cent and 5.5 per cent proposed under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI). Altrad workers on the Perenco contract at an adjacent site doing the same type of work are being paid in line with the NAECI increase following another dispute resolved by GMB. This means workers at Shell site are now being paid less than their peers for the same work. Strikes will take place over three weeks in total, on 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th October, and 3rd and 4th November 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
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
Support the workers at the National Coal Mining Museum – Saturday 6 December, 12 noon assembly outside Wakefield Cathedral. Bring your banners, flags and your solidarity
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
Council and school staff need a fair pay rise, say unions (1 Dec) – Failure to deliver a meaningful pay rise will make recruitment and retention problems worse. Unions representing 1.4 million council and school staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling for a wage rise of at least £3,000 to recognise soaring workloads and increasing household costs, they say today (Monday). UNISON, GMB and Unite have submitted their joint annual local government pay claim for 2026-27, demanding a substantial award from April after years of effective pay cuts, which have left staff struggling to keep up with rising household bills. The unions are warning pay for council and school staff continues to lag behind many other public services read more
Three branches, one message: UNISON rejects below-inflation pay offer (21 Nov) – The offer was made five months after unions submitted a pay claim and three months after the pay rise was due. UNISON members holding signs on their picket line reading ‘no pay, no way’ and ‘fair pay now’. UNISON members across three transport employers have balloted for strike action, following a pay offer of just 3.2%. These workers include engineers, admin staff, project managers, transport planners, IT & environmental specialists, to name a few. They are essential operational support staff who keep bus, tram, rail and wider transport services running safely and efficiently. Their work ensures that thousands of passengers can rely on accessible, coordinated, and secure public transport every day – making them some of the most vital workers in the transport system. The 3.2% offer was made five months after unions submitted a pay claim and three months after the pay rise was due. It was rejected by a large majority. UNISON says that these frontline workers – already on low wages – continue to face rising living costs without a pay increase that reflects the value of their work or the financial pressures they experience…The Transport for Greater Manchester branch has taken full strike action on 30 Oct, 5 Nov, 7 Nov, 12 Nov and 14 November and is currently undertaking action short of strike from 15–24 November. It also has action planned for 25-28 November inclusive. The West Midlands Combined Authority branch took strike action on 14 November and began action short of strike on 15 November. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority strike dates are to be announced soon. All branches are currently planning additional industrial action dates, including further days of full strike action. If anyone would like to send a message of support to those on strike, please use the branch email addresses:-
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority & Transport branch: [email protected]
- West Midlands Combined Authority: [email protected]
- Transport for Greater Manchester: [email protected] 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
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
NIPSA
Education Workers Take Action Against Education Cuts And School Meals Price Increase (1 Dec) – The joint trade unions (UNISON, NIPSA, Unite, GMB), representing support staff in education are urging the public to join a protest against proposed education cuts and the Education Authority’s proposal to increase the price of school meals on Wednesday, 3rd December at 12:30 PM on the steps of Stormont. Due to insufficient budgets and chronic underfunding, proposals have been made to cut services and increase fees across the education sector. One such proposal includes raising the cost of school meals by 50p. These measures unfairly place the burden of underfunding on children, education staff, parents, and families—while failing to address the root cause: a fundamental budget shortfall read more
Protest – Wednesday 3rd December 2025 – Stormont (28 Nov) – The Trade Unions representing EA support staff are taking a stand against proposed cuts and rising costs for education services. We are calling on all NIPSA members to join us on 3rd December at the steps of Stormont to send a clear message to the Education Committee: the public should not be expected to cover the funding gap in education. The NI Assembly must set a needs-based budget for education read more
HSC Pay Update (12 Nov) – NIPSA, along with the joint trade unions and Department of Health, held a negotiation meeting yesterday, Tuesday 11 November 2025. At the meeting the DoH representative outlined the pay offer as follows:-
- Implementation of full parity
- Backdated to 1 April 2025
- Fully consolidated
We pressed the DoH on the issue of low pay and are awaiting a response on that issue.
In addition, the DoH outlined the process for implementation of the pay award as follows:-
- Present a business case to the DoF
- Issue a Pay Circular
- BSO processes the award
- Payment
In the event that agreement is reached, the Department has indicated that they would seek to have payment made in February. When we receive the written pay offer it will be circulated to branches for consideration. In the meantime, Branches are asked to maintain preparations for industrial action.
Patrick Mulholland Deputy General Secretary read more
Royal College of Nursing
Budget 2025: nursing and NHS ‘just a footnote’ despite promises to protect health care (26 Nov) – The chancellor offered no transformative funding for nursing, despite RCN calls for fair pay and workforce investment 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
Victory for MSWs in Wales as fairer pay deal delivers long-overdue recognition (24 Nov) – On Maternity Support Workers Day, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Cymru is celebrating a long-awaited deal which will bring pay rises for maternity support workers (MSWs) in Wales read more
BMA
Resident doctors set date for strike (1 Dec) – BMA members will return to the picket lines in run-up to Christmas in search of improved pay offer. Resident doctors in England will strike again this month, with the BMA urging the Government to call off the action by resuming talks on jobs and pay. The BMA resident doctors committee has today confirmed doctors will return to the picket lines in the run-up to Christmas, while urging the Government to ‘get a grip on the situation’ by returning to negotiations. Should it go ahead, the latest round of action will see resident doctors stage full walk-outs from 7am on 17 December until 7am 22 December. Confirming the new strike dates, BMA resident doctors committee co-chair Jack Fletcher said that, while doctors would rather be treating patients than be on picket lines, continuing inaction with addressing the profession’s concerns meant there was no alternative read more
Doctors seek mandate for further strike action (28 Nov) – ‘Regrettable another extension to continue industrial action was necessary,’ says RDC chair. Resident doctors are set to vote on whether to extend strike action amid the continuing dispute with the Government around restoration of pay and jobs. The BMA resident doctors committee is set to ballot doctors in England on extending the right to take industrial action, with the current mandate set to expire in January. The ballot, which will run from 8 December to 2 February 2026, comes in the wake of an unprecedented 13 rounds of strike action, the latest of which saw doctors stage a full, five-day walk out between 14 and 18 November. A ‘yes’ vote would see the RDC’s mandate for strike action extended until August 2026 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
NEU
| Action | Date | Contact | ||
| Belmont Park Special School / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service) | 1-4 Dec | Pablo Phillips [email protected] Mallainee Martin [email protected] | ||
| Colebourne Primary / Birmingham (Pay) | 3 Dec | Shirley Perry [email protected] | ||
| St Saviours CofE Primary / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service) | 1-3 Dec | Pablo Phillips [email protected] Mallainee Martin [email protected] | ||
| Sensory Support Service / Ealing (Unacceptable Management Style) | 1-3 Dec | Stefan Simms [email protected] | ||
| The Children’s Hospital School (Gt Ormond Street and UCH) / Camden (Conditions of Service) | 2 Dec | Megan Quinn [email protected] | ||
| Woodfield School / Brent (Redundancies / Restructuring / Pay) | 2-4 Dec | Jenny Cooper [email protected] | ||
| Ormiston Rivers Academy / Essex (Workload) | 4 Dec | Murray Sackwild [email protected] Rob Howlett [email protected] | ||
| Ysgol Gymraeg Morant / Flintshire (Staff and Child Safety Concerns) | 4 Dec | Cheryl Latham [email protected] | ||
| Liberty Academy / Hull (Behaviour Policy and Procedures) | 5 Dec | Paula Burgin [email protected] | ||
| Redbridge High School / Liverpool (Terms and Conditions of Service) | 5 Dec | Jack Roberts [email protected] | ||
NASUWT
NASUWT welcomes workload report and calls for action (1 Dec) – NASUWT – the largest teachers’ union in Northern Ireland – today welcomed the publication of the Independent Review of Teacher Workload report, describing it as a stark and compelling vindication of the concerns that members have raised for years. The report, which was published today, lays bare an unsustainable workload crisis, confirming that 85.8% of teachers and school leaders do not have a manageable workload and 77% cannot achieve a good work-life balance. It identifies excessive paperwork, tracking and monitoring, and pupil behaviour as the primary drivers of this pressure read more
Ballot opens over Scottish class contact time dispute (19 Nov) – The Scottish Government is facing avoidable industrial action disruption in the new year unless it agrees to act with urgency to address teachers’ workloads, NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union has warned. The Union is opening its ballot of members in Scotland today (Wednesday) over class contact time. NASUWT teachers are being balloted for both strike action and action short of strike action over the Scottish Government’s failure 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 will close on Wednesday 14th January 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
EIS
EIS Urges Teachers to ‘Mark Their Cross’ on Workload This St Andrew’s Day (28 Nov) – The EIS is encouraging teachers to mark their cross this St Andrew’s Day to indicate their support for industrial action on teacher workload. The EIS is currently running a statutory industrial action ballot over the failure of the Scottish Government and COSLA in delivering a commitment to reduce teachers’ class contact time to a maximum of 21 hours per week, as outlined in the SNP 2021 election manifesto read more
EIS Members at Craigclowan School to Take Strike Action to Protect Pensions (24 Nov) – EIS members will be taking strike action at Craigclowan School to protect their pensions. Craigclowan School has used ‘fire and rehire’ letters to force its teachers to give up their occupational teachers’ pension scheme (the STPS) and instead join a cheaper private pension scheme from January 2026 read more
EIS Opens Statutory Industrial Action Ballot Over Teacher Workload (11 Nov) – The EIS has opened a statutory ballot for industrial action over teacher workload. The statutory ballot, held by post to comply with UK trade union law, will run until the 14th of January 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 supports nationwide Workplace Day of Action for Palestine (27 Nov) – The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) is proud to support ICTU’s Workplace Day of Action in solidarity with the people of Palestine on Friday, 28 November. Thousands of workers across Ireland are expected to take part, responding to the call from Palestinian trade unions for coordinated international solidarity that challenges the ongoing injustice and humanitarian crisis in Gaza read more
UCU
UCU Stop the Cuts campaign
Sign petition against the education cuts
England wide strike action to hit 32 colleges in January over fight for fair pay (28 Nov) – Staff at 32 colleges across England are set to down tools for three days in January over low pay and poor working conditions. UCU members at all 32 colleges will strike on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 January, disrupting the start of spring term, if college bosses refuse to come back to the table with a fair pay offer. The strike comes after an overwhelming 91% of staff across the 32 colleges who voted backed downing tools in a ballot with an aggregate turnout of 60%. A further 18 colleges were also balloted but have avoided strike action after UCU members voted to settle their disputes due to winning pay awards worth up to 8.7%. UCU – alongside its sister unions NEU, GMB, UNISON and Unite – is calling for a New Deal for FE, including pay parity with schoolteachers, national workload agreements and a binding national bargaining framework. Employer body, the Association of Colleges (AoC), has recommended a pay uplift of 4%, but colleges do not have to follow the AoC recommendation, and many have failed to do so in previous pay rounds. The average college teacher earns £9,000 less than their counterpart does in schools read more
4 days of strikes begin tomorrow at Imperial College London over real terms pay cuts (24 Nov) – Imperial College London staff will down tools tomorrow in a fight for a fair pay award, the University and College Union (UCU) confirmed today. Management misled staff over benchmarking used to justify pay levels whilst pushing ahead with £2bn of capital spending. Management offered more leave on full pay to fathers’ than to mothers, then took back the additional leave out of shared parental leave. Further strike action called for 1 – 12 December if management refuses to return to negotiations. The full strike days this week are from Tuesday 25 – Friday 28 November and pickets will take place on each day of the action at the South Kensington and White City campuses from 8.30am until 10.30am. If management continues to refuse to make a fair offer, the union has also called strike action on the following dates: Monday 1 – Friday 5 December; Monday 8 – Friday 12 December. UCU members have already taken six days of strike action this term over management’s refusal to increase its below-inflation 2% pay award, an offer that was rejected overwhelmingly by members of all three recognised unions (UCU, Unison and Unite) read more
University of Sheffield staff to strike from this week in job cuts row (18 Nov) – Staff at the University of Sheffield began 14 days of strike action on Monday 17 November, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced. The full UCU strike dates are:-
- Monday 17, Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19, and Friday 21 November
- Monday 24 to Thursday 27 November
- Monday 1, Tuesday 2, Wednesday 4 and Friday 5 December
- Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 December
Pickets will take place at locations across the university on each morning of action, with the main picket at the Firth Court section of the Western Bank campus, where the vice-chancellor’s office is based read more
Edinburgh University three-day strike over cuts, ongoing job losses and threat of compulsory redundancies (17 Nov) – University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members at the University of Edinburgh today (Monday) begin three days of strike action in a dispute over £140million cuts and job losses, including the possible use of compulsory redundancies. As well as striking today, UCU members will also be on strike on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November. Future action could also see a marking and assessment boycott which would see members refuse to take part in marking and assessment duties, including work such as exam invigilation and the processing of marks, and would be an escalation of this dispute read more
University of Derby staff vote for strike action over threat of compulsory redundancies and course closures (13 Nov) – Staff at the University of Derby have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over potential compulsory redundancies and course closures, UCU announced today. In the ballot, 82% of those that took part voted for strike action, with 93% backing action short of a strike (ASOS), on a 66% turnout. The dispute centres on the university’s refusal to rule out compulsory job losses and course closures for the 2025/26 academic year. This comes after two previous rounds of redundancies, which have already targeted research and managerial positions. Despite repeated attempts by the UCU branch to engage in constructive negotiations, senior management has refused to provide assurances that there will be no further job cuts. The union said the threat of redundancies is unjustified, particularly given the university’s significant recent spending, including £75 million on the Cavendish Building project. The union also said the dispute could be resolved immediately if the vice-chancellor and senior leadership commit to no compulsory redundancies and no course closures read more
Strike ballot looms at Northumbria University over attack on pay & pensions (13 Nov) – Staff at Northumbria University have taken steps towards a strike ballot over plans by the university to force staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), UCU announced today. The university has told staff that anyone refusing to move onto the new scheme will have their pay frozen, effectively punishing employees who wish to remain in TPS and locking them into years of real terms pay cuts. Northumbria’s management say that the move could save up to £11 million from staff pay & pensions. But UCU says the proposals amount to an attack on long-term retirement security and would leave many staff significantly worse off. At a packed meeting of almost 250 members this week, staff overwhelmingly voted (by over 99%) to declare a dispute over the pensions changes and pay freeze threat. The union has made it clear that a ballot for local industrial action is now imminent and the university could face disruption if it doesn’t withdraw the proposal 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
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
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 responds to Hong Kong apartment blocks fire (26 Nov) – More than 700 firefighters are tackling a huge fire in multiple apartment blocks in Hong Kong. Wang Fuk Court, which houses about 4,600 residents, caught fire at 3pm local time today. Reports confirm that a firefighter has died while fighting the major fire which is engulfing apartment blocks in the the Tai Po district of Hong Kong read more
Reeves’ budget fails to break with austerity, says trade union leader (26 Nov) – The Fire Brigades Union has responded to Reeve’s budget announced today, describing it as a continuation of austerity, with “significant gaps” in public sector funding and a wealth tax needed to tackle the cost of living crisis 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 November 2025 read more
General Secretary update read more
National Chair update Nov 2025 read here
BFAWU
Winter Foodworker 2025 read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
Nautilus International
Strike action looms at Lloyd’s Register as Dutch employees threaten to bring critical services to standstill over pay dispute (26 Nov) – Nautilus International has issued an ultimatum to Lloyd’s Register EMEA and Lloyd’s Register Maritiem Nederland B.V. after the employer refused to negotiate with union members over pay and working conditions. The union has given the company until noon on Thursday 27 November to agree to demands including a 4.5% wage increase backdated to January 2025, or face escalating industrial action that will directly impact the Port of Rotterdam, offshore wind projects, and the oil and gas supply industry read more
NUJ
NUJ welcomes assurances on jobs as Tuam Herald set to change hands (28 Nov) – The NUJ has welcomed the assurance by the proposed new owners of the Tuam Herald, Celtic Media Group, that all jobs at the County Galway newspaper will be retained when the transfer of ownership is completed in 2026 read more
NUJ statement on removal of day one protection from unfair dismissal (28 Nov) – The NUJ has expressed concern over the weakening of provisions in the Employment Rights Bill after the UK government removed the right to day one protection from unfair dismissal. In a U-turn on its manifesto commitment, the government instead plans to introduce the right after six months. This follows opposition to the Bill in the House of Lords and reported lobbying by business groups. While reducing the qualifying period from two years to six months would be an improvement on the current legislation, recent analysis from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed that this would still leave over 2 million workers at risk of unfair dismissal read more
NUJ Highland chapel at BBC Scotland shows solidarity with STV colleagues (13 Nov) – The NUJ’s Highland chapel at BBC Scotland has passed a motion showing solidarity with STV colleagues in light of proposed cuts to jobs and programming read more
NUJ members at STV to be balloted for strike action over significant cuts (11 Nov) – Members of the National Union of Journalists working at STV are to be balloted for strike action over the proposed axing of the STV North edition of the News at 6, as well as associated compulsory redundancies read more
Journalists at The Mirror vote to strike (22 Oct) – NUJ members at The Mirror have voted yes in a ballot for strike action over compulsory redundancies, rotas and concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on editorial quality. The vote comes after Reach, the commercial publisher that owns The Mirror, announced mass redundancies across the company in September. The Mirror is one of the titles worst affected by the cuts, losing around 40 writers and editors read more
Equity
Equity General Secretary calls the Budget a “damp squib” for the arts (26 Nov) – Equity has described today’s Budget as a “damp squib” for the arts, warning that the Government has failed to deliver the meaningful support creative workers urgently need read more
Equity members rally against Bristol City Council’s planned £635k arts cut (26 Nov) – Equity has condemned plans by Bristol City Council to cut its Cultural Investment Programme by £635,000. The response came ahead of a demonstration against the cuts at College Green this morning (26 November). Organised by local arts and community groups, Equity members were joined at the demo by artists and members of the public concerned about the impact of the cuts read more
Musicians Union
UK Music Report Reveals Music Creators’ Thoughts on AI (26 Nov) – 91% musicians and music creators believe consent should be sought before musical compositions and recordings are used to train AI models, according to new research by UK Music read more
USDAW
Usdaw members overwhelmingly vote for strike action over ‘fire and rehire’ (28 Nov) – Usdaw, the trade union for staff working at car care products manufacturer Tetrosyl and Tetrosyl Express, has today concluded 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. Tetrosyl members voted 94% in favour of strike action on a 76% turnout. For Tetrosyl Express it was a turnout of 65% and 88% in favour read more
UVW
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
IWGB Issues Legal Claims Against Rockstar Over Unfair Dismissal of Staff (12 Nov) – The IWGB has issued claims against Rockstar Games for unfairly dismissing staff for union activity and blacklisting its members. This legal claim comes shortly after the announcement of the delay of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is expected to break records in sales upon its scheduled release in November 2026. The union believes that these dismissals amount to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity. So far Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants 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. 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)
Mandate Trade Union Calls for Respect and Fair Treatment for Retail Workers This Christmas Season (24 Nov) – Mandate Trade Union has today – with one month to go to Christmas Eve – called on retail employers and shoppers to show respect for retail workers as the Christmas period intensifies. Jim Fuery, Mandate AGS, explained that with busy trading hours, understaffing, and rising customer demand, retail staff continue to carry the burden of the sector read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
Family Reunification policy is a direct attack on workers’ rights (27 Nov) – SIPTU has today condemned the Government’s newly published Family Reunification policy, calling it a direct attack on workers’ rights and the dignity of essential workers. The policy published on Wednesday, 26th November by the Department of Justice, introduces new restrictions including “unrealistic” application fees, stringent accommodation checks, and an income assessment based on a single sponsor’s earnings. SIPTU representatives have warned that Government policy will now make it nearly impossible for most migrant workers to reunite with their families in Ireland read more
Caredoc employees announce dispute over pay (27 Nov) – SIPTU and INMO members employed at Caredoc facilities have announced their intention to commence industrial action in the form of a withdrawal of labour, effective from December 18th. SIPTU and the INMO are seeking the implementation of the 2023 WRC pay agreement for Section 39 organisations, specifically the 8% increase due to members working in Caredoc. Caredoc nurses provide a range of services around the country, including GP out-of-hours services, telephone triage and community intervention. The HSE has confirmed to the trade unions that in May 2025 they provided €647,834 to Caredoc for the purpose of paying this increase to staff. The unions are seeking for this to be applied without delay. Thus far money paid by the HSE has not been applied to members’ salaries, and the unions state that this warrants a special inquiry into the funding model and fiscal responsibility read more
Carroll’s Cuisine strike action suspended as management agree to talks (27 Nov) – Strike action at Carroll’s Cuisine in Tullamore, County Offaly, has been suspended following management’s agreement to enter negotiations with union representatives this week. These talks aim to secure a collective agreement that will deliver improvements in pay and conditions for workers at the meat-processing plant 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
SHAC Conference report: Tenant conference agrees move towards a national union – “Our voice is not heard”
There was broad agreement among tenants meeting in London on Saturday that ‘our voice is not heard’ and there was a need to work with unions and community bodies to form a national union of tenants. The conference was hosted by SHAC and involved a wide range of tenants including private sector, council and leaseholders read more on Unite Housing Workers branch website
Townsend Theatre Productions presents: WE ARE THE LIONS, MR MANAGER!
– the story of Jayaben Desai and the Grunwick Strike
Written by Neil Gore Directed by Louise Townsend
We Are The Lions Mr Manager!” is the story of the Great Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike of 1976-8, and the inspirational strike-leader Jayaben Desai, one of many newly arrived Gujarati women workers from East Africa.
Grunwick wasn’t a strike about wages – it was about something much more important than that: it was about dignity. Dignity at work. And, for the small band of Asian women strikers, who braved the sun, rain, and snow month-in and month-out on the picket lines, from August 1976 to July 1978, rights in the workplace and pride at work were far more important than any amount of money
- Tour dates and tickets here. Tickets: £15 and £7.50 concessions
General Strike Centenary & The Cramlington Train Wreckers 2026 – As you know, next year is a hugely important year for working history (centenary of the General Strike) .Following the success of The Cramlington Train Wreckers last November (4,000 people attended 7 venues) it is transferring to the 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal next July. We are looking to touring it next year but would like feedback from unions re support. Can you circulate it among your affiliates, please? We also have an event at Glasshouse in May to mark the first full day of the centenary of the General Strike.
We are using both events to encourage a new layer of (young) trade union activists. It is an opportunity to draw in people We had a tremendous intervention in at Durham Miners’ Gala over the weekend. Any support would be appreciated.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers is transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal after a sell out tour at 7 North East venues (4,000 attended!) last November.
www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
www.wisecrackproductions.co.uk
Alan Hardman ‘Need not Greed’ – Alan Hardman’s razor-sharp political cartoons collected for the first time. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Need Not Greed is a career-spanning collection of visual art by one of Britain’s greatest unsung political cartoonists. Alongside Alan Hardman’s essential work, the book also includes a contribution from former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, as well as a foreword by Jeremy Corbyn order a copy – £45 each
Affiliate with STAMMA – at this year’s NSSN Conference, Gary Clark retired CWU Royal Mail rep and a member of the NSSN Steering Committee spoke about STAMMA. STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’! Find out more about this campaign here
From Strike Map – Our final instalment of the ‘Industrial Unionism’ series with Manifesto Press is here. Building on this success of our other pamphlets- which has sold over 2,000 copies, our next pamphlet in our series is the infamous ‘A Manual of Industrial Unionism’ by William Z Foster. Click the button here to pre-order your copy for you and your organisation
Stop the attack on Gaza
Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government.
See Stop the War website for info on protests.
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)
Workers unity against the far-right – The far-right are again trying to whip up racist division by scapegoating refugees and migrants. The NSSN calls for the unions to play a leading role in opposing this offensive, which will only weaken our movement in the interests of the employees. We call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’
See info on counter-protests on union and trades councils social media and the Stand Up to Racism website.
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
Opening statement to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on behalf of:
Lois Austin, Richard Chessum, ‘Mary’, Dave Nellist, Hannah Sell, Youth against Racism in Europe read here
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
USA: Support the Starbucks strike – read more on Starbucks Workers United website and follow @SBWorkersUnited on X/Twitter
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
2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm
