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NSSN 760: FBU launches national ‘Cuts Kill’ campaign

Fire Brigades Union launches national ‘Cuts Kill’ campaign, demanding investment in fire and rescue services to keep the public safe

On 24th February, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), alongside supportive politicians, launched ‘Cuts Kill’, a new national campaign calling for funding and investment in the fire and rescue service.

Since 2010, more than 12,000 firefighter posts have been lost, raising widespread concerns about public and firefighter safety. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), which represents fire and rescue service leadership, has also voiced alarm over the prospect of further Government funding reductions, describing them as “incomprehensible and a threat to public safety.”

Steve Wright, General Secretary of the FBU, emphasised the significance of the parliamentary launch: “Two weeks ago, our union stood united in Oxfordshire to oppose cuts to local fire and rescue services. That was a local fight, but it is part of a much wider national battle against all cuts. We share the concerns expressed by the National Fire Chiefs Council about the impact of further reductions. That is why we will do everything we can to resist these cuts — building strong campaigns in our communities, bringing together the public, politicians and our members. If necessary, this will include balloting both locally and nationally to defend our services. Today’s ‘Cuts Kill’ campaign sends a clear message to Westminster and to communities across the country: this is not about the interests of FBU members alone — it is about public safety. Our aim is simple: safe homes for all.”

The parliamentary launch of the campaign is supported by Kim Johnson MP, Chair of the FBU Parliamentary Group, who will table an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling “for urgent further investment in the UK’s fire and rescue services.”

Johnson addressed the launch in Parliament stating: “Our demands are simple. We want this Labour government to deliver — and that starts with urgent investment. What we are dealing with is not an operational failure; it is a political failure. I am absolutely committed to ending the crisis that is putting the future of our fire and rescue service at risk.”

The parliamentary launch took place on 24 February 2026, at the memorial beside College Green. Speakers included Kim Johnson MP, Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Steve Wright, and firefighters from Oxford and Dorset & Wiltshire.

To find out more about the campaign go to: https://www.fbu.org.uk/campaigns/cuts-kill

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

Support the striking Birmingham binworkers – Birmingham Labour Council moves to shut down solidarity

On Friday, 30th January, 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 on the MegaPicket. The Council were forced to close the three bin depots.

But now, instead of looking to resolve the dispute, this Labour Council has shamefully applied to the courts for and been granted a ‘persons unknown’ legal injunction to stop solidarity protests, which threaten fines and even imprisonment. But no legal action will stop the trade union movement supporting the binworkers and their union, Unite.

This dispute can be won – victory to Unite and the binworkers.

Below are some posts from personal and organisation accounts:-

Birmingham bin workers vote to extend strikes past May elections and into September (10 Feb) – Council workers and Job & Talent workers more determined than ever to secure fair deal. Striking Birmingham bin workers have voted to extend their industrial action mandate past local elections in May and into September, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Council refuse workers are striking because Birmingham city council has fired and rehired both loaders (former WRCOs) and drivers onto contracts that reduce pay by up to £8,000. Job & Talent agency refuse workers are striking over bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting at the council’s refuse department. Both sets of workers have voted to extend their industrial action mandate.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members are more determined than ever to achieve a fair settlement, and they have Unite’s unwavering support. The council needs to get back around the table now because strikes will not end until we have a fair deal for Birmingham’s bin workers.”

There have been no negotiations over ending the dispute since May last year, after the council reengaged on a “ballpark deal” agreed with council chief executive Joanne Roney. Unite remains fully open to return to negotiations to resolve the dispute, however the council refuses to even meet. Instead, the council took the decision to brutally fire and rehire the workers to force them onto lower pay rates. Meanwhile, it continues to waste millions trying unsuccessfully to break the strike  read more

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 – 365 Day: mass Demo & march for the Gloucestershire phlebotomists – 9:30am, 17 March – Join us on the picket line in solidarity Strike Map Facebook event

🚩 10:00–11:30am – March to Sandown Park for a rally

✊ After the rally – March back to the picket line together

On 17 March, the Gloucestershire Phlebotomists will hit an extraordinary milestone: 365 days on strike.

For a full year, 37 brave health workers have stood firm in their fight for fair pay — one year of resilience, one year of solidarity, one year of refusing to back down.

To mark this powerful anniversary, we’re organising a major demonstration — and we’re throwing down a challenge to the entire labour movement: mobilise at least 365 supporters — one for every day of the strike.

These Phlebotomists, employed by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have been carrying out Band 3 duties on Band 2 wages for years. They are simply demanding to be paid fairly for the skilled work they already do.

And we know this fight can be won. During this dispute, Phlebotomists at Homerton University Hospital in London secured this exact demand. Victory is possible — and Gloucestershire can be next.

Now is the moment to turn one year of action into a turning point.

We’re calling on the whole labour movement, trade unionists, community campaigns, and supporters of NHS workers everywhere

Unison: Support the striking Phlebotomists, the longest-running strike of NHS workers in history read more

Picket plan week 50:

  • Monday 23rd: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Tuesday 24th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Wednesday 25th: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30. Reps meeting with management and ACAS.
  • Thursday 26th: No picket, meeting with striking workers.
  • Friday 27th: 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 

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.

We also support the call of the POA union for the restoration of the right to strike for prison officers.

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

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
  • Online protest against the far right – for disabled people who can’t be there in person to participate. 28th March 2026 12 noon to 4pm. With thanks to Disability Rebellion for collaborating with DPAC on this event. Use the hashtags #DisabledPeopleAgainstFascism #DisabilityRebellion #DPAC #TogetherAlliance. Tag @DRDisabilityReb and @Dis_PPL_Protest read more

   

Union News     

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RMT     

RMT National Dispute Fund      

Windrush line strike over pay (25 Feb) – Strike action on the Windrush Line will take place this Thursday after Cleshar CS Ltd failed to table a new pay offer despite repeated talks with the union. Signalling, telecoms, and track maintenance workers have been offered just a 1.5 per cent pay rise, well below RPI inflation, and the company has refused to offer any improvement. Keeping basic pay low is incentivising excessive overtime across the workforce leading to increased fatigue, union activists have said. In safety-critical roles, that creates unacceptable risks and puts passenger safety potentially in jeopardy. The employer is recklessly using this tactic of relying heavily on overtime instead of addressing the pay aspirations of members and dealing with understaffing. Members are also raising serious concerns about underpayment of overtime and annual leave, alongside cuts to sick pay and paternity pay compared to arrangements under the previous contractor. Strike action will take place on Thursday 26 February, Thursday 26 March and Thursday 23 April 2026, with each stoppage lasting 24 hours. These workers carry out safety-critical duties and without their work, the Windrush line cannot operate safely. Cleshar CS Ltd made a profit of £991,915 in its most recent financial year read more

RFA seafarers to strike in March (21 Feb) – Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) seafarers will take strike action on March 5th and 6th in a dispute over pay, transparency and compliance with minimum wage legislation. Strike action will take place from 00:01 hours on Thursday 5 March 2026 until 23:59 hours on Friday 6 March 2026. If the ship is in port, members are instructed not to book on for any duty commencing during that period. During the strike, members will ensure that the safety of the ship is maintained at all times, including moorings and gangways. The action follows a strong ballot result in which members voted by nine to one to reject the latest pay offer and back industrial action. RFA members met after the ballot result and agreed there was a clear aspiration to use the mandate immediately to send a strong message to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Ministry of Defence that this situation must be taken seriously. RMT has welcomed the overwhelming vote for strike action after management failed to make a decent pay offer or show it was complying with minimum wage legislation. Seafarers can routinely work up to 12 hours a day but their remains no clear or transparent formula setting out how pay is calculated against those hours read more

RFA seafarers back strike action (17 Feb) – Maritime union, RMT has welcomed an overwhelming vote for strike action by seafarers employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) after management could not even demonstrate that it was complying with minimum wage legislation. Members at RFA voted by nine to one against the latest pay offer which clearly fell short of expectations based on their years of dedication and service. 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. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that it was a scandal that RFA could not even work out its own pay rates read more

RMT survey finds Network Rail failing to provide adequate toilets and welfare facilities (20 Feb) – RMT has accused Network Rail of failing to provide adequate toilet and welfare facilities for maintenance patrol workers, warning that the situation may amount to breaches of health and safety law. A union survey of more than 120 members across multiple regions has exposed widespread and systemic shortcomings in access to toilets, washing facilities, rest areas and hygienic welfare vehicles read more

Piccadilly line fleet strike action (19 Feb) – RMT members at Northfields fleet maintenance depot servicing Piccadilly line trains are taking four days of strike action this week following a breakdown in industrial relations. Instead of engaging with staff, management has responded by extending maintenance schedules to dangerous levels. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that this was putting the public in potential danger by running trains way beyond current maintenance cycles read more

DLR cleaners to strike and protest at TfL Board over ‘inhumane’ outsourcing (4 Feb) – Outsourced cleaners on the Docklands Light Railway will strike alongside a protest at Transport for London’s Board meeting today, intensifying pressure on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to honour his pledge to bring cleaners back in-house. The protest begins at 9.30am at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE, which will see cleaners employed by contractor Bidvest Noonan continue their dispute over the denial of proper company sick pay and allegations of bullying behaviour from local management. The cruel reality of contracting out services has been laid bare today, after the union revealed there have been members who despite being hospitalised due to ill health have received no sick pay or support from their employer read more

ASLEF   

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

TSSA

TSSA takes stop violence against transport workers campaign to London Assembly (24 Feb) – TSSA has taken its campaign to stop violence against transport workers to the London Assembly – calling for Transport for London (TfL) to do more to help workers who have been victims, adhere to policies of zero tolerance of abuse and aggression towards staff, and for more funding for British Transport Police (BTP). The union has actively been campaigning on the issue of violence against transport workers for many months and last year launched a report highlighting the growing number of incidents. TSSA’s case was highlighted to the London Assembly Transport Committee by Paul Feakes, a TSSA rep on London Underground who has himself been the victim of a serious assault read more

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     

Unite delivers secures recognition for Glasgow food workers (24 Feb) – Workers based at the Glasgow Community Food Network. Unite, Scotland’s leading union, has secured a union recognition agreement covering workers based at the Glasgow Community Food Network. The recognition agreement covers around 20 full-time and part-time workers involved in community engagement and education work on a number of food system issues in Glasgow. This includes administrative, finance and project support officers. The voluntary recognition agreement means that Unite now has a strong foundation to undertake collective bargaining on behalf of the workers to help improve their jobs, pay and conditions. The Glasgow Community Food Network was established in 2017 to bring together practitioners and organisations in the private, public and third sectors in the food system. The network engages chefs and restaurants, farmers and market gardeners, foodbank and soup kitchen volunteers in Glasgow read more

Unite Aberdeen demonstration at BrewDog Bar (24 Feb) – Unite will stage a demonstration at the BrewDog Bar at Union Square in Aberdeen city centre on Wednesday 25th February at 18:45. This demonstration has been called in response to the treatment of workers before and during the ongoing sale process at BrewDog, amid reports that the company is being prepared for sale to the highest bidder.

The dispute centres on the lack of consultation, the abandonment of the real living wage, widespread bar closures, and the slashing of contracted hours — all of which Unite says have left workers paying the price for decisions taken at the top of the business. Recent press coverage has confirmed that BrewDog is exploring options for the future of the company, including a potential sale, following years of cuts, closures and worker uncertainty.

  • Protest – 18:45 Wednesday 25th February, BrewDog Bar, Union Square, Aberdeen

Bilfinger offshore workers accept new pension offer (23 Feb) – Over 400 offshore members back improved pension deal. Unite can confirm that over 400 offshore members employed by Bilfinger UK Limited have overwhelmingly backed a new improved pension offer. Due to the threat of 48-hour strike action by Bilfinger workers, the company returned to the negotiating table to make the offer which led to the suspension of action as workers voted on the proposed deal. The accepted offer will now see Bilfinger increase the company’s contributions to the pension scheme from three per cent on gross earnings up to five per cent with no thresholds applied to the payments read more

Unite: Casey review on taxi hire must be implemented, to protect women and vulnerable (23 Feb) – The government must urgently implement Baroness Casey’s recommendations on ending cross border taxi hiring, drivers will tell MPs this Wednesday (25 February). In June, the independent Casey review into group-based child sexual exploitation highlighted that inconsistent taxi and private hire licensing is putting women and children at risk and needs to be urgently reformed. Yet months on and despite the clear safeguarding concerns raised, comprehensive legislative reform has not yet been delivered by the government. Unite is also concerned current plans by the Department for Transport to tackle the issue of out of area working have been watered down, as it has said it will not bring in a start or finish rule – a key demand from the union to end cross border hiring. Unite members will lobby MPs at Parliament on Wednesday from 11am. This includes asking MPs to raise Parliamentary questions referencing the Casey review and out of area working, support legislative amendments that introduce national standards and local enforcement powers and press the secretary of state for transport Heidi Alexander to publish a clear timetable for taxi and private hire vehicles licensing reform read more

Bassetlaw NHS union-busting during ICU dispute put patients in danger (23 Feb) – Union-busting tactics by Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS trust put intensive care patients in danger, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Intensive care nurses at Bassetlaw hospital have been taking industrial action over fire and rehire contract changes that will force them to rotate between Bassetlaw and Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The nurses – who fear the transfers are one more step towards Bassetlaw hospital losing its ICU permanently through ‘decommissioning by stealth’ – have taken action short of strike through a ban on working on any ward or unit other than Bassetlaw ICU. In response, the trust banned the nurses from work and is denying them pay. The nurses continued to attend and make themselves available to work, complying fully with their contracts. However, they were denied access to clinical areas and had to spend 12-hour shifts sat alone in a canteen. Under the direct leadership of acting chief executive Zara Jones, the trust banned nurses from working, despite them not taking strike action. Bassetlaw ITU was then staffed by nurses sent from Doncaster. This caused safety issues at both hospitals. On January 8, a critical care doctor from Doncaster Infirmary, who Unite is not naming, contacted Unite and informed the union that they had been told to discharge a patient early. The doctor said this was against medical advice and was done in order to reduce the number of patients on the intensive care unit read more

National Ambulance Service: Unite members to ballot for industrial action (20 Feb) – Dispute centres on non-implementation of ‘Roles and Responsibilities’ review. Ambulance staff qualification and responsibilities must be recognised. Trade union Unite, which represents members working for the National Ambulance Service, said today (Friday) that it is balloting members for industrial action on foot of the ongoing failure to implement the 2020 ‘Roles and Responsibilities Review’. The qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties of ambulance personnel have expanded significantly in recent years. Despite the fact that the Review recommended enhanced pay scales to reflect these changes, those pay adjustments have not been implemented. In addition, a 5 per cent increase recommended under the Benchmarking II process has not been delivered read more

BAE continues to make “obscene” profits while offering a raw deal to workers (18 Feb) – Unite, the UK’s leading trade union for defence and aerospace, is appalled at the latest obscene profits for military-industrial giant BAE Systems at a time when it refuses to pay its workers a fair wage and attempts union-busting high court injunctions to prevent strikes. Today’s financial results show BAE’s full year operating profits increased by 12 per cent to 3.32 billion. Meanwhile skilled workers at their Lancashire factories in Warton and Salmesbury are being forced to take industrial action due to a poor pay offer and assault on their terms and conditions read more

St Enoch VUE cinema workers resume strike action in long-running dispute (17 Feb) – Unite presents VUE with ‘World’s Worst Cinema’ award in run-up to Oscars. VUE cinema workers resume strike action today (Tuesday 17 February) in a long-running dispute over better jobs, pay and conditions at the St Enoch’s centre in Glasgow. Dozens of Unite hospitality members have been taking strike action since December as part of a campaign to secure the real living wage for workers aged 18 and over, union recognition, and safe subsidised transport home for workers at the end of late night shifts. Unite which represents the vast majority of the customer assistant and team leaders at the VUE St Enoch’s site will present management with a ‘World’s Worst Cinema’ award over the unfair and unequal way its workers are being treated as they resume strike action… Unite can also confirm that its membership at Village Hotels in Govan will continue their strike action after a fresh powerful mandate from the workers. Dozens of Village Hotel workers gave Unite a new mandate for industrial action with 96.5 per cent emphatically supporting strike action. Industrial action has been ongoing since late November in a similar dispute over jobs, pay and conditions read more

Local government craftworkers to ballot for strikes over pay (16 Feb) – Over a thousand local authority craft workers on the red book agreement will be balloted for strike action after receiving an unsatisfactory pay offer. The dispute comes after the Local Government Association, who handle local council workers’ pay, put forward a full and final below RPI offer of 3.2 per cent for 2025 without any negotiations. It also decided to remove apprentices from the national agreement and put a new entrant on the same pay scale as a craft operative, which is a qualified position. The LGA is also seeking to impose NJC job evaluation, which Unite is concerned could be used unfairly, will result in cuts in pay and dilute the level of service delivered to the public…Unite has made several attempts to negotiate with the LGA, which is refusing to honour the disputes process by constantly rejecting offers to come to the table including the union’s suggestion that Unite sits on a number of competency groups for craft workers; and would bring this knowledge and support to these discussions. The red book agreement covers local authority craftworkers who are primarily involved in housing maintenance work, such as plumbing and heating engineering. Workers at the following councils will be balloted initially over the issues: Durham, Leeds, Stoke, Dudley, Southwark, Newham and Bristol. Ballots will open from 19 February and close on 26 March. It is possible that more councils will follow. As red book craft workers are responsible for the upkeep of local authority housing, strike action will cause significant disruption to key services involved in maintaining people’s homes read more

Unite outrage at NHS pay imposition (12 Feb) – Forcing PRB pay “deal” on staff will further deteriorate trust in Labour government. Unite, one of the UK’s leading trade unions in the healthcare sector, has denounced the latest pay “deal” imposed by government. Today’s announcement of 3.3 per cent comes after months of scoping out what pay talks might look like and publicly stating that the government’s preference was for a multi-year deal. With the RPI rate of inflation standing at 4.2 per cent, the pay increase amounts to substantial real terms pay cut. At a time when unions were calling for a restorative pay award to counteract years of below inflation increases, which has devalued roles and resulted in workers leaving the NHS in their thousands. Instead, in an act of political cowardice and financial betrayal of NHS workers, they have decided to revert to the discredited Pay Review Body (PRB) recommendation. Unite has a long-standing opposition to the PRB process and for the first time ever all but one of the other health unions joined Unite in entirely boycotting the process. Unite, and other major unions, are demanding an immediate return of direct negotiations over pay and conditions read more

Imperial College strikes resume over wealthy university’s dodgy pay deal (10 Feb) – Hugely wealthy university used faulty pay calculations to implement real terms wage cuts. Pay strikes by Imperial College London workers will resume, Unite, the UK’s leading union, has announced. Around 1,200 workers, including more than 250 Unite members, have already taken part in 10 days of strikes between October and the end of November over the imposition of a two per cent pay rise. Not only is this a significant real-terms pay cut, with RPI inflation currently standing at 4.2 per cent, but it was calculated by the university using faulty benchmarking data… The workers will walk out again on 12, 16 and 24 February. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

Yorkshire Airedale NHS microbiology pay strikes escalate (9 Feb) – Strikes by Airedale NHS microbiology workers responsible for carrying out diagnostic tests will escalate, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. 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 previously took strike action from 18 to 25 December. Fresh strikes will take place from 9 February to 11 February and from 18 February to 20 February, resulting in testing delays for Airedale general hospitals and local GP services. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

Health visitors in Wales to strike over unfair pay (6 Feb) – Workers at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to take industrial action over wrong pay banding costing them thousands. Health visitors working in South Wales are to strike for four weeks 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. Health visitors who do vital community outreach work for new mothers and families, are furious that they are only being paid as band six workers. This is despite internal job grading now matching them as a band seven acknowledging 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. Health visitors will now take strike action from 23 February to 20 March read more

Strikes by East London workers at the Lea Interchange Bus Company halted (5 Feb) – Industrial action by around 350 bus drivers in East London tomorrow (6 February) and Saturday (7 February) has been called off. Workers at the company, part of Stagecoach, were due to walk out in a dispute around the victimisation and bullying of Unite reps. However, this has now been postponed to allow further discussions between Unite and the employer. Further strikes on 20 and 21 February have also been called off 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)

LR Solihull DHL workers ballot for strikes over pay (5 Feb) – Around 300 DHL logistics workers based at JLR Solihull are to be balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers, who take parts and cars to and from the factory, are balloting due to DHL’s failure to put forward a pay offer for 2026. The failure means that the annual pay rise for DHL workers, which is supposed to be implemented every January, has not gone ahead…The ballot will open on 18 February and closes 11 March. Industrial action would cause severe disruption to JLR’s Solihull operations read more

ASML:  Dutch multinational refuses OECD mediation in recognition dispute (3 Feb) – OECD says Unite complaint warrants examination after company refuses to engage with union. Members to discuss options including industrial action. ASML reported nearly €33 billion in record sales last year. Trade union Unite, which organises workers at ASML in Maynooth, said today (Tuesday) that the Dutch semiconductor giant has refused an offer by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) to ‘use its good offices’ to mediate between Unite and the company. Unite has accepted the offer read more

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

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

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

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

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… Tower crane operators will be taking the first day of strike action on Tuesday 27 January and will then take strike action every fortnight from then on. Exact days will be determined by members at each site based on what will cause the most disruption    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

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

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

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

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

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]     

DWP Ballot Result – threshold not met (24 Feb) – PCS members in DWP have undertaken a five-week ballot on pay which closed at noon on 23 February. Your group executive committee wants to thank every rep that has stepped up throughout the ballot, every member that has taken your ballot paper to the post box and the national union for its support. It is unfortunate that despite a huge turn out with thousands of members sending a clear message to the DWP that they were prepared to strike for an uplift to 25/26 pay, not all members have used their vote. The group did not meet the 50% threshold of members voting that is required by anti TU legislation. Members cannot take strike action at this time. The threshold introduced by the Tory government to tie our hands was to be removed by the current government. They have not honoured that commitment read more

Bailiffs in HMCTS – job evaluation outcome (24 Feb) – PCS has successfully pressed the employer to evaluate and upgrade bailiffs to EO, and is now urgently addressing the bailiff manager role. On 11 February 2026, the employer wrote to us to explain the outcome of the job evaluation process for bailiffs. PCS has been pressing for the job to be evaluated since the 2024/25 pay talks, in which we secured allowances of £1,000 and £2,000 for bailiffs and bailiff managers respectively, in partial recognition of the under-payment of the role read more

PCS demands compensation for late pension payments (23 Feb) – The scale of the backlog means it will be many months before the position returns to anything approaching normal. At our meeting with the Cabinet Office on Friday (20), a significant increase in payments made by Capita was reported, but the scale of the backlog means it will be many months before the position returns to anything approaching normal read more

Capita reveals further McCloud delay (18 Feb) – The crisis in pension administration is also affecting existing retired scheme members. While retired members’ monthly payments have not been interrupted, many members with service in the relevant years, must have their pension accounts changed as required under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, which implemented the McCloud Remedy. Prior to the contract change MyCSP had only processed 44% of these remedy cases read more

Palace of Westminster Security Officers to be balloted to renew strike mandate (19 Feb) – Members took strike action during 2025 and will be asked whether they are willing to take further action. Last summer, PCS members employed as security staff at the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) voted by 98% in favour of strike action and 99.5% of members voted yes to taking action short of a strike. The key issues in the dispute are the loss of annual leave, changes to rotas and break patterns, the stagnation of pay and a widening ethnicity pay gap. Members took strike action in September, November and December 2025, alongside action short of a strike consisting of an overtime ban and work to rule. There has been some progress in negotiations but the offers made so far do not go far enough. The original strike mandate ran out at the end of January so members will be re-balloted from 19 February to 12 March. Management has also introduced a new job role of “perimeter officer” which is a pay grade higher than traditional security officers, however there seems to be very little difference between the roles. This has led to suspicion that the role was introduced to create a divide amongst the security officers and to be used as cover for striking staff read more

MOPAC members to strike for three more days (19 Feb) – The members at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime are continuing their dispute over pay. PCS members working for the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) were initially offered a pay increase of only 1.5%. After pressure from PCS, the employer moved to 2% which is still below inflation, represents a real-terms pay cut, and falls short of the branch’s 4.1% pay claim. It is also one of the lowest pay rises across the public sector in London. Members took four days of strike action in January, but despite meeting with us twice since then the employer has made no meaningful offers. This has left members with no option than to turn to further strike action. The members will walk out on Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 February…Use our e-action to ask your MP to write to Sadiq Khan to ask him to resolve the dispute. MOPAC is part of the Greater London Assembly ‘family’ and striking members will target the London Assembly members with a series of strike-day rallies outside City Hall. The rallies will be held from 8:30-10:30am on each strike day to target:-

  • London’s Policing Board meeting on 24 February
  • Police and Crime Committee on 25 February
  • London Mayor’s Question Time on 26 February read more

Write to your MP to oppose DfE office closures (18 Feb) – Six offices of the Department for Education are earmarked for closure, impacting over 350 staff. The DfE plans to close offices in Croydon, Exeter, Leeds, Newcastle, Peterborough and Watford. At the same time it is refusing to consider proposals for increased homeworking or hybrid flexibility measures that could help avoid compulsory redundancies and reduce the impact on staff. Many of the affected buildings are government offices that will remain open for other departments, meaning that withdrawing DfE staff will not necessarily generate savings for the public purse. Use our e-action to ask your MP to write to the minister about the office closures. PCS members are taking part in a consultative ballot over the office closure plans, the potential job cuts and the current arbitrary office attendance rules. The ballot closes on 11 March read more

Huge support for NI employment law changes (17 Feb) – A major opinion poll has showed huge support for new employment legislation to improve the lives of working people in Northern Ireland. 80% of respondents to the LucidTalk poll said they supported the changes in the Good Jobs Bill read more

DWP ballot: Time is running out to have your say (13 Feb) – As we approach the final days of the DWP ballot, which closes on 23 February, our message to any member who hasn’t yet voted is simple: get your ballot paper in the post as soon as possible. Thousands of DWP members have already told us that they’ve voted in the pay ballot. Every single vote sends a strong message to your employer that you are willing to stand with your colleagues for the pay rise you deserve 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

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 workers take a stand on fair pay on day of action (20 Feb) – Prospect members working at London Museum have turned out in numbers to stand up for fair pay in a good natured but determined demonstration as they took a day of strike action. The demonstration happened alongside the official picket with over 100 staff attending the Dockland’s venue with some in fancy address and many carrying placards. Workers at the London Wall site walked out at 10am to join the Docklands demonstration, stopping off at the new museum in Smithfields, due to open later this year. This was the first day of strike action with action short of a strike to run continuously. This ongoing action is expected to have a real impact on business and on the museum’s timetable to open the new flagship site read more

AWE members vote overwhelmingly for industrial action over botched restructure (9 Feb) – Prospect members working at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, after a litany of errors and failure to consult from senior management during a restructure at the organisation that 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  

Drax cuts: Up to 150 jobs to go next year (24 Feb) – Up to 150 jobs are set to go next year at power company Drax, new documents show. A Section 188 notice served to employees reveals between 89 and 148 roles will go at the plant, on or around 31 March 2027. The job cuts could represent more than 30 per cent of the 465 total staff at Drax read more

SEND overhaul will only work with support staff (24 Feb) – GMB Union has responded to a Government announcement it will spend billions to make mainstream schools in England more inclusive for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) read more

Knowsley Council faces equal pay claims worth ‘millions’ (24 Feb) – Knowsley Council faces equal pay claims that could be worth tens of millions of pounds, GMB Union has said. Thousands of workers in roles traditionally held by woman – including administration assistant and chef supervisor – may have been underpaid compared to work done by those in roles dominated by men. GMB has begun launching claims on behalf of members to right this historic underpayment read more

100s of Hull school dinners under threat (24 Feb) – Hundreds of children in Hull face losing their school dinners after an academy closed it’s kitchens. Horizon Academy Trust has today [23 February] closed three school kitchens, serving some of the most deprived schools in the region. The changes, which affect Cleeve, Bilton and Hedon Primary Schools, will see meals shipped in from other kitchens within the trust, leading to job losses, poorer provision and a lack of flexibility for individual pupils’ needs. Staff at the schools were informed their roles would be changing with minimal notice, while parents have reacted with concern. GMB Union is challenging Horizon’s decision and is calling on both East Riding and Hull Councils to intervene. Staff will be making representations to the local authorities and a protest is planned for 13 March at Cleeve Primary school read more

Cumbria packaging workers in strike vote (16 Feb) – Workers at a Cumbria packaging firm will vote on strike action after rejecting an ‘insulting’ pay offer. More than 100 workers at Futamura, in Wigton, turned down the company’s 1.2 per cent pay offer by a majority of 94 per cent. GMB is demanding a 3.8 per cent pay increase, in line with inflation, to ensure members do not suffer yet another real-terms pay cut. The union has engaged with conciliatory service ACAS to help bring the company back to the table. Futamura makes cellulose film for packaging read more

NHS pay award timely, but just not enough (13 Feb) – GMB Union has responded to the Government’s announcement on NHS pay. The Health Secretary has confirmed he will accept the NHS Pay Review Body headline recommendations of 3.3 per cent for health workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland read more

Strike at Shard and Everton stadium steel firm (12 Feb) – More than 100 workers are set to strike at the UK’s largest structural steel contractor. Staff at Severfield Plc’s site in Bolton, will walk out after being offered a 0 per cent ‘pay rise’ by bosses. More than 90% of GMB members, working as welders, platers and machine operators, voted in favour of strike action at the company’s Lostock site. The company, which has provided the steel work for iconic projects like the Shard and the new Everton stadium, says it suffered a loss and won’t provide a pay rise. GMB members have been conducting an overtime ban this week, and will start with one full day of strike action on Monday 16 February, followed by two full days of strike action on Monday 23 February and Tuesday 24 February read more

Strike vote at Bridgend insulation firm (12 Feb) – Workers at a Bridgend insulation firm have begun voting on strike action. More than 100 workers at Rockwool Limited will take part in the ballot after bosses cut pay and forced staff to work on bank holidays. The ballot closes on 2 March 2026 read more

Merton school support staff balloted for strike action (9 Feb) – Staff are losing around a thousand pounds every year and are sick of waiting. GMB members working as school support staff within London Borough of Merton will be balloted for strike action over a long-standing pay discrepancy. TAs and school support staff within LB Merton receive London Weighting at the Outer London rate, while their teacher colleagues in the same schools receive the higher Inner London rate – a difference of £1400 per year on average. Despite members having submitted a petition of more than 500 signatures last year, discussions with the Labour local authority to find a resolution to this problem have now broken down. The ballot will open on 27 February with any action to take place in the run up to the upcoming local elections in May, in which Labour Councillors will be up for re-election read more

Hula-Hoops and Pom Bears workers vote to strike (6 Feb) – Workers making Hula Hoops, McCoy’s, Pom‑Bears and Discos have voted to strike. Dozens of staff at KP Snacks’ site in Billingham, Country Durham, voted to walk out in a dispute over additional duties imposed without extra pay or proper consultation. Bosses have cut process workers in crisps and snacks to a single break per shift. Workers have also raised concerns that operational changes have compromised safety, including leaving heat exchangers running during breaks without proper supervision. GMB Union will now meet with members to discuss strike dates – any industrial action could disrupt the supply of popular snack brands, including Hula Hoops, McCoy’s, Pom‑Bears and Discos read more

Hundreds of Barnsley Hospital workers ready to strike (5 Feb) – Hundreds of workers at Barnsley NHS Trust have said they are ready to strike after bosses threatened them with fire and rehire. More than 600 workers took part in a consultative ballot – with 97 per cent voting in favour to taking strike action, on a turnout of more than 76 per cent. The trust wants to impose new contracts upon thousands of staff, including nurses, technicians and clerical workers, removing their right to a paid twenty-minute shift break. GMB has now lodged a formal dispute with the trust and will meet with reps to discuss next steps – including a full strike ballot – if the trust does not back down read more

Bacton Gas Terminal workers stage pay parity protest at Shell HQ (4 Feb) – Dozens of workers employed by Altrad at the Shell Bacton Gas Terminal protested outside the Shell Centre today in a row over pay. The workers – who have garnered support from local MPs including Jess Asato and Alice Macdonald – have been taking part in rolling strikes since October 2025. They are asking to be paid the same as their colleagues doing equivalent work across the Bacton site 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

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

   

Unison     

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

Reinstate Connor UNISON Newham libraries rep! Connor is a UNISON Steward at Newham Council, East London. He works in libraries, and was suspended from work on 18 Feb 2026 following his participation in the ‘Save Newham Libraries’ public campaign. Save Newham Libraries is a community campaign setup to stop the Council slashing the libraries budget by 50%, with closures, staff cuts, and service reductions for residents threatened Sign this open letter

Teesside NHS staff win campaign to end two‑tier workforce, says UNISON (24 Feb) – A new agreement, negotiated by UNISON, ensures they will receive the same pay and benefits as people they work alongside. Staff at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have secured a deal to give them fairer terms and conditions to bring them in line with their colleagues, says UNISON today (Thursday). Many cleaners, caterers, porters and security staff at the trust are employed by a subsidiary company, owned by the trust, and have seen their wages and conditions steadily slip behind NHS rates. But a new agreement, negotiated by UNISON, ensures they will receive the same pay and benefits as people they work alongside. The workers were transferred to the firm, called NTH Solutions. At that time, staff were moved from the NHS to the new company – commonly known as a “subco” – with their existing terms and conditions protected. But new staff were subsequently hired on inferior contracts, with lower unsocial hours payments, reduced leave and no access to the NHS Pension Scheme. This created an unfair “two-tier” workforce, with staff carrying out the same roles side by side but on different contracts, UNISON says. Staff began campaigning in August 2025 to end the inequality and secure NHS terms and conditions for all employees, including access to the pension scheme. After mounting pressure, the trust agreed to negotiate with the union. As a result, the trust has agreed to move all NTH Solutions employees to the same conditions as NHS staff. In a consultation that closed yesterday, NTH Solutions workers voted overwhelmingly to accept the deal read more

Reform is no friend of working people, says UNISON (24 Feb) – Attacks on employment rights and local government pensions show party’s true face. Commenting on proposals to scrap the Employment Rights Act and introduce inferior pensions for council staff announced by Reform UK today (Tuesday), UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “The mask’s off. Reform UK has shown what it really thinks of working people…” read more

Opinion: Minimum wage rates and youth unemployment (20 Feb) – Ministers are reportedly considering delaying a single minimum wage for all adults. That’s worrying – and there’s more the government should be doing to support young adults read more

NHS pay award will leave staff angry, says UNISON (12 Feb) – Below-inflation rise means staff are expected to deliver more for less. Commenting on the 3.3% wage rise announced today (Thursday) for most NHS staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for 2026/27, UNISON head of health Helga Pile said: “Hard-pressed NHS staff will be downright angry at another below-inflation pay award…” read more

Andrea Egan speaks at rally against university cuts in Southend: The job cuts in Southend are symptomatic of a “growing financial crisis across universities” (6 Feb) – General secretary Andrea Egan (pictured above) joined the crowds of union members at the University of Essex yesterday at a protest against job cuts and the closure of the university’s Southend campus. UNISON is one of three unions fighting back against the university’s plans to cut 400 jobs and close the Southend campus over the summer. It represents the cleaners, student support workers and other non-academic staff affected by the cuts and is in a formal dispute with the university 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

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

NIPSA Response To Statement By The Health Minister (13 Feb) – NIPSA notes with serious concern the statement by the Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, regarding the pay recommendations from the NHS Pay Review Body. While the Minister’s statement references a 3.3% uplift and speaks of ambitions and desire, it falls far short of what is required for NIPSA members on low pay across health and social care. For staff struggling at the sharpest end of the cost-of-living crisis, this statement provides no certainty and no reassurance. Crucially, it does not deliver a clear, written commitment to the Real Living Wage from 1 April 2026. Without such a commitment, there is no basis on which NIPSA can withdraw its industrial action process. Warm words and aspirations are not enough for workers who are already at breaking point. Let us be clear, without a firm Real Living Wage commitment, many of our members will, from 1 April, be paid below the Statutory minimum wage of £12.71 unless they once again receive a last-minute legal compliance payment simply to keep their employer within the law. This is a disgrace. Workers who care for and support the most vulnerable people in our society should not have to rely on forced top-ups just to reach the minimum wage. There must be no more compliance top-up payments for health and social care staff in Northern Ireland. Our members deserve a decent wage not just this year, but every year. The Real Living Wage of £13.45 from April first must be the starting point to fixing this long-standing injustice. NIPSA must also be clear: if these stated desires, ambitions and promises are not converted into firm, written commitments including the delivery of the Real Living Wage from 1 April 2026 then our plans for industrial action will proceed with haste. Our members cannot wait any longer. They deserve certainty, dignity, and pay they can live on read more

   

Royal College of Nursing     

Westminster government announces Agenda for Change pay award in England (13 Feb) – The RCN says the government’s below-inflation 2026/27 NHS pay award is an insult read more

Pay Review Body recommends 3.3% pay award – but NI nursing staff still waiting (13 Feb) – The Pay Review Body (PRB) has recommended a 3.3% pay rise for nursing staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Governments in England and Wales have confirmed the award will be paid from April, but nursing staff in Northern Ireland are left with no clarity about when they will receive it read more

The Welsh government announces Agenda for Change pay award in Wales (12 Feb) – The RCN in Wales says the government’s below inflation 2026/27 NHS pay award is an insult read more

RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more 

RCM

Midwifery graduate survey shows one in three haven’t secured a job (18 Feb) – A UK-wide survey of newly qualified midwives (NQM) by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has revealed a troubling picture of the employment landscape facing the profession’s newest entrants read more

RCM says real-terms pay cut an “insult” to midwives working 100,000 unpaid hours weekly (12 Feb) – The Royal College of Midwives has responded to the Government’s announcement of a 3.3 % pay award for NHS midwives and maternity support workers read more

CSP

NHS pay award ‘makes absolutely no ground on restoration’ (12 Feb) – A pay award of 3.3 per cent per cent for NHS workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is unacceptable, the CSP says read more

SOR

SoR responds to government consultation on extending the period for settled status (19 Feb) – The radiography workforce needs internationally trained radiographers for the foreseeable future, the Society emphasised read more

Government accepts ‘critical’ recommendations in NHS pay award from the SoR (13 Feb) – The Society of Radiographers was the only Agenda for Change union to submit evidence to the Pay Review Body last year. The government has announced a pay rise for Agenda for Change staff of 3.3 per cent. Whilst SoR welcomes the announcement of an earlier award, there is still concern that this award will do nothing to deal with pay restoration read more

BMA

Employment rights reform takes effect (18 Feb) – Ballot threshold, notice period of industrial action and picket line attendees rules all change…Other aspects of the act supported by the BMA, such as the right to use electronic balloting and the removal of the 50 per cent turnout threshold applied to ‘important public services’ such as doctors, are expected to come into force later this year. Describing the 50 per cent threshold as an arbitrary measure hindering collective action, the BMA has pledged to continue pressing the Government for its abolition read more

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

NASUWT   

Proposed SEND reforms could set schools up to fail (23 Feb) – As the government prepares to set out new plans for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform in schools in its White Paper, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, responds to some of the key proposals. The DfE says it will: “Provide £1.6 bn over three years across every early years setting, school and post-16 setting, equating to thousands of pounds extra every year on top of existing core SEND funding, to run targeted and small group interventions at the earliest signs of children having additional needs.” Read more

Teachers’ union rejects any new move to force academisation on schools (22 Feb) – Commenting on the government’s announcement that as part of schools reform, all schools will have to join an academy trust, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “In the current version of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, it is clearly stated that the government will no longer seek to force academisation on schools. Today, it is reported that as part of the new Schools White Paper, schools will eventually have to join or form an academy trust. Now we have two sets of government proposals that clearly contradict each other. After a year of leaks and drip-fed announcements, this appears to be a deliberate attempt to launch an academisation announcement without any discussion with those delivering on the frontline…” read more

Government schools plans lack necessary ambition and investment (21 Feb) – Commenting on the eve of the release of the government’s long-awaited Schools White Paper, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “Following a year of leaks and delays in publication, on Monday, teachers will finally be privy to the government’s plans for long term reform of education and SEND provision. Teachers’ involvement in the Schools White Paper is long overdue; though they are the bedrock of all education, their voices are conspicuously absent from these plans…” read more

Tewkesbury teachers taking further strike action over behaviour management (19 Feb) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire will take further strike action from next Monday (23rd February) over the continued failure of school management to address abusive and disruptive behaviour from a minority of students. Despite two meetings since strike action started on 4th February with representatives from the Cabot Learning Federation, which runs the school, no significant progress has been made towards addressing the concerns of teachers. Therefore the NASUWT has had no choice but to notify the employer of nine further days of strike action. Strike action is scheduled for 23rd, 24th and 25th February, 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th and 13th March. NASUWT will be picketing outside the school between approximately 7am and 9.30am on each day of strike action read more

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   

ENU Lecturers to take Fourth Day of Strike Action, with no Further Movement on Job Security (20 Feb) – Lecturing staff at Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) are taking their fourth day of strike, demonstrating their determination to protect jobs and oppose any move by the university to seek compulsory redundancies. Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers Association (EIS ULA) will be picketing again today and next week, maintaining their presence at the university’s three campuses. The continuing strike action highlights the concern among staff regarding the potential impact of the planned cuts on their and their colleagues’ jobs as well as on academic provision for students read more

Fighting Against Fife education cuts – Glenrothes Public Meeting this Wednesday (16 Feb) – Local and National officials of the EIS will address a campaign meeting in Glenrothes this Wednesday (18th February), as Fife parents and school staff continue to stand united against a planned programme of education cuts across the Fife local authority area. EIS national representatives and Fife local association officials will join with school staff, parents and other supporters of quality education at the Stop School Cuts public meeting at 7pm on Wednesday 18th February at Rothes Halls in Glenrothes to discuss the ongoing campaign to protect quality education in Fife’s schools read more

Teachers Send Valentine’s Day Reminder to Scottish Government and COSLA over Workload (13 Feb) – Scotland’s teachers have sent Valentine’s Day reminders to both the Scottish Government and COSLA, urging them to stay true to commitments that were made five years ago to reduce excessive teacher workload. A delegation from the EIS delivered Valentine’s cards and poems to both the Scottish Government and COSLA to remind them of the commitments that were made to tackle teacher workload, employ 3,500 additional teachers, and reduce teachers’ maximum class contact time to 21 hours per week. The EIS is currently running a statutory industrial action ballot of its members over the non-delivery of these commitments, and is urging its members to return their postal ballot papers before the deadline of the 4th of March 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

UCU     

UCU Stop the Cuts campaign  

Sign petition against the education cuts  

Reform cuts ESOL funding as it doesn’t help “native Lincolnshire people” (25 Feb) – Responding to a report that Reform mayor of Lincolnshire Andrea Jenkyns is pushing ahead with plans to scrap all funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from 2027, UCU attacked the party for acting vindictively. Jenkyns has justified the cut by arguing ESOL “doesn’t go to native Lincolnshire people”, according to FE Week read more

Staff back industrial action in vote at University of Stirling (17 Feb) – Staff at the University of Stirling have today (Tuesday 17 February 2026) backed industrial action in a dispute about job cuts and the failure of management to rule out compulsory redundancies. In the ballot of University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members at Stirling university, 80% backed strike action on a turnout of 66%.  88% of those voting additionally said they would be willing to take part in action short of strike which could include not covering for absent colleagues, working to contract or undertaking voluntary activities. Action short of strike could also include a marking an assessment boycott. UCU members in the branch will now decide what action they want to take read more

Possible strikes at Aberdeen University as staff back industrial action (16 Feb) – Staff at the University of Aberdeen today (Monday 16 February 2026) voted to back industrial action in a dispute about cuts and the possible use of compulsory redundancies. The ballot of University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members at the university, saw 83% of those voting back strike action on a turnout of 60%. 90% also said they would take part in action short of strike. This can include working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, or not undertaking voluntary activities. UCU members at Aberdeen will now decide the next steps in the dispute read more

Heriot-Watt University staff back industrial action (16 Feb) – Workers at Heriot-Watt University have today (Monday 16 February 2026) backed industrial action in a dispute about job cuts and the failure of management to rule out compulsory redundancies. In the ballot of University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members at the university, 74% of those voting backed strike action on a turnout of 70%. 87% also said they would be willing to take part in action short of strike which can include working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, or undertaking voluntary activities. Following the results of the ballot, UCU members at the university will decide their next steps read more

Staff at New City College vote to strike over trade union victimisation (16 Feb) – Staff at Arbour Square and Tower Hamlets campuses of New City College in east London have overwhelmingly backed strike action in a dispute over the unfair dismissal of a long serving member of staff. An overwhelming 92% of those who voted backed strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 70%. The strike vote comes after Wojtek Dmochowski, a long-standing teacher and UCU branch rep, was unfairly dismissed just before Christmas (2025) after working at the college for over two decades. UCU is calling on the college to reinstate Wojtek and agree clear protocols for dealing with complaints or issues involving union representatives. A website and petition have been launched calling on the college to think again and reinstate Wojtek read more

Truro & Penwith College staff to strike over low pay & high workloads (11 Feb) – Staff at Truro and Penwith College will strike on Monday 23 February in an escalating dispute over low pay and poor working conditions. The union has already called three days of strike action since the start of the year (Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 January) after the college imposed a pay award of just 2%, only half that recommended by employer body the Association of Colleges. The college seems reluctant to engage in committing to agree to implement meaningful blocks of protected time to allow academic staff to properly plan, prepare and assess the work of their students. There was also a mass redundancy programme last year which has seen workloads rocket at a college that already has one of the highest weekly teaching allocations in the region read more

Strikes likely at Strathclyde University as staff vote for industrial action (9 Feb) – Staff at Strathclyde University have backed industrial action in a dispute about job cuts and the failure of management to rule out compulsory redundancies. In the ballot of UCU Scotland members at the university, 80% of those voting backed strike action on a turnout of 58%.  87% also said they would be willing to take part in action short of strike which can include working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, or undertaking voluntary activities. Action short of strike could also include a marking an assessment boycott. Following the ballot for industrial action, UCU members at the university will now decide the next steps read more

Seven days of strikes over Essex Uni job cuts begin Thursday (9 Feb) – Staff at the University of Essex will begin seven days of strike action on Thursday 12 February in a fight over plans to axe 400 jobs and the resulting threat to student provision, UCU announced today. Staff at the university will down tools from Thursday 12 February until Thursday 19 February and will picket both Southend and Colchester campuses on every day of the strike. As well as cutting jobs, the university is planning to close its Southend Campus. There will be a rally at 12pm on Thursday 12 February on Colchester campus, where supporters will hear from TUC general secretary Paul Nowak. Last week staff and student held a rally at the Southend Campus, joined by UCU and Unison general secretaries Jo Grady and Andrea Egan. Staff will also begin action short of a strike on Thursday 12 February. This will consist of working strictly to contract, boycotting exam boards and open days and not covering for absent colleagues. The action comes after an overwhelming 85% of participating staff backed strikes, on a turnout of 60% read more

10 strike days begin this week at Northumbria University over pension ‘robbery’ (9 Feb) – Northumbria University will be hit with ten days of strike action from Thursday 12 February in a fight to save staff pensions, UCU announced today. Staff will down tools on:-

  • Week One: Thursday 12 and Friday 13 February
  • Week Two: Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 February
  • Week Three: Monday 2, Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5 and Friday 6 March

Staff will be on picket lines each strike day will be across university campuses from 9am and will hold a rally each day at 11am outside the Sutherland Building. The action comes after 80% of UCU members who voted backed striking, on a turnout of 60%. The dispute is over management’s decision to force staff out of the post-92 university standard pension, the Teacher’s Pension Scheme, by freezing the pay of any staff member who tries to stay in it read more read more

Durham University staff vote to strike over “untenable” working conditions (9 Feb) – Staff at Durham University have backed strike action in a fight to protect working conditions and job security, announced UCU today. 63% of UCU members who participated in the ballot voted for strike action on a turnout of 54%. The vote comes after the university slashed hundreds of jobs to make £20m of  budget cuts, refused to put in place any workload agreements for staff who remain, ran roughshod over  the collective agreements that exist to resolve disputes, and rebuffed all attempts to negotiate over working conditions and job security. UCU is demanding management starts following the disputes resolution procedure that it has previously signed off and agreed to abide by, begin meaningful negotiations, and improve working conditions and job security read more

Southampton Solent strike begins next week in fight over fire & rehire pension attack (3 Feb) – Staff at Southampton Solent University will take two days of strike action beginning next week after management forced staff out of their preferred pension scheme, and threatened to sack all those who refused to exit it. Staff will down tools on Monday 9 February and Tuesday 17 February, with pickets planned at the Spark Building and Michael Andrews Building (both at East Park Terrace, Southampton, SO14 0YN) between 8am and 1pm on both days. An overwhelming 93% of those who voted in the ballot backed strike action on a turnout of 72%. In December (2025) 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 pay less into staff pensions, leaving them poorer. University management told the 286 staff to email HR by “close of business” if they “object to the transfer” and that their employment would then cease immediately. The university has now stated its intention is to also move academic staff out of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme by the end of this academic year 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 read more. Sign the petition against the job cuts.

  • Monday 2nd March 5:30 pm online London Met UCU Solidarity Rally in Defence of Jobs, workload and our students education and to discuss a united defence of the HE sector Zoom link   Meeting ID: 837 9504 1929  Passcode: 983908

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

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

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

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 February 2026 read more

General Secretary update read more

National Chair update January 2026 read here  

The government must introduce a second employment rights bill says prison officer’s leaders (23 Feb) – The Union Leaders are calling on the UK Labour Government to bring in a 2nd Employment Rights Bill. The call comes just a few months after the UK Government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill passed into legislation. Whilst the Bill, which has been described as “the greatest improvement in workers’ rights in a generation”, will bring in a suite of positive changes, POA General Secretary, Steve Gillan believes another Bill is required to deliver fundamental rights for all workers. The POA’s key demand is for the 2nd bill to reinstate “The Right to Strike” for Prison Officers. In 1994 “The Right to Strike” for Prison Officers was removed by the Tory Government during the passage of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. Subsequently, the Blair Government committed to reinstating “The Right to Strike” in England and Wales but failed to follow through on this pledge when in office. The Scottish Government reinstated the right in 2015 and not a single day has been lost to strike action since read more

Employment Rights Bill 2 (23 Feb) – POA Circular 62/2025 outlined the POA’s support for The Campaign for Trade Union Freedom and Strike Map’s call for an ‘Employment Rights Bill 2’. The Employment Rights Act was passed in December 2025. The act brings into law a number of commitments made by the Labour Party in its “New Deal for Working People”. However, the POA do not believe that the Act goes far enough. The attached document outlines our demand for an ‘Employment Rights Bill 2’. Please make all members aware of its content read more

NHS Pay Award (12 Feb) – The Government has accepted the recommendation of the Agenda for Change Pay Review Body in respect of pay as part of a package.  The Pay Award will be 3.3% and the same has been accepted by Wales and Northern Ireland.  The POA in conjunction with other trade unions will be entering into negotiations next week about the package read more

NAPO

Justice unions write to political parties in Wales (18 Feb) – Napo and UNISON,  have written to political parties in Wales to draw their attention to the Justice Unions in Wales’ previous joint statement on the devolution of Justice to Wales, with specific reference to Youth Justice and the Probation Service read more

Probation Pay Offer – members complain about ‘coercion’ (18 Feb) – Many members have been in touch with Napo over the last fortnight to express their anger and concern following comments made by employer’s representatives in all staff calls held to discuss the 4% 2025/26 Probation pay offer. Napo believe trade unions and employers have the right to communicate what each side believes to be important points on to support our respective positions. In the case of this pay offer Napo’s view is that this is an insult, representing a real-term pay cut while abjectly failing to recognise the value of our work in delivering the policies of successive governments amid a huge operational and staffing crisis in the Probation Service, caused by HMPPS’s actions and inaction read more

Health and Safety Update (18 Feb) – We have been in continued discussions with the employer around the issue of probation safety and the upcoming pilots in seven areas, and we are aware of the concerns and feelings expressed by the members read more

Facts Aren’t Myths (13 Feb) – This Wednesday saw the publication of an article on the HMPPS Intranet titled “Probation pay: myth busters”. This is our response:-

Fact no. 1: The Competency Based Framework (CBF) is separate from the pay offer. HMPPS seem to be confusing, either accidentally or on purpose, the fact that because the two “very separate” processes of incremental progression and a pay award are paid from the same pot of money they can spend on wages that they are the same thing. They’re simply not and Napo members and the wider workforce can see that they’re not. Incremental progression through the Competency Based Framework (CBF) is separate from the current pay offer, as it was to previous pay offers/awards. And it’s not just the trade unions saying that, HMPPS have said that too read more

Probation pay offer – it’s time for you to have your say! (3 Feb) – Napo’s Email Indicative Ballot opens tomorrow. In our previous mail outs, we have set out the reasons why we are asking you to vote to reject the 2025-2026 Probation Pay Offer. If you missed these they can be accessed at our dedicated page for the pay campaign – do keep returning here regularly as further information will be uploaded – https://www.napo.org.uk/respect-probation-pay-probation  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

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     

Nautilus International

RFA officers vote for strike action (20 Feb) – Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) officers have delivered an emphatic ballot result, demonstrating immense strength of feeling over pay and conditions across the workforce. The statutory ballot achieved a 56% turnout, with members returning decisive majorities in favour of action:-

  • 88% voted YES to taking strike action 
  • 95% voted YES to taking industrial action short of strike 

Nautilus International said the result represents one of the largest and most significant RFA ballots ever conducted, both in scale and engagement. In this ballot, 32% more members were entitled to vote than in the previous RFA ballot, around 17% more officers actively participated, despite the challenges of returning postal ballots whilst at sea and on active operations. The union says this context is crucial to understanding the result and highlights the depth of concern across the service read more

Enhanced employment rights heading your way (13 Feb) – Maritime professionals will begin to benefit from the largest shakeup of UK employment rights in decades as the UK’s Employment Rights Act comes into force. The government has issued an updated implementation timeline for its Plan to Make Work Pay and the Employment Rights Act 2025. The reforms aim to modernise employment law, extend protections to more workers, and strengthen workplace rights, and will be introduced in phases throughout 2026 and 2027 to allow employers and unions time to prepare. The new Fair Work Agency will become a key enforcement body read more

NUJ   

State surveillance an ‘attack on public interest journalism’, says NUJ member Vincent Kearney as tribunal hearing begins (25 Feb) – The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) will today hear of unlawful surveillance against former BBC journalist and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) member Vincent Kearney read more

NUJ calls for independent inquiry and stricter legislation on journalist surveillance (23 Feb) – The NUJ has called for stricter legislation to prevent corporate surveillance of journalists and for an independent inquiry into allegations surrounding the hiring of a public relations agency to investigate numerous reporters and their sources read more

Reach group chapel concerned over proposed printing site closures (18 Feb) – The NUJ’s Reach group chapel has issued a statement expressing shock and concern around Reach plc’s plan to close two of its three newspaper printing sites in the UK. On 10 February, the company announced the proposed closure of its printing sites in Saltire (Scotland) and Watford (Hertfordshire), as part of a ‘cost-saving drive’, with operations either moving to its remaining site in Oldham or being outsourced 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 boycotts “unfit for purpose” BBC Charter survey (23 Feb) – “Is the government setting out to do a W1A-esque satire of the Charter Renewal process?” read more

Musicians Union

Response to Reform’s Great Repeal Bill announcement (24 Feb) – Today, Richard Tice from Reform UK has announced plans to introduce a “Great Repeal Bill” that will scrap Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, as well as rent reforms read more

MU Members Meet Senedd Candidates to Highlight Music’s Role in Wales’s Economy and Communities (19 Feb) – Welsh MU members met Labour Senedd candidates to discuss the future of the music industry in Wales, presenting the Union’s manifesto priorities for fair pay, strong public investment, and long-term sustainability across the sector ahead of the 7 May elections read more

MU Calls on Political Parties and Candidates to Back Musicians’ Manifesto for Wales Ahead of Senedd Election (17 Feb)

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 – Hartlepool works sales process completed (23 Feb) – Paul McKenna, National Secretary for Steel at Community Union, said: “We welcome news that the accelerated sales process for the Hartlepool mills has now been completed…” read more

USDAW

Reports of violence and abuse against retail workers fell by a fifth last year, but remained at its second highest level on record (24 Feb) – Shop workers’ trade union Usdaw has responded to the annual British Retail Consortium (BRC) Crime Report, which indicates that incidents of physical violence against retail staff remained largely unchanged from the previous year, at 118 per day, and there were on average 36 incidents per day involving a weapon. The overall number of incidents fell from 2,000 a day to 1,600 and remains far beyond the 455 incidents a day registered before the pandemic read more

Usdaw welcomes the latest changes to workers’ rights that will roll back the anti-trade union legislation brought in by the previous Conservative government (18 Feb) – Passed in December after years of Usdaw campaigning, the Employment Rights Act (ERA) delivers significant improvements for workers across retail, distribution and manufacturing read more

Eddie Stobart dispute – Usdaw launches a strike ballot at the Morrisons Bridgwater distribution centre over the 2025 pay review (16 Feb) – Retail distribution trade union Usdaw has issued Eddie Stobart Limited with notice of a strike ballot of around 100 drivers and transport clerical staff who operate a Morrisons contract at the Bridgwater distribution centre in Somerset. The ballot opened on 16 February and will close at noon on 2 March 2026 read more

Tetrosyl recognition dispute (6 Feb) – Usdaw applies for a statutory agreement after the Rochdale based company fails to enter into talks. Usdaw is the trade union for staff working at car care products manufacturer Tetrosyl and Tetrosyl Express based in Rochdale. The union has been seeking talks with the company about a recognition agreement since late last year. Management has failed to engage, which has forced Usdaw to use the statutory process by applying to the Central Arbitration Committee read more

UVW   

The Battle of the Tips Continues: Harrods Staff Take £1 Cover Charge Fight to Tribunal (24 Feb) – “Harrods introduced this cover charge out of nowhere and without any transparency as to its purpose” – Alice Howick, Harrods former restaurant worker and UVW member. Restaurant workers at Harrods are taking their fight over tips to the Employment Tribunal. At the heart of the case is a compulsory £1 “cover charge” added to every customer’s bill. This is the first legal challenge of its kind under the new Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. For the first time, a tribunal will be asked to decide what really counts as a tip under the law. The decision could have consequences for hospitality workers across the UK read more

After historic hotel strike win, Radisson Blu housekeepers take trade union recognition fight to CAC tribunal (16 Feb) – “Union recognition means that when they try to do things like they did before, when they cut our hours or increased our workload, we have a way to fight back against it earlier and make them sit down with us” – Housekeeper at Euston Square Radisson Blu hotel. Housekeepers outsourced to WGC Ltd at two Radisson Blu hotels — Canary Wharf and Euston Square — have submitted applications for statutory recognition at the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) read more

Domestic Violence Advisors Take  Solace Charity to CAC Tribunal in Union Recognition Fight (12 Feb) – “While we advocate every day for survivors of abuse, we feel our own voices continue to be disregarded”. Domestic Violence Advisors at Solace Women’s Aid in Tower Hamlets have formally applied to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for statutory recognition of their union, United Voices of the World (UVW), after months of delays and unfulfilled commitments by management. Twice in 2025 — in January and July — Tower Hamlets staff, members of UVW, issued statutory notices of industrial action following successful ballots. The indefinite strike planned for February 2025, the first by any domestic abuse charity, was called off after an intense public campaign compelled the borough to intervene and halt draconian redundancies that threatened the service read more

Draughts Games bar Kitchen Worker Dismissed After Strike Ballot Notice Takes Case to Tribunal (10 Feb) – “I had so many plans for my life when I was working at Draughts, and my dismissal has been devastating” – Awed, dismissed kitchen workers and UVW member. A migrant kitchen worker at the trendy London board-game bar Draughts will face his employer at an employment tribunal this week after being summarily dismissed shortly after a union strike ballot was announced. Last summer, workers at Draughts organised with United Voices of the World union (UVW) over insecure work and worsening conditions. When UVW formally notified the company of a strike ballot, one worker — employed at the Stratford branch on a zero-hour contract — was dismissed the very next day 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 Private Hire Drivers Statement on TfL’s ‘Goodwill’ Payment for License Delays (26 Jan) – If Transport for London believes its announcement of a £500 “Goodwill” payment will be met with anything other than contempt by the drivers whose lives were torn apart by TfL’s prolonged incompetence, it is profoundly mistaken 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

SIPTU (Ireland)   

An affordability led model is the way out of the housing crisis (22 Feb) – Something is badly broken in Waterford’s housing market, and the numbers make for uncomfortable reading. Average monthly rents in Waterford City now stand at €1,235, a staggering 55% rise since the pre-pandemic period. County-wide rents have increased by 53% over the same stretch. In the last year alone, city rents surged by 11%, against hourly wage growth of just 3.5% read more

Donegal HSE Home Support HCAs secure overtime payments(19 Feb) – Health Care Assistants (HCAs) in the HSE Home Support Service in County Donegal have secured back payment of overtime owed to them since 2018, after a threat of industrial action led to management providing written commitments in talks with SIPTU representatives. A 24-hour strike in Donegal was suspended last Friday after progress was made regarding the key dispute issues read more

Nationwide Health Care Assistants’ strikes suspended (19 Feb) – SIPTU has suspended all planned Health Care Assistant (HCA) strikes in the Northwest, West and South regions following agreement with the HSE on key issues regarding underpayments, rostering and working conditions for these critical frontline staff. Strike action, which was due to commence over four days in counties Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Clare and Donegal, will not take place. The deal, reached with the assistance of the Workplace Relations Commission, resolves long-standing issues for SIPTU HCA members in the HSE Home Support Service, resulting from their employer violating national agreements on terms and conditions read more

SIPTU members vote no confidence in RTÉ management plan (18 Feb) – SIPTU members employed in RTÉ have voted overwhelmingly to reject a management plan that will result in the endless outsourcing of jobs at the national broadcaster and deal a fatal blow to public service broadcasting in Ireland, destroying its critical role in Irish societySIPTU Caredoc members defer industrial action to consider pay proposals (24 Dec) read more

  

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.

Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation

Spycops inquiry condemned as “fundamentally flawed” in statement by blacklisted workers – The SpyCops public inquiry that restarts evidence hearings this week is described as “fundamentally flawed” by the Blacklist Support Group (BSG). The comments appear in an opening statement for the inquiry’s Tranche 3 hearings. The statement opens with a section stating:

“Undercover police officers infiltrated and spied on trade unions. SDS reported on union meetings, union activists, union campaigns, and industrial disputes. For decades, police and security service records were used to blacklist trade union and leftwing political activists from employment. Through official and unofficial routes, the police intelligence was disseminated to government departments, major private sector employers and the unlawful blacklisting bodies; the Economic League and the Consulting Association”. The statement goes onto catalogue 10 years of missed opportunities and broken promises in relation to blacklisting, including highlighting how intelligence gathered by undercover police is used to provide state organised vetting for employers known as ‘List X companies’. One section of the statement reads: “The failure to fully investigate blacklisting is either a remarkable lack of curiosity, or an intentional self-imposed restriction of the Inquiry’s terms of reference. Either way it is against the public interest and is a failure to fulfil the Inquiry’s terms of reference as laid out by Parliament”. 

BSG’s opening statement is published on the inquiry’s website as part of the submission by Imran Khan KC, who also represents Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE, Suresh Grover and the Monitoring Group. Full statement in link below – BSG section starts at page 35.

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

Opening statement to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on behalf of:

Lois Austin, Richard Chessum, ‘Mary’, Dave Nellist, Hannah Sell, Youth against Racism in Europe read here

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

   

        

Keep an eye out for other Facebook and social media groups and pages that are being created. You can catch up on disputes at Strike Map UK. Also, check out Organise Now! – Support for new worker organising.      

     

International     

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

We send our solidarity to the family of nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti who was killed in Minneapolis on 24th January. His 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 last Friday and have protested there and across the USA.

NSSN Chair Rob Williams sent this message of support

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
  • NSSN lobby of TUC Congress will be from 1pm on Sunday 13th September in Brighton

  

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