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NSSN 784: March this Sunday to celebrate 90th anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street!

The NSSN will be marching this Sunday 4th October in East London as the trade union movement marks the 90th anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street, when hundreds of thousands of working-class people confronted and defeated Mosley’s fascist Blackshirts.

In 1936, amongst the scapegoats of the far-right were the Jewish working-class community of the East End of London. Now, the far-right are again trying to whip up racist division by targeting many sections of working-class people, including the Muslim community, along with migrant workers and refugees, along with many other groups.

The NSSN calls for the unions to play the leading role in opposing this offensive, which will only weaken our movement in the interests of the employers. The unions have the power to build a mass united movement of workers.

We therefore call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’

The Battle of Cable Street – 90th Anniversary | East London, Sunday 4 October 2026 – Meet outside Tower Hamlets Town Hall 12noon, march begins 13.00 (tube: Whitechapel)

Unite the union is participating in the major events this Autumn to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. All over the country in 1936, Mosley’s British Union of Fascists were chased off the streets by a strong working class who knew that the politics of hate and division offers no solutions read more on the Unite website

Unite For A Workers’ Economy Facebook event

Cable Street 90 Facebook Page

New Book: CABLE STREET 1936-2026: ‘NOT THEN NOT NOW’ from Unite the Union. Regular price £19.36 order from Rough Trade Books

Burnham announces the end of the pension triple lock – TUC votes for National Saturday Demo – now #NameTheDate!

At the 2026 TUC Congress on 13-16 September, Motion 34 from the PCS was passed, which included the call for the TUC to organise a national Saturday demonstration. As we warned in the NSSN Rally before the start of Congress, a motion calling for a national Saturday demonstration was passed at last year’s TUC Congress but wasn’t implemented by the TUC General Council. Therefore, it is vital that union reps, members and activists call on their respective unions to vote for the motion to be enacted at the TUC General Council on 21st October and organise the demonstration to set out what workers need and build the pressure on Andy Burnham. This is an even more urgent task, because yesterday at the Labour Party Conference, Burnham announced the end of the pension triple lock.

Please table this model motion below in your union meetings and trades councils:- 

Model Motion

This union organisation/trades council welcomes the overwhelming vote at the recent TUC Congress to pass Motion 34: ‘Public Sector Pay’ from the PCS.

The motion instructed TUC Congress to ‘urgently call a national Saturday demonstration this autumn for investment in public services, against austerity and for pro-worker policies.’

This union organisation/trades council believes that this is a vital action to mobilise the trade unions to put forward our movement’s demands as Andy Burnham moves towards his first Budget on 28th October.

This is imperative as the employers lobby for policies to make working-class people and communities to pay the price for the crisis caused by big business, centred on a further austerity offensive. At Labour Party Conference, Burnham announced the end of the pension triple lock.

Therefore, this union organisation/trades council calls on our union to demand that the TUC General Council on 21st October 2026 agrees to enact Motion 34 and name the date for a ‘national Saturday demonstration’ before the end of this year.

The Holiday Inn Hotel in Brighton was filled to overflowing at the NSSN TUC Congress Rally and Lobby on Sunday 13th September.

The rally heard from union leaders, rank and file union reps and activists and TUC Congress delegates. Speakers included: Daniel Kebede NEU General Secretary, Sarah Woolley BFAWU General Secretary, Steve Wright FBU General Secretary, Ian Lawrence NAPO General Secretary, Dave Semple PCS Deputy National President (pc), Matt Reid Unite Convenor Birmingham binworkers, Matt Webb President of Brighton & Hove District Trades Council, Rob Williams NSSN Chair and Hannah Ponting Socialist Students. There was also an open discussion with a number of contributions from the floor and outside the conference centre.

The rally gave its full support and solidarity to all workers in dispute and taking action, and in particular the PCS, NEU and UCU who are moving to national strike ballots on a number of issues, including pay.

The rally attendees marched to the conference centre to lobby delegates to support key motions that set out the demands and action that workers need to put pressure on the Burnham Labour government as he moves to his first Budget on 28th October:-

  • Motion 34 from the PCS: ‘Public sector pay’ included the call for the reopening of ‘talks on public sector pay for 2026/27’, and as part of the strategy to fight for this, ‘a national Saturday demonstration this autumn for investment in public services, against austerity and for pro-worker policies’ and ‘urges all public sector unions to join a united campaign on pay, and, if needed, to plan for coordinated industrial action to secure real gains for workers.’
  • Composite Motion 2 from the NASUWT and POA: ‘Strengthening and protecting hard won employment rights for all workers’ included the call for a ‘campaign for the immediate removal of the 50 per cent ballot threshold and oppose any linkage between the removal of the threshold and the implementation of e-balloting’ and the restoration of the right to strike for the POA’s prison officer members.

These motions were passed overwhelmingly, if not unanimously at Congress. But the PCS’s Motion 34 was passed with a ‘statement of explanation’ from the TUC General Council, stating that they will make a decision on whether it goes ahead.

As NSSN Chair Rob Williams warned in the NSSN Rally, a motion calling for a national Saturday demonstration was passed at last year’s TUC Congress but ignored by the TUC General Council. Therefore, it is vital that union reps, members and activists demand that their respective unions demand that the motion be enacted at the TUC General Council on 21st October and organise the demonstration to set out what workers need and build the pressure on Burnham.

We appeal to union members to take the NSSN Action Programme, which was passed at this year’s NSSN Annual Conference, into their union branches and committees, shop stewards committees and trades councils, and raise on picket lines, protests and demonstrations. This set of demands must be put forward on Burnham’s government. We can’t afford to take the pressure off.

The NSSN conference NSSN proposed an ‘Action Programme’, to be taken out to the wider trade union movement to take on the cost-of-living crisis (download here). That Action Programme is carried below:

NSSN Conference 2026 Action Programme to defend workers from the cost of living squeeze: ‘We’re not paying for the bosses’ crisis’

  • Above inflation pay rises for workers – automatic rises in pay as inflation increase. In the public sector, for these to be fully funded by central government.
  • Scrap all age exemptions on pay, including the national minimum wage. For the immediate implementation of the TUC demand of a £15-an-hour minimum wage for all as a step towards a real living wage, without exemptions.
  • Stop the profiteering: nationalise the energy & water companies.
  • Freeze rents and energy & utility bills.
  • Demand that councils refuse to implement cuts, and instead pass no-cuts needs budgets.
  • Oppose disability benefit cuts and attacks on pensions and campaign for a fully resourced, supportive social security system to meet needs of working class people.
  • Demand that the TUC enact Congress 2025 policy by calling an Autumn national demo against Labour austerity. If not, for a trade union ‘coalition of the willing’ to step in to organise such a demonstration.
  • Support the NSSN lobby of the TUC Congress in Brighton from 1pm on Sunday 13th September, in the Holiday Inn Hotel.
  • Strike together: co-ordinate the fight on national public sector pay – unite workers across the public and private sectors.
  • Repeal all the Tory anti-union laws – immediate scrapping of the undemocratic 50% strike ballot threshold.
  • Restore the right to strike to the POA.
  • Workers unity to face down Reform and the far-right: for the unions to implement 2018 TUC Congress policy ‘to launch a campaign of Jobs and homes not racism’.
  • Launch the discussion for a Workers Charter, and how we can fight for it, against the attack on our living standards.

Read our new NSSN SPECIAL HOUSING BULLETIN

Download and distribute our new NSSN Workplace Report “45 QUID A YEAR IS NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH”    

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

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

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

Affiliation letter     

Contact us: email – [email protected].    

Support the Birmingham bin workers – over a year and half of indefinite strike action

The Unite Birmingham bin workers have taken over a full year of indefinite strike action against the brutal £8,000 slashing of their wages by the then Labour Council, shamefully on the watch of a Labour government.

We demand that the new council honour this agreement.

Senior figures in Birmingham bin talks confirm Unite deal (5 June) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed the statements by former Acas chair Lord Brendan Barber and Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker. Both statements from two senior figures in the room over the months of negotiations with Unite and the leader of the council, are clear and unambiguous. The negotiations between Barber, Parker, former leader of Birmingham council John Cotton and Unite general secretary Sharon Graham began in December 2025 and the deal was concluded in March 2026. As Lord Barber has said, Unelected officers and commissioners of the council attempting to cause delay is unacceptable.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “As Lord Barber and Mayor Parker have both said, the deal to end this dispute has been negotiated and agreed. The continued attempts by unelected council officers and commissioners to block, delay and throw into doubt this deal is unacceptable and will simply not work. We look forward to the elected members of the council agreeing the process for the implementation of the deal, so the usual ballot of members can take place. Workers and residents have put up with enough of the constant dither and delay. This is a good deal for workers and residents and it needs to be swiftly finalised.” Read more

   

Union News     

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RMT     

RMT National Dispute Fund  

Strike action called at Chiltern against driver-only operation (29 Sept) – RAIL union RMT announced strike action today (September 29) on Chiltern Railways after members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action against driver-only operation (DOO) planned for East West Rail services. RMT members will take 24-hour action on Saturday October 10 and Saturday October 17 after the company refused to provide guarantees over the safety critical role of the second person on board proposed East West Rail services. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the driver-only operation proposed on East-West represented a significant risk to safety and the current Train Manager roles read more

Avanti nationalisation should not leave outsourced workers behind, says RMT (28 Sept) – Rail union RMT demanded today (September 28) that Avanti West Coast outsourced staff be bought into direct employment after the government announced the train company will be brought under public ownership by next March. The union has welcomed the commitment by the government to launch Great British Railways, which will nationalise the network and bring track and trains back together under public ownership. However, thousands of cleaners, gate line, security staff, infrastructure maintenance, renewal and engineering workers, are being left behind due to being employed by private contractors. This is despite the Labour government’s commitment to undertake ‘the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation’. Avanti currently outsources its security to Amulet, owned by Churchill, its station cleaning to Carlisle, owned by Lord Ashcroft, while its trains are cleaned by private equity owned outsourcing giant OCS, which is currently in the process of buying its fellow conglomerate Mitie. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that outsourcing companies were raking in over £400 million each year in profits by pushing staff pay and conditions down as low as possible, creating poor morale and repeated disputes read more

Striking outsourced rail workers to take battle to Labour Party conference (25 Sept) – RAIL union RMT will hold protests outside Labour Party conference meeting in Liverpool on Monday September 28 with striking outsourced rail workers to highlight low pay and calling for them to be taken in-house. Outsourced RMT members on TransPennine contracts working for Bidvest Noonan and Rail Gourmet are striking against low pay and in-work poverty. Outsourced workers on another publicly owned contract LNER who work for Gate Solutions will also be taking strike action next month at Doncaster, Edinburgh Waverley, King’s Cross, Leeds, Newcastle and York starting with 24-hour action from October 16. The growth in strike action by outsourced workers comes as the Common Wealth think tank published a report which says that by allowing public service outsourcing the government was effectively driving workers into poverty read more

RMT calls for action as rail assaults reach record high (24 Sept) – RAIL union RMT called for action against assaults today (September 24) after the latest figures revealed a 12 per cent increase of violence and abuse against rail workers. The Office of Rail and Road reported 6,390 incidents of verbal abuse, 2,487 physical assaults and 2,412 threats. There were also 13,464 reported assaults against passengers and members of the public on the mainline, an increase of 36 per cent and the highest number recorded since records began in 2004.  Harassment also increased by 52 per cent and common assaults by 30 per cent. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the figures were horrendous and concurred with union figures that two-thirds of RMT public transport members experienced violence at work in the past year read more

Industrial action at Go Cornwall (23 Sept) – BUS union RMT announced industrial action short of a strike from Friday October 2 by members at Go Cornwall over the refusal of the company to recognise the union. RMT members voted overwhelmingly for action to assert their right to trade union representation. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that Go Cornwall should accept the result of the TUC Disputes Committee verdict back in January to recognise RMT read more

No DOO protest on East West Rail (21 Sept) – RAIL union RMT held a demonstration outside Marylebone Station, London today against driver-only operation (DOO) on East West Rail services planned to be run by Chiltern Railways which has just come back under public ownership. RMT members are currently being balloted for strike action after the company refused to provide guarantees over the safety critical role of the second person on board. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the driver-only operation proposed on East-West represented a significant risk to safety and the current Train Manager roles at Chiltern read more

Strike action suspended on East Midlands Railways (11 Sept) – RAIL union RMT has suspended planned strike action for next Wednesday and Thursday September 16/17 following some substantial movement from management regarding faulty Class 810 fleet trains. However, action short of strike action by relevant EMR members due to commence on Sunday September 20, 2026 remains in place if any unsolicited brake applications occur to stop the train. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey congratulated members for their continued determination to make sure the Class 810 fleet is only used in safe conditions read more

Strike suspended at TransPennine Express (27 Aug) – Planned strike action tomorrow (Friday August 28) by outsourced cleaners and catering workers at TransPennine Express (TPE) has been suspended following an improved pay offer. Catering workers at Rail Gourmet and cleaners at Bidvest Noonan have already taken action which has forced both companies to increase the pay uplift offer to 3.6 per cent backdated to April. The union has suspended the action while further consultations take place with reps. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that it was clear that this improved offer would not have come about without these members standing firm read more

Merseyrail cleaners to take action (6 Aug) – Cleaners on Merseyrail employed by outsourcing firm Churchill Services will take 24-hour strike action against low pay from Friday (tomorrow) to Saturday (August 8). There will be a picket line outside Rail House, located on Lord Nelson Street, Liverpool, L1 1JF from 07.30 hours. The union believes that Churchill can improve the current low pay offer as the company reported a post-tax profit of £15.3 million for the 2025 financial year, and distributed dividends of approximately £13.5 million. Moreover, the company’s highest paid director, who is also a significant shareholder, received remuneration of £603,000. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the company clearly had the capacity to fund the relatively small additional cost required to maintain the current pay differential sought by members read more

Further strike action at Avanti West Coast (29 July) – Rail union RMT has announced further strike action by Avanti West Coast members at Manchester Piccadilly station on Saturday August 1 over the unfair dismissal of a colleague. Despite taking industrial action against sacking which was based on anonymous allegations, the company has decided to ignore the workforce and uphold the sacking at an appeal hearing. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that it was extremely disappointing to sack a worker who had clearly been the victim of a toxic workplace culture which encouraged anonymous and unsubstantiated complaints read more

RMT suspends Merseyrail strike action (17 July) – RMT has suspended three days of strike action on Merseyrail planned for July 18 to 20 after the company made an improved offer. This offer will now be considered within union structures and with RMT representatives. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey congratulated Merseyrail members for their resolve to win an improved offer and this will now be discussed among the membership read more

CAF Rail strike to hit Transport for Wales maintenance as pay dispute escalates (10 July) – RMT members employed by CAF Rail on the Transport for Wales contract will take strike action on Sunday and Monday evening after the company refused to improve its pay offer and retaliated against workers for taking lawful industrial action. The strikes will run between 17:59 and 05:30 on Sunday 12 July into Monday 13 July, and again between 17:59 and 05:30 on Monday 13 July into Tuesday 14 July. The industrial action is part of an ongoing dispute over pay and follows CAF Rail’s decision to ban members from undertaking overtime after they exercised their legal right to withdraw their labour read more

ASLEF

ASLEF applauds the return of Union Learn (28 Sept) – Dave Calfe, general secretary of ASLEF, warmly welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement at Labour Party Conference of the reintroduction of the Union Learning Fund read more

TSSA

End of Avanti ‘long overdue and puts passengers before profit’ – TSSA

Two Avanti trains on tracks (28 Sept) – Rail union TSSA has given its backing to the announcement that Avanti West Coast will come into public ownership as of March next year. The government is exercising the right to terminate the contract which is currently run by First Trenitalia West Coast Rail (as Avanti), a move TSSA described as ‘long overdue’ and one which will ‘put passengers before profit’. TSSA has collective bargaining rights for all station and revenue protection staff and represents many managers in Avanti West Coast read more

TSSA calls new railway assault figures – ‘shocking but not surprising’ (24 Sept) – Rail union TSSA has described as ‘shocking but not surprising’ new official figures showing a further dramatic escalation in reported assaults against rail workers and passengers. According to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) there were 11,289 reported workforce assaults on Britain’s mainline railway network in the period from April 2025 to March 2026. That represents a rise of 12 per cent on the previous year. There were also 13,464 reported assaults against passengers and members of the public, an increase of 36 per cent, and the highest number recorded since records began more than twenty years ago. TSSA has been at the forefront of a campaign to ‘Stop Violence Against Transport Workers’ which calls for increased budgets, more policing and the end to lone working read more

TSSA calls for Scottish Government to drop Israeli-linked settlement firm (22 Sept) – Rail union TSSA is calling on the Scottish Government to drop Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) from a train bidding process over its links to the expansion of illegal settlements. CAF is among a shortlist of five manufacturers selected to compete to replace ScotRail’s suburban rail fleet in the coming years. The move has prompted fury – with sister union ASLEF saying train drivers will refuse to work on new ScotRail trains if the company wins the contract read more

Forthcoming strike action at West Midlands Trains (6 July) – Rail union TSSA has said strikes planned for later this week at West Midlands Trains (WMT) over rest day working payments are set to go ahead and will have a significant impact. The walkouts are a result of WMT and the Department for Transport repeatedly failing to fulfil their assurance that an improved rest day working agreement – giving TSSA members parity with other unions – would be secured. This is the second round of strikes in the dispute after similar action was taken in May this year. TSSA balloted over 100 members across these roles for the relevant industrial action read more

Unite     

BREAKING NEWS!! Legal 500 workers win full pay claim after strike action (30 Sept) – Dozens of publishing staff at Legalease, the publishers of legal industry-bible The Legal 500, have won a dramatic victory in their industrial dispute over pay. Staff who had been on strike for two and a half weeks accepted an offer that fully met their original pay claim of a £2000 pay increase for every worker. This was despite the company originally claiming it would not pay such an increase. After two and a half weeks of well-supported strike action, and more industrial action on the horizon, Legalease agreed to meet the workers’ demands read more

Tower Hamlets health visitors and support staff strike for NHS parity (29 Sept) – Tower Hamlets GP Care Group refusing guarantees to fully align with NHS pay structures. Nearly 120 East London health visitors and support staff will take strike action over service restructuring after their employer failed to give guarantees it would fully align NHS Agenda for Change pay structures. The workers have already forced Tower Hamlets GP Care Group (THGPCG) to scrap plans that included dangerous reductions in staffing levels for the borough’s zero to five years old health visiting services, which covers nearly 20,000 patients. During consultations with Unite, however, THGPCG has failed to give commitments that all staff contracts will fully align with NHS Agenda for Change pay, terms and conditions…The workers will strike on 6, 7 and 8 October. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more

Oxford University Press offshoring strikes to escalate this week (28 Sept) – Over 30 Unite members at Oxford University Press (OUP) are taking further strike action this week in a dispute around offshoring. Workers in its finance operations team already walked out earlier this month after their employer announced plans to move the department to EXL Services. This firm provides its services from India, meaning the almost 50 affected OUP staff will be unable to TUPE transfer and will lose their jobs. The affected staff have also been asked to stay on for six months to train their replacements, which has been described as an ‘insult’…Unite members are striking until 9 October read more  

Diageo strike action to bring Cameronbridge distillery to ‘standstill’ (28 Sept) – Over 100 workers fight back against job cuts. Strike action by over 100 Unite members is expected to bring production at Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery to a standstill from today (Monday 28 September). Workers will gather for a protest at the main gate of the distillery from 05.00 to coincide with the start of industrial disruption with pickets taking place throughout the day until 22.00. Specific groups of workers thereafter will be taking industrial action until 15 October with pickets taking place on each day of strike action. The Cameronbridge distillery is Europe’s largest grain distillery. The dispute is based on Diageo’s plans to slash hundreds of jobs across its operations in Scotland with dozens of roles under review at Cameronbridge, as part of global restructuring proposals read more

Flahavan’s pay packets boosted by up to 21.5 per cent (27 Sept) – New pay parity deal brings bakery operatives into line with mill workers. Unite win illustrates importance of collective organisation. Unite, which represents workers at Flahavan’s in Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford, said today (Sunday) that members have voted to accept a new pay deal which will be worth up to 21.5 per cent for some workers. Following a long-running campaign by Unite, the deal finally ensures pay parity between mill and bakery operatives. As a result, bakery packers will receive a 13 per cent parity increase while bakery processors will receive a 21.5 per cent parity increase, both effective from 1 January 2026. In addition, Unite has secured a general 3.5 per cent pay increase backdated to 1 January. The deal will run until 30 June 2027 read more

East London private school staff to strike over swingeing pay cuts (25 Sept) – Catering staff and cleaners at an expensive private school in East London are taking strike action next week in a dispute over pay cuts. The workers at Forest School in Snaresbrook are employed on a contract by Compass Group UK & Ireland Limited. They are facing a pay cut of up to 13.5 per cent as Forest School has cut the contract to term time only, so 45 weeks instead of 52. These plans will leave workers, many of whom earn just above the minimum wage and do not receive the London Living Wage, in a precarious financial situation. Many of them live in London and Essex, which are areas with high rent prices and an expensive cost of living… Workers are also calling for Unite to be formally recognised as their union for collective bargaining. Membership surged after the pay cut plans was announced three months ago and membership is growing. Strikes will start this coming Monday (28 September) to Friday (2 October). It means staff and pupils won’t receive meals and areas of the school will not be cleaned read more

Unite welcomes TfL plan for publicly-owned London buses (25 Sept) – Unite, the union representing bus workers in the capital, has today welcomed plans by Transport for London (TfL) to launch a publicly-owned bus company in late 2027. Under Buses for London route 6, which goes between Willesden and Victoria station, will be the first publicly-owned service to run before four further routes transfer into the operation in 2028. Buses for London’s first operational base will be at Park Royal Depot in West London. Unite has worked with TfL and mayor Sadiq Khan’s office to achieve this decision, which the union believes should be the first step towards a fully public bus service in London. The union believes bringing London buses, the most used form of public transport in the city, back into public ownership presents an important opportunity to improve jobs, pay and conditions for bus workers in London as well as provide a better service for the general public read more

Legal 500 publishing workers in fresh strikes (25 Sept) – Dozens of low-paid editorial, research and publishing staff at leading law publication firm Legalease are to take further strike action this month to win a fairer pay offer. Workers at the firm produce the acclaimed industry bible, The Legal 500, which lists top firms, lawyers and barristers across the world. Yet workers are struggling on low salaries while needing to live and work in London. Following continued disrespect from their employer, they are now extending their strike for a further week, from 28 September until 2 October…The workers have already rejected a 3.4 per cent pay offer and a revised £1200 uplift and have been on strike since 14 September. This week, management seemingly submitted a noise complaint after the sound from supportive vehicles passing the picket line which could be heard inside the building, only to be given short shrift by the City of London Police. Legalease has a history of poor workplace relations, with two members of staff fired due to trade union activities when Unite first sought recognition two years ago read more

Job cuts at Smurfit-Westrock in Lurgan totally unjustified, Unite (24 Sept) – Company recording bumper profits and dividends, but investment needed to modernise Lurgan site is withheld while Smurfit spends millions sponsoring Ryder Cup. Unite is warning that proposed job cuts by Smurfit-Westrock at its Lurgan site signals a first step in shutting the site entirely. On Monday, the company announced plans to make 55 workers redundant (a third of the workforce). In talks with Unite, which represents the vast majority of the workforce, it cited cost pressures operating with old machinery. The factory is a major producer of corrugated cardboard for packaging but machinery at the plant has not been invested in for many years. Management explained to Unite that work currently conducted at Lurgan would transfer to a site in Dublin read more

Hovis Avonmouth strike suspended after new offer (24 Sept) – Continuous strike action at Hovis starting today (24 September) has been called off following eleventh hour pay talks. Around 60 Unite members working as distribution drivers at the Avonmouth, Bristol, site were due to walk out in a pay dispute. However, following late night negotiations this has been paused to allow workers to vote on a new pay offer read more

Public sector pay: Time running out for Irish government to make inflation-beating pay offer (17 Sept) – Government told to stop dithering as Unite National Dispute Committee meets. Following an overwhelming mandate for industrial action, Unite’s National Dispute Committee, comprising elected shop stewards across the public sector, met today (Thursday) to finalise plans for strike action on 14 October. The action is being coordinated by the ICTU Public Services Committee and will result in widespread disruption as workers throughout the public sector down tools in pursuit of inflation-beating pay increases. With inflation currently running at 3.7 per cent, workers are facing an escalating cost-of-living crisis. In August, Unite’s cost-of-living tracker survey of public sector members found that a growing number have fallen behind on essential payments or been forced to borrow simply to meet household costs read more

Department of economy must investigate use of agency workers at Pilgrims during strike (14 Sept) – Employment agency, Staffline Group plc, advertised for immediate start positions at Pilgrims after Unite wrote to raise need for compliance with agency regulations. Unite has formally complained to the department of economy’s employment agency inspectorate over Pilgrim Europe’s illegal use of agency workers during the strike at the company’s Enniskillen factory. The union has demanded the inspectorate to immediately investigate the number of agency workers being used by Pilgrims and whether they are performing duties undertaken by employees participating in industrial action. Workers are entering their sixth week of strike action for a fair pay increase and an end to a two-tier system of paid breaks. The strike has severely impacted production at the site which produces a range of Pilgrims products, including Fridge Raiders, Richmond and Denny sausages and Mr Brains Pork faggots. Under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations (NI) 2005 Act, it is a criminal offence for employment agencies to supply labour to employers specifically for the purposes of covering work normally covered by employees who are taking part in lawful industrial action.

Unite wrote to Staffline Group to formally advise the agency of its responsibilities on 28 July and has now written to raise concerns with the inspectorate…Unite previously wrote to the Health and Safety Executive NI asking them to investigate concerns about Pilgrims production during the dispute on 28 August 2026 read more

Unite calls on Plaid to honour election promises and end health visitor dispute in Wales (14 Sept) – Open letter to First Minister published ahead of workers’ demo at the Senedd. Striking health visitors in Wales have written an open letter to Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth calling on the Plaid government to honour its pre-election promises and bring the long-running dispute to an end. Unite members at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University health board (CTMUHB) have been on continuous strike since February over their employer’s refusal to recognise their skills and experience and pay them at the correct pay band. This intransigence is currently costing them £9000 per year in lost pay. Before the Welsh Senedd elections in May, Plaid Cymru supported the health visitors campaign and promised to end the dispute if they formed a government. Now in power, Plaid has yet to make good on its commitment and continues to pass the buck back and forth with CTMUHB. Now, in an open letter published in Welsh media, health visitors are calling on Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth to honour his promises and bring the dispute to an end and ensure the workers are paid the correct salary…Striking health visitors will be making their anger towards their employer and frustration with the Welsh government heard on Wednesday as they march on the Senedd read more

Wilson James strike at Gatwick airport suspended over new offer (14 Sept) – Planned strikes by 220 Unite members working for Wilson James at London Gatwick Airport have been suspended, after the employer put forward a new pay offer. Workers who deal with assisting passengers on and off flights were due to walk out from 17 to 21 September, followed by further action on 23 to 26 September. However, these strikes have now been called off to allow Wilson James workers to vote on a new pay offer following negotiations between Unite and the company read more

Unite secures Commonwealth War Graves Commission workers 8.4 per cent pay rise (14 Sept) – Lowest paid war grave workers now on minimum of £15 per hour. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a pay rise of 8.4 per cent for the lowest paid Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) workers – taking their hourly wage to £15 per hour. Workers in pay bands A to C will receive pay rises of between 3.5 per cent and 8.4 per cent on basic pay. The deal, which will be back paid to July, also includes a £450 non-consolidated payment for all workers, plus an extra half a day of annual leave and travel allowance improvements. CWGC gardeners, senior gardeners, office staff, deputy regional managers and stone masons will benefit from the deal read more

Alstom Derby battery electric train fleet contract secured after Unite campaign (11 Sept) – Contract will secure 350 Alstom Derby jobs and 6,000 jobs across the supply chain. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed the news that 29 Adessia Stream trains will be built at Alstom’s factory in Derby. The announcement follows Unite’s ‘Fill the Gap – Save Alstom Derby’ campaign, which started in 2023. The campaign called for urgent action to secure a pipeline of work for Alstom workers and ensure the next generation of trains and carriages could continue to be built at Litchurch Lane read more

Bedford Movianto NHS warehouse strikes off after ‘excellent’ pay deal secured (10 Sept) – Workers supplying medical equipment to hospitals and pharmacies across Southern England celebrate much-improved deal. Strikes by nearly 120 Bedford workers at Movianto, a specialist medical warehousing company, have been called off after a much-improved pay deal was secured. The deal, negotiated by Unite, the UK’s leading union, includes a four per cent pay rise backdated to April and further one per cent from October. Movianto had initially offered the workers 3.5 per cent read more

Strikes escalate at Lancashire hospitals over holiday pay dispute (10 Sept) – Biomedical staff at Blackburn and Burnley hospitals taking further action. Scientists at two teaching hospitals in Lancashire are escalating their strike action over the NHS trust’s continued refusal to pay the holiday pay they are entitled to. Management at the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust have a long history of poor employee relations and this is continuing despite an employment tribunal finding against them. The employer lost at tribunal over this issue several years ago for one employee, but it has refused to settle it for the rest of the employees who are now owed thousands of pounds. This is despite senior management stating that they would always be open to negotiations following previous strikes over safe staffing levels. Management at the hospital have disputed the union’s claims but now have refused Unite’s offer to enter into a binding arbitration meeting that would see staff return to work and the strikes called off…Affected employees work in the biomedical sciences department dealing with urgent and routine blood tests as well as wider diagnostic work for patients. Strike action already underway will see significant delays to tests and procedures across the trust as workers take to the picket line from 7-11 September, 14-18 September, 21-25 September and 28 September-2 October read more

Cumbria bus turmoil as Stagecoach drivers ballot for strikes (9 Sept) – There is set to be disruption to bus services across Cumbria as over 350 bus drivers are being balloted for industrial action over pay. Drivers working for Stagecoach North West and are members of Unite, are voting on whether to strike after rejecting an unsatisfactory pay offer from the company. The pay deal does not address the fact that they are paid less than drivers in other areas of the North West, despite having the same cost of living pressures. Bus drivers in Cumbria are paid £15.20 per hour for all hours worked, which is less than other depots covered under Stagecoach North West. Meanwhile, drivers in Preston and Chorley are currently on £17.10 rising to £17.80 in May 2027 while those in Lancaster and Morecambe currently earn £16.25 per hour Monday to Friday with an extra £1 per hour on Saturdays and Sundays…The ballot opens on 15 September and closes on 29 September. The drivers work at the Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal and Workington depots read more

Unite cooks up new pay deal for Tunnock’s factory workers (8 Sept) – Basic pay lifted by 9.6 per cent over 21 months. Unite can confirm over 300 workers at the Tunnock’s factory in Uddingston have accepted an improved pay offer removing the threat of potential strike action. The pay deal over 21 months will lift basic pay from £13 per hour up to £13.61 from July 1 2026, and then it will rise to £14.25 from April 1 2027. This represents a 9.6 per cent increase in pay read more

Ulster University redundancy plans offers no assurance to workforce, Unite (8 Sept) – Unite has responded to the Ulster University’s publication of its voluntary redundancy scheme. The union said the plan fails to provide any analysis of how cutting 450 (equivalent to 15 per cent of the workforce) would affect the quality of education, the sustainability of its four campuses or the impact on already hard-pressed workers. The university has also failed to provide any assurances that compulsory redundancies will not follow if insufficient volunteers are accepted on the voluntary scheme read more

Hundreds of low-paid London NHS workers to strike (8 Sept) – Nearly 300 staff at Guys and St Thomas’s to walk out over low pay and workplace issues. Hundreds of the lowest paid workers at Guys and St Thomas’s Trust are to strike this week over low pay that is forcing them into poverty. NHS band two workers in central London earn just £15.89 per hour and perform some of the toughest roles within the hospital – such as cleaners, porters, stores operatives and food service assistants – yet are treated appallingly by the trust management. Alongside poverty pay levels staff have a number of long running complaints that trust management have failed to address. This includes racist and bullying behaviour by facilities management, issues over bank contracts and hours, a failure to provide adequate welfare facilities like showers or changing facilities and the failure to provide adequate safety equipment to security staff. Despite endless negotiations and false promises from the trust, staff are now exhausted by the process and feel that they have no other but to take industrial action…Workers at GSTT will head to the picket line on the 9-11 September with more strike dates planned throughout the autumn if NHS management don’t come back to the negotiating table with real solutions read more

Public sector craftworkers in Ireland serve strike notice in pay equity fight (4 Sept) – Workers seeking restoration of pre-crash analogue agreement. Unite said today (4 September) that it has served three weeks’ notice of industrial action on the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). Unite is part of a coordinated campaign by the Public Sector Craft Group of Unions (PSCGOU) in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to secure restoration of the analogue agreement. The agreement, which ensured pay parity between craftworkers in the public sector and comparators in the private sector, was suspended following the 2008 financial crash. A recent ballot by PSCGOU affiliates, including Unite, returned a 95 per cent aggregate vote in favour of industrial action. The nature and timing of the action will be determined by the PSCGOU National Strike Committee. The industrial action could begin as soon as 28 September read more

Workers at Leicester aerospace company SPS Technologies Ltd to walk out indefinitely over pay (3 Sept) – Around 200 Unite members at Leicester-based aerospace firm SPS Technologies Ltd will take continuous strike action in a dispute over pay. Workers at the firm have turned down a two-year pay offer of four per cent this year and four per cent next year as they don’t believe this goes far enough to address years of low pay offers. This is the third year in a row workers at SPS Technologies have had to ballot for industrial action to improve pay offers. SPS Technologies’ recent finances show an annual turnover exceeding £54 million. It is a subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp (PCC), part of Berkshire Hathaway which was headed up by US billionaire Warren Buffet – one of the world’s richest people – until the end of last year. The pay offer to SPS Technologies workers is less than what has been offered to other PCC workers in the East Midlands. Meanwhile, SPS Technologies is also trying to impose changes to workers’ conditions by removing the use of emergency holidays and changing the absence policy in relation to staff who work a nine day fortnight…They will strike from tomorrow (4 September). SPS Technologies has recently started a new order of making parts for Airbus and industrial action will dramatically impact the delivery of this read more

NHS lorry drivers supplying hospitals ballot for strikes over pay (3 Sept) – GXO employed drivers based in Derbyshire, Somerset, Kent, West Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Cheshire, Suffolk and Newcastle demand better wages. Lorry drivers delivering NHS supplies nationwide are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Nearly 200 drivers employed by GXO in Alfreton in Derbyshire, Bridgwater in Somerset, Normanton in West Yorkshire, Maidstone in Kent, Rugby in Warwickshire, Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk and Washington in Newcastle are being balloted. They have rejected a four per cent offer from GXO, which runs the NHS supply chain contract for Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL). SCCL is wholly owned by NHS England. GXO claims SCCL has said the pay offer cannot be increased as it is more than was offered to NHS workers. However, GXO workers have inferior terms and conditions compared to NHS contracts, including a much lower pension…The ballot for industrial action closes on 17 September, with potential strikes causing disruption to NHS supply chains read more

Workers in strike ballot with North Sea operator Apache (2 Sept) – Dispute over below inflation pay offers and threats to withhold backpay. Unite, the UK’s largest offshore union, is balloting approximately 160 offshore workers employed by North Sea operator Apache on strike action. The company has made an offer which is a real terms pay cut for many workers, ranging from a pay freeze to below inflation increases. The workers involved in the dispute include electrical, instrument, mechanical and production technicians alongside telecoms technicians and radio operators.  The strike action ballot covers workers on seven Apache assets associated with the Forties and Beryl oil fields. Apache has also set arbitrary deadlines for reaching an agreement over back pay and indicated that the payment may be withheld if these are not met. This could leave members thousands of pounds out of pocket. The ballot opens tomorrow (3 September) and closes on 1 October. Strike action could begin by mid-October read more

South London & Maudsley NHS estates workers strike suspended (1 Sept) – Strikes by South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust estates staff have been suspended following an improved offer. The workers, including joiners, electricians, plumbers and painter and decorators, will now be balloted on the new deal. Strike action scheduled to take place between 1 and 7 September has now been called off. Further industrial action could take place if the offer is rejected read more

GAC dock workers in Eastham to strike over pay (28 Aug) – More than a dozen dock workers at GAC at the QEII dock in Eastham are to take strike action next week after a poor pay offer from their employer. The highly skilled dock operatives currently earn approximately £30,000 per year and have been offered a pay increase as low as two per cent for some workers. This real-terms pay cut was unanimously rejected by workers who then voted for industrial action. Workers are also angry over on-call arrangements. Unite has calculated that a single day of strike action will cost the company more than the value of the pay claim, as ships will have to anchor outside the dock at significant cost. These ships cannot go to alternative docks either, so there is no commercial sense to GAC’s intransigence…Workers at GAC will be taking industrial action on 1, 3 14 and 16 September 2026. Picket lines will be from 07:00 until 12:00 on these days at the dockside in Eastham read more

Great Yarmouth strikes suspended following last minute negotiations (27 Aug) – Planned strikes due to take place today this week by Great Yarmouth refuse workers have been suspended following last minute negotiations with the employer read more

Kimpton Clocktower workers to strike during Manchester Pride (24 Aug) – Workers at Kimpton Clocktower will walk out on the Saturday of this year’s Manchester Pride, in a long-running dispute over union busting. Unite members at the hotel and its bar venue The Refuge will take 24 hours of strike action on 29 August – historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer. The Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the parade route, which takes place on 29 August. For several years, the venue has been a very popular location for people attending the parade and it runs several Pride events read more

Honeywell chemicals County Durham and Lancashire workers in strike vote over pension lies (21 Aug) – Strikes would cause shortages of vital chemicals for BP, Shell, theysenkrupp and DG Fuels. Nearly 320 chemicals workers employed by Honeywell at sites in Billingham and Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham and Clitheroe in Lancashire are being balloted for strikes over pensions. Unite, the UK’s leading union, said the workers are furious at huge reductions in their pension schemes after their former employer Johnson Matthey Catalyst Technologies was acquired by US conglomerate Honeywell in July. During the acquisition, the workers were told Honeywell’s pension provision was ‘broadly comparable’. In fact, many workers will see employer pension contributions drop by nine per cent. In addition, death in service cover at Honeywell is significantly lower than it was under Johnson Matthey… The workers are being balloted for strike until 2 September read more

Clyde marine pilots balloted on strike action (19 Aug) – Clydeport dispute over failure to bring pay into line with industry standards. Clydeport marine pilots based on the River Clyde are being balloted on industrial action as part of a pay dispute. Around a dozen pilots (who are members of Unite) involved in the dispute are based at the King George V dock in Glasgow and at Greenock Ocean terminal. The pilots who move vessels around the Clyde are angry at the company’s refusal to honour a benchmarking exercise which would bring their pay into line with other pilots in the industry which was part of pay negotiations two years ago. The ballot on strike action opens today (19 August) and closes on 27 August read more

Isle of Wight RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Centre workers vote to strike amid redundancy terms dispute (3 Aug) – Workers at the Isle of Wight’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Inshore Lifeboat Centre workers will take industrial action as the charity is still failing to offer improvements to a redundancy package for Unite members, despite weeks of negotiations. Last month, the RNLI stated it would close the Inshore Lifeboat Centre by 2028, which would cause job losses and have a huge impact on the local community and local marine industry, and would only build lifeboats in Poole, Dorset, instead. Talks between conciliatory body ACAS and the RNLI broke down, after the RNLI said it would not offer any enhancement on the redundancy payments due to the ‘generous’ relocation allowance it has offered to staff. However, for most workers at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre, relocating to Poole, a more expensive area, from the island isn’t feasible for their finances or their families. The union is calling on the RNLI to negotiate a fair package for these workers that will be made redundant after the organisation promised them a ‘job for life’. The workforce in East Cowes do a highly skilled role supplying and maintaining lifeboats for over half of the 238 stations run by the RNLI across the UK…Workers at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre will strike on 11, 19 and 25 August. There will be a series of planned actions, including workers going to East Cowes to ask businesses and travellers at the ferry port to support Unite’s petition  read more

National Standards Authority: Workers set for industrial action following redundancy threat (30 July) – NSAI accused of undermining public sector industrial relations. Workers at the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action over proposed job losses. The move by Unite members in the Medical Devices Division follows the NSAI’s decision to seek government sanction to impose compulsory redundancies contrary to established practice in the public sector. The NSAI is also proposing to impose staff reassignments without agreement. The industrial action will start on Tuesday 4 August and will initially involve Product Reviewers withdrawing from billable work linked to conformity assessments, while Auditors will only be available to conduct audits for their daily contracted hours inclusive of travel time read more

Hundreds of Gatwick planes to be grounded if Menzies Aviation refuellers strike (24 July) – Gatwick refuelling tanker drivers and operators employed by Menzies Aviation on the Shell contract are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said. The workers refuel planes for Wizz Air, Ryanair, Air China, China Southern, Malta Air, Turkish Airlines, Air Baltic, SkyAlps and Air Peace. The airlines transport between 7,000 and 8,000 Gatwick passengers per day. They have rejected a 3.5 per cent offer from Menzies Aviation, which brought in record global revenues of $3 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, Shell reported profits of $6.92 billion in the first quarter of 2026. The workers are asking for 4.5 per cent pay rise as well as for their overtime rate to brought into parity with other Menzies Aviation Gatwick workers. Currently the refuellers earn time and a third, compared to time and a half for all other Menzies Aviation staff at Gatwick…Menzies Aviation has also damaged industrial relations by putting forward the same offer repeatedly and using aggressive tactics to try and get workers to accept it. The ballot for strike action closes on 11 August and any potential industrial action will begin shortly afte read more

Balcas workers set for week-long strike action from tomorrow (23 July) – Unite warns seven-day strike at Balcas will impact timber supplies across Northern Ireland. Approximately 150 Unite members employed at Balcas will take a week of strike action in an escalating industrial dispute at the Enniskillen sawmill. The strike will commence from 05:00 tomorrow (Friday 24 July) and continue for seven days. Over the last month the low-paid workforce has taken three one-day strikes in pursuit of an improved pay increase. The strike follows rejection of an inadequate and below-inflation offer of a mere 50 pence extra in each of the next two years. Unite is warning that the planned week-long strike action will severely impact production at Northern Ireland’s largest sawmill. Many workers at Balcas are paid little more than the minimum wage, and most have to work excessive overtime to bring in enough money to live read more

Sign this petition: Tell East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) – Hands off Mark Dunne! Stop trade union victimisation! Mark Dunne, ELFT’s most senior trade union representative, is facing redundancy. This redundancy and other processes related to it, have been handled with unprecedented hostility indicating a clear act of trade union victimisation

Sign this petition: Provide 24/7 toilet facilities for East Ham Central Park bus drivers – The hardworking bus drivers on Transport for London (TfL) routes 115 and 58 at East Ham Central Park are currently facing a serious health and hygiene issue due to the lack of accessible toilet facilities. This oversight not only affects their personal wellbeing but also has potential negative implications for the service they provide to the public

ESB engineers begin ban on out of hours work (15 July) – Over 20 members of Unite in ESB’s Engineering and Major Projects business unit, will begin a ban on non-emergency work outside of normal hours. The decision follows a unanimous ballot for industrial action in pursuit of fair overtime pay. The engineers have responsibility for the frontline commissioning and maintenance of critical high voltage infrastructure, essential to the safe and reliable operation of the electricity network. Many of the engineers are on lower base pay than workers they work alongside and who are all entitled to premium overtime rates. The industrial action will have a significant impact on the delivery of maintenance work programmes during a particularly busy period. The industrial action will be continuous from 17:00 today (Wednesday 15 July) read more

AQA workers vote to strike in dispute over pay (6 July) – There is set to be strike action by over 100 workers at exam board AQA in an ongoing dispute over pay. Staff have rejected a pay offer from AQA, as they say this doesn’t go far enough to address years of real terms pay cuts. They are calling for pay restoration as their pay is now worth over 10 per cent less than it was in 2021. While AQA has a huge cash reserve of £164 million, the situation has left staff struggling to cope with the increased cost of living. Half of workers say their level of debt has increased over the last year and over 10 per cent said they regularly use or are considering using food banks to make ends meet…AQA has offices in Guildford, London, Harrogate, Manchester and Milton Keynes. Workers involved in the dispute do various jobs, including in communications and marketing, data analysis and typesetting. Unite members at AQA will strike on 16 and 17 July. They will also be visiting Parliament on 17 July to lobby MPs on the issue of low pay at AQA read more

Strike action by council workers over pay and conditions to escalate (3 July) – Strike action by over a thousand local government craftworkers is escalating, amid a dispute around pay and attacks on conditions. The Unite members undertake council housing repair and maintenance work and are employed at Bristol, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Newham, Leeds and Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils. The strike action is of a targeted nature and more local authorities could join the dispute in the future. Workers involved in the dispute have rejected the 2025 local government pay offer to Red Book workers (local government craftworkers) from the national employers of a 3.2 per cent increase, which they do not believe goes far enough to address over a decade of below inflation pay rises and pay freezes. This was imposed without any negotiations. Craftworkers will now walk out on Monday (6 July) and Wednesday (8 July)…Unite has now launched an action calling on supporters to email prominent members of the LGA negotiation team to meet with Unite and its sister unions in order to resolve the dispute read more

Further strike action at GKN in Bristol to cause chaos for customers (25 June) – Airbus orders to go unfulfilled as major supplier hit by further industrial action over pay. Major aerospace supply contracts will go unfulfilled as workers at GKN are set to take further strike action this summer over pay. Workers at the Filton site make parts and are the biggest supplier to Airbus who currently have a huge order book for civilian aircraft. With supplies from GKN endangered, orders will cease to be fulfilled leaving major airlines without expected new planes. GKN is a supplier of airframe and engine structures, electrical wiring, and landing gear, with a presence on 90 per cent of today’s aircraft. Around 900 Unite members at the Filton site in Gloucestershire make wings for the Airbus A320. For years workers at GKN have seen their pay fall behind that of other nearby aerospace firms like Airbus and Rolls Royce. Many employees leave in search of better pay. GKN initially offered just a three per cent increase over one year, which was rejected by workers and later improved to just 3.3 per cent. This was also overwhelmingly rejected by the workforce demonstrating the strength of feeling that the offer falls far short of what is required…Unite members have already taken significant strike action and are now ramping up strikes with specific workers and grades across the engineering and maintenance departments that will bring the factory to a standstill. New strikes will take place on 29, 30 June and 1 July as well as on 6, 7 and 8 July. In addition, a blanket overtime ban has also been put in place read more

CWU

Industrial action ballot a possibility if Capita TVL “refuses to budge” over poor pay offer (7 Sept) – The Communication Workers Union (CWU) have invited Capita to enter urgent negotiations after nearly 100% of TV Licensing (TVL) workers have rejected a poor pay offer. CWU Assistant Secretary Andy Furey has wrote to Capita senior management inviting them to engage in urgent negotiations to reconsider their current pay offer, after it has been unanimously rejected by union members. The union represents workers on the lucrative contract, which was awarded to Capita in July 2022 for £456 million and has recently been extended to 2030. Field members, who regularly run the risk of receiving abuse and even physical harm while on the job, rejected a 3.5% pay offer. Meanwhile, workers in Bristol and Darwen – the lowest paid workers on the TVL contract already – turned down a mere 44p real-terms pay rise to bring their salaries up to £13.16 an hour. Their offer was still beneath the real living wage of £13.45 an hour, while Field members reported struggling with the rising cost of doing the travelling which is necessary to the job. All in all, 97% of workers voted to reject the deal on a turnout of 69%. The union has also arranged a meeting with senior TVL reps to discuss the next steps 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]     

FCDO strikers take to picket lines while foreign secretary delivers Labour speech (29 Sept) – As our members in London and East Kilbride held their latest day of strike action at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote called on Ed Miliband to resolve the dispute read more

FCDO strikers send message to foreign secretary Ed Miliband (25 Sept) – “Let’s meet now to resolve our future, Ed,” was the powerful message FCDO staff belonging to PCS staging a half-day walkout sent foreign secretary Ed Miliband. Workers at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office were on strike for half a day yesterday and a full day on Monday (28 September) as they face lots of uncertainty and a lack of assurances over compulsory redundancies. Ahead of his speech to Labour party conference, which runs from Sunday to Wednesday in Liverpool, strikers in London called on the foreign secretary to listen to his staff and intervene to settle the dispute. They called on him and new permanent under-secretary Lindy Cameron to “treat us fairly and with accountability.” Strikers in East Kilbride also walked out of their office at Abercrombie House at 1pm and held a well-supported picket. They were joined by Eccles the dog making a special appearance read more

Please show your support by sending a message of support to [email protected], donating to the strike fund and visiting a picket line

PCS meets with Capita to press for action on escalated cases (29 Sept) – Capita’s response so far to cases escalated by unions and MPs has been unsatisfactory. The reaction among members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme at Capita’s disappointing progress ranges from anger to despair. PCS is continuing to press for effective recovery action. Widespread frustration is being voiced by unions, MPs and the wider public and receiving a lot of media coverage. The government has said Capita’s performance is unacceptable and is waiting for evidence that Capita is capable of getting back to an acceptable level of service read more

‘No end in sight’ for victims of Capita chaos (29 Sept) – Meet more civil servants who are delaying their retirements due to Capita’s failed administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme read more

Civil Service Pensions campaign update (22 Sept) – Our campaigning and meetings with the Cabinet Office and Capita continue, to hold both to account over the ongoing crisis. PCS met representatives from Capita at the weekly meeting with the Cabinet Office on 18 September. Unions made clear our disappointment that backlogs continue to rise and members’ pensions remain unpaid read more

Data protection workers to hold day of action over toxic leadership culture (29 Sept) – ICO staff will mark the opening of the regulator’s new Manchester headquarters, and the appointment, of a new board, by calling for accountability over a toxic workplace culture. PCS members at the former Information Commissioner’s Office, now being rebranded as the Information Commission, will hold a day of activity on 30 September to demand accountability for leadership failures to keep staff safe and an end to what they describe as a toxic workplace culture. The action coincides with the formal opening of the Commission’s new headquarters in Manchester city centre and the appointment of a new board, which will comprise a Chair and seven non-executive directors. PCS members say there is growing dissatisfaction and declining sense of pride in working at the ICO among staff at the continued lack of accountability for senior leadership failures and conduct that have contributed to a climate of fear, alongside an increase in the number of staff experience or witnessing bullying, harassment and discrimination read more

Ofwat members to vote in industrial action ballot (28 Sept) – Vote opens today (28 September) as members seek guarantees on jobs, rights and conditions. PCS members working in Ofwat are being urged to vote yes to strike action and yes to industrial action short of strike action in the industrial action ballot. More than a year after the government announced plans to abolish Ofwat and create a new water industry regulator, members are still waiting for the assurances they need about their future read more

PCS welcomes government’s establishment of Insourcing Unit (28 Sept) – The unit is being established to accelerate the return of outsourced work to the public sector. First secretary Louise Haigh has announced that the government will establish a dedicated Insourcing Unit within the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, with responsibility for working across departments, sharing best practice and accelerating the return of outsourced work to the public sector. The government has already committed to bringing more than 2,000 outsourced cleaning, catering and security jobs across Whitehall back in-house when existing contracts expire in around 18 months read more

HMRC Pay Offer 2026/27 – PCS rejects offer (28 Sept) – Members meetings will take place in the week beginning 5 and 12 October, with an hour’s paid time to attend… Your group executive committee (GEC) met on 22 September 2026 to discuss the offer and agreed it should be rejected, in line w     ith policy democratically agreed by PCS group and national conferences. There are some limited gains from this offer, such as the introduction of a differential between national AA and AO spot rates, and improvements to parental leave. But this offer is a package and the GEC identified many problems with the package as a whole read more

Scottish pay campaign 2027 (25 Sept) – Pay bargaining is broken. The reality is employers don’t have any decision-making power. Even if they want to make us an acceptable offer, their offer can be vetoed by Scottish Government sponsor teams. These teams are not in the room with us. Time and again we have seen employers moving only if Scottish Government move first for their own staff. This system means that pay is never settled by the settlement date of 1 April. We need to change this and we need to get ready for this now, and not have things drag out as they have done in previous years. This year, because all employers’ pay deals end in March 2027, we have an opportunity to get organised early. We want to get on the front foot and actually put our pay demands to the Scottish Government, and to employers, before the budget is published in December read more

Ask your MP to support National Gallery security staff (24 Sept) – PCS has launched a new e-action calling on MPs to sign an early day motion and help secure a fair resolution to the ongoing dispute involving CIS Security staff. PCS members employed by CIS Security at the National Gallery have been campaigning for equal treatment, fair pay and decent workplace facilities read more

MOD caretakers remain in dark about future (23 Sept) – PCS continues to press for MOD caretaker roles to be retained following the end of a consultation into plans to abolish them. The Ministry of Defence’s consultation into its plans to abolish 125 caretaker posts across the UK closed on 11 September. The proposal also puts many of them and their families at risk of homelessness as 88% live in accommodation tied to their job. PCS continues to support and help members affected by these proposals and heard from a number of them at a PCS members’ meeting at lunchtime yesterday. At a departmental meeting yesterday morning, management said there would now be an assessment of all 125 posts, our view is that this should have happened before the announcement read more

Celebrate Black History Month with PCS (23 Sept) – PCS is running a series of weekly events in October to mark Black History Month, whose theme this year is ‘Honouring our Communities’ read more

The facts behind the V&A director’s claims (22 Sept) – The V&A director has made a number of claims about the ongoing dispute. Find out below what the facts are. PCS members at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum’s South Kensington site will take strike action on 25 and 26 September. This latest strike comes after members at three V&A sites (East Storehouse, East Museum and Young V&A) walked out on 4 and 5 September. You can support our members by using our e-action to email your MP. Although PCS has entered negotiations with V&A bosses over the provision of water bottles and adequate seating for front of house staff at V&A Storehouse, there has been no movement on pay. V&A director Tristram Hunt recently responded to a letter from the PCS Parliamentary Group. In his letter, Hunt stated a few mistruths that need to be corrected read more

Please use our e-action to email your MP and ask them to support the members by signing Early Day Motion 746, Industrial action at V&A Museum, and by writing to the director of the V&A and the minister responsible to ask them to intervene urgently to resolve the dispute

PCS launches national campaign and trade dispute across the civil service and related areas (18 Sept) – The NEC has agreed a programme of campaigning and industrial action ballot preparations if the employer does not respond positively to the union’s demands. On 17 September, PCS issued a national trade dispute letter to Cat Little, civil service chief operating officer and permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office, setting out the guarantees and assurances required to resolve the dispute. The union has also written to all employers within the scope of the campaign, asking them to confirm whether they are prepared to meet the demands relevant to their organisations. Employers have been given until 5pm on 2 October 2026 to respond. If satisfactory assurances are not received, the national executive committee (NEC) has agreed that PCS will proceed towards a statutory ballot for industrial action… The NEC has agreed that, if the employer’s response is unsatisfactory, a statutory ballot for strike action and action short of strike will be conducted between 20 October and 1 December 2026. Following the ballot, the NEC will meet to consider the results and determine next steps read more

MHCLG members set for targeted action (14 Sept) – PCS members at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) working on emergency response and funding for projects across the country are due to take strike action starting on 24 September. This is part of a long-running dispute over office closures, office attendance policies and recruitment location policies. Staff in the finance directorate at MHCLG are striking for 13 days from 24 September to 6 October, while their colleagues in the resilience, emergencies and recovery directorate are taking 8 days of targeted strike action from 1 to 8 October. Our members began action short of strike in July 2025, followed by strike action in September 2025. They renewed their industrial action mandate in a fresh ballot which closed on 15 April 2026 and began taking action short of strike again in May 2026 read more

Thanks for supporting MOD caretakers (14 Sept) – The Ministry of Defence’s consultation into its plans to abolish caretaker posts across the UK has now ended and we would like to thank all those who have contributed and supported the PCS campaign. The MOD plans to abolish 125 caretaker posts across the Army Reserve and University Officers’ Training Corps estate, a move which also puts them and their families at risk of homelessness. Dozens of caretakers contacted us about how the plans affect them and we have used their testimony in our submission to the department. PCS continues to support and help members affected by these proposals read more

PCS suspends NCA strike following ACAS talks (20 Aug) – PCS’s National Disputes Committee has agreed to suspend tomorrow’s strike by PCS members employed by OCS at the National Crime Agency, to allow security supervisors, security officers and CCTV operators time to consider an offer from their employer. Our members, who are facing redundancy or having to apply for new roles on inferior terms with no guarantee of employment, because of closure of the NCA facility at Spring Gardens, Vauxhall in London were out in number on the picket line on their first day of strike action on Monday read more

National Galleries of Scotland members to strike during Edinburgh Fringe (6 Aug) – The PCS members will take four days of strike action in a dispute over detrimental changes to working practices. PCS members at National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) will take four days of strike action during the Edinburgh Fringe in a dispute over changes to an agreed staffing model for members working as Gallery Attendants, and failure to consult on the changes. Management have imposed detrimental changes impacting on both staff wellbeing and the quality of the visitor experience. These changes can make it harder for staff to take breaks, present difficulties in honouring reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities, and potential challenges for reps accessing facilities time in affected roles. There is also the potential for room and exhibition closures due to short staffing. In addition to the four days of strike action, members will also take action short of a strike including a refusal to wear NGS uniforms and working to rule…Messages of solidarity can be sent to the branch by emailing Anthony O’Hanlon at [email protected]  read more

PCS members in Sodexo on strike again (17 July) – PCS members working in Sodexo started their second wave of strike action today (17) against cuts to hours and jobs. PCS members working for Sodexo, who previously took two weeks of strike action to oppose cuts to hours, redundancies and changes to job roles and responsibilities, have now received letters from the employer notifying them that the individual consultation has concluded and Sodexo is planning to impose the changes. PCS does not yet have trade union recognition with Sodexo, but supported members through the individual consultation process, met with Sodexo management and continue to seek to engage with them in finding a resolution to the dispute. Despite repeated requests for information from Sodexo to explain their proposals and justification for the cuts, Sodexo has not provided it, making it difficult for PCS to offer detailed alternatives at this stage. PCS members work as receptionists, cleaners, porters and kitchen staff, providing essential services in Erskine House, the UK Government Hub building, and Carne House Belfast. They are paid on or around the national minimum wage and are committed to fighting the cuts by Sodexo, a multinational outsourcing company which reported profits in the region of £679 million. Today’s successful picket marked the first day of the second wave of strike action. There will be a picket line at Erskine House, Chichester Street, Belfast every day from 8am to noon, from Monday 27 July to Friday 31 July 2026. Please visit and support our members on the picket line and reps from the Revenue and Customs branch, donate to the strike fund, marking it Sodexo or send solidarity messages to [email protected]  read more

Get the PCS Samba Band to your protests and demonstrations – go to their Facebook page and on X/Twitter @PCS_Samba_Band

Prospect

Prospect members at the V&A strike over fair pay (28 Sept) – Prospect members who work at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) South Kensington site in London closed down the museum’s main entrance last week, as they took strike action on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September in a dispute over pay and working conditions read more

Declaring war on civil servants while demanding they keep quiet is not a recipe for good government (24 Sept) – Reform UK’s Danny Kruger has told the Financial Times (£) that if they win power they will cut the civil service by 50% read more

Met Office members win major improvements to working arrangements (22 Sept) – Prospect members at the Met Office have secured a new framework for managing hours balances for shift-working staff, following a collective grievance and months of negotiations with management. The agreement is a major milestone in the Forecast: Fairer Hours campaign, launched after members raised concerns about the unlimited accumulation of hours deficits and surpluses, with some members facing deductions from their final salaries. The collective grievance was signed by 60 members in August last year, followed by an appeal and negotiations read more

Strike to go ahead as Norwich Airport fails to come up with sufficiently improved offer (27 Aug) – Air traffic control staff working at Norwich Airport will press ahead with strike action on Friday (28 August) after Norwich Airport failed to come up with a sufficiently improved offer during negotiations. Prospect put the offer to members who rejected it comprehensively read more

Royal Museums Greenwich workers take strike action on day of the solar eclipse (13 Aug) – Royal Museums Greenwich workers were on the picket lines for two days of strike action this week, with members taking a stand at entrances across the organisation, including at the Royal Observatory 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   

Fixing social care means better pay and conditions, UNISON tells PM (30 Sept) – UNISON has welcomed plans for a national care service, revealed by the prime minister in his speech at Labour Party conference on Tuesday. The union’s general secretary, Andrea Egan, said the proposals would make a “huge difference”, but she urged the government to put care workers at the heart of the reforms read more

Migrant workers protest at Labour conference over ‘broken promises’

Andrea Egan tells demonstrators: ‘Andy Burnham needs to do the right thing’ (29 Sept) – Migrant workers protest at Labour conference over ‘broken promises’. Migrant workers must not be made scapegoats for politicians’ failure to invest in public services, UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan has told protesters at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Speaking at a demonstration on Monday as part of the Fair Visa Campaign, Andrea accused ministers of breaking promises made to migrant workers who came to the UK to help shore up the health and social care sectors. Under plans from home secretary Shabana Mahmood, care staff, NHS employees and lower-paid public service workers will have to wait 15 years to qualify to settle in the UK, instead of the current five. UNISON is calling for the five-year qualifying period to be retained for all skilled workers. The union also wants a sector-wide visa sponsorship scheme in the social care sector to reduce exploitation of staff by employers read more

Glasgow Council pause on fire and rehire and further talks on equal pay are welcome (25 Sept) – UNISON has welcomed Glasgow City Council’s decision to pause its plans for fire and rehire, allowing further talks with trade unions over equal pay to take place early next week, says UNISON today (Friday). The decision follows talks today involving the Scottish government, Glasgow City Council and trade unions, with UNISON continuing to press for a fair resolution to the dispute. UNISON Glasgow City branch secretary Chris Sermanni said: “We welcome the council’s decision to pause fire and rehire and to recommence talks next week. However, these discussions must be productive and must be underpinned by increased funding to address the concerns we have raised with the Scottish government today.” UNISON Scottish secretary Lilian Macer said: “We have said all along that we will not be bullied into accepting a shoddy deal for council staff. It’s welcome news that workers are no longer facing the immediate threat of fire and rehire, and we hope the talks next week can make meaningful progress. UNISON will continue to stand with Glasgow’s council workers and press for a fair deal that properly recognises the concerns they have raised.” Read more

Camden UNISON traffic wardens on strike – On Monday 28 Sept, Camden UNISON traffic wardens (employed by profiteering private company NSL) will be walking out to start 8 weeks of strike action. The dispute is over pay and conditions – for a £2ph pay rise, an increase of 7 days annual leave and for company sick pay from day 1. Currently, traffic wardens work 42.5 hours a week (almost a day longer than other council workers every week, so 50 days more a year) and only get 20 days annual leave (the statutory minimum). So their demand is to have the same annual leave that Council employees start with. There will be picket lines 7-10am at the following places, all solidarity visits welcome:-

* Camden Car Pound, Regis Rd NW5 3EW

* 13-15 Guilford St WC1N 1DW

* 199 Belsize Rd NW6 4AA

Solidarity messages to [email protected]  Camden Unison website & Facebook page

Come and support our strike rally! 12.30 – 2pm, Tues 6 Oct
Outside Camden Town Hall, Judd St WC1H 9JE

Camden UNISON traffic wardens and Teaching Assistants are out on strike together and are inviting other strikers, trade unionists and campaigners to join us and come together for a rally and to meet and share our disputes and campaigns

Pay row at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust must be resolved before new boss is appointed (25 Sept) – Theatre assistants in Leeds have held 40 days of strike action so far in their campaign to be paid fairly. The interim chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust must get back to negotiations and resolve a long-running dispute with theatre assistants before a permanent boss takes up post. Staff at Leeds General Infirmary, St James’s University Hospital, Chapel Allerton Hospital and Wharfedale Hospital in Otley have taken 40 days of strike action over their fight to be correctly graded and receive fair back pay in the long-running dispute that began last December. The workers, who are on the lowest pay grade in the NHS, carry out clinical duties that UNISON says should be paid at a higher grade read more

Almost half of public service workers lose sleep worrying about people who rely on them (23 Sept) – The thought of letting people down is keeping public service workers up at night. Almost half (45%) of staff in sectors including health, social care, education and policing say they’re losing sleep worrying about people who rely on them, according to a UNISON survey. These findings highlight the need for investment in public services, which is why UNISON has launched a petition calling for increased funding in the government’s autumn budget next month. The petition is part of the union’s We Show Up campaign read more

Tower Hamlets Union: East End Homes – Stop the Pensions Theft – EEH Pension Strike

No to Fire & Rehire

Strike Update:-

UNISON members working for EEH impacted by a plan by the Board and executive management to wreck their pension futures are taking strike action over July and August 2026. Disgracefully, the CEO, Daniel Killian has written to impacted staff to inform them that if they don’t consent to the detrimental contract change then EEH is prepared to use dismiss and re-engage (also known as fire and rehire) to impose it.

Read the leaflet for full information and how you can show solidarity with the strikers. Click EEH Pension Strike

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust must listen to workers and ditch outsourcing plans, says UNISON (17 Sept) – Hundreds of staff at Musgrove Park Hospital and community hospitals across Somerset have been facing transfer from direct NHS employment to Simply Serve Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the trust. Workers will lobby Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s annual general meeting in Taunton today (Thursday) to demand it permanently abandons plans to outsource their jobs, says UNISON. Porters, housekeepers, maintenance workers, other NHS staff and union representatives will gather outside the trust’s AGM at Somerset County Cricket Club at 3pm. Hundreds of staff at Musgrove Park Hospital and community hospitals across Somerset had been facing transfer from direct NHS employment to Simply Serve Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the trust. The proposals were paused following pressure from workers and UNISON while the trust awaits further guidance from NHS England read more

School support staff deserve better, says UNISON (17 Sept)

Scrapping union recognition at University of Brighton will affect student experience, says UNISON (15 Sept) – University of Brighton makes unilateral decision to end 20 year recognition agreement with staff unions. The University of Brighton’s decision to scrap union recognition will put the quality of students’ university experience at risk, warns UNISON today (Tuesday). The university has told UNISON and the University and College Union it intends to terminate their recognition agreement. For 20 years, unions and the university have worked together on key issues including sick pay, maternity and parental leave, annual leave and flexible working. University staff held a protest at 1pm today at the University of Brighton’s City Campus on Grand Parade to oppose the decision read more

University of Essex staff to strike over job cuts (14 Sept) – Huge attack on jobs and services provokes walkout from professional services staff. Staff at the University of Essex will strike next week over plans to slash jobs and services, UNISON says today. It’s the first time admissions advisors, IT technicians, admin workers and other professional services staff have walked out over the proposals to cut 400 posts. They will strike for a day next Monday. The £24 million cuts, which have already forced the closure of Essex’s Southend campus, will hit the quality of students’ education and the support available to them, warns UNISON. Staff say they’ve been left with no choice but to strike after university leaders refused to properly engage with them or listen to suggestions to minimise job losses. The strike is timed to coincide with the university’s annual ‘court’ meeting on Monday, where the vice-chancellor attempts to highlight achievements over the past year read more

Islington Town Hall staff go on strike amid jobs row – Council workers ‘left with no alternative’ but to stage a walkout (21 Aug) – MP Jeremy Corbyn joins education and public health staff on the picket line after a proposed ‘reorganisation’ at the Town Hall. COUNCIL workers began industrial action yesterday (Thursday) – their union’s first strike at the Town Hall for almost 25 years. Education and public health staff on the picket line told the Tribune they had been left with “no alternative” but to walk out. The Labour-run council is proposing a “reorganisation” that would see all staff in specialist data-gathering teams working together in one department. Union bosses say the changes mean more work for the same pay and amount to a “lack of job security” for long-standing staff members who have been told to re-apply for their positions. There are also concerns that cuts are coming down the line with the council set to lose a huge chunk of funding over the coming years. Islington Unison rep Rachel Ivens, a data analyst in the education department at the Town Hall, said: “Effectively, what this restructuring means is just cuts, cuts and more cuts read more on Islington Tribune website

Support the Greater Manchester hospitals strikes after payment offer withdrawal – Hundreds of NHS operating theatre staff at four hospitals in Greater Manchester are in dispute about overtime payments. More than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees, including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers, at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield Hospital in Bury. UNISON says an offer to resolve the dispute was initially tabled by NCA bosses but withdrawn before discussions could take place. The row centres on the trust’s use of an outside agency – NHS Professionals (NHSP) – to manage overtime. When covering staff shortages, staff are entitled to time-and-a-half pay. However, in some cases staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, with some missing out on more than £80 per shift, adds the union. Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines at all four sites in June read more. Send messages of support to [email protected]

Gloucestershire care workers announce strike action over transfer plans (7 Aug) – Reablement workers will take two weeks of strike action from Monday 17 August over plans to outsource their roles to a private company read more

Leeds Teaching Hospital – National appeal request (24 July) – The dispute has now reached a stage where maintaining an effective and visible presence on picket lines is essential. The branch request to launch an appeal will enable the purchase of flags, banners, placards, and other campaign merchandise to enhance the visibility and impact of the industrial action. These resources are vital in demonstrating solidarity, raising public awareness, and encouraging support for members taking action. Currently all resources that are being used belong to the region, it was initially envisaged that this would be a quick dispute but unfortunately this is not the case read more

Donation Appeal for members on strike at Ash Field Academy (9 July) – Members at Ash Field Academy are taking strike action in defence of their rep, Tom Barker who was suspended after members at the school voted to strike on a previous dispute. The employer has allowed an investigation to be elongated, failed to provide detailed allegations and sought to undermine the collective strength of the union.  The members did not choose this fight — it was forced upon them — and they are showing remarkable courage in standing up for what is right. There have been discontinuous strike since April 2026, with the next scheduled dates taking place 6th to 9th July 2026.

  • Donations can be made via BACS transfer to the following:-

Bank: Unity Trust

Account name: UNISON Leicester City Branch

Account Number: 20059879

Sort Code: 60−83−01

Reference: Ash Field Strike Funds

Sign petition to: Paul Stone, CEO, Discovery Schools Academy Trust

Stop union-busting: protect union reps! Reinstate Tom Barker!

Defend Ameen Hadi and Salford City UNISON against the Far Right sign petition – ‘We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with trade unionist and lifelong anti racist campaigner Ameen Hadi. He has been placed under investigation by Salford City Council, following a malicious allegation, driven by far right YouTubers and Fascist Tommy Robinson, after a TOGETHER unity rally in Manchester on International Women’s Day’

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

Bust the Budget, Not Our Public Services (28 Sept) – NIPSA has called on working class people to stand united in defence of our public services.  NIPSA demands that Executive Ministers refuse to impose further cuts on public services if Westminster does not provide the funding needed. NIPSA General Secretary Carmel Gates said: “Public services cannot withstand another round of cuts. Years of underfunding have left services stretched to breaking point and the workers delivering them facing relentless pressure. Our members did not create this crisis, yet they are being expected to carry the consequences through increased workloads, pressure on pay and conditions, and services struggling to meet growing need. Westminster must provide the funding required to deliver public services according to need.  If it refuses to do so, Executive Ministers must refuse to make the cuts. Ministers must be prepared to bust the Budget rather than make workers pay the price for continued underfunding. NIPSA’s message is clear: refuse the cuts and defend our public services.” NIPSA has consistently called for a needs-based Budget, warning that continued underfunding will result in further damaging cuts to public services and public-sector pay read more

Daisy Hill Maternity Threat: NIPSA Warns ‘Enough Is Enough’ (24 Sept) – The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) has warned that the potential suspension of inpatient maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital is another stark warning of the crisis facing health services across Northern Ireland. If services are transferred to Craigavon Area Hospital, women and families will face longer journeys for maternity care, while already stretched staff at Craigavon will be expected to absorb additional demand read more

NIPSA Condemns DAERA Threat of Pay Deductions Against Veterinary Staff Engaged in Lawful Industrial Action (29 July) – NIPSA has condemned DAERA’s decision to threaten pay deductions against veterinary staff participating in lawful Action Short of Strike (ASOS), describing the move as an unnecessary escalation of the ongoing dispute. The union was responding to correspondence issued by the Department on 22 July 2026 indicating that staff participating in elements of the industrial action could face deductions of up to 25% of their daily pay read more

   

NEU

NEU pause strike ballot (24 Sept) – The executive of the National Education Union met today to discuss the commitment from government to fully fund at a national level the teacher and support staff pay award for 2026/27. They have agreed to pause the ballot that was set to launch on 3 October read more

School teachers’ pay: Joint union response to Secretary of State (24 Sept) – ASCL, NAHT, NEU and Community have jointly responded to the Secretary of State’s consultation on the STRB report.  Underlining the consensus in the profession, they call on the Government to recognise and act on the key issues affecting the pay and working conditions of teachers and school leaders read more

Support the strikes:-

  • Castle Education Schools (4 Schools) / South Gloucestershire (Workload and Working Conditions in CSET academies) 29 -30 September; NEU contact: Elly Owen [email protected]  
  • Chiltern Wood School / Buckinghamshire (Support staff conditions of service / pay) 29-30 September & 1 October; NEU contact: Robert Tucker [email protected]
  • Learning Partnership West / Bristol (TURA, Contractual hours & breaks, pay scale & progression & safety) 1-2 October; NEU contact: Tom Bolton [email protected]

NASUWT

Pay award fails schools, teachers and pupils (24 Sept) – The teachers’ pay award falls far short of what is needed to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis and safeguard children’s education, NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, has warned. NASUWT has called on the Education Secretary to agree to urgent discussions on a long-term solution to school funding and real-terms pay cuts for teachers. In its response to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) report on pay, the Union has argued that the 3.5% pay award for 2026/27 fails to protect teachers against rising inflation and or to begin the process of pay restoration after years of real-terms pay cuts. Furthermore, the Union’s letter highlights that the announcement last week of £500 million for the pay award from savings made to the Local Government Pension Scheme does not represent additional funding for school budgets and the impact is not uniform across schools read more

NI teachers to start industrial action over excessive workload (21 Sept) – Teachers in Northern Ireland will start a campaign of industrial action after the failure of negotiations to produce a satisfactory solution to long running concerns over excessive workload. NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in Northern Ireland, has expressed profound disappointment following the conclusion of intensive negotiations on the implementation of the Independent Review of Teacher Workload recommendations, after management side failed to offer any meaningful period of calm in schools that would have given teachers and school leaders the time and space needed to plan for and implement agreed workload reductions. The Minister’s own Independent Review of Teacher Workload was unequivocal in its findings. It concluded that workload levels were unsustainable and were causing serious harm to teachers, the profession and the quality of education provided to young people across Northern Ireland. It sounded a clear alarm throughout the education system that urgent action was required read more

   

EIS   

Lecturers to Escalate Strike Action at Glasgow Caledonian University as ACAS Talks Fail to Reach a Resolution (17 Sept) – Members of the EIS ULA at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) will escalate their strike action, seeking to protect members from compulsory redundancy after ACAS talks failed to reach a suitable dispute resolution. Starting on Monday 21st September, staff will take 14 days of strike action over a four week period to protect jobs and the educational provision at GCU. The EIS, alongside other recognised trade unions at the university, suspended its industrial action on the lead up to the ACAS discussions in the hope of achieving a no compulsory redundancy guarantee for staff and to work with management on ways to avoid redundancies and look at future workforce planning. However, GCU management representatives refused to remove the threat of compulsory redundancies during the talks, leaving trade unions with no other choice but to move ahead with their planned industrial action. The dispute concerns university management’s proposals to continue cutting staff jobs and its refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies, despite the University holding £95M of cash reserves. Four days of strike action have already been taken by EIS members across June, July and August in opposition to management’s redundancy plans. Over the coming weeks, the EIS ULA will take action alongside colleagues from the University and College Union (UCU) and Unison read more

EIS and STUC Jointly call on First Minister to Intervene in City of Glasgow College Dispute (28 Aug) – The EIS and STUC have written to First Minister John Swinney, urging the Scottish Government to intervene to help facilitate a resolution to the long-running Health and Safety Dispute at City of Glasgow College (CoGC). EIS members within the Welding and Fabrication Department at CoGC have been engaged in a programme of strike action since March, as they seek vital improvements to protections for staff and students undertaking hazardous welding activities in the college read more

INTO

Trade dispute over teachers’ workload (21 Sept) – Mark McTaggart Northern Secretary: I wrote to you on 1 September 2026 in accordance with Article 118 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 informing you of the results of the INTO’s ballot for industrial action. Following the results of the ballot of members in Northern Ireland, I am authorised by Northern Committee and CEC to instruct you to take continuous action short of strike action with effect from Monday 28 September 2026. The form which the action short of strike action will take is set out in the attached document entitled ‘Action Short of Strike Action Instructions’. We remain available and willing to continue discussions on the detailed implementation of the proposals and to work constructively with all parties to secure meaningful and lasting workload reductions for teachers and school leaders. Thank you for your patience, understanding and support during the process of negotiations read more      

Nearly 100% of INTO members back industrial action (18 Sept) – Primary teachers to begin work to rule on 5 October. Exactly 80 days after the expiry of the previous public service pay agreement, the INTO’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) has announced that its 48,000+ members in the Republic of Ireland will begin work to rule on Monday, 5 October. Members in the union’s 155 branches who voted have strongly endorsed a campaign of action – up to and including strike action – to secure a credible pay settlement for the second half of 2026 and beyond. The union said that the notable turnout of 57.5% of INTO members and the result – 99.5% of those who voted being in support of action – indicates how angry teachers are at the continued disregard shown to them by Government. The massive support for a yes vote far exceeds the 2/3 majority required to proceed with action read more

UCU     

UCU Stop the Cuts campaign  

Sign petition against the education cuts 

University of Nottingham staff to strike for three months from October in redundancy fight (28 Sept) – Staff at the University of Nottingham will strike on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October, and then solid strike action from 5th October until 11 December in a row over jobs and course cuts, the University and College Union has confirmed today. The first two strike days this week will coincide with the university’s council meeting at which the final business case for cuts will be considered. The action will also include action short of a strike, such as only working to contract and not covering for absent colleagues read more

  • Thursday 1st October 2026 – Rally: 12pm south side of Trent Building

Staff at the University of Edinburgh start five-week strike (28 Sept) – Members of the University and College Union at the University of Edinburgh today start five-weeks of strikes in a dispute over £140million cuts and compulsory redundancies. The strike follows the announcement two weeks ago that 90 programmes at the university face closure.  The dispute began nearly two years ago when the university principal announced £140million cuts with “nothing off the table”, pointing to compulsory redundancies.  Since then, 100s of staff have lost their jobs with the union saying some were pushed out or with expected contract extensions or renewals not happening.  Hourly-paid staff have had their hours slashed and positions have disappeared.  Naming those courses and degree programmes facing closure is an escalation in the dispute and increases the possibility of management forcing staff out of work by compulsory redundancies. The 1,800 jobs the union estimates will be cut is unprecedented in Scottish higher education.  It is happening in the wealthiest Scottish university, and the third richest in the UK, currently sitting with over £3billion reserves read more

UCU statement on USS and Israeli divestment (25 Sept) – UCU and its members have campaigned relentlessly for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), Britain’s biggest private pension scheme, to end its complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime and its genocidal war on Gaza. Earlier this month the government announced an unprecedented sanctions regime against illegal Israeli settlements and the companies that build, finance and profit from them read more

Glasgow Caledonian University hit by six days of strike action during autumn term (22 Sept) – Members of the University and College Union working at Glasgow Caledonian University are today taking the first of six days strike action in a dispute over job cuts and compulsory redundancies. The dispute, which is taking place as Dundee and Edinburgh universities also face strikes, is over plans announced in March by senior management to cut up to 100 posts at the university despite not having a deficit.  With staff taking voluntary redundancy, the number of posts management want to cut is now approximately 50.  The union said that there is no need to cut jobs and that the university is in a strong financial position, so much so that the university recently bought land in Glasgow city centre at Buchanan House Gate that was previously used by Network Rail.  The land is believed to have cost around £4.5million but, at present, the intended use is unknown by the university’s staff.  The branch claimed that making investments of this scale at the same time as cutting the staff who deliver the teaching and research central to the university’s mission shows that management’s priorities are out of step. As well as striking today, members of the branch will also be on strike on 24 and 29 September and on 1, 6 and 8 October.  UCU members have already taken three days of strikes and members of other unions on the campus have also taken industrial action.  The cuts and job losses have been raised in the Scottish Parliament with seventeen MSPs calling on the university to engage constructively with unions to end the dispute read more

Dundee University staff begin five-week strike (21 Sept) – UCU members at the University of Dundee today begin a five-week strike in the almost two-year long dispute over cuts and compulsory redundancies. Staff at the university will strike each weekday from Monday 21 September until Friday 23 October over the first five weeks of the new academic year in a bid to prevent compulsory redundancies. They will also be taking part in action short of strike like not undertaking voluntary activities or covering for absent colleagues and which could also see a marking and assessment boycott at the university. The ballot authorising strike action was passed earlier in the summer when 79% backed strike action read more

UCU condemns University of Brighton derecognition plans (15 Sept) – UCU has today condemned plans by the University of Brighton to derecognise UCU on campus. The university told UCU’s Brighton branch yesterday, that from June next year it would terminate its current recognition agreement and all collective agreements, effectually ripping up contracts that have been negotiated over recent years. The union said this could mean full union derecognition and worsening terms and conditions for staff read more

Heriot-Watt University staff stage two-day strike (14 Sept) – Members of UCU at Heriot-Watt University will today take the first of two-day’s strike action over cuts and compulsory redundancies. Last month, members of the union voted to back strike action by 70% and the strike today and tomorrow is the first strike action to take place under the new 12-month mandate. The dispute centres on job losses at the university’s Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies and Scholar programme. There had previously been an agreement reached in June, which committed the university to no compulsory redundancies at the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies (LINCS) before Spring next year, but the union said that management are failing to honour that commitment and are actively progressing plans that could involve compulsory redundancies in both LINCS and in the long-running Scholar programme which delivers web-based learning to schools across Scotland. Staff there are facing compulsory redundancy despite more staff having applied for voluntary redundancy than the target set by management. Since the dispute began back in March, staff have been on strike for twelve days. This week’s strike means that, overall, almost three weeks of work has been disrupted. As well as strike action, staff have also been participating in action short of strike such as working to contract and not covering for absent colleagues and future action short of strike could also involve a marking and assessment boycott read more

University of Birmingham staff to consider strike ballot over redundancies that fall entirely on minority ethnic staff (11 Sept) – Staff at the University of Birmingham will meet next week to consider potential strike action in a battle against redundancies, UCU said today. The dispute is over plans by the university to make five translation and interpreting staff redundant, all of whom are from a migrant or minority ethnic background. In February, the university announced its Silver Race Equality Charter award, an Advance HE accreditation recognising ‘significant and sustained progress in advancing race equality’, which the vice-chancellor welcomed in a message to all staff read more

University of Exeter staff back industrial action in redundancy fight (9 Sept) – Staff at the University of Exeter have overwhelmingly backed a mandate for industrial action in a battle to save jobs, UCU announced today. In a ballot that closed today, 91% of UCU members voted in favour of potential further industrial action on a turnout of 74%. The branch will meet on Thursday 10 September to decide on next steps. The dispute is over proposed cuts, which put 500 research and teaching staff, including more than eight in 10 academics in the faculty of humanities, arts and social sciences, at risk of redundancy, originally threatening 200 compulsory job losses. A coordinated campaign involving petitions and a vote of no confidence has forced the university to pull compulsory redundancy plans and move towards agreements on talks on a renewed workload model and greater financial scrutiny. But members have voted to continue to hold management to account, particularly over ballooning workloads and sky-high executive pay. The union said that despite some wins, including ending the threat of compulsory job cuts, the fight will continue to protect the university from any further cuts or redundancies. The loss of valued colleagues through so-called voluntary redundancy and the knock-on impacts on staff workloads and student experience have been ignored by an out-of-touch senior management read more

University of Cumbria staff face ‘fire and rehire’ over pensions (7 Sept) – The University and College Union (UCU) has warned that University of Cumbria staff could face the threat of ‘fire and rehire’ as the university begins a process to remove workers from the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and move them into a significantly less secure pension arrangement. The university told affected staff in August that they had until Monday 7 September to sign a new contract which would end their membership of the LGPS and move them into a defined contribution pension scheme run by Scottish Widows. Staff who agree to move to the new scheme will receive £8,000 in ‘compensation’. Those who do not agree to the change face the prospect of having their existing contracts terminated and being offered new contracts on worse terms. The university is due to begin this process on Tuesday 8 September. UCU has strongly opposed the proposed changes, warning that staff who have spent years building up their pension through the LGPS should not be forced into a less secure retirement. The union has also raised concerns about the impact of the proposals on staff who have given long service to the university read more

University of Sheffield vice chancellor given vote of no confidence by staff (21 Aug) – The University and College Union (UCU) has today called on the vice chancellor of the University of Sheffield to resign after staff delivered an overwhelming vote of no confidence in the university’s executive board and council. Over 1,900 staff and PGRs at the university took part in the vote, with over 1,600 voting in favour of the motion. Members’ jobs continue to be at risk leaving staff constantly stressed, with high workloads, increased pressure due to job insecurity and in danger of burn out. Members are involved in an ongoing dispute over job cuts, restructures and management’s decision to withhold staff pay, not just during recent strike action, but once they returned to the workplace to pressure them to make up teaching lost to the strike. Management has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies and at risk letters have been sent out to staff in the department of East Asian Studies, with at least four more departments also set for cuts. More than 500 staff have lost their jobs at the university through ‘voluntary severance’ since this round of restructuring began in November 2024. The vote of no confidence follows the formal censure of the university by the academic community for its continued attack on staff read more

University of Sussex staff vote to strike in redundancy fight (14 Aug) – Staff at the University of Sussex have overwhelmingly backed strike action in a battle to save jobs. In a ballot that closed yesterday 81% of UCU members voted in favour of strike action on a turnout of 70%. The vote is over management’s threat to cut 200 jobs in plans to save £35m a year. Sussex UCU has put forward proposals to protect jobs and student provision, including allowing staff to volunteer to move part-time and working to bring down the pay of senior management, alongside campaigning to lobby policymakers to invest in the future of higher education. Management is now considering the union’s feedback but has already agreed to extend timelines and to consult with staff over voluntarily moving to part time read more

Graduation chaos at London South Bank as marking boycott & strikes hit exams (13 July) – Staff at London South Bank University (LSBU) began a marking and assessment boycott today and will strike during the crucial exam resit week, from Monday 20 to Friday 24 July. UCU members are taking the action in a fight against fire and rehire tactics being used by university bosses to bypass collective bargaining. The boycott, which will hit graduations, covers all marking and assessment, including online and in-person. It also covers assessment-related work such as exam invigilation and the administrative processing of marks. Likewise, the strike will impact students’ ability to resit exams. LSBU management plans to terminate the contracts of all academic members of staff and pit them against each other in a sham redundancy selection process. It then wants to rehire them onto two separate tracks, ‘teaching and research’ (‘T&R’) and ‘teaching and scholarship’ (T&S), and intends to increase working time without any corresponding pay rise. All new T&S staff would be employed through a sham company to deny them access to the industry standard Teachers’ Pension Scheme and leave them outside the national pay framework. UCU believes the cuts will seriously impact the university’s nursing and midwifery provision, which would have knock-on effects on nursing throughout London’s hospitals. LSBU educates one in four of the city’s nurses. UCU has called on university management to urgently get round the negotiating table and work to resolve the dispute so students can graduate. Last week, politicians wrote to university regulator the Office for Students over the unprecedented scale of the cuts and staff have also unanimously backed a motion of no confidence in the vice-chancellor read more

Lincoln Uni strike ballot looms as over 140 staff put at risk (3 July) – The University of Lincoln has put more than 140 staff at risk of redundancy and could axe them as soon as next month. The union said it will be forced to launch a strike ballot if management continues with the plans, which would see more than 34 staff go across the schools of humanities and heritage, engineering and physical sciences, social and political sciences, chemistry, geography, and design and architecture, as well as the Lincoln international business school. Management says the cuts are needed to match student demand, but they come after staff overwhelmingly backed a no confidence vote against the vice-chancellor and senior leadership team over their poor leadership of the university, including more than one in three staff leaving over recent redundancy rounds and damaging the quality of teaching and research read more

Indefinite strike action to begin Monday 8 June over Goldsmiths lockout (29 May) – Staff will commence an indefinite strike on Monday 8 June at Goldsmiths, University of London. The union said the imposition of 100% pay deductions for participation in action short of strike is an effective lockout, and staff will refuse to work because management refuses to pay them. UCU began a marking boycott, as part of its action short of strike, on Monday 27 April, refusing to mark all work and assessments in a fight to protect jobs. Management responded by threatening to dock 100% of pay even if staff continue to complete all their other duties, including teaching, research and recruitment. The employer confirmed its intention to dock pay from Friday 22 May, ahead of a bank holiday weekend, and UCU has now responded by giving notice for indefinite strike action beginning Monday 8 June. Worryingly, university management has also reportedly issued an ultimatum to students, threatening to ban them from campus for protesting in solidarity with staff. Currently 269 professional services staff and academics are in scope of redundancy, more than one in five of the 1,230 strong workforce. Further academic staff cuts are also slated to start from September. This is the third round of redundancies at Goldsmiths in the last five years, and these cuts are going ahead despite close to £24m being saved in the two previous rounds read more

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

     

GMB  

£17 billion taxpayer cash went to offshore private equity last year (29 Sept) – Public sector bodies spent almost £17 billion with offshore-owned private equity firms last year, new analysis shows read more

Royal Parks gardeners take further strike action (28 Sept) – The gardeners, who look after London’s most prestigious parks, including Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and St James’s Park, voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action last month after their employer Idverde offered them a 70p an hour pay rise. They will now take part in further strike action after Idverde failed to deliver an improved pay offer read more

South Yorks Police staff in strike vote (25 Sept) – South Yorkshire Police (SYP) Witness Liaison Officers begin balloting for strike action on pay today [Friday]. GMB members in the Witness Liaison team are demanding their pay match that of their pees in West Yorkshire Police, who are paid up to £5,000 more per year, despite having the exact same job role and responsibilities. Witness Liaison Officers provide support and assistance to victims and witnesses throughout the criminal justice process, often speaking with and supporting highly vulnerable individuals including rape, domestic violence and child abuse victims. The ballot will close on 5 October. If successful, strike action can be expected next month read more

Barnsley nursery workers set for full strike ballot (24 Sept) – Barnsley nursery workers are set for a full strike ballot over the ‘theft’ of their pensions. GMB has today (Thursday) closed an indicative industrial ballot early after one hundred percent of staff voted said they would be ready for a full strike ballot. The early years workers are employed by six nurseries across Barnsley which have been outsourced by the council to private provider Limetree. Despite repeated promises they would keep their existing Local Government pensions, staff have now been told they will be moved onto the private company’s basic statutory pension scheme. This will result in a significantly lower pay out in their retirement and removes their Death in Service entitlement. The formal strike ballot will begin on 5 October read more

More than 600,000 council workers lost (16 Sept) – More than 600,000 council workers have been lost in England and Wales since 2012, official figures show. According to the Office of National Statistics, fourteen years ago there were 1,886,584 people employed by local authorities. By 2026, the number had plunged to 1,282,853, a drop of more than 603,000 – more than 30 per cent of the total headcount. The East Midlands was the worst hit region, losing 66,000 jobs equating to more than 40 per cent of all workers. The figures emerge as GMB delegates discuss cuts to local authority budgets at TUC’s annual congress in Brighton this week read more

Goose Fair tram disruption looms (16 Sept) – Nottingham’s tram workers have had enough of low pay and disrespect, says GMB. GMB Union has today announced that workers on Nottingham’s tram network have voted overwhelmingly for strike action. Strike action will coincide with Nottingham’s annual Goose Fair, due to take place later this month. Around 200 workers are expected to join strike action, across the network’s drivers, ticket office staff and maintenance teams. 88% of workers across the network backed strike action, with strike dates set to start from Saturday 26 September 2026 read more

Amazon and Apple furniture factory facing strike over pay (11 Sept) – GMB members at Herman Miller’s factory in Melksham, Wiltshire will be taking strike action over pay. The members will walk out on Thursday 24 September, having rejected three pay offers so far. The company makes office furniture (chairs, desks, lighting and office accessories) as well as home furnishings, with some pieces costing several thousand pounds. Furniture production will be affected, including to their high-profile customers including Amazon and Apple read more

Belfast Airbus workers to vote on strike (26 Aug) – GMB members will be balloted on strike action following a dispute over pay. Airbus employs nearly 1600 workers in Belfast. They produce the wings and the mid-fuselage for the A220 aircraft. The most recent pay offer from the company was rejected by over 90 per cent of members. The strike ballot opens on 2 September and closes on 30 September. Members of Unite the Union will also be balloted on strike action for the same reason read more

Thanet refuse collectors in industrial action vote (24 Aug) – More than 50 Thanet refuse collectors will begin an industrial action ballot over management failures. GMB members say they have had enough of bearing the brunt of the public’s frustrations and the councillors’ excuses over the state of refuse collection in the district. GMB has written to the council to raise a collective grievance over members concerns. The indicative industrial action ballot ends on 4 September and, if successful, the next stage could be a full strike ballot read more

North Somerset faces bin strike (21 Aug) – North Somerset faces bin chaos after more than 100 GMB members at North Somerset Environment Company (NSEC) voted for strike action. A majority of 95 per cent voted to walk out over a deal which would leave them paid up to £4 per hour less than other refuse collectors in the region. GMB will now meet with reps to decide on strike dates read more

Strike at UK’s only uranium enrichment plant (19 Aug) – GMB Union members at Urenco, in Cheshire, have voted for strike action in a dispute over pay. More than 80 per cent of GMB members, the largest union at the Capenhurst enrichment site, have voted to take strike action. The ballot opened on 21 July 2026 and closed today, following protracted pay negotiations that began at the end of 2025. Union members are demanding a pay rise of at least 4.5 per cent, in line with RPI in September 2025. They have received a pay settlement based on this figure for nearly a decade, but the company have only offered 4.1 per cent as a final offer read more

Almost 600 Coastguards sign vote of no confidence in MCA chief (13 Aug) – Almost 600 Coastguards have called for a vote of no confidence in the chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). GMB Union wrote to the MCA chair Lord Stevens in July to ‘formally express our lack of confidence in the leadership of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency under Chief Executive Virginia McVea’. Since then, 580 Coastguards across the UK have signed up to the no confidence vote. Lord Stevens has thus far not responded to GMB and the union has now written a further letter to ‘formally escalate the concerns previously raised’. Coastguards are calling for an expression of no confidence, and independent review into leadership culture, the chance to submit evidence to the review and a clear timetable for responding to concerns raised read more

Gardeners at Royal Parks begin vote on strike action (29 July) – Dozens of gardeners working at The Royal Parks are today voting in a strike ballot organised by their union, GMB, following a row over pay. The workers, who are employed by sub-contractor Idverde, look after some of London’s most prestigious parks including Kensington Gardens, St James’s Park, Hyde Park, and Brompton Cemetery. The dispute arose after skilled gardeners and team leaders were offered a pay rise amounting to just 70p an hour. Such a small rise in pay will see a significant narrowing of the gap between these senior workers and those on London Living Wage (LLW), suggesting that Idverde is treating LLW as a ceiling rather than a floor. GMB members have already indicated their willingness to take strike action after voting in 85 per cent in favour in a consultative ballot. The ballot closes on Friday 14 August read more

Royal College of Nursing     

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

BMA

Consultants prepare to seek strike mandate (9 Sept) – Senior doctors in Scotland eye industrial action after government reneges on pay pledge. Consultants in Scotland have moved a step closer to strike action while warning that the Scottish Government is relying on a ‘sticking-plaster’ approach to keeping NHS services safe. The BMA Scottish consultants committee is preparing to ballot members on whether to walk out – if they vote in favour, it will be the first time Scottish doctors have gone on strike read more

Consultants demand talks following mandate to strike (7 July) – SAS doctors fall short of turnout threshold but vow to continue struggle for better remuneration read more

FBU   

FBU reacts to Chancellor John Healey’s Labour Conference speech (28 Sept) – Steve Wright, FBU general secretary said: “It is positive that the Chancellor is directly centring trade unions as partners in Labour’s ambition to transform the country. For Labour to win the next general election it needs to make changes that people feel in their everyday lives. That ambition must not be limited by concerns around the level of national debt or the attitude of bond markets. By taxing the super wealthy as part of a plan to invest in the long term infrastructure of the country, we can create a strong resilient nation with good public services and a more equal society. Money for 5,000 more firefighters with the correct PPE and greater wildfire and flood resilience would cost a fraction of the £6bn earmarked for British shipyards. We need to focus on civil re-industrialisation not military led re-industrialisation. And resilience against the reality of wildfires and flooding that the country faces for the foreseeable future is just as important as the UK being capable of defending itself.” Read more

FBU launches national ‘Cuts Kill’ campaign – Our fire and rescue service is stretched to breaking point. The demands on firefighters are rising fast, with climate change creating more extreme wildfires, flooding and severe weather. Yet the service responsible for protecting us is being asked to do more with less. For over a decade, deep cuts have hollowed out the service. Across the country, fire engines are arriving at emergencies without enough crew on board to respond and save lives. Some engines aren’t leaving the fire station at all because there simply aren’t enough firefighters to staff them. Response times are getting longer every year. And in an emergency, every second counts. Cuts kill. Firefighters and communities have raised the alarm repeatedly, but those warnings have been brushed aside while politicians made decisions that stripped vital resources from the frontline. After 14 years of cuts and austerity, it’s time to draw a line in the sand… Join the fight

This fight is for every job, every station and every community. Wherever they try to force through more cuts, we must stand together and push back. Write to your MP and call on them to sign the Early Day Motion demanding investment in the fire and rescue service

POA     

General Secretary update read more

National Chair update Aug 2026 read here  

NEC minutes Sept 2026 read more

Right to Strike Campaign – contact your MP (6 Aug) – POA Circular 33/2026 requested membership assistance, regarding contacting MPs about the Right to Strike. To date 71 Members of Parliament have responded to members’ letters, in both a positive and negative way. These responses have been posted on our social media and have been noted in the ‘corridors of power’ at Westminster read more

NAPO

Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) Shut Down – Napo’s Position (23 Sept) – HMPPS have confirmed their decision to shut down the Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) at 4pm on Friday 25 September 2026. HMPPS determination to continue with this deeply flawed and dangerous step reconfirms our assertion that they are not taking adequate steps to measure, manage and address workloads in the Probation Service. This email contains guidance that we are asking every member who currently has access to the WMT to take. Prior to and during our ballot on industrial action we will continue to meet with HMPPS representatives to press them on what members need to see on workloads. That should not be understood by anyone as a lack of commitment on our part to conduct this ballot and then, if voted for by enough members, to take industrial action. We are disappointed that our continued engagement with the employer appears to be mischaracterised in some of their communications, to be clear there are no agreement with this decision from Napo and we are deeply concerned about what this will mean for our members.

Napo’s Position: Napo absolutely oppose this dangerous move by the employer. Our long-standing position over years has been to improve the WMT to properly reflect the excessive workloads we are dealing with in ‘Sentence Management’ and extend this tool to as many other Probation roles as possible, e.g. Prisons, Victim Liaison and Courts read more

Press Release: 90.76% of Napo members back strike action as probation workloads crisis deepens (11 Aug) – Napo members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of potential industrial action over workloads, with 90.76% backing action and warning government that probation staff are at breaking point, putting public safety at risk. Thousands took part in the indicative ballot amid chronic staff shortages, excessive workloads, burnout and reliance on overtime to keep the service running. The result should come as a blow to government as it prepares to expand early release from prison and implement Sentencing Act changes, increasing the number of people managed in the community while probation is already struggling to cope read more

BFAWU     

Post Conference Foodworker 2026 read more

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

NUJ   

NUJ demands justice on 25th anniversary of O’Hagan murder (29 Sept) – A large crowd gathered in Belfast yesterday (28 September) to remember NUJ member Martin O’Hagan and demand justice. O’Hagan, who was secretary of the NUJ Belfast and District branch and an investigative journalist for Sunday World, was murdered by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) while walking home with his wife Marie from their local pub in Lurgan on 28 September 2001. No one has been convicted of his murder. A vigil organised by the Belfast and District branch was held outside the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland’s office in Writer’s Square read more

NUJ to mark Martin O’Hagan anniversary: 25 Years Demanding Justice (21 Sept) – Next Monday, 28 September, marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O’Hagan read more

Reach chapel issues vote of no confidence in company leadership (28 Sept) – The NUJ Reach group chapel has passed a vote of no confidence in Reach’s editorial leadership, particularly its Chief Content Officer. This vote comes after the latest wave of relentless cuts resulting in a net loss of 160 editorial roles and the closure of three titles read more

NUJ responds to reports of Labour banning Declassified journalists from party conference (25 Sept) – The NUJ has responded to reports that Labour has denied three Declassified UK journalists media passes to its party conference read more

BBC heading for avoidable ‘doom spiral’ with constant cuts, says NUJ (24 Sept) – The NUJ has warned that the BBC risks becoming trapped in an avoidable “doom spiral”, harming both workers and UK audiences, if the nation’s broadcaster continues its regime of brutal cuts read more

NUJ solidarity with Turkish journalists (24 Sept) – The NUJ has renewed its support for Turkish journalists following the latest state assault on press freedom. At a rally outside the Turkish Embassy in Dublin on 23 September, Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, called on the Irish government to use the country’s presidency of the European Union to highlight human rights violations in Turkey, a candidate for membership of the EU. He was speaking on behalf of the NUJ and as a member of the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) read more

Live coverage from The Lancet strike (22 Sept) – NUJ members working at the Lancet are out on strike today (22 September) over pay – the first time workers have been forced to walk out in the company’s 200-year history. Striking workers formed picket lines from 8am outside the two entrances of the Lancet Group’s London HQ this morning, carrying “Fair Pay Now” and “Solidarity For Science” placards and banners. At least 120 members of the scientific community signed an open letter expressing their support for our members in the lead up to the action. Messages of solidarity have also been coming in from across the NUJ, fellow unions, and beyond today read more

Equity

Equity calls for AI protections as avatar performer Tilly Norwood turns one (25 Sept) – AI protections needed in film and TV industry along with personality rights for all read more

Give community a say over Square Chapel Arts Centre future, says Equity (24 Sept) – Equity is warning that the Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax is in danger of failing again unless there is a clear commitment to public investment and local involvement in the decision-making process. The warning comes ahead of the AGM of the local Save Square Chapel Campaign Group on Thursday 24 September, with Arts Council England invited to attend read more

Musicians Union

MU Buskers Bring Westminster Campaign to Parliament (29 Sept) – Buskers working in Westminster took their campaign for viable, accessible pitches across the borough to Parliament read more

Labour Unions Share Messages of Solidarity With Trans Labour Members (28 Sept) – The 11 trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party published a statement of support with the trans and non-binary community read more

Urgent Guidance for Members Using Deputies: Right to Work Checks (24 Sept) – New right to work rules could change how musicians and deps are engaged from 1 October 2026. Read about the proposed new rules, who may be affected and what MU members need to know read more

Support Staff and Music Education at Goldsmiths (24 Sept) – Staff at Goldsmiths, University of London, including colleagues in the Music Department, are taking sustained strike action over proposed cuts and redundancies, amid wider pressures facing music provision in UK higher education read more

UVW   

UVW seeks court injunction against Butlin’s over alleged union intimidation and blacklisting (17 Sept) – “Butlin’s management should be ashamed that they’re intimidating us into not exercising our fundamental right to join a union and organise together.” – Jamie, shift supervisor at Butlin’s Bognor Regis. UVW is seeking the first ever court injuction under blacklisting regulations against Butlin’s over concerns of union intimidation and blacklisting. This comes after 10 unionised security officers were subjected to investigations. These investigations follow collective grievances against a manager and during a live dispute over pay, working conditions and health and safety. UVW is seeking injunctive relief under Regulation 13 of the Blacklisting Regulations 2010 amid concerns that Butlin’s may have breached the Regulations by identifying and discriminating against workers because of their trade union activities. The dispute concerns security officers working at Butlin’s Bognor Regis resort. In the lead-up to industrial action, workers submitted two collective grievances concerning the conduct of a manager whose removal from managerial duties is one of the workers’ demands read more

IWGB

Final hearing in legal battle over GTA firings to begin this week (7 Sept) – Rockstar Games, the studio behind Grand Theft Auto, will appear before Glasgow Employment Tribunal this week as the final hearing begins in its legal battle with the IWGB Union over the mass dismissal of 31 GTA VI workers in October last year. The IWGB alleges that the dismissals were unlawful both in the reasoning behind them and in the process used to carry them out. The union claims that Rockstar targeted workers because of their union involvement, compiled and used lists of their names for the purpose of discriminating against them – known as “blacklisting” – and then denied them basic procedural protections by refusing to follow a disciplinary process or provide right of appeal. Rockstar has said the employees were dismissed over messages posted in a private union Discord channel which it claims breached their confidentiality agreements. The union denies this and maintains that the dismissals were an attack on the workers’ union activity. The hearing will run from 10 September until 16 October, concluding just weeks before the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI on 19 November. The workers are seeking reinstatement or, failing that, compensation, as well as a finding from the tribunal that their dismissals were unfair. The hearing follows an interim ruling in which Rockstar attempted to have the blacklisting allegations removed from the union’s claim. The judge rejected the studio’s application, meaning Rockstar will now have to answer the blacklisting allegations in full at the final hearing read more

SIPTU (Ireland)   

SIPTU calls on Oireachtas committee to challenge FAI over refusal to bargain with staff (30 Sept) – SIPTU has called on members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport to question the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) over its continued failure to recognise the Union for collective bargaining with staff when it appears before the committee today (Wednesday, 30th September) read more

SIPTU highlights FAI duty of care to players and workers if Israel fixtures proceed (24 Sept) – SIPTU representatives have said the FAI and other employers involved in the scheduled Ireland-Israel fixtures have a clear duty of care to players, staff and workers being asked to participate in and service the games read more

SIPTU calls to reopen vital ambulance base to safeguard lives in Donegal (23 Sept) – SIPTU’s Health Division is urging the HSE to urgently reopen Lifford Ambulance base to restore essential emergency services in County Donegal. The closure of the base in 2021, following infrastructural issues, has placed tremendous strain on ambulance resources across the county. Without a local base, vast areas, including the border region with Derry and Northern Ireland, face delayed emergency response times read more

Health Division escalates dispute in 30 hospitals (22 Sept) – SIPTU Health Division has today (22nd September) notified the HSE and voluntary hospital employers that more than 11,000 members across 30 hospitals will undertake a full day of strike action on Wednesday, 14th October, in a major escalation of the Union’s campaign to secure meaningful public service pay negotiations. The strike action follows a one-day work-to-rule by SIPTU Health Division members on the 30th September. During the work-to-rule, members will withdraw all voluntary flexibility and goodwill that employers increasingly rely on to maintain services, including the provision of non-rostered overtime and other voluntary additional duties. The escalation comes after what SIPTU describes as the Government’s continuing failure to establish a forum for negotiations on a successor public service pay agreement following the expiry of the current agreement on 30th June. The proposed strike action will affect 30 major hospitals across the country and represents a significant intensification of the campaign by health workers for a fair and sustainable pay deal that reflects the reality of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis read more

SIPTU Local Authority and State Agency members to begin industrial action (16 Sept) – SIPTU members employed across the Local Authority and State Agency sectors will commence industrial action on 30th September in a dispute resulting from the failure of the Government to establish the basis for formal negotiations on a successor public service pay agreement. The Union has repeatedly sought meaningful engagement on arrangements to replace the current agreement and to address public service workers’ concerns regarding pay, living costs, recruitment, retention challenges and the future of public services. Despite these efforts, no satisfactory basis for formal talks has been established. From 30th September, SIPTU members across Local Authorities and State Agencies will commence industrial action, including work-to-rule action and the withdrawal of workplace goodwill arrangements. The action will involve members working strictly within their contractual obligations and withdrawing cooperation from a range of non-statutory initiatives and change programmes read more

  

Other news     

New Book: ‘YOU WILL HEAR ME SPEAK’: Memoirs of a Marxist trade unionist with a stammer. BY GARY CLARK (Former CWU postal rep & NSSN Steering Committee Member) order a copy

Lucas Plan 50th Anniversary Celebration – REGISTER HERE. AN IDEA WHOSE TIME MUST COME! A conference for trade union, left, green, peace, community activists and students and academics. Nov 21st 2026 at University Place, Manchester FREE – REGISTER NOW

Sign this petition: Protect the Residents of St James Estate in Southwark, South London – We, the undersigned, call on Southwark Council to take urgent action to protect residents of the St James Estate from eviction, excessive rent increases, and housing insecurity. More than 100 families, including many who were previously homeless or housing insecure, face eviction from a long-established community they have called home for up to 35 years, risking homelessness and placing further strain on overstretched housing services  St. James Tenants Association    Support us   read more on the website of Unite LE/1111 Housing Workers Branch

Motion passed by Unite RISC CYWNfP – Use or adapt for your union or political group

Timms Review: calls for Welsh govt. to back independent disability review – A powerful coalition of Welsh disability, carers’, and trade union organisations have today written to the Welsh Government asking ministers to lodge their “strongest possible grievance” with the UK Government over the Timms Review into the PIP disability benefit. The UK-wide review was announced in parliament late last year, with promises of “co-production” with disabled people, and a pledge of no further cuts until its conclusion. However, Welsh Disabled Peoples’ Organisations are adamant that co-production is not happening, with Welsh disabled people, they claim, treated with particular contempt. The intervention comes in the final week before the Senedd summer recess, after local authorities, including Swansea Council, admitted they have made “no provision” for impending disability cuts in their medium-term budgets. The groups have asked the new Welsh Government to deliver on its promise of providing practical assistance in achieving a “long standing demand” of “a genuine disability review, led independently and democratically by disabled people and our organisations, including our trade unions.”

  • The letter was coordinated by Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru (DPAC Cymru). Co-signatories include Disabled Peoples’ Organisations, unpaid Carers’ Organisations, and trade union organisations including the Social Workers Union, BFAWU, PCS Wales, TSSA Wales No 1. Branch, Unite Community Wales, the NSSN, and Welsh trades councils.
  • The letter to the Welsh Government, the full list of signatories, and a briefing, is available here: Non-Easy Read version  Easy Read version

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Or for anything else please email [email protected]

This May Day, Strike Map launched the Solidarity Fund. A simple to use permanent place, you can contribute to support striking workers read more

Centenary of the 1926 General Strike – Monday May 4, marks the centenary of the 1926 General Strike and an event appropriately called Centenary will be held at Glasshouse Gateshead to commemorate that momentous occasion, which was the biggest rupture in British society since the English civil wars of the 1640s. Centenary will comprise songs, comedy sketches, stand-up comedy and recitations.  

Producer Ed Waugh penned Carrying David, Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry and The Cramlington Train Wreckers which transfers to Newcastle Theatre Royal in July.  

Ed explained: “Centenary is an appropriate name for the show because it’s amazing to think we’ll be performing the show exactly 100 years to the day that the General Strike actually started. “While Centenary will commemorate the UK’s only General Strike it will also celebrate other working class struggles from the Napoleonic Wars to the present time using popular culture.”

The one-off show will be compered by Micky Cochrane, who is the current  Performer of the Year (North East Culture Awards) for his outstanding performances in the Cramlington Train Wreckers and Carrying David.

Ed continued: “Paul Weller and Tom Robinson have has given us personal permission to use their  songs. Likewise the tremendous Paul Simmonds of The Men They Couldn’t Hang and the estate of the late-great Alan Hull of Lindisfarne.” He added: “Not only will it be first-class entertainment, we think people will come away inspired, having learnt about real, working class, history.”

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – adapted by Neil Gore from the book by Robert Tressell, directed by Louise Townsend details

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   

     

Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation

Statement from the Independent Blacklisting Collusion Inquiry legal team (31 July) read more

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

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

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

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

Opening statement to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on behalf of:

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

Blacklist Support Group

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

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

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

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

   

        

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

     

International     

Nigeria: A Call for Solidarity – Drop Trumped-Up Charges against Soweto and Dele Frank Now! On March 11, 2026, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and spokesperson of #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos, and Dele Frank (Arole Fela) are expected to appear before a magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos for the commencement of a sham trial on the trumped-up charges preferred against them by the Lagos State Police Command over their participation in a peaceful protest read more, including model letter of protest. Send copies of letters of protest to the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) is [email protected]

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 employers. We call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’

For details of protests, check your local trades council and go to the website of Together Alliance

   

   

Diary      

  

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