National Shop Stewards Network

National Shop Stewards Network logo

NSSN 757: MegaPicket shuts Birmingham Bin Depots plus NEU Victory at ATLP

This week’s NSSN bulletin leads with two vital disputes in the West Midlands. The MegaPicket in support of the Birmingham Binworkers and the magnificent victory by the NEU at the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP). There has been mutual support between the two groups of workers. Unite binworkers convenor Matt Reid spoke at the recent NEU ATLP strike rally in Birmingham and NEU members have been strong supporters of the bin strike.

Support the striking Birmingham binworkers

Last Friday, along with many trade unions, we joined the MegaPicket, hosted by Strike Map, in support of the long-running Unite Birmingham Bin Strike. These workers started strike action a year ago against a brutal £8,000 slashing of their wages by the Labour Council, and they have been out indefinitely since last March. Agency workers employed by Job & Talent began strike action on 1 December over bullying and harassment.

Disgracefully, the Council has used vicious strike-breaking measures. There has been mass support for the binworkers and hundreds of union members stood in solidarity with them last Friday. The Council were forced to close the three bin depots. This dispute can be won – victory to Unite and the binworkers.

Below are some posts from personal and organisation accounts:-

Unite: Birmingham council facing millions of pounds in legal claims from bin workers (29 Jan) – Birmingham council faces over 400 legal claims from bin workers whose pay has been unfairly attacked, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The total liability for the claims would be several million pounds, higher than outlined in a deal agreed with the conciliation service Acas in May that the council reneged upon (see notes to editors for full breakdown on legal claims). A deal between the council and Unite would involve an agreement to resolve the legal claims. This means the council is wasting millions by not settling – on top of the more than £33 million it has already wasted trying to break the strike. If the strike is not resolved before May, whichever party wins control of the council after the election will have to pick up the bill read more

Directly employed bin workers have been on strike since January 2025 over pay cuts of up £8,000 for drivers and loaders. Agency workers employed by Job & Talent began strike action on 1 December over bullying and harassment.

  • Birmingham council’s total spend on agency staff in 2024 was £6.4 million, averaging £533,000 a month. There was no spend on Tom White Waste or any equivalent outsourced contract. The total spend on agency staff (Job & Talent) between January and August 2025 was £8.4 million, with another £5 million spent on Tom White Waste – totalling £13.4 million or £1.675 million a month 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/

NEU victory at the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP)

From Daniel Kebede NEU General Secretary

Victory at Arthur Terry Learning Partnership.

After 9 days of strike action, with strong pickets across 20 schools, mass parent support and sustained public pressure, NEU reps and members have won.

– Redundancies stopped.

– TLRs protected.

– Regradings blocked.

– Term-time only changes scrapped.

– EHCP and pupil premium funding protected.

But most importantly accountability secured as the senior leadership has gone.

This is the power of organised workers standing together with their communities.

Congratulations to ATLP members and reps, and thank you to everyone who stood in solidarity

From Chris Denson, Joint Secretary Coventry NEU

Following 9 days of strike action across 20 schools, NEU members have won their campaign to remove all compulsory redundancies against our members, as well as other threats to change contracts, working patterns and other damaging changes.  We have removed the further 9 days of strike action that were called following successful talks, and the total removal of all proposals.  This is a great victory for NEU members, but more importantly for the children and communities that we serve.

We have also seen many leading Trust Board Members and leaders leave the organisation following the revelations.

We have sent an Open Letter to parents and guardians of children across the Trust as we recognise the huge impact that their actions, their support of us and their challenge to the Trust leadership has made. 

Working together, NEU members and parents groups have made an enormous difference to the education of children right across the Trust.  When we see such massive excess, when we see enormous top slicing of funds away from children, when we see specifically allocated SEND money being diverted, then working together as staff and parents/guardians has shown how powerful we can be when we have the children at the centre of our thoughts.

Download and distribute our NSSN Workplace Report - ‘We’re Struggling Down Here’    

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

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

Cheque (NSSN, 16 Warren Rd, London E10 5QA).    

Affiliation letter     

Contact us: email – [email protected].    

  • SAVE THE DATE!! 2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm in Conway Hall in London

Unions must demand Starmer scraps 50% strike ballot threshold now!

Starmer’s Labour government’s Employment Rights Act received royal ascent on 18 December. The NSSN welcomes any improvements in the rights of workers and trade unions. But in the Government’s press briefings, there is nothing about the undemocratic 50% threshold in industrial action ballots, brought in by Cameron in 2016.

This raises yet further unacceptable delays, despite being an election promise by Starmer before being elected with a massive 160+ seat majority in the 2024 general election. It should have been scrapped on day one of the new Labour government. Workers have voted for action by huge majorities, only to fall foul of this outrageous attack on democratic union rights. Unions must now demand that the 50% is scrapped immediately.

The NSSN demands the repeal of all the Tory anti-union legislation, going back to Thatcher. We will continue this fight.

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 last 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.

FINISHING THE JOB: Demand an Employment Rights Bill #2 – Organised by : Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) and Strike Map

  • Sign this form to confirm your commitment to an employment rights bill #2. Please share this action.
  • Campaigning for an Employment Rights bill #2 rally – NEU HQ, Hamilton House, London WC1H 9BD on March 21, 2026 at 11am (hosted by the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom and Strike Map) register here

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

Support the striking Phlebotomists, the longest-running strike of NHS workers in history – 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

Picket plan week 47:

  • Monday 2nd February: No picket. Phlebotomy team meeting at Fosters Restaurant in Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.30 to 11.30.
  • Tuesday 3rd: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Wednesday 4th. No picket Meeting with UNISON at Redwood Education Centre Room 9 at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.30 to 11.30.
  • Thursday 5th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Friday 6th: Relaxed picket at both sites.

Please see the article by Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter for BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80198vdvl8o, who attended unveiling of the Gloucestershire Association banner and the rally outside Shire Hall during Gloucestershire County Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee meeting this week. The two offers made by the Trust deny the right for the phlebotomists to continue their jobs and push them into health care support roles.

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 

USA: NSSN stands with workers, their unions and communities against ICE

We send our solidarity to the families of Renee Good and nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti who have been killed in Minneapolis. Alex’s union American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has issued this statement.

We also send our support and solidarity to all those who took part in the mass strike and shutdown in Minneapolis a week last Friday and have protested there and across the USA.

NSSN Chair Rob Williams sent this message of support

   

Union News     

You can receive this bulletin via email or you can choose to unsubscribe and stop receiving them. Like everyone else, the NSSN has to adhere to new data protection regulations. Therefore you must click here to subscribe/unsubscribe. Reports from unions do not necessarily reflect NSSN’s views.     

     

RMT     

RMT National Dispute Fund      

RMT welcomes rail companies brought under GBR from Sunday (31 Jan) – RMT welcomed London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services being brought under Great British Railways on Sunday but insisted outsourced workers must not be left behind. RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Bringing these services back into public ownership is welcome but it is not right that outsourced staff will not enjoy the benefits of being brought into Great British Railways…” read more

RMT to hold Action Against Assaults event at Scottish Parliament (30 Jan) – Transport union RMT, will demand safe staffing and an end to lone working on the railways at an Action Against Assaults event at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 11 February. The campaign will bring together MSPs, trade unions and campaigners to demand urgent action to tackle rising violence and abuse on public transport of both workers and passengers. The event will highlight the growing risks faced by front-line transport workers, many of them women, who are subjected to threats, harassment and assault simply for doing their jobs. RMT’s Action Against Assaults campaign was launched earlier this year in response to increasing levels of violent and abusive behaviour across the UK’s public transport network. In the most recent RMT survey of women public transport workers in Scotland, 70 per cent said they had experienced workplace violence in the past year, with more than 85 per cent saying it happened more than once. The most common abuse reported was verbal assault, followed by threats of physical violence, while over 20 per cent said they had been sexually harassed at work in a 12-month period. Lone working was identified as a major risk factor, with nearly 60 per cent of those who experienced violence saying they were working alone at the time. Three-quarters (75 per cent) of respondents said violence at work is getting worse. These findings reflect wider trends. A BBC investigation at the end of last year reported a 37 per cent rise in recorded sexual offences on the railway in England, Scotland and Wales since 2015 read more

DLR cleaners will strike alongside City Hall outsourcing protest on February 4 (27 Jan) – Outsourced cleaners will strike alongside a protest at TfL’s Board meeting on 4 February, increasing pressure on Mayor Sadiq Khan over outsourcing and democratic control of the capital’s transport system.

  • The protest, starting at 9.30am on Wednesday 4th February at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE, comes amid ongoing strike action by outsourced cleaners on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) employed by contractor Bidvest Noonan, who are in dispute over company sick pay.

RMT says cleaners have been told that sick pay would only be considered in extremely limited circumstances, such as terminal illness, which the union branded an insult. The union says the dispute is a direct consequence of TfL’s outsourcing model, which allows private contractors to drive down terms and conditions while TfL and the Mayor distance themselves from responsibility. At the same time, TfL has awarded a new five-year cleaning contract covering more than 2,000 workers to outsourcing giant Mitie, despite Mayor Khan previously stating his support for bringing cleaners back in-house. RMT says the decision demonstrates that the Mayor of London is allowing TfL pursue private corporate interests, overriding both democratic accountability and the interests of workers and passengers read more

Windrush line strike action over pay and conditions next month (23 Jan) – RMT members working on the Windrush line will take strike action in February after their employer refused to make a decent pay offer. Workers employed by Cleshar CS Ltd, including the vital signalling and telecoms team, have been offered just a 1.5 per cent pay rise, well below the current rate of RPI inflation. The dispute also involves ongoing problems with overtime and annual leave pay, and inferior terms and conditions compared with those in place under the previous contractor, Carillion. Strike action will take place on Thursday 26 February, Thursday 26 March and Thursday 23 April 2026, with each strike running for 24 hours. Signals and telecoms staff carry out safety-critical duties and without their important work, trains will not be able to run. The employer already relies heavily on overtime because of understaffing, highlighting how central the workforce is to the operation of the line. Cleshar CS Ltd made a profit of £991,915 in its most recent financial year and paid out more than £533,000 in dividends read more

RMT rejects inadequate 4.5% pay offer for RFA seafarers (21 Jan) – Maritime union, RMT has rejected a 4.5% pay offer for seafarers employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), describing it as wholly inadequate and failing to address years of below-inflation offers, minimum wage concerns and a growing retention crisis across the service. RMT says successive pay deals below RPI have significantly eroded earnings, with RFA management unable to demonstrate that pay rates comply with the legal minimum wage once the actual hours worked by seafarers are taken into account. Seafarers can routinely work up to 12 hours a day and there remains no clear or transparent formula setting out how pay is calculated against those hours. During previous industrial action, some of the lowest-paid RFA workers faced deductions of £87 for a single day, showing how little RFA management believed they were being paid read more

ASLEF   

Hull Trains drivers strike as row over ‘unfair sacking’ of colleague continues read more on Hull Live

TSSA

TSSA begins Amey strike ballot over pay (2 Dec) – Railway tracks with platform in view and lighting on. Early morning sky. Rail union TSSA is to ballot hundreds of members employed by Amey after the engineering company implemented a below-inflation pay offer amounting to a real-terms cut in wages. TSSA members employed by Amey across Scotland, Wales, North East, Midlands, London and all Southern regions will be asked to support strike action in the ballot which opens on Wednesday 3 December and closes at 12 noon on Monday 15 December. This action follows Amey’s decision to proceed with a pay offer of 2.2 per cent or £900 underpin, despite the offer being rejected by TSSA members. Industrial action would likely lead to delays and disruption in surveying and maintaining railway infrastructure which is key to a safe running network. Around three hundred TSSA members will be balloted read more

Unite     

Sports events under threat as snooker and tennis ball cloth workers take further strike action (2 Feb) – Workers at WSP textiles take further strikes. Snooker baize and tennis ball felt supplies at risk. Sporting tournaments like Wimbledon and the Snooker World Championships could be at risk as workers at the Gloucestershire factory which makes the balls and baize fabrics take further strike action. Workers at WSP textiles are striking due to the company refusing to make a fair pay offer. Unite members at WSP are furious at the 2.35 per cent pay offer that the company has put forward given the current cost of living crisis. Most earn little more than the minimum wage and haven’t had an above-inflation pay rise in years…Previous strikes dates have already seen the factories grind to a halt and given the lack of anew offer from WSP, workers have been left with little choice but to escalate industrial action. They began a new set of strikes today 2-7 February and 11-13 read more

Strikes back on at BAE Systems after employer refuses to negotiate in good faith (2 Feb) – Offers withdrawn and pay rates changed at last minute causes talks to fail. Hundreds to strike in Lancashire. Highly skilled aerospace workers across Lancashire are taking renewed strike action against their employer, BAE Systems, after bad faith negotiations over pay and conditions saw offers altered at the last minute or withdrawn entirely. Unite members had called off previous strikes to allow talks to take place as an act of good will but this has been thrown back in their faces by an employer seeking to play games and undermine negotiations. Following the first wave of industrial action from 5 November until 28 January another 550 workers were balloted and returned an overwhelming majority chose to strike to make their anger heard. Escalating strike action will see over 1,000 Unite members at Warton and Samlesbury take part in widespread industrial action and over 200 design team members taking part in strikes that will cripple the factory production. The new wave of strike action will begin on 2 February until at least 20 February read more

City of London Bjarke Ingles Group architectural workers protest ‘disgusting’ redundancy plans (2 Feb) – Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) workers will protest outside of the architectural firm’s City of London offices tomorrow over ‘disgusting’ redundancy plans, Unite, the UK’s leading union said today. The redundancy plans were hatched after BIG lured workers, many from overseas, into joining the company to work on a new contract in Saudi Arabia that has since fallen through.

  • When: 1pm Tuesday 3 February 2026
  • Where: Bjarke Ingels Groups, 1 Finsbury Avenue, EC2M 2PF

BIG announced that around 140 jobs are at risk in December and began redundancy proceedings. It had to start the process again in January, however, due to basic procedural failings read more

Time for Stormont to end exclusion of public sector from apprenticeship funding (31 Jan) – To mark the beginning of Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week 2026 (today, Monday 2 February), Unite has released a report. highlighting the current exclusion of public bodies from funding for apprenticeships. Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK which excludes public bodies from accessing funding support arising from the Apprenticeship Levy. The Unite research shows that the exclusion from funding for apprenticeships is coinciding with tightening budgets meaning there has been a sharp drop in the number of apprenticeships being offered by public bodies in the last year. In particular in Translink which suspended its apprenticeship programme. Although £73 million was available to support apprenticeships in 2025 only £48 million was drawn down in the year read more

Government removes ‘insulting’ language against hospitality workers from tipping fact sheet (30 Jan) – A government fact sheet on changes to tipping laws has been redrawn and rewritten after Unite intervened on its use of language which insulted hospitality workers. Earlier this month, the government reneged on a commitment to hand over full control of tip allocation to workers. It then released a fact sheet that included demeaning language such as “the tyranny of a majority of workers” that discredited collective bargaining and wrongly suggested that workers with protected characteristics could lose out from a workers’ tips policy read more

Unite – Labour climbdown on fair tips will hurt hospitality workers (28 Jan)

Metropolitan Police strikes called off as workers accept new pay offer (29 Jan) – Industrial action by Unite members at London’s Metropolitan Police Service has been called off, after workers voted to accept an improved pay offer. Over 170 members of Unite working in the MetCC call centre and in the force’s fleet were due to walk out from 19 to 24 January in a dispute around pay, but this was postponed to allow them to vote on an improved offer from the employer. They had previously taken strike action on New Year’s Eve. The dispute was a result of the fact that Met police officers had already been in receipt of a 4.2 per cent pay rise, along with police staff and officers elsewhere in the country.  However, Unite members at the Met were only offered parity in exchange for drastic and detrimental changes to their terms and conditions. Following negotiations they will now receive the 4.2 per cent pay rise in line with other police forces, backdated to 1 August 2025, without any changes to terms and conditions. They will also receive a one-off payment of £900, towards the cost of living and working in London read more

Unite launches plan to protect workers from Extreme Weather impacts (29 Jan) – Publication of ‘Workers in the Eye of the Storm’ marks anniversary of Storm Éowyn. Union’s demands include mandatory alert-based responses and ‘climate leave’. Trade union Unite, which organises workers throughout the economy, this morning (Thursday) launched a new policy toolkit, In the Eye of the Storm. The document includes a summary of responses to a survey of Unite members carried out in the wake of Storm Éowyn last January together with a set of proposals designed to protect workers’ health, safety and incomes during and in the immediate aftermath of extreme weather events.  Unite’s plan also includes proposals to protect workers from extreme temperature events read more

Sullom Voe strike action escalates at major oil and gas terminal (28 Jan) – Shetland based Sodexo workers in dispute over unacceptable pay offer. Sullom Voe terminal workers step up industrial action today (Wednesday 28 January) in an escalating pay dispute with Sodexo. Around 30 Unite members at Sodexo resume 24-hour strike action in a long-running pay dispute after workers overwhelmingly rejected an unacceptable two-year pay offer. Unite can further confirm an escalation in industrial action with 24-hour stoppages set to take place on 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25 and 27 February. The workers perform various roles including mechanics, cleaners, plant operators, and electricians. Unite’s Sodexo members unanimously backed strike action. In 2024, Sodexo posted profits after tax amounting to £593,000 read more

Unite welcomes proposed veterinary legislation reforms (28 Jan) – British Veterinary Union, UK’s only union for vet staff, says proposed reforms must replace voluntary accreditation with mandatory regulation. The British Veterinary Union (BVU), part of Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed proposed reforms to veterinary legislation but called on the government to go further to protect pets, owners and workers. The union, which will be taking part in the eight-week consultation with DEFRA on updating the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act, is calling for the current quality bench marking scheme to be replaced. Currently, the Practice Standards Scheme is a voluntary accreditation that the BVU believes should be replaced with mandatory regulation read more

Disruption to East London buses as drivers ballot for strikes over fatigue (28 Jan) – There is set to be major disruption to East London bus services as over 300 drivers are being balloted for strike action in a dispute over scheduling and breaks. The workers, members of Unite, work for the East London Bus & Coach Company (part of Stagecoach). They are based at the Bow Bus Garage. Unite members involved in the dispute have raised concerns with the employer about problems with scheduling. Many of the bus journeys can take as long as an hour and a half, with drivers completing these several times during their shifts without adequate breaks, leading to fatigue. Bus drivers are also only having 10 hours of rest time between shifts, less than the European Time Directive mandate of at least 11 hours. Stagecoach is also requiring that bus drivers refuel their vehicles using remote electric charge points, which increases work demands and worsen the problem of fatigue. Meanwhile, it is also refusing to schedule meal relief breaks at the depot, leaving drivers without a suitable area to recover…The strike ballot closes on 11 February read more

Cast iron rules needed on steel procurement, Unite (27 Jan) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, which represents thousands of steel workers, is demanding the government introduces clear rules to ensure that UK produced steel is used in all major projects read more

Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS staff strike (27 Jan) – Workers walk out over imposed shift changes, loss of pay, bullying and outsourcing. Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust workers will strike in February, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The dispute involves both pathology and clinical engineering staff at the trust. Pathology staff will strike over plans to introduce a new shift system without meaningful consultation, which is expected to result in a loss of earnings for staff. Pay protection has been reduced from five years to two, further undermining financial security when working arrangements change. Staff have also suffered financial losses due to failures to reimburse mileage expenses and late-night taxi travel in line with local agreements. Pathology staff are also striking over the failure of the trust to tackle claims of bullying, harassment, and discrimination within the department, even after they were substantiated during an employment tribunal. As a result, these behaviours have been allowed to continue. In clinical engineering, staff strongly oppose the outsourcing of their department and the proposed transfer of roles to Siemens Healthineers. This would erode terms and conditions and would not benefit staff or patients…the workers will take strike action on 4, 5 and 6 February. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

International Transport Workers Federation strike ballot over union rep sackings (26 Jan) – International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) workers based in London are balloting for strike action over the sacking of two union reps, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Unite is calling for the immediate reversal of the unjustified terminations on January 15, which failed to follow internal procedures. After Unite members challenged planned redundancies and went on strike in September 2025 for the first time in the 129-year history of the union federation, ITF management targeted two union activists. Internal policy states that staff facing redundancy must first be offered an individual consultation as part of the employer’s responsibility to identify redeployment opportunities. A Unite shop steward, who played a leading role in workplace negotiations and the strike effort, unexpectedly received a termination letter on 15 January stating that “we do not believe further consultation would be meaningful.” He had previously been told that he would be invited to a consultation meeting after the hearing of his grievance, which has yet to be scheduled. The grievance raised concerns over a pattern of detrimental treatment connected to his trade union activity, including the denial of his statutory protection as a new parent, and the lack of consideration for his status as a migrant worker on an employer-sponsored visa. Another outspoken union representative received a termination letter on 15 January that acknowledged “shortcomings in your particular redundancy process” but insisted that the outcome “would not have changed” despite his own pending grievance regarding serious procedural issues. Before prematurely issuing the dismissal notice, ITF management did not even give the staff member the opportunity to apply for vacant roles in his newly restructured team… The ballot for strike action is over the sacking of the reps, the failure to take sufficient steps to tackle sexual harassment and misogyny, and the ITF’s proposals to implement detrimental changes to T&Cs in a manner which breaches agreed bargaining procedures. It opens on 2 February and closes on 26 February read more

Unite raises Village Hotel Glasgow illegal strike breaking with government (23 Jan) – Union highlights job agency adverts during strike action by hospitality workers. Unite has lodged a legal complaint concerning illegal strike-breaking by Village Hotels. The complaint focuses on the unlawful use of agency labour during industrial action by workers. Workers at the Glasgow-based hotel have participated in ongoing strike action since 28 November. Unite members unanimously supported taking industrial action in the dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Unite has received job advert information which indicates that employment agency – Mint People – provided temporary workers to directly replace striking workers. This is clearly against the law. The union has requested that the department of business and trade urgently investigate and take enforcement action as appropriate. Village Hotels sought to recruit agency workers through the agency to undertake roles including pub and grill staff and night porters. Unite has further written to the managing director of Mint People Agency to put on record its concerns over the unlawful deployment of agency labour during industrial action read more

Leeds Passenger Transport strikes suspended after council puts forward improvement plans (22 Jan) – Strikes by around 80 Unite members at Leeds City Council Passenger Transport this week have been suspended after the employer came back with plans to tackle problems within the service. Workers involved in the dispute were due to walk out today (22 January) and tomorrow (23 January) as well as later this month. They include drivers who take service users such as children with learning difficulties to school as well as passenger assistants and office support staff. They have already taken industrial action after cuts to the service such as a lack of proper equipment and missing risk assessments had led to workers and those who use the service being harmed. However, strikes have been halted after negotiations. Leeds City Council has agreed improvements with Unite, including providing risk assessments and training and hiring an interim head of service to provide additional support. Unite has given Leeds City Council until 2 February to implement these changes. If this does not happen, strike action will restart from 4 February read more

Cambridge Stagecoach workers intensify strike action over pay disparities (21 Jan) – Cambridge one of UK’s most expensive cities but drivers paid £1.78 an hour less than Manchester colleagues. Cambridge Stagecoach workers will stage further strike action later this month and into February, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The 200 drivers and engineers are demanding a pay increase that reflects the difficulties and stresses of the job and the high cost of living in Cambridge, one of the most expensive cities in the UK. While Cambridge drivers are paid just £16.22 hour, drivers in Manchester are paid £18 an hour and Liverpool drivers are on £17.43. Stagecoach made operating profits of £97.3 million in the year to April 2024 on sales of £1.6 billion… The workers began strike action in late December. As well as striking on 24 January, fresh strikes have been scheduled for 26, 28 and 30 January and 9, 11 and 13 February. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

More London bus turmoil as drivers back further strikes (19 Jan) – There will be further disruption to bus services in North East London as 350 bus drivers will continue to strike in a dispute over bullying and union busting. Workers at the Lea Interchange Bus Company (part of Stagecoach) have agreed to take further industrial action due to the absence of credible proposals to solve problems at the depot, which have included Unite representatives being bullied by management. Unite reps have been the target of aggressive behaviour, including being unfairly dismissed then reinstated and suspended on trumped-up charges. Unite believes the reps are being targeted for undertaking union activities, which goes against UK employment law…The drivers operate several routes across North East London from the Lea Interchange Bus Garage in Leyton, East London. These include the 97 which serves the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre and the 276 which goes to Newham Hospital. Drivers will strike on 6 and 7 February and 20 and 21 February, impacting weekend travel including shopping trips to Westfield as well as half term journeys. Previous industrial action on 12 and 13 December and 9 and 10 January saw cancellations of most services operating out of the Lea Interchange garage, with no buses leaving it at all during the December strikes read more.

  • Email messages of solidarity to:-

           branch secretary Faz – [email protected]

           branch organiser Moe – [email protected]

  • Donate to the strike fund: Unite LE/254 Lea Interchange branch; Unity Trust Bank; Sort Code 60-83-01, Account no. 20060855 (reference: enter your name/union branch/trades council/organisation)

Unite’s ballots hundreds of workers over Strathclyde university job cuts (19 Jan) – Over 400 hundred workers at the University of Strathclyde will be balloted over strike action. Unite can confirm that over 400 hundred workers at the University of Strathclyde will be balloted over strike action in response to proposed job cuts and a failure by the institution to consult on organisational change. In December, it was revealed that the university is set to slash 76 full-time posts, revealing it had a £35m funding gap. Unite has condemned the university’s failure to fully consult unions over the planned cuts to jobs and to rule out compulsory redundancies… Any strike action following a successful ballot would impact on cleaning and maintenance services along with the security of buildings and student residences.  Trades staff taking any strike action would lead to a lack of joiners, electricians and plumbers who deal with leaks, lighting and gas issues in university buildings. Technicians involved in strike action would directly impact on student learning in labs. The ballot opened on 16 January and will close on 16 February read more

Crane operators strike will see building sites across the UK shutdown (13 Jan) – Workers from Wolffkran cranes taking action over pay and conditions. Strikes by workers from Wolffkran tower cranes at building sites across the UK will see construction work grind to a halt this winter. Nearly 100 tower crane operators are taking strike action after not receiving a pay rise in three years. Unite members at Wolffkran are furious that the company is now also seeking to cut some of their additional benefits including standby payments. Given the importance of tower cranes on major construction projects, sites will see work halted when the crane operators walk out later this month. Wolffkran operates on some of the biggest construction sites in the UK including the Grenfell Tower deconstruction, the Cambridge Science Park and the new headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Berkshire read more

Diligenta staff escalate strike action in pay dispute (12 Jan) – Unite members have today stepped-up strike action on five Diligenta sites over pay. Unite members employed by finance sector outsourcer Diligenta have today (Monday 12 January 2026) restarted industrial action across five sites in a dispute over pay. The Diligenta staff in the head office site in Peterborough will now also be balloted for industrial action. Diligenta management have failed to meaningfully negotiate with Unite on pay and this strike action follows five days of strike action which took place in November and December. Unite has made clear that further strike action could have been avoided if they had given its workforce an acceptable pay rise for 2025. The strike action will cause yet more disruption to Diligenta’s clients, Management have had every opportunity to make Unite members a fair pay offer but have refused to take part in meaningful negotiations on pay. Approximately 1,000 Unite members working at Diligenta sites in: Liverpool, Glasgow, Reading, Edinburgh and Stirling will take further strike action from Monday 26  – Friday 30 Jan (5 days) from 00:01 until 23:59 on Sunday 18 January. Picket lines will be congregating from 7:00 on Monday 12 January. Picket line locations:-

  • Liverpool 101 Old Hall Street L3 9BD
  • Edinburgh 30 Lothian Road Edinburgh EH1 2DH
  • Glasgow 125 West Regent Street Glasgow G2 2SD
  • Kildean – Stirling 15 Central Way Kildean Business Park Stirling FK8 1FT
  • Reading 3 Forbury Place 23 Forbury Road Reading Berkshire

St Enoch VUE cinema workers continue strikes as dispute intensifies (7 Jan) – Entertainment cinema workers set for a further round of four weeks’ strike action. Dozens of VUE Entertainment cinema workers based at the St Enoch’s centre in Glasgow are set for a further round of four weeks’ strike action starting tomorrow (8 January) in a fight to secure better jobs, pay and conditions. In a historic first at a major Scottish cinema chain, Unite hospitality members  have been taking strike action over four weeks during the festive period as part of the campaign to secure the real living wage for workers aged 18 and over, union recognition, and safe subsidised transport for workers at the end of shifts. The latest round of strike action will last for four weeks starting from 8 January 2026 and continuing each day up to 6 February 2026. Unite represents the overwhelming majority of the customer assistant and team leaders at the VUE St Enoch’s site read more

Health visitors in Wales balloted for strikes due to losing thousands in pay (19 Dec) – Workers preparing to strike due to incorrect grading costing them up to £9000 a year. Health visitors working in South Wales are balloting for strikes in the new year, after their NHS employer refused to pay them the correct salary based on their qualifications which is costing them between £8000 to £9000 per year. A ballot for industrial action opened this week for Unite members who work as health visitors in Cwm Taf Morgannwg (CTM). The ballot closes on 26 January and should workers vote for strike action this could commence in February. Health visitors who do vital community outreach work for new mothers and families, are furious that they are graded as Band 6 workers. This is despite internal job grading now matching as a Band 7 requiring a masters qualification. The CTM University Health Board has refused to acknowledge their own job descriptions and pay health visitors accordingly. This deliberate act of downgrading is costing health visitors between £8000-9000 per year dependent on where workers are on their pay scale read more

Doncaster Cheswold Park secure mental health hospital strikes suspended after improved offer (18 Dec) – Strikes by around 120 Cheswold Park hospital workers have been suspended following an improved offer from South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Industrial action scheduled for 18, 19, 25 26 and 31 December and 1 January has been called off to allow the workers to ballot on the offer read more

British Airways cleaners at Heathrow to strike over low pay this Christmas (18 Dec) – Over 80 Unite members employed by facilities services firm OCS to clean British Airways offices and buildings across four terminals at Heathrow are taking industrial action this Christmas over low pay. Staff involved in the dispute are currently paid the minimum wage of £12.21 per hour. Since early last year, these workers have been asking for the London living wage of £13.85 per hour – calculated to match the high cost of living in the capital. Their counterparts on the Mitie contract at Heathrow, who do similar roles, are paid the London living wage…Strikes will take place from today (18) to 29 December. There will also be a demo outside Hatton Cross station today (18) and tomorrow (19) from 12-2pm both days…The workers involved in the dispute are employed under the OCS soft services contract. As well as offices including BA’s Waterside head office, they clean cargo and engineering hangars where planes are repaired read more

Yorkshire Airedale NHS microbiology workers strike over being underpaid and over worked (16 Dec) – Airedale NHS microbiology workers responsible for carrying out diagnostic tests are to strike over being underpaid and over worked. Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has failed to address the fact that the workers are on the pay band below what they should be for the work they carry out. The trust has also agreed to undertake extra work for another trust that the microbiology workers will have to carry out, increasing the number of call outs during nights and weekends. As a result, out of hours rotas have been changed without consultation or regard to current workloads…The workers will strike from 18 to 25 December, resulting in testing delays for Airedale General Hospitals and local GP services. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

New strikes at Sellafield as “union-busting” sees workers laid off (12 Dec) – Contractors exploiting legal loophole to lay off workers in Cumbria. A fresh wave of strike action is due to take place at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria this winter as workers walk out amid union-busting tactics from employers. Unite members will take part in industrial action from 15-19 December that will severely hamper operations at the site in a dispute over Sellafield-specific allowances that would see workers rewarded fairly for their work on a hazardous, nuclear site. In the latest development in the ongoing dispute, workers at five subcontractors are to walk out. This continued phase of the escalation plan is causing widespread disruption due to targeting production more effectively in conjunction with an overtime ban…The strikes come amid “union-busting” tactics from some employers who are exploiting a legal-loophole to allow them to lay off workers involved in the strike action. These layoffs (issued by Altrad, Enigma Industrial Services, Kaefer and William King Construction, PPS Electrical, ES Steel and Shepley Engineers)  are taking place under a cover-story of a lack of work, but in reality are retribution for strike action…Unite remains committed to resolving the dispute. The union is calling on employers to enter into discussions with credible solutions that recognise the unique hazards and skills set required at Sellafield. Workers at the following contractors will be taking part in this action: Altrad, Enigma, Kaefer, Stobbarts Limited and Design Grid read more

Christmas chaos at Village Hotels in Leeds as workers walk out (12 Dec) – Staff at hotel join colleagues in Glasgow in taking strike action in dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Workers at two Leeds hotels are to take strike action for the first time after members voted to walk out. Over 80 per cent of housekeeping staff who are Unite members at the Leeds North and Leeds South Village hotel will take strike action from 26-28 December. At this busy time of year for the hotel, customers will be faced with unmade beds and no cleaning services. Workers at a Village Hotel in Glasgow are already engaged in strike action due to the poor pay and conditions that workers are forced to endure. Unite Hospitality members at Village Hotels in Leeds will go on strike for equal pay, the real living wage and union recognition read more

London Grosvenor Casinos workers to strike over key festive party dates (12 Dec) – All bets are off for Grosvenor Casinos management this festive season, as licenced gaming staff as its three largest venues have voted to take industrial action. Around 140 workers, members of Unite, will walk out in two different 48-hour strikes after rejecting a below-inflation 2.5 per cent pay rise. Staff involved in the dispute 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. The Unite members involved in the dispute work in roles such as running the poker rooms and roulette tables. These are extremely specialist jobs, which require rigorous training and a legal requirement to hold a licence to be able to work in the industry. The strikes will take place on Boxing Day and 27 December followed by New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, historically very busy days for the casino chain read more

Rally in support of Bassetlaw ICU nurses striking against fire and rehire (12 Dec) – Dispute has escalated after trust tries to union bust by threatening to not pay nurses on days they are working. Protesters will rally in support of Bassetlaw nurses striking against fire and rehire contract changes on Monday. The nurses are striking 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’. They would also face overly long commutes before and after 13-hour shifts, with the risk of exhaustion putting themselves and patients at risk. In an attempt to union bust, the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has written to the nurses and told them that they will not be paid if they take action short of strike action. 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. This week, the trust said it will class them as volunteers and not pay them if they continue to only work on the ICU as part of their industrial action…The nurses are striking from 15 December to 19 December. Industrial action will further intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

Fresh bus strikes across West London as workers reject latest pay offer (11 Dec) – Staff at London Transit to walk out in run-up to Christmas. 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. Drivers and other workers have already taken part in industrial action this autumn and will now walk out on 12, 15, 22, 23 and 24 December. Strikes will cause widespread disruption across west London with Christmas markets and festivities in full flow. Drivers, engineers and stores workers based at the Westbourne Park depot are furious at the latest pay offer they received which included a new, lower paid starter grade for drivers read more

Transport for Greater Manchester workers join Metrolink Tram staff in December strikes (11 Dec) – TfGM and tram strikes to take place over busiest shopping period of the year. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers begin a fresh round of strike action tomorrow over fair pay. 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. They are striking alongside their colleagues in the Unison union. The workers have rejected a below inflation 3.2 per cent pay rise and are demanding an increase that reflects the rising cost of living and the increased workloads they have taken on since the creation of the Bee Network. TfGM can well afford to improve its pay offer as it holds £2.1 billion in reserve…Fresh strikes will take place on 12, 13, 19 and 20 December, with disruption across the Bee bus and tram network read more

Thirty workers targeted after speaking out about dangerous conditions at Royston site, where two colleagues have also tragically committed suicide (10 Dec) – Thirty workers targeted after speaking out about dangerous conditions at Royston site, where two colleagues have also tragically committed suicide. More than 30 workers have been suspended from the Johnson Matthey’s hydrogen gigafactory construction site in Hertfordshire for refusing to accept worsening dangerous conditions. Workers are also angry that contractors BGEN and Bilfinger are disregarding mental as well as physical health, following the companies’ inadequate response to two separate on site suicides. The safety breaches include: No running water or heating, no cold weather PPE and inadequate ventilation despite the grinding of paint containing carcinogens. The site was shutdown by the operators for two weeks due to the health and safety concerns; however the issues have not only not been resolved but are worsening. BGEN and Bilfinger are refusing to allow union access on site and two workplace reps have been suspended. Unite understands Johnson Matthey has instructed BGEN and Bilfinger to union bust, despite both companies being part of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry. The £80 million government backed project will produce hydrogen battery components for electric vehicles when it is completed read more

Turners’ tanker drivers resume halt to fuel deliveries at nation’s largest airports (10 Dec) – New supply shock to Edinburgh and Glasgow airlines. Grangemouth based tanker drivers working for Turners (Soham) Limited will resume strike action this week in a long-running pay dispute impacting fuel supplies to major airlines operating at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. The Turners drivers will strike for four days on December 11 and 12 and December 22 and 23. Previous strike action took place during October and November. The imminent strike action follows an ongoing impasse in talks involving Unite and Turners through the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. The company has refused to improve on a real terms pay cut amounting to one per cent for 2025 at a time when the broader inflation figure stands at 4.3 per cent read more

Christmas shortages of Guinness Zero as strikes at Diageo plant in Belfast back on after workers reject substandard pay offer (9 Dec) – Empty shelves could greet shoppers looking for Guinness Zero this Christmas after Unite members at Diageo in Belfast voted overwhelmingly to reject an inadequate pay offer from management and to take strike action. Around 90 workers will commence an eight-day strike from 7am on Friday 12 December continuing until the early hours of Saturday 19 December. A previous eight-day strike was due to commence on Friday 5 December but was suspended by workforce reps to allow consideration of the new pay offer made the day before. The strike will shut down the site which is the world’s largest producer of Guinness Zero. The workers are seeking a pay deal ending the pay gap with Diageo’s site in Runcorn, England. Earlier this year Diageo reported net profits of more than $2.5 billion globally and a key driver of that success is Guinness Zero – the UK’s best-selling alcohol-free beer read more

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

   

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]     

Update on Civil Service Pensions administration chaos (2 Feb) – The Cabinet Office has confirmed that the inherited backlog of 86,000 cases has increased since Capita took over and around 8,500 civil servants have not been paid their pensions. PCS members working in Capita on the Civil Service Pension Scheme have reported major system shortcomings and an acute shortage of staff. While some ‘surge and rapid response’ staff are being deployed, pensions administration requires weeks of training, limiting the immediate benefit of this deployment. For months PCS had warned the Cabinet Office that we didn’t believe Capita was ready to take over, and we recommended bringing the physical administration of the scheme back in-house read more

Cat Little says Capita is falling short (28 Jan) – The chief operating officer for the civil service has said that the situation affecting Civil Service Pensions has caused hardship and falls short of the service that members deserve. Cat Little, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office and chief operating officer for the civil service, has sent a message to all civil servants today (28) saying that the situation affecting Civil Service Pensions has caused hardship and falls short of the service scheme members deserve read more

Industrial action boosts PCS membership at Tate Gallery (2 Feb) – Members at the Tate Gallery have endorsed an end to industrial action, closing a campaign that has led to a 125% increase in membership. Following the first round of industrial action in November over pay, terms and conditions, PCS went back into negotiations with Tate Gallery management. The strong turnout, with over 200 members on picket lines, had a big impact. PCS secured significant improvements but there was still more to be done. As a result of the campaign, new members joined PCS from a wide range of job roles, including the art handling teams, conservators and curatorial staff. To keep up the pressure on management, PCS issued an additional notice of targeted and sustained industrial action, utilising the increased leverage gained through the branch’s strategic recruitment efforts. Just before the new round of strike action was due to start, Tate management made final revisions to its offer, including a consolidated pay offer which is 50 and 80% higher than its original offer, restoration of conditions of service including the subsidised staff canteens, clear pathways to better working conditions, with consultation for installation schedules and negotiations to implement better rest provision. Going forward PCS has also been promised negotiations on new agreements which will give PCS real influence over the key decisions which affect our members. This was enough for members to call off the strike action and close the active industrial campaign read more

Welsh Government confirms final Budget for 2026–27 (30 Jan) – Compared with the draft Budget, overall spending has risen by £400 million, but many areas of the Welsh public sector and wider society remain underfunded. The Welsh Government has published its final Budget for 2026–27, setting total spending at £27.5 billion ahead of the Senedd election on 7 May 2026. The budget reflects updated forecasts and a December agreement with Plaid Cymru, which includes £180m for Health, £112.8m for Local Government, and £120m in capital funding reserved for the next administration. Compared with the draft Budget, overall spending has risen by £400 million, with major increases directed to health, local government, education, transport, and climate change portfolios. However, these have not addressed inflation and pay pressures, and we would look for clarity on how updated OBR forecasts had been incorporated. PCS Cymru welcomes progress made, however we remain clear that there are many areas of the Welsh public sector and wider society that remain hugely underfunded read more

Met Police members accept improved offer to end dispute (28 Jan) – The improved pay offer was made following the threat of further strike action by PCS members. PCS members working for the Met Police Service were balloted on the pay disputes that has been ongoing for a year. 82% of members voted to accept a £900 one off payment to settle the London allowance dispute, alongside a commitment to begin negotiations on consolidated increases for 2026-2027. And 94% supported a 4.2% uplift on pay and the location allowance, with an agreement to begin talks on harmonising various allowances. Met Police management were brought back to the negotiating table following strike action taken by PCS members on 5 November 2025. The strike action meant that 80% of 999 call handling had to be carried out by redeployed police officers, and almost all custody suites across London were closed. Members made clear they were prepared to take further action on 15 January this year, coinciding with action being taken by members in the MOPAC branch. This led to a meeting with ACAS at which management made the improved offer read more

Join next Super Saturday to help win DWP ballot (26 Jan) – After 6,000 calls were made last Saturday, PCS members are preparing for the second Super Saturday (31) event, where they can call DWP members to increase turnout in the ongoing strike ballot. If you are a DWP member, you should’ve already received your ballot. You must complete the ballot form and return it by post by 23 February read more

DWP members in Lincoln continue their strike action for a further two weeks (5 Jan) – DWP members in  Lincoln Service Centre began a further two weeks of strike action today (5) to follow on from the 31 days of strike action they have already taken. Members who work in the service centre are absolutely determined to fight to keep their jobs in Lincoln. As low paid workers they cannot afford to travel long distances to remain working in the DWP and they have been clear that redundancy is not an option for them. DWP are refusing to back down on their announcement to close the Lincoln Service Centre, which could see over 80 members of staff face the risk of redundancy read more

FCDO restructure – Bargaining demands and Indicative ballot (23 Dec) – PCS is running an indicative online ballot of all members in FCDO and Wilton Park with a deadline of 2pm on Friday 9 January. Members are asked to tell us if you support our bargaining demands, and if you are prepared to take industrial action. While some progress has been made in dispute talks between PCS and FCDO, the department is still failing to consult PCS meaningfully on a range of key issues. Full details are in the Members’ Briefing issued on 22 December. At our dispute meeting with FCDO on 18 December, your PCS representatives again asked FCDO to pause the restructure until reviews into the work of the FCDO are completed and the organisation redesigned, based on those reviews. We said that PCS would pause our campaign opposing the job cuts in response. However, FCDO would not agree. Unfortunately, this gives us no choice but to press ahead with an indicative ballot on industrial action read more

British Library members asked to sacrifice terms and conditions for pay (22 Dec) – On 12 December, management approached PCS with a revised pay offer which involved scrapping employees’ health cash plans to subsidise a 4.2% pay award. As the majority of our members at the British Library are low-paid workers, they rely heavily on the health cash plan for routine health expenses such as eye tests, dental treatment, and prescriptions. As such, the revised offer was rejected by PCS on the basis that it would translate into a worse pay deal than any previous offers. Since then, the British Library (BL) has returned to its offer of 3.8%, with a £2,000 uplift for employees on the Grade C minimum, and the promise of a review of the alternative working pattern (AWP) allowance for security officers. The offer does not include restoration for last year’s shortfall when other public sector workers received 5% in line with the civil service pay remit but BL workers received only 3%. Almost half of Grade C staff would not be entitled to the £2,000 uplift, meaning the longest-serving members of staff would be earning the same as new starters. In addition, we are still awaiting a pay review that was promised three years ago. In a letter to PCS on 18 December, the British Library stated, “We have worked in good faith to address valid concerns raised only to have further demands made and conditions for ending industrial action changed.” This is incorrect. Our original pay claim in March contained seven asks, and we have since centred on three main demands in an attempt to settle the dispute:-

  • Inflation-proof pay with restoration
  • Addressing grade compression for Grade Cs
  • AWP allowance for security officers.

PCS met with the British Library on 15 December to discuss alternatives to resolve the dispute, including multi-year pay awards, pay modernisation, and a joint approach with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Almost all proposals were rejected by the Library on the basis of affordability. This latest refusal comes off the back of repeated insults from the British Library, such as advising workers to ‘skip’ Christmas presents for the year to help with the cost-of-living crisis. Meanwhile, we have heard that the British Library has promoted eight senior members of staff to interim director posts, without transparency or interviews. The British Library has repeatedly claimed they are in dispute with a “minority of workers”. However PCS represents nearly 500 members across both British Library sites in St Pancras and Boston Spa, making us the largest trade union at the library. In negotiations with management, PCS has repeatedly highlighted the results of an earlier survey of unionised staff which revealed that 71% found their salary insufficient to meet basic needs such as groceries, bills, and transport costs…As of 19 December, the British Library has said there will be no further increases to the pay award for 2025/26. Both parties have agreed to meet with ACAS in an attempt to resolve the dispute read more

Palace of Westminster security staff to strike again on New Year’s Eve (19 Dec) – The security staff’s fourth day of strike action threatens to disrupt a planned event by Speaker of the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Over 300 PCS members who work in security at the Palace of Westminster will strike on 31 December in their ongoing dispute over a loss of annual leave, pay and terms and conditions. The 24-hour strike follows previous action in September and November. The strike on 31 December has already led to the cancellation of the Commons Terrace New Year’s Eve event and is expected to force Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, to cancel another function, a charity event, that evening. As speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay is responsible for the parliamentary estate, but he has refused to intervene in the dispute or speak up for the strikers 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

London Museum members vote to take industrial action (2 Feb) – Prospect members working for London Museum have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, including strike action, in a dispute over pay. A pay claim was submitted in March 2025 but an offer from the employer was not forthcoming until September 2025. This and two other subsequent offers were rejected by members with the final offer, £420 consolidated +1% then another £150 consolidated, being imposed and leading to the industrial action ballot. London Museum has made misleading claims about the size of the pay offer. As a London Living Wage (LLW) employer those on the LLW received a 5.5% pay rise in accordance with the last financial year’s rise. But this only applies to a minority of our members. The fact that the LLW increased by 5.3% clearly demonstrates the cost-of-living pressures members are facing, and highlights the severe financial impact on the majority who are receiving the base offer. Some others will have received a higher pay rise due to performance related pay but the base level pay offer is far short of the Museum’s claim. It is very misleading to suggest that many staff have received 5.5% when most are subject to a below inflation rise. 88% of votes were in favour of taking strike action with 12% against, while 94% voted in favour of taking action short of a strike with 6% against. Turnout was nearly 90% of those eligible. Prospect members will now meet to decide on the timings for any industrial action, and engage further with the employer to seek an acceptable offer read more

Proposed cuts at STFC “counterproductive and damaging” (30 Jan) – Research Professional has reported that staff at the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have been told in a presentation by management that the Council is to face a substantial cut to its budget. There will be a 30% cut in funding for particle physics, astronomy, and nuclear read more

Cabinet Office update on Civil Service pension scheme delays (29 Jan) – The Cabinet Office has provided an update on the serious problems affecting the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme following the transfer to Capita read more

Prospect members lobby MPs about salary sacrifice restrictions (27 Jan) – The 2025 Budget announced that employer and employee NICs would be due on pension contributions above £2,000 a year made through salary sacrifice from 6 April 2029 read more

AWE members slam ‘incompetence’ of restructure and consultation process (21 Jan) – Across three packed branch meetings, nearly 1,000 Prospect members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment gave collective voice to their growing dismay, anger and frustration with senior management and the ‘sheer incompetence’ of a major restructure and redundancy programme read more

AWE members to vote on industrial action over botched restructure (13 Jan) – Prospect members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) are to vote on industrial action after a litany of errors and poor consultation from senior management at the organisation, which builds and maintains the UK’s nuclear deterrent read more

Workers at the Planning Inspectorate to take industrial action (15 Dec) – Prospect members working as planning inspectors and other professional staff within the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) are to take industrial action in a dispute over pay and job evaluation. Our members at the Planning Inspectorate play a vital role in helping to deliver the Government’s growth missions, whether for key national infrastructure, national housing targets, or smaller scale approvals and appeals. The industrial action short of strike will commence today (15 December) and could run until 23 May 2026 unless progress can be made to resolve the dispute. It comes after a ballot in which 79% voted in favour of taking action. The action will be continuous and consist of only working contracted hours and a voluntary overtime ban. The action is taking place after the imposition of a rejected pay deal which results in below inflation pay awards for significant numbers of members linked to a contested job evaluation exercise and the freezing or reducing of pay minima and maxima for some grades read more

GMB  

Amazon job cuts ‘show company for what it is’ (28 Jan) – GMB union has responded to Amazon announcing 16,000 job cuts. Rachel Fagan, GMB Organiser, said: “Amazon is showing itself for what it is; a company that cannot be trusted to do the right thing by working people in the UK. Bosses are overseeing thousands of job losses which will cause huge damage in towns and cities across the country…” read more

Hundreds of Barnsley Hospital workers vote on industrial action (27 Jan) – More than 600 workers at Barnsley NHS Trust are voting in an industrial action ballot after the bosses threatened them with fire and rehire. The trust wants to impose new contracts upon a wide range of staff, including nurses, technicians and clerical workers, removing all paid breaks and imposing longer unpaid breaks which will see staff working extra and longer shifts for no more pay. A total of 2000 workers are affected, approximately half the workforce – any who reject the change will be sacked and rehired on the worse contract. The majority of those affected are nursing staff working on the wards. There are concerns that most in these roles will be unable to take their full breaks due to patient care and staff shortages, increasing the likelihood of higher unpaid hours across the trust. The indicative strike ballot begins Tuesday 27 January and will close on Monday [2 February] read more

Airedale hospital workers hand in 7,000 petition ahead of strike (16 Jan) – Striking Airedale Hospital workers will today [Friday, 16 January 2026] hand in 7,000 strong petition to bosses, days before they walk out for a week. More than 200 essential staff, including porters, domestic staff, catering teams, and security personnel, will strike from 20 January to 26 January, demanding NHS pensions for NHS work. Today GMB members will hand-deliver a petition with more than 7,000 signatures to Airedale NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive, Foluke Ajayi. The affected staff were outsourced to AGH Solutions (AGHS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, in 2018. Since then, they have secured significant improvements to bring their terms and conditions closer to NHS standards. However, pension inequality remains unresolved read more

Dozens of Bromley Parking Wardens to protest outside council meeting (8 Dec) – Dozens of GMB members employed as parking wardens will protest outside the full council meeting of London Borough of Bromley tonight. The outsourced workers are employed by the council’s contractor APCOA, a multi-million pound, multi-national company. The members were taking a third day of action today, after no further pay offers were made by the company since their last strike read more

Strike at ‘frozen turkey capital’ this Christmas (2 Dec) – Workers at one of the UK’s largest frozen food facilities will walk out from today. Members of GMB Union have begun a two week walk-out at frozen food storage giant Magnavale Easton. The Lincolnshire based company employs nearly 100 people and is one of the areas largest storage facilities for frozen turkey products on the lead into Christmas. With customers including owners of the Bernard Matthews brand, the 2 Sister Food Group, concerns are mounting about the impact the strike action could have on operations at the site and availability of turkeys on the run up to Christmas. Strike action will take for two weeks place until Sunday 14 December 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

   

Unison     

Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund   

Refusal to compensate Waspi women deepens injustice, says UNISON (29 Jan) – UNISON will continue to support and fight for Waspi women. Commenting on the government announcement today (Thursday) reaffirming there will be no compensation scheme for Waspi women, UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “This decision slams the door on justice for a generation of women who lost out through no fault of their own…” read more

Andrea Egan supports equal pay fight in Barnet (27 Jan) – General secretary sends message of support to union’s equal pay campaign: ‘I want every member to know they have the union’s full backing’. UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan has sent an unequivocal message of support to Barnet UNISON members after the branch launched a borough-wide equal pay claim across the London Borough and the council’s two wholly owned arm’s-length companies. Launched at the end of last year, Barnet is facing an equal pay challenge that cuts across council services read more

Special educational needs support staff to strike next week (21 Jan) – School staff supporting pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in Essex have announced a series of strikes over a lack of recognition and pay, UNISON says today. Teaching assistants, pastoral support workers and other support staff at three schools run by the Lift Schools multi-academy trust will walk out next Wednesday (28 January), and seven further days from 5 to 13 February. The specialist staff – at Columbus School & College in Chelmsford, Pioneer in Basildon and Lift Clacton’s The Key – say they should receive an additional allowance for their specialist roles read more

Appeal for striking members at the National Coal Mining Museum (19 Jan) – 40 members have been on strike since 20 August 2025 over a pay rise which was offered, then retracted by their employer. Members of UNISON Wakefield branch who work at the National Coal Mining Museum – and who have been on strike for six months – are appealing for financial support. In June 2025, the National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield made a pay offer to its workers of £1 per hour, or 5%, whichever was greater. UNISON agreed to ballot members with a recommendation to accept the offer. Ten days later, the employer withdrew the offer and replaced it with a reduced offer of 80p per hour, or 5%. When the strike action started last August, the National Coal Mining Museum further escalated matters. In October, it withdrew the 80p offer entirely and replaced it with an offer of just 62p per hour.

Branches or individual members can donate using the details below:-

Cheque payment – Please make cheques payable to ‘UNISON Wakefield’, mark payment as ‘MINING STRIKE on reverse of cheque and send to: Wakefield District UNSION, 18 Gills Yard, Wakefield WF1 3BZ.

BACS transfers –

Account Name: UNISON WAKEFIELD M.D 13351 BRANCH

Account number: 20320236

Sort Code: 608301

Please mark your payment as ‘MINING STRIKE’ read more

Sign this petition calling for the resignation of the board of trustees and chief executive Lynn Dunning

Hospital staff in Leeds to strike this week in back pay row (15 Dec) – NHS staff who work in operating theatres in hospitals across Leeds are to strike for two days later this week in a dispute over money they are owed. Theatre assistants employed across four hospital sites run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust* will walk out at 8am on Thursday (18 December) for 48 hours. The workers perform tasks such as inserting cannulas, collecting samples, and sterilising equipment, which the union says should have been paid at a higher rate. UNISON says staff should be moved to the correct grade and compensated fairly for the extra duties they’ve already carried out. Earlier this year, trust interim chief executive Brendan Brown oversaw a deal at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust that saw staff given five years’ back pay. UNISON says the Leeds trust’s refusal to settle up is out of step with what is happening elsewhere in the region and around the country. Since 2021, more than 40,000 healthcare workers have been regraded and awarded back pay through deals with the union at over 60 NHS trusts across England and Wales read more

Stop the Council Cuts – Sign the petition: Save our Services – Nottingham City Unison    

Sign open letter: Reinstate Tom Barker, UNISON rep at Ash Field Academy in Leicester

(Hosted by Leicester and District Trades Union Council).

To Paul Stone, Discovery Schools Academy Trust (DSAT)

Leader, and Richard Bettsworth, Chair of DSAT Trustees.

On October 20 2025, UNISON members at Ash Field Academy, a

special educational needs school in Leicester, voted to take industrial action

over inadequate staffing levels, excessive workload, and health and safety.

Staffing levels at Ash Field, which was taken over by Discovery Schools Academy

Trust (DSAT) in 2024, have been diminishing over the last year as DSAT sought

to make savings.Combined with a redundancy consultation that took place

shortly before the 2025 Summer break, this led to the loss of approximately 10%

of the school’s workforce, mostly from frontline workers. These cuts have

greatly increased the workload of the remaining staff, stretching them to the

point that their health and safety is at risk. The union, which represents around 100 members at the school, completed a formal industrial action ballot on October 20. 86% of members voted in favour of strike action, on a turnout of 60%.

Just three working days after the result of this ballot, UNISON’s lead steward at the school, Tom Barker, was suspended from his duties. Tom was given no prior warning of a complaint and was escorted from the

premises. This is a disgraceful act of trade union victimisation and

potentially places DSAT outside the relevant employment laws. Tom’s suspension

is a direct attempt to silence union members and victimise their rep who also

now sits on the UNISON’s National Executive Council (NEC)  SIGN HERE

NHS staff need pay talks now, says UNISON (2 Dec) – Direct talks are the way to fix pay and avoid falling foul of minimum wage laws. The government must hold urgent talks with health unions to fix the NHS pay structure once and for all to avoid staff falling below the legal minimum wage each year, says UNISON today (Tuesday). Without action, tens of thousands of employees on the lowest wage bands will once again drop beneath the statutory minimum level when it rises by 50p an hour to £12.71 from April 2026. That’s also the date all NHS staff are due their annual pay rise. But UNISON says delays and a failure to tackle low earnings properly mean the government risks having to resort to a temporary top-up to avoid falling foul of the law 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

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

Public Sector Pension: Age Discrimination Claims. Final Deadline, Friday 30 January – NIPSA commenced age discrimination claims in June 2022 on behalf of approximately 45,000 members arising from unlawful changes to public sector pension arrangements introduced in 2015. A recent Employment Tribunal judgment has confirmed that NIPSA acted properly in submitting these claims on a protective basis. However, the Tribunal has also ruled that members who do not provide consent for their claims to proceed will have their claims struck out. NIPSA is continuing to contact affected members by post and email to seek outstanding consents read more

Education Support Staff Trade Unions EA Changes to Car Users Allowances (20 Jan) – On 17 December 2025, the Education Authority issued a notice to staff informing them of significant changes to the Essential Car Users Allowance Scheme and mileage rates. These changes will have a detrimental financial impact on thousands of staff. The EA have ceased the payment of the Essential Car Users from January for some staff. Other staff will receive a reduction in the mileage rate they can claim from 1 April read more

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

   

Royal College of Nursing     

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 

CSP

Paediatric physios call out lack of action on ‘catastrophic’ waiting times (29 Jan) – This week the BBC has reported that a quarter of the 300,000 children on waiting lists for NHS community care have been waiting more than 12 months read more

SOR

Members in Northern Ireland asked to contribute to 2025/26 pay award consultation (15 Dec) – With assurance from the Northern Ireland Minister of Health regarding pay parity in AfC banding, the updated award will now be prepared. A consultation for members of the SoR in Northern Ireland has opened, inviting radiographers in the region to participate in the 2025/26 pay award consultation. Opened on Wednesday 10 December, the consultation will run until midnight on Sunday 4 January, giving members a chance to confirm whether or not they accept the pay award, as recommended by the Pay Review Body, of 3.6 per cent for 2025/26. If not accepted, members will be asked if they are willing to undertake industrial action read more

BMA

Resident doctors in England vote for six months more industrial action (2 Feb) – Resident doctors in England have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a mandate for industrial action for a further six months. This is in support of their ongoing campaign for more training posts and restoring the pay they have lost in real terms over the past 16 years. With 93% (or 26,696) of resident doctors voting yes on a turnout of 53% the resident doctors committee (RDC) is urging the Government to act immediately to prevent further strikes taking place in the coming months read more

Resident doctors in Scotland suspend strikes (9 Jan) – Further negotiations produce offer from Scottish government the BMA recommends doctors accept. Strikes by resident doctors in Scotland due to begin on Tuesday have been suspended following a new offer on pay and contract reform. The BMA Scottish resident doctors committee recommends members accept the offer, which is the equivalent of a 9.9 per cent end-of-year pay uplift for this year and 9.4 per cent for 2026-27 read more

NEU  

NEU Cymru ask Welsh Government to save education in Wales (27 Jan) – Speaking about the vote on the Welsh Government’s budget today, National Education Union (NEU) Cymru, Wales Secretary, Nicola Fitzpatrick, said: “NEU Cymru members are really clear – education must be a priority for the Welsh Government…” read more

  • Support the strikes:-
ActionDateContact
Bideford College / Devon (Conditions of service)3-5 FebCamilla Simpson [email protected]  
Colebourne Primary School / Birmingham (Pay policy) 3, 5 FebShirley Perry [email protected]  
Hillyfield Primary Academy / Waltham Forest (Unacceptable pay and appraisal scheme)2-4 FebPablo Phillips [email protected]  
Samworth Church Academy / Nottinghamshire (Conditions of service)3, 5 FebRob Illingworth/Sarah Brown [email protected]   Sarah Brown [email protected]  
Tewkesbury Academy / Gloucs (Conditions of service)4-5 FebMichaela Wilde [email protected]  
The Children’s Hospital School & UCH / Camden (Conditions of service)2-6 FebMegan Quinn [email protected]  
Wombourne High School / Wolverhampton (Conditions of service)3-6 FebRebecca Cann [email protected]  
Woodfield School / Brent (Conditions of service)2 FebJenny Cooper [email protected]
Woodlands School / Harrow (Conditions of service)3, 6 FebAlex Davies [email protected]

NASUWT   

Culture of violence and intimidation prompts teacher strikes at two primary schools (5 Jan) – Teachers at Lily Lane Primary School in Manchester and Ravensfield Primary School in Tameside – part of Changing Lives in Collaboration (CLiC) Trust – will begin strike action on Tuesday 6th January. Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at both schools report that pupil-on-teacher and pupil-on pupil-assaults have grown to untenable levels, and that leaders are refusing to acknowledge or resolve urgent issues around health and safety, safeguarding, or staff safety and wellbeing. In some cases, the schools’ culture of violence is causing pupils to be fearful of attending school read more

Further strike action at Kettering school over inadequate management (15 Dec) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Meadowside Primary School in Kettering will be taking further strike action on 15th and 16th December over adverse management practices which are affecting teachers’ health and working conditions. NASUWT teachers at Meadowside took a day of strike action on 4th November, but agreed to withdraw a further five days of planned strike action as a gesture of goodwill after the employer offered further talks. However, since then the school management has failed to put in place any effective measures to address the issues of excessive workload, a lack of transparency and effective communication and lack of career progression. As a result, further strike action has become necessary read more

Hexham teachers strike over failure to address behaviour management (8 Dec) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Haydon Bridge High School in Hexham will be taking the first of five planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) over the failure of school management to put in place an effective pupil behaviour management system. NASUWT withdrew the first two days of planned strike action on the 19th and 25th November as a gesture of goodwill after management agreed to act to address members’ concerns about a lack of action to deal with poor pupil behaviour. However, no effective actions have subsequently been put in place by school management, leaving NASUWT with no choice than to reinstate strike action read more

    

EIS   

EIS Opens New Statutory Industrial Action Ballot over Teacher Workload (2 Feb) – The EIS has opened a new statutory industrial action ballot over teacher workload. The ballot, which runs until the 4th of March, is asking teachers to vote for or against Strike action and/or Action Short of Strike (ASOS) over excessive teacher workload. As a result of current UK trade union law, the ballot is by post only. All eligible EIS members will receive a yellow voting pack by post over the next few days, and are being urged by the union to take part in the democratic process, cast their vote and return their ballot papers as soon as possible read more

Strikes announced at ENU (28 Jan) – Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers Association at Edinburgh Napier University are to commence strike action in an escalation of a dispute over job cuts and redundancies at the university. A recent ballot, organised by the EIS, resulted in an overwhelming majority vote in favour of strike action, with 92.5% of those voting backing strike action. The EIS has now notified the university of the move to strike action and again urged the ENU management to return to the negotiating table with a promise to rule out compulsory redundancies read more

EIS Members at Craigclowan School Continue with Programme of Strike Action to Protect Their Pensions (21 Jan) – EIS members at Craigclowan School near Perth will continue with their fifth day of strike action as a dispute over cuts to the staff pension scheme continues. Members are striking in order to protect their pension from being moved out of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) and into an inferior scheme as part of a cost cutting measure read more

EIS opens formal ballot for industrial action at Lenzie Academy over serious Health & Safety concerns (15 Dec) – Following an overwhelming indicative ballot result at Lenzie Academy—where 95% of EIS members voted in favour of industrial action—the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has now opened a statutory ballot for industrial action. The formal ballot opened last week and will close on Friday, 30 January. If the employer, East Dunbartonshire Council, fails to address the serious health and safety concerns raised by staff, EIS members have indicated a willingness to take strike action, with strike dates to be confirmed following the formal ballot process. EIS members have repeatedly raised urgent concerns about the safety of the school environment read more

INTO

Outcome of Member Survey on 2025-2026 Teachers’ Pay Offer (13 Jan) – INTO surveyed members in relation to the pay offer from the Management Side of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC), dated 6 January 2026, between 9:00am on Thursday, 8 January 2026, and 5:00pm on Monday, 12 January 2026. The outcome of the survey indicated that 81% of those members who responded were in favour of accepting the offer. Following verification of the survey outcome, the Northern Committee and the Central Executive Committee of the INTO have considered the offer and the survey responses. They have agreed to accept the offer of a 4% consolidated pay award, applicable to all teacher salary scale points and to teaching and special needs allowances, with effect from 1 September 2025. This decision is made on behalf of the membership, as set out in Rule 121, Part E, within the INTO Rules and Constitution (2024). The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) has formally notified the Management Side of acceptance, bringing the 2025/26 pay round to a close read more

UCU     

UCU Stop the Cuts campaign  

Sign petition against the education cuts  

UCU calls for an end to budget cuts as government response to Justice Select Committee report reveals 25% slash in education in prisons (30 Jan) – The University and College Union (UCU) has today called for proper funding for prison education and an end to cuts, as the government responds to the Justice Select Committee report into prisoner reoffending. In its response published today, the government revealed that core education delivered in prisons would be reduced by up to 25% across the UK. While welcoming the recommendations of the Commons Justice Select Committee, the UCU is urging the government to stop the damaging staffing cuts in prison education if it really wants to tackle prisoner reoffending. UCU submitted evidence to the inquiry and the final report cited several points we had raised read more

University of Essex staff to strike in February in fight against job cuts (28 Jan) – 7 days of strikes will hit the University of Essex in February over plans to cut 400 jobs, UCU has announced today. Staff at the university will down tools from Thursday 12 February until Thursday 19 February, with continuous action short of a strike (ASOS) starting on Thursday 12 February. ASOS will consist of staff working strictly to contract, boycotting exam boards and open days, not undertaking voluntary activities and not covering for absent colleagues, or colleagues withholding labour for ASOS. The decision follows a ballot in which 85% of participating staff backed strike action, on a turnout of 66%. The dispute centres on the university’s plan to axe 200 academic and 200 professional services staff, resulting in more than one in 10 of the workforce losing their job. University management informed staff of the plan just before Christmas, wants to issue redundancy notices by May and has since announced plans to close the Southend campus over the summer

Two rallies have been organised, in collaboration with Unison and Unite to protest against cuts to jobs and closure of Southend campus:-

  • Southend rally – 12:00-13:00 – Thursday 5th February

The Forum, Elmer Square, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 1NS

Speakers: UCU general secretary Jo Grady, Unison general secretary Andrea Egan

  • Colchester rally – 12:00-13:00 – Thursday 12th February 2026

University of Essex, Colchester Road entrance (Wivenhoe-side), Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ

Speakers: Unison general secretary Andrea Egan (tbc) read more

Union condemns London Met job cut plans and calls on supporters to attend rallies (27 Jan) – UCU has today condemned plans by London Metropolitan University (London Met) to slash the jobs of 120 academic staff.Although London Met made a loss last year, the union said there was still cash and current investments of over £60 million. For this year, they have committed £27 million for capital expenditure, which still leaves a healthy cash balance. Last year alone, 19 senior staff received between £105,000 and £295,000 with the vice-chancellor earning £341,000. The university is planning to cut jobs in the schools of Art, Architecture & Design, Business & Law, Built Environment, Computing & Digital Media, Health Sciences, and Social Science & Professions. Formal notice of redundancies for those to be sacked will be given in March 2026. Some schools have disproportionately targeted professors, readers, and associate teaching professors, with adverse consequences for research and teaching. London Met exists for people from non-traditional academic backgrounds, including women, people of colour and others with protected characteristics. It has a proud history of educating working class students, many from the local community and many who are the first in their family to go to university. But all this is at risk if these ill-considered plans go ahead. UCU says the cuts will result in fewer teaching staff, less academic support, less feedback and advice for students and fewer courses. UCU has planned three rallies next month to protest against the plans and is encouraging staff, students and supporters to attend on:-

Northumbria University staff vote for strike action in pay and pensions row (23 Jan) – Staff at Northumbria University have voted to take industrial action over plans to pressure them to leave the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), the UCU announced today. The decision follows a ballot in which 80% of participating staff backed strike action, on a turnout of 60%. University management wants to save money by moving staff onto the Universities Superannuation Scheme, which could leave them significantly worse off. Those who refuse the transfer 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 wants to save £11 million through these cuts which UCU says amount to an attack on long-term retirement security. The dispute comes amid growing national concern about universities such as Northumbria and Solent seeking to cut pension costs at the expense of their staff. A petition calling on the university to rethink its plans has reached over 1000 signatures, and MPs have raised concerns and tabled a motion in Parliament. Public figures including the North East Mayor and local councillors wrote to the university recently offering support to staff and calling on the university to rethink its plans read more

Union condemns continued docking of staff pay following strike action at University of Sheffield (22 Jan) – UCU today condemned the lockout and withholding of staff pay at the University of Sheffield following lawful industrial action. Staff at the university took 16 days of strike action in November and December in a fight against job cuts in professional service staff and further plans to cut jobs in academic areas. The university has this week informed staff that if they do not reschedule any teaching lost during the strike (for which staff were not paid) wages would be withheld between 19 January and 6 February and any work undertaken regarded as voluntary. Over 900 students have this week signed an open letter to Sheffield’s vice-chancellor, Koen Lamberts, saying they have lost confidence in him and calling on him to resign read more

Staff at 17 English college employers on strike from today for better pay and working conditions (14 Jan) – staff at 17 colleges across England will begin three days of strike action from today after bosses refused to make fair offers over pay and working conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) confirmed today read more

Strike ballot looms at Durham University over workloads and job insecurity (8 Jan) – Staff at Durham University are moving towards a strike ballot after senior management refused to engage constructively with the union over untenable workloads and worsening job insecurity, UCU announced today. The ballot, seeking a mandate for strike action and industrial action short of a strike (ASOS), is due to open on 15 January and run until 6 February read more

New Year strike ballots at four Scottish universities (5 Jan) – Strike ballots over job losses and the possible use of compulsory redundancies begin today (Monday) at four Scottish universities. The strike ballots will take place at Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Stirling and Strathclyde universities where members of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland are being asked if they are willing to take strike action.  As well as strike action, members are also being asked if they are willing to take action short of strike which can include actions such as working to contract; refusing to cover for absent colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities; and marking and assessment boycotts. The ballots at the four universities leave open the possibility of strikes and disruption on university campuses as universities enter their busy Spring terms when much of the teaching, examination and marking of students’ work takes place.  If members vote for strike action, they will join UCU members at the University of Dundee where members have been taking strike action last year in a long running dispute over cuts and job losses.  A dispute at the University of the Highlands and Islands was resolved before Christmas and significant progress was made at Edinburgh in a dispute there over job cuts. In the event of ‘yes’ votes in the four separate ballots, it will then be up to members to decide what action to take and how to pursue the dispute against their employer.  The disputes share a common cause of principals seeking to make cuts and refusing to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies read more

University of Sheffield International College staff to strike over pay and conditions (23 Dec) – Staff at the University of Sheffield International College (USIC) have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) announced today. In the ballot, 90% of those that took part voted for strike action, with 100% backing action short of a strike (ASOS). The turnout was 61% read more

Huge strike vote at Southampton Solent over brutal fire & rehire pension attack (15 Dec) – UCU members at Southampton Solent University have voted to strike after management forced hundreds of staff out of their preferred pension scheme and onto new contracts all while threatening to sack those who refused to be moved, the University and College Union (UCU) announced today. An overwhelming 93% of staff who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 72%, paving the way for disruption in the new year if management refuses to change course. Last Thursday (11 December), Solent moved 286 staff off of the university’s books and into a subsidiary company, Solent University Services Ltd (SUSL), forcing them out of the industry standard Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and onto a scheme that allows Solent to get away with paying less into staff pensions, leaving them poorer. The preceding day (Wednesday 10 December), university management told the 286 staff to email HR by “close of business” if they “object to the transfer” and their employment would then cease immediately read more

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

     

FBU   

Hundreds sign petition against cuts to Buckinghamshire fire and rescue service (23 Jan) – A petition protesting plans to cut the fire and rescue service in Buckinghamshire has gained over 500 signatures. Launched by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the petition calls for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority to stop plans to remove 7 fire engines and close 2 fire stations in the county. The FBU says that these proposals will lead to slower response times with fewer crews available and longer distances to travel to emergencies, reduced fire cover, and increased danger for residents and firefighters. The petition also calls for the fire authority to scrap plans to expand the chief fire officer’s operational independence, stating that this will reduce democratic oversight, transparency, and accountability at the top of the fire and rescue service read more

Fire service names eight fire stations under threat of closure in Dorset and Wiltshire (23 Jan) – Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has this morning informed firefighters of proposals to close eight fire stations across the county, in a series of cuts that the Fire Brigades Union has warned will put lives at risk 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 January 2026 read more

General Secretary update read more

National Chair update January 2026 read here  

NAPO

Probation staff deserve better (30 Jan) – The trade unions submitted a pay claim to the employer just over a year ago. After an unprecedented delay of more than 12 months the employer has presented us with a below inflation pay offer that fails to recognise the value of our incredible work as part of a crumbling criminal justice system, especially delivering successive government policies to reduce the horrific state of prison overcrowding in England and Wales read more

The offer is anything but fair (30 Jan) – The offer has been described by HMPPS senior leaders as being ‘fair’ or ‘good’. Don’t be misled, because it is anything but. As we’ve set out in the pay claim Probation pay has fallen way behind that of other sectors in the past 15 years. How is it fair that this pay offer won’t even do enough to match Probation workers pay with others in HMPPS, the Ministry of Justice or the wider Civil Service? What financial incentive is there for people to stay in Probation when they could get thousands of pounds more for doing a similar job elsewhere? We’ve seen some attempt to claim that this offer is a good one for Probation as it is like that received by Prison staff. Even if that’s accepted, and it’s questionable if that’s accurate, what’s the point of parity for this one year of a pay cycle when we’re so far behind already. All that does is maintain the inequality between our pay and Prison Service staff read more

Backpay entitlement won’t make you better off in the long run (30 Jan) – Firstly, it’s important to recognise that that for many members, for example those in receipt of in-work benefits or making Student Loan repayments, receiving backpay presents significant difficulties and brings huge levels of anxiety. As a trade union this was one of the reasons we’ve tried to progress the employer making a pay offer as quickly as possible, and the huge delay – and the impact of this on some members – is entirely the fault of the Government and HMPPS read more

Progression Payments (30 Jan) – HMPPS also claim that incremental progression payments – paid in June last year (although we maintain these should have been paid in April as per the agreement we signed previously with the employer) – mean that some staff have achieved pay rises of well over 4% read more

Angry reaction to speculation if Probation Pay offer is rejected (30 Jan) – At Wednesday’s meeting of Napo Branch Chairs and Secretaries it was clear that the presentation earlier that day by senior Probation management at an all-staff to discuss the 2025-2026 Probation Pay Offer has caused significant anger. Members were especially outraged at what they believed to be an attempt by some involved to coerce trade unions members to accept the deal by speculating on the possibility the offer could be withdrawn if not accepted by the trade unions. To be clear, this possibility has not been raised with the trade unions in communications around this pay offer. As members would expect we have raised this urgently with HMPPS and they deny this was their intent. We have been assured by a senior HMPPS representative that there is no possibility of the pay offer being reduced if members vote to reject it. It was said during the all-staff call that this event was being recorded so it could be viewed afterwards by staff. At time of writing it seems this recording has not yet been made available read more

Stand with Napo and please vote against this insulting offer (30 Jan) – This pay offer represents what HMPPS tell us were the results of discussions between HMPPS and other parts of Government (the Treasury and Cabinet Office), including the submission of a business case by the former to increase the total amount it would be allowed to spend on its wage bill. The trade unions were not involved in this process at all, which took place outside of the pay negotiations. While significant unanswered questions remain for all involved it is clear that this has produced a completely unsatisfactory outcome. Our members are faced with a pay offer that falls below the recorded inflation figure for all but one month of 2025. If Napo members resoundingly reject this pay offer the onus will be on the Government and employer to urgently return to meaningful negotiations and increase their offer to staff. It is welcome news that our sister union UNISON are also recommending rejection of this offer and are planning to consult their members on a similar timetable to our ballot read more

Probation Pay Offer for 2025-2026 finally received – Napo recommend rejection (26 Jan) – Over a year has passed since the Probation trade unions submitted a joint pay claim for 2025-2026, and despite meetings with Government Ministers who failed to deliver on their promise to produce a pay offer by Christmas and after several subsequent complaints, pay negotiations between senior Probation management and the unions resumed last week after a totally inexcusable delay. Following the conclusion of these, a formal pay offer was received which was immediately considered by your Probation Negotiating Committee (PNC). Napo is a member led union and the role of the PNC as a nationally elected body is to arrive at a recommendation based on the merits of the employers offer. Having done so, the PNC unanimously voted to advise our members to reject this pay offer read more

BFAWU     

BFAWU Welcomes Government Mediation Offer in McDonald’s Case (7 Jan) – The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU) welcomes the UK Government’s offer of mediation in a major sexual harassment complaint involving McDonald’s UK. The offer, made by the Department for Business and Trade under the OECD Guidelines, follows a complaint submitted by trade unions and the Corporate Justice Coalition highlighting serious and ongoing failures to protect workers from gender-based violence and harassment. BFAWU President Ian Hodson said: “We welcome this step and have accepted mediation in good faith. McDonald’s must now engage meaningfully with workers and their unions to deliver real change.” More than 700 current and former McDonald’s workers are reported to be taking legal action. If mediation is refused, the Government may proceed to a full examination and issue formal findings read more

Winter Foodworker 2025 read more

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

BALPA

BALPA sends condolences: fatal accident in Colombia (2 Feb) – We would like to express our deepest sympathy and to send condolences to those affected by the fatal accident involving Satena Flight 8849 at Curasica, Playa de Belén, Colombia on 28 January 2026. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the flight crew and passengers who lost their lives read more

Nautilus International

MCA urged to issue new safety guidance for non‑SOLAS vessels after fatal 2023 pilot ladder accident (2 Feb) – The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been asked to issue new safety guidance urging non‑SOLAS vessels to carry an alternative means of recovering an unconscious person, following a recent Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report into a fatal pilot transfer accident read more

ITF warns seafarer abandonment has reached record levels (30 Jan) – Seafarer abandonment has reached its highest level on record, with new figures from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) revealing a sharp rise in both the number of ships involved and the number of seafarers affected read more

NUJ   

Responding to the threat of the far right (2 Feb) – On 21 January the NUJ Black Members’ Council (BMC) held a well-attended webinar on responding to the threat of the far right read more

NUJ submits evidence on AI licensing and copyright in journalism (30 Jan) – The NUJ has responded to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s call for evidence on AI licensing and copyright in creative industries. In the submission, the union highlighted how the unregulated deployment of AI in journalism threatens journalists’ jobs, pay and the future of the news industry read more

NUJ signs letter to UK prime minister calling for urgent anti-SLAPP legislation (29 Jan) – The NUJ has joined over 120 organisations, publishers, editors, lawyers, and academics in urging the UK government to stamp out abusive and spurious lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists and whistleblowers read more

NUJ raises concern over raid on Adil Raja (27 Jan) – The NUJ has welcomed the arrest of four suspects in connection with an attack on the home of union member Adil Raja. On Christmas Eve, Raja’s home in Buckinghamshire was broken into and ransacked. He was not at home at the time. This follows a series of other incidents including his passport and ID being cancelled, his assets in Pakistan being seized, his being court martialed in absentia and the abduction of his mother. On the same day another Pakistani journalist in exile was attacked in Cambridge. Police believe that the incidents were connected read more

STV strike round-up (7 Jan) – STV staff across Scotland went on strike on Wednesday (7 January), braving the cold weather and heavy snow to oppose damaging cuts planned by the company’s management. Around 50 staff members formed a picket line outside the Glasgow office, carrying “stop the cuts” and “save local news” placards. They were joined in solidarity by Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, and Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader read more

Equity

Equity and Manchester Village Pride to sign first ever UK union agreement for a Pride event (30 Jan) – Manchester Village Pride CIC has confirmed it will be signing an Equity agreement – the first ever union agreement for a Pride event. The agreement will guarantee fair pay, professional industry standards and decent working conditions for all performers. Importantly, it will also provide the workers of future Manchester Village Prides with a meaningful dialogue and a say over the terms of their work. It’s hoped the landmark agreement will be the first of many for Pride events across the UK, which every year engage thousands of performers including drag artists and variety artists read more

Equity and ITC launch dance company union agreement (28 Jan) – Equity and the Independent Theatre Council (ITC) have together launched a new union agreement for use by dance companies that guarantees fair terms and conditions for dancers. It’s a continuation of joint efforts to improve use of union contracts across the hugely important dance sector read more

Musicians Union

Sign the Petition to Stop Education Cuts in Dumfries and Galloway (14 Jan) – Ahead of a final decision in February, our sister union, the EIS, has published a petition against education cuts in Dumfries and Galloway, including the proposed removal of the instrumental music service read more

MU Backs Petition to Stop Closure of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Music Department (12 Dec) – The MU is supporting members who have raised concerns and is currently involved in consultation with the RSC read more

Community

Statement – Liberty Steel, Hartlepool (30 Jan) – Responding to reports around the potential sale of Liberty Steel’s Hartlepool mills, Community Assistant General Secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said: “If the business is to be sold, it’s imperative that Liberty Steel undertake a responsible sale to a serious and committed buyer. As representatives of the workers on site, we would want to meet with any prospective buyer as soon as possible, and assess that they share our ambition to secure a long-term future for this strategically important business…” read more

USDAW

Tetrosyl 6th strike: Usdaw members take another day of action in a ‘fire and rehire’ dispute as the union calls on the company to engage (29 Jan) – Members of Usdaw, the trade union for staff working at car care products manufacturer Tetrosyl and Tetrosyl Express, are tomorrow taking a sixth day of industrial action from 6am on Friday 30 January, in a dispute over the company’s use of ‘fire and rehire’ to reduce terms and conditions for staff at their Rochdale siteread more

Usdaw welcomes an above inflation 5% pay increase (29 Jan) – Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed Sainsbury’s announcement of an above inflation pay increase of five per cent for hourly paid colleagues in the year ahead. Hourly pay is to increase to £13.23 per hour nationally and £14.54 per hour in London from March 2026. Sainsbury’s has increased pay by 42% in the last five years read more

Usdaw to enter into consultation talks to seek the best deal possible for members affected (28 Jan) – Retail trade union Usdaw will enter into consultation talks with supermarket giant Tesco, after the company announced restructuring proposals. Proposed changes are expected to affect dotcom management structures and some replenishment operations. In distribution centres the company are proposing a management restructure, relocation of the Hinckley depot and removal of night operations at Middlesbrough. In total, Tesco’s proposed changes could lead to the removal of around 380 roles read more

Usdaw has entered into consultation talks over the closure of Tesco Bank operations in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (28 Jan) – Usdaw, the recognised trade union for Tesco Bank Customer Services WL1 staff, have entered into consultation talks with Barclays, who acquired the Tesco Bank banking operations in November 2024, over their proposed closure of operations in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Barclays proposes to move the work to their Glasgow site, which puts around 100 roles at risk of redundancy read more

UVW   

Tribunal victory as seasonal migrant workers’ exploitation case is revived (9 Jan) – “It has been a long wait, but we must keep fighting until the system changes. I have lived this experience first-hand as a worker, and we cannot remain silent – if we do, this system will continue unchanged“ – Aida Luna Silvestre, seasonal worker and claimant. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has given new life to a legal challenge brought by a group of Latin American seasonal farm workers, who are UVW members, against Haygrove Ltd, one of the UK’s biggest berry producers.The tribunal has accepted their appeal after their original claims were thrown out for being submitted outside the strict three-month deadline, a decision which highlights how the system shuts migrant workers out of justice. Haygrove now has 28 days to respond read more

Christmas strikes to hit West End Quay after luxury flats bosses enforce “Scrooge-style” pay freeze (10 Dec) – “None of us wants to spend Christmas on strike, but management has left us no choice. They froze our pay; they denied all the staff a pay rise for this year and walked back agreements we had reached, and even brought in agency staff during our strikes at a cost far higher than what we earn. We’ve even faced surveillance, yet all we’re asking for is the pay rise we had previously agreed to — one they had previously confirmed was affordable” – Francesco Lombardo, concierge and UVW member. UVW cleaner and concierge members at the luxury flat complex in Paddington, central London, where properties sell for millions- say they have been left with no choice but to take further action this Christmas, yet again. The new 12-day walkout, from 29th December till 2nd January, will mark the third strike in 2025 (and fifth overall at WEQ) in an escalating industrial dispute that has defined the entire year at WEQ. Bosses reneged on an ACAS-brokered agreement and imposed a year-long pay freeze on low-paid, non-managerial staff only. For the workers, who are overwhelmingly migrant and Black and brown, the bosses seem to be behaving like “the ultimate Scrooges”, squeezing the lowest-paid while some are believed to pocket eye-watering six-figure salaries read more

Solidarity Financial Appeal: UVW’s office was targeted in a break-in! – in January 2025, 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

Mandate (Ireland)   

Mandate trade union welcomes new code of practice on access to part-time working (23 Jan) – Mandate Trade Union calls for review by Minister Dillon of 2018 Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act/. Mandate Trade Union has today welcomed the introduction of the new Code of Practice on Part-Time Working read more

SIPTU (Ireland)   

SIPTU commits to protecting jobs at Glen Dimplex after redundancy threat (29 Jan) – SIPTU representatives have committed to saving the high-quality employment provided by Glen Dimplex at its manufacturing plant in Newry, County Down, following an announcement by management of a proposed 51 redundancies in the facility during 2026 read more

National protocol and fair pay for extreme weather work needed (28 Jan) – As Storm Chandra continues to batter Ireland with heavy rain, high winds, and flooding, resulting in travel disruption and power outages, SIPTU has renewed its call for a binding national protocol to govern how Local Authority and State Agency workers are deployed, protected, and paid in response to extreme weather events. SIPTU is demanding fair and additional remuneration for work directly associated with extreme weather emergencies, including extended hours, emergency callouts, standby duties, redeployment, and high-risk tasks carried out during weather alerts read more

HSE Home Support HCAs announce regional strike action dates (22 Jan) – SIPTU members working as Health Care Assistants (HCAs) in the HSE Home Support Service across counties Donegal, Clare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry will engage in strike action during February, on a regional basis, in a dispute arising from their employer’s failure to honour national agreements on terms and conditions. HCAs in the HSE Home Support Service will implement 24-hour work stoppages in County Donegal on 13th and 20th February; in counties Cork and Kerry on 19th and 26th February; and in counties Limerick and Clare on 17th and 24th February read more

SIPTU Caredoc members defer industrial action to consider pay proposals (24 Dec) 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     

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – adapted by Neil Gore from the book by Robert Tressell, directed by Louise Townsend – Sands Film Studios, 82 Saint Marychurch St, London SE16 4HZ details

  • Running time/interval – Act 1 40 min Act 2 30 min 20 min interval
  • Age suitability – 11 plus
  • Wednesday 25th February in person at 19.30 and also Broadcast online
  • Thursday 26th February in person at 19.30 and also Broadcast online

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, this is a hugely important year for working history (centenary of the General Strike) .Following the success of The Cramlington Train Wreckers last November (4,000 people attended 7 venues)  it is transferring to the 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal next July. We are looking to touring it next year but would like feedback from unions re support. Can you circulate it among your affiliates, please? We also have an event at Glasshouse in May to mark the first full day of  the centenary of the General Strike.

We are using both events to encourage a new layer of (young) trade union activists. It is an opportunity to draw in people We had a tremendous intervention in at Durham Miners’ Gala over the weekend. Any support would be appreciated.

The Cramlington Train Wreckers is transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal after a sell out tour at 7 North East venues (4,000 attended!) last November.

www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk

www.wisecrackproductions.co.uk

www.worbella.co.uk

Alan Hardman ‘Need not Greed’ – Alan Hardman’s razor-sharp political cartoons collected for the first time. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Need Not Greed is a career-spanning collection of visual art by one of Britain’s greatest unsung political cartoonists. Alongside Alan Hardman’s essential work, the book also includes a contribution from former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, as well as a foreword by Jeremy Corbyn order a copy – £45 each   

Affiliate with STAMMA – at this year’s NSSN Conference, Gary Clark retired CWU Royal Mail rep and a member of the NSSN Steering Committee spoke about STAMMA. STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.    

  • £75 for branches and regions    
  • £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members    
  • £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members    

STAMMA website    

Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’!  Find out more about this campaign here   

From Strike Map – Our final instalment of the ‘Industrial Unionism’ series with Manifesto Press is here. Building on this success of our other pamphlets- which has sold over 2,000 copies, our next pamphlet in our series is the infamous ‘A Manual of Industrial Unionism’ by William Z Foster. Click the button here to pre-order your copy for you and your organisation   

     

Stop the attack on Gaza    

Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government.       

See Stop the War website for info on protests.

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)     

Oppose Trump’s attack on Venezuela

We oppose Trump’s brutal imperialist assault on Venezuela. We send solidarity greetings to the Venezuelan people, and support the protests taking place.

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.

  • National demonstration ‘in unity and against the far-right’ called by Together Alliance – Saturday 28th March in central London read more

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     

Nigeria Solidarity: Victory At Last! #EndBadGovernance Activists ‘Treason’ Trial Cancelled – Pressure forces Nigerian Government to anabdon sham trial of Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 other #EndBadGovernance protestors charged with treason and terrorism

Today, December 10, 2025, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja struck out the treason and terrorism charges against Adaramoye Michael Lenin and 10 others. In his ruling, Justice Emeka lamented that the prosecuting counsel had shown a lack of diligence and seriousness in the case they initiated against the protesters. Subsequently, Michael Lenin and his co-defendants, who were detained and put on trial over the August 2024 nationwide #EndBadGovenance protest against mass hunger, economic hardship and anti-poor policies of Bola Tinubu government, were acquitted. Other activists are Daniel Akande, Mosiu Sadiq   Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Angel Love Innocent, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis, Buhari Lawal, Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, Suleiman Yakubu. Abdulsalam Zubairu read more

USA: Support the Starbucks strike – read more on Starbucks Workers United website and follow @SBWorkersUnited on X/Twitter

Türkiye: No to union-busting at Digel read more

   

   

Diary      

2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm

  

Posted

in

by

Rob Williams

Tags:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,