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NSSN 788: After Burnham’s Budget, TUC must #NameTheDate for National Saturday Demo!

Andy Burnham’s first Budget, moved by his Chancellor John Healey, didn’t provide the transformational programme desperately needed by workers as they face the worsening cost of living crisis. At the recent Labour Party Conference, in his maiden speech as party leader and Prime Minister, Burnham had announced the end of the pension triple lock. To many working-class people, it will feel like the continuation of austerity.

  • Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “As I have been saying repeatedly in my meetings with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, our members wanted two things from this budget: money in their pockets now, and a plan for investment and jobs. Whilst there is some welcome news in this budget – including relief on energy bills and some investment in jobs – these are baby steps rather than a decisive leap forward… This government needs to face the scale of the problem, and right now it isn’t even close.”
  • NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede: “The Chancellor has failed to acknowledge that investment in our schools and colleges is a necessity, not a choice. Since 2010 schools have had their spending power cut by £4.5bn. They are at breaking point.”
  • Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “Teachers are still waiting for Andy Burnham to put his money where his mouth is. This budget will do little to support our severely underfunded education system or to lessen the real terms pay cuts faced by teachers up and down the country.”
  • PCS members are being balloted nationally for strike action, and the union’s General Secretary Fran Heathcote said: “The chancellor talks about giving working people ‘breathing space’, but for our members, their pay has been squeezed for far too long. When your finances have been suffocated by years of rising costs and falling real-terms pay, breathing space simply isn’t enough, they need resuscitation.”
  • UCU General Secretary Jo Grady: “Today’s budget has failed to deliver the action needed to address the crisis facing post-16 education. The prime minister will not deliver on his promises to invest in our young people unless he provides universities and colleges with the resources they desperately need… It is deeply concerning that cuts to public services remain on the agenda ahead of next year’s spending review.”

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. The motion stayed ‘on the table’ at the TUC General Council on 21st October. But we need to keep fighting for the TUC to call the demo. Therefore, it is vital that union reps, members and activists keep calling on their respective unions to vote for the motion to be enacted.

PCS: National Campaign ballot to open on 20 October (9 Oct)

Napo reject pay offer and move to industrial action (9 Oct)

Please table this model motion below in your union meetings and trades councils for the TUC to call a demonstration. Brighton and Hove TUC is one of the latest union organisations to pass it:- 

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 after Andy Burnham’s first Budget.

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 agrees to enact Motion 34 and name the date for a ‘national Saturday demonstration’ before the end of this year.

The 2026 NSSN conference proposed an ‘Action Programme’, to be taken out to the wider trade union movement to take on the cost-of-living crisis (download here).

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.

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.

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Ireland unions call further Public Sector Wide Strike – 12 November

FORSA Public service unions prepare for 24-hour work stoppage – Media Statement on behalf of Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions – The Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said the Government has yet to make a credible offer to resolve the current dispute. Public service unions remain available for discussions and will meet the Government Appointed Group tomorrow, Tuesday 3rd November

INTO: CEC announces second strike day after Government fails to make credible pay offer

Also keep up to date on the websites of striking unions, including ICTU, SIPTU, Unite,

The NSSN stands with mass workers action in France and Spain – support the General Strikes!

Support the November 20 International Youth Strike

Read more on Socialist Students website – On Friday 20 November, students and young people across Europe will be striking in opposition to capitalism, war and racism as part of the International Youth Strike, “Fight for our future, Not their wars”. Tens of thousands of young people are set to walk out and protest across Europe on November 20 – and you can be a part of it. Socialist Students are alongside other organizations, helping students build for November 20.

  • The National Education Union NEU, the largest education union in Europe, has agreed to support the International Youth Strike taking place in Britain and all across Europe on November 20. Unison and the National Union of Students are also supporting
  • Union and College Union UCU: “On Friday 20 November, UCU members at universities across the UK will come together for a national day of action. With jobs, courses and the future of higher education under threat, we’re coming together to fight back.” This is also now supported by Unison

If you’re interested in building a youth strike at your school, college, University or in you’re local area then fill out the form to get in touch with Socialist Students to help build the strike. Model motion for trade unions, union branches and trades councils

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  

RMT urges LNER not to ignore ‘systemic racism’ on rail services (3 Nov) – RAIL union RMT has urged state owned London North Eastern Railway (LNER) to stop turning a blind eye to systemic racism in its supply chain and end low pay on its outsourced contracts. The revelations came before crunch talks at ACAS between RMT and Gate Solutions, which holds a contract to supply food to LNER’s trains, before strike action planned for next Friday (November 13). The union has sent LNER its new report exposing how LNER’s outsourcing contracts create occupational segregation for ethnic minority workers. The research reveals that ethnic minority workers are four time more likely to be on one of LNER’s outsourcing contracts than directly employed. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that RMT research had exposed the dark truth about outsourcing which sustained systemic racism by locking workers into de-skilled, low paid jobs read more

Outsourced rail workers on TransPennine to strike over low pay (2 Nov) – RAIL union RMT announced strike action for next Friday November 13 by outsourced workers on the TransPennine Express (TPE) contract who work for Bidvest Noonan and Rail Gourmet. The publicly owned operator is set to become part of Great British Railways but its outsourced cleaning and catering workers continue to suffer low pay and inferior employment conditions read more

RMT members to strike again over threat to water down safety on East West Rail (16 Oct) – RAIL UNION RMT members working as Train Managers for Chiltern Railways will take a further 24 hours of strike action this Saturday (17 October) as the company continues to refuse to provide guarantees over the safety-critical role of the second person on board proposed East West Rail services. The latest walkout follows strike action last Saturday (10 October) and comes amid growing concerns over plans to introduce driver-only operation on East West Rail, threatening both passenger safety and the existing Train Manager roles at Chiltern Railways. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said the union remained determined to resist any attempt to undermine safety standards on the railway read more

RMT challenges disciplinary action against Tube inspector who intervened during assault (12 Oct) – An RMT member employed as a London Underground Revenue Control Inspector faces possible dismissal after intervening during an assault on staff and a passenger at Bond Street station. The incident happened in October 2025, when the inspector and colleagues were carrying out a ticket check. At the time, two men verbally and physically assaulted staff and a member of the public after inspectors attempted to deal with suspected fare evasion. The RMT member used the minimum force necessary to prevent further assaults on staff and customers. London Underground Limited has referred the inspector to disciplinary proceedings, alleging that his actions fell outside its policy. British Transport Police arrested and charged the two men. Both men were subsequently convicted at City of London Magistrates Court of offences arising from the incident. The passenger who was also assaulted has written to London Underground and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, expressing outrage that the inspector faces possible dismissal following his intervention read more

Workers at Wood Group to take industrial action as company threatens to fire and rehire (5 Oct) – RMT members working for Wood Group will begin strike action tomorrow (October 6) at 00:01 hours in defence of their existing terms and conditions. The dispute is about protecting hard-won agreements and preventing the erosion of terms and conditions read more

Outsourced Mitie Tube workers to take strike action over spycams (2 Oct) – TUBE union RMT announced strike action this weekend by members on the Mitie cleaning Transport for London contract from Sunday October 4 to Wednesday October 7 over the imposition of spycams. Members working as mobile night supervisors on the Mitie contract voted unanimously for strike action after the company installed intrusive inward facing cameras in vans for a ‘trial period’. But Mitie has made clear that it had no plans to remove the dashcams at the end of the trial period claiming that they were for improving the safety of drivers and other road users. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the spycams had been installed without the agreement of the union and called for them to be removed 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

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

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

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

  • The NSSN would like to send our best wishes and solidarity to Craig Johnston RMT Regional Organiser who is dealing with a major health concern.

TSSA

‘Cost of living Budget’ must also deliver on rail – TSSA (28 Oct) – Labour affiliated rail union TSSA has given a broad welcome to measures unveiled in the Budget aimed at tackling the cost of living crisis being felt across the country. However, the union has also called on the Chancellor and Prime Minister to ‘grasp the nettle’ in overturning neoliberalism, growing the economy and investing in the railways read more

TSSA ballots for strike action in Great Western Railway (20 Oct) – Rail union TSSA is to ballot members working across several roles at Great Western Railway (GWR) for possible strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute with the company relating to pay, pensions and workload. Members will each take part in the ballots, which open on Thursday 22nd October and close on Wednesday 11th November. GWR was served with notice to ballot as of 14th October. One dispute is around ‘flexibility allowances’ for shift work, with the union calling for these to come under basic pay. This is a means of protecting salary and enhancing pension rights. In discussion with GWR the union has also pointed out that these workers run the risk of poorer health outcomes and lower life expectancy as a result of night shift working and currently see their pay negatively impacted when taking maternity or other similar leave (because the majority of this is only calculated on the basis of basic pay). The union also believes these workers find it harder to afford mortgages under the existing arrangements and end up paying higher interest rates as a result. The dispute relating to flexible working affects TSSA management members in a number of areas at GWR – Rostering & Resources, Train Service Delivery, Performance Strategy and Network Delivery who carry out critical work that keeps the railways running in roles either in or linked to the Control Centre enabling both trains and train crew to be where they need to be so that train services run. Support for industrial action has already been expressed in an indicative ballot of almost 100 members held by TSSA. On the question of taking strike action 85 per cent of those taking part voted in favour. The figure for those indicating in favour of action short of a strike was 98 per cent. In a separate dispute concerning Clerical Grades – members working for the Finance Directorate within Retail Accounts at GWR are also being balloted for strike and action short of a strike. This is over the addition to their workload of ‘accounts receivable’ work, where they are now expected to chase other organisations to pay unpaid bills, this has never previously been part of the role, but is as a result of a reorganisation, all whilst being graded lower than other equivalent clerical roles within the business, staff are now asking to be re-graded in a bid for parity with other clerical colleagues. Again, in an indicative ballot there was widespread support for industrial action – with 60 per cent in favour of strike action and 80 per cent backing action short of astrike read more

Crackdown on antisocial behaviour must be backed by serious commitments – TSSA (19 Oct) – Transport and travel union TSSA has welcomed the government’s move to issue fines for littering, vaping, playing loud music and threatening behaviour across public transport, but warned that more action is needed. TSSA has been at the forefront of an extensive campaign to stop violence and abuse on the railways, be it against the public or transport workers while at the same time protecting budgets in British Transport Police. The union is calling on the government to go further in the light of the announcement of these new measures read more

Unite     

Wood Group offshore strike action intensifies (3 Nov) – Strike action involving Wood Group offshore workers intensifies today (3 November) as part of a series of stoppages on assets operated by Harbour Energy. The dispute with the Wood Group is based on the company’s decision to slash the pay, and conditions of dozens of workers including the issuing of fire and rehire notices. The latest round of 48-hour strike action started at 00.01 hours and ends at 23.59 hours on 4 November. Unite can confirm that a further 48 hour period of strike action will take place on 17 to 18 November over the same hours read more

Apache offshore workers escalate strike action on offshore platforms (3 Nov) – Union attacks misleading claims from company over pay and working conditions

Unite, the UK’s largest offshore union, can confirm that strike action by 170 Apache offshore workers is set to intensify in a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. A 24-hour period of strike action is scheduled to start from 06.00 hours on 4 November 2026 until 05.59 hours on 5 November. The union is announcing further days of strike action over three days which will involve different offshore assets on alternative days. Strike action by Unite members initially involving the Forties Alpha, Forties Bravo, Forties Delta and Beryl Bravo platforms will start at 18:00 hours on 13 November, and it will conclude at 17:59 hours on 14 November. Apache workers on the Forties Charlie, Forties Echo and Beryl Alpha platforms will then start strike action at 06:00 hours on 15 November until 05:59 hours on 16 November. Unite understands the previous strike action in late October brought all seven offshore assets involved in the pay dispute to a standstill read more

Unite welcomes that government has listened on retrospective detriment to care workers on ILR – but questions two-tier approach (2 Nov) – Unite has welcomed the Home Secretary’s decision to step back from her original plans on indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for care workers, NHS workers and teaching assistants. But the Britain’s largest union has also highlighted double standards that require doctors to work for five years to receive ILR but those working in finance or technology could be eligible in just three. Under the original proposals, the qualifying period for ILR would have doubled from five to ten years for most migrants and potentially tripled to 15 years for care workers. The new rules would also have applied to people who had already moved their lives to the UK on the understanding that settlement was five years away. Today’s changes are a vindication of its campaign. Unite has called for those already working in the UK, including care workers, NHS workers and teaching assistants, to be protected from the changes read more

Majority of airport workers abused at work, Unite survey finds (2 Nov) – A landmark survey by Unite, the leading union in civil air transport, has laid bare the scale of abuse suffered by workers in the sector. Unite has launched its Abuse Doesn’t Fly Campaign which is calling for new laws to be introduced to ensure that violent and abusive passengers are banned from airports. Crucially such bans should be co-ordinated to ensure passengers can’t simply transfer to different airlines and airports. It found abuse and harassment is a regular part of airline and airport staff’s working experience with 72 per cent of ground staff and 71 per cent of cabin crew receiving verbal abuse at least monthly. Meanwhile almost a third (31 per cent) of ground staff and 42 per cent of cabin crew had been physically assaulted. Alcohol was found to be the biggest trigger for abuse from passengers with 95 per cent of cabin crew and 55 per cent of ground staff citing this, followed by flight delays or cancellations and baggage issues read more

Loganair cabin crew accept enhanced pay offer after strike threat (2 Nov) – Unite, Scotland’s leading aviation union, can confirm that Loganair cabin crew have overwhelmingly backed an enhanced pay offer from the airline after the threat of strike action. Approximately 80 Loganair cabin crew based out of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, City of Derry, Isle of Man and Southampton airports backed the deal which will see an eight per cent increase on the basic pay level. Improvements to standby payments and allowances alongside a one-off £500 payment will lift the overall package to 11.3 per cent. The deal will be backdated to April this year read more

Unite: “Buy British” must put existing jobs first, not promises from overseas (30 Oct) – Union welcomes the Defence Secretary’s pledge but says offsets are no substitute for backing UK jobs, and calls for new Typhoons and Airbus for Skynet. Unite welcomes that the Defence Secretary has been listening to Unite on but British procurement pledging to “back British by buying British wherever we can”. But the union warned that the government’s new offset rules for overseas contractors cannot be an excuse for not backing workers in jobs that already exist read more

Unite welcomes pay rise for youth and community workers (30 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has today (30 October) welcomed a national pay rise for youth and community workers but calls on employers to ensure pay meets a minimum of a rise in line with inflation in future years. Thousands of Unite members, and all community youth workers and youth support workers across England and Wales will receive a 3.3 per cent pay rise, backdated to 1 September 2026. The workers are covered by the JNC Pink Book (officially The JNC Agreement), national terms and conditions handbook for youth and community workers in England and Wales. The Unite members covered by the agreement work as community youth workers and youth support workers primarily working in youth clubs and youth hubs read more

Forest School London staff strike over pay cuts to escalate (30 Oct) – Strike action by catering staff and cleaners as a prestigious East London private school are set to escalate from next week, in a dispute around pay cuts. The workers at Forest School in Snaresbrook, East London 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 the school has cut the contract to term time only, so 45 weeks instead of 52 for cleaning staff and 44 weeks instead of 52 for catering staff and many of them are already on just above the minimum wage. Affected staff, who are members of Unite, will take industrial action from Monday (2 November) to 17 November. They previously walked out from 28 September to 2 October, causing disruption to school meals and cleaning services. Despite this, many parents and students have shown their support for the striking workers on the picket line, while the school’s student council has recently voted to back the Unite members in their action read more

Striking Havering bin workers to demonstrate over pay and conditions (29 Oct) – Striking Havering bin workers will demonstrate in front of their local council building and lobby councillors tomorrow (30 October) as part of a dispute around pay and conditions. The workers, who are contracted to Havering Council by FCC Waste Management and work as drivers and loaders have been on strike since Monday (26 October) with this industrial action ending tomorrow (30 October). There are serious issues with workers in Havering being underpaid. Havering, a new starter loader is paid just £12.88 an hour the equivalent role in neighbouring Redbridge is £15.72. New drivers in Havering are paid £17.24 compared to £19.89 in Redbridge. Loaders in Havering are set to be paid 17 per cent less than the new London real living wage of £15.45 read more

Unite 2026 Budget response: marginal gains are welcome, but baby steps will not be enough to deal with the scale of the problem that workers and communities face (28 Oct) – Unite has welcomed that the Chancellor has listened to the union’s calls for investment in jobs and relief on energy bills, as well as asking banks to pay more. However, today’s Budget was the chance to show tangible change for working-class families struggling with the deep cost of living crisis and it has missed that chance read more

Further strikes at East Lancashire Blood Sciences department (27 Oct) – Hospital Trust spending tens of thousands a week on outsourcing rather than resolving dispute. The beleaguered blood sciences department at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT) is set to be hit by further strikes over holiday pay irregularities. Dozens of workers are now taking additional strike action across November due to the Trust failing to resolve issues that has seen workers missing out on owed overtime and absence pay. LTHT has admitted that they have spent over £1million (£60,000 per week) on outsourcing to mitigate the duties of striking workers, instead of using such funds to resolve the dispute. LTHR has refused to engage in arbitration, has refused to acknowledge that there are any problems and recently agreed to make a settlement offer but then reneged and stopped communicating read more

Christmas in peril at Sainsburys as lorry drivers prepare to strike (20 Oct) – Drivers employed by Wincanton in the South West balloted for strikes over low pay. Over 100 lorry drivers who deliver for Sainsburys are being balloted on strike action that would see shelves around Bristol and the South West empty this Christmas. Drivers employed by Wincanton on the Sainsburys contract have been in talks since March but have failed to receive an adequate pay offer from their employer. The most recent offer was four per cent but that still leaves them earning 14 per cent less than colleagues doing the same job at the Basingstoke depot…Unite members are also demanding a 30 minute paid break, time and half pay when they are forced to work on rest days and paid banked hours also paid at time and a half. Despite their pay anniversary being in July, Wincanton has dragged its feet over a reasonable offer. The ballot is open and runs until 4 November. A mandate for industrial action could see strikes crippling deliveries to Sainsburys stores across November and December read more

Government’s NHS pay plan is a real terms pay cut for NHS staff – Unite (20 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading health union, has rebuked the government’s plan of a 2.4 per cent pay rise for NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) staff in 2027/28 as a real terms pay cut. The proposal is contained in written evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, published today. It says anything above 2.4 per cent would force “difficult trade-offs”. Inflation currently stands at 3.1 per cent and that the Bank of England expects it to climb further. Private sector pay settlements are averaging 3.6 per cent this year. A 2.4 per cent rise would deepen a pay squeeze that has run for over a decade read more

Leeds Bradford Airport strikes suspended for talks (19 Oct) – Strikes by over 130 workers at Leeds Bradford Airport starting this week have been suspended to allow for fresh negotiations. Unite members including air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff such as passport control workers and passenger assistance were due to walk out from Friday (23 October) to 2 November. Both air traffic controllers and the hourly paid workers have heavily rejected the airport’s latest pay offers. However, members have agreed to pause industrial action to allow for talks between the airport and Unite, which will be brokered by the conciliatory service Acas read more

Strikes by lowest paid health workers in London to continue (19 Oct) – 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 take further strike action over the coming weeks due to poverty levels of pay. 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’s management. Alongside poverty pay levels staff have a number of long running complaints that the trust’s 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. Striking workers will also march on Downing Street to express their anger directly to politicians in this latest round of industrial action. Failure to address their concerns could see strikes escalating into the new year… Workers at GSTT will head to the picket line on19-21 October with more strike dates planned throughout the autumn if NHS management don’t come back to the negotiating table with real solutions read more

Great Yarmouth council workers strike halted after new offer (16 Oct) – Great Yarmouth council maintenance and repair staff will be balloted on a new offer on terms and conditions. Strikes starting on Monday (19 October) by 40 workers at Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) have been halted following a new offer from the employer. The Unite members, who are maintenance and repair workers, were due to walk out on Monday and Tuesday (20 October) in a dispute around terms and conditions. However, this has now been called off following an offer of improvements from the council. Workers will now be balloted on whether or not to accept this read more

Taylor Wimpey engaging in fire and rehire of workers (16 Oct) – Unite has criticised housebuilder Taylor Wimpey for firing and rehiring some of its North East construction workers. Taylor Wimpey has handed dismissal notices to 31 joiners and 19 scaffolders for the purpose of saving money on bonus pay. Taylor Wimpey is planning to cut bonus pay by over 30 per cent. In construction, bonus pay frequently makes up half of workers’ actual pay. Termination notices were given to workers on 1 October, which they were forced to sign by 7 October. Taylor Wimpey is now planning to hire them on inferior contracts. Workers, with the support of Unite, have attempted to raise concerns via several collective grievances and were denied their statutory right to do so. Meanwhile, they have also requested financial information which would have been vital for a meaningful consultation and to come to an agreement but this has never been supplied… Unite is in the process of considering all options available including industrial, legal and political avenues to ensure the firing and rehiring of these workers is reversed read more

Glasgow Caledonian University set for closure as Unite members join strike action (14 Oct) – All four campus trade unions take action for first time at university. Unite membership at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) will take strike action on 15 October as all four campus unions are set to walk out for the first time over planned job cuts. Over 50 Unite members will join the picket lines after overwhelmingly backing strike action in response to job cuts and the university’s failure to commit to no compulsory redundancies. GCU management propose to cut approximately 50 posts and refuse to rule out compulsory redundancies under organisational change proposals designed to bridge a £33m drop in income over the last two years read more

Diageo strike action suspended at Cameronbridge (14 Oct) – Planned strikes by Unite members at the Cameronbridge distillery, owned by drinks giant Diageo, have been suspended. Following one day of strike action that took place on 12 October, further planned strikes over job losses on 15, 19 and 22 October have been called off…Action short of strike, including an overtime ban, will continue while talks take place read more

Cardiff Bus workers in strike vote after drivers penalised during heatwave (13 Oct) – Workers who highlighted dangerous conditions have pay stopped. Cardiff is facing being brought to a standstill this autumn after Cardiff Bus workers prepare to vote for strike action. Over 500 drivers, engineers, cleaners and other workers are being balloted after 11 workers had their pay stopped when they refused to work in highly dangerous conditions during the summer heatwave. One driver was so unwell due to the heat they required medical attention yet the diktat from Cardiff Bus was that they, and every other driver, should continue working. During the heatwaves, ‘in cab’ temperatures sky rocketed and many members felt at risk while driving and some made the right decision that it was too dangerous for them and their passengers to continue read more

NHS lorry driver strike suspended (13 Oct) – A planned strike involving nearly 200 lorry drivers, based in based in Derbyshire, Somerset, Kent, West Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Cheshire, Suffolk and Newcastle, who deliver NHS supplies has been suspended. Strikes were due to take place from 13 to 15 October, 20 to 22 October and 27 to 29 October read more

Workers ballot for strikes over cuts to East London NHS services (12 Oct) – Swingeing staff cuts set to put the health of the public at risk. Health workers in East London are to vote on strike action in a dispute with the East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) over plans to axe over 330 posts as part of a £25 million cuts plan. Over 500 staff who work in roles across ELFT including mental health nurses, psychologists, health care assistants, and administrative workers are being balloted over swingeing cuts that would decimate services and put public health at risk. According to a finance report released on 3 June, the trust plans to cut Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Adult Psychology, Community Health Services and other services patients rely upon…The ballot for industrial action runs until 9 November. If successful, widespread strike action could take place throughout this winter. The ballot is also over the removal of a Unite branch secretary in an act of trade union victimisation, a dispute over the care navigator position and the wider issue of low NHS pay 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

Hundreds of City & Guilds workers to be balloted for strikes over ‘vindictive’ work from home policies (12 Oct) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is preparing to formally ballot hundreds of its members at City & Guilds over sudden and ‘vindictive’ work from home policies. City & Guilds has instructed all staff that they must work from the office for at least two days a week and more if instructed, even though many workers were employed on the basis of working remotely and have been doing so since well before Covid. Moreover, current CEO Andy Moss has previously encouraged the offering of flexible location contracts as a strategy to overcome recruitment difficulties. City & Guilds does not provide overnight accommodation or expenses for staff who live long distances, often hundreds of miles, from the offices they are expected to attend. Those with children are also facing significant difficulties with arranging costly day and overnight childcare due to the new policy. Unite believes the sudden diktat has been issued from City & Guilds new Greek owner PeopleCert as a way to try and force workers out of their jobs without announcing redundancies read more

Age UK call centre and office workers pay strike ballot opens (12 Oct) – Age UK’s staff including call centre and office staff are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The 200 low-paid workers are angry after years of below-inflation pay rises have resulted in their wages falling by 15.3 per cent in real terms since 2021. Industrial relations have deteriorated further since Age UK imposed an insulting pay rise of just two per cent for most workers amid a cost-of-living crisis. Age UK claimed that it could only afford two per cent, because it was concerned that its reserves would drop to £25 million. However, the charity has now confirmed that its reserves are forecast to stand at £31 million by the end of the year read more

Sanctuary Housing must recognise Unite (11 Oct) – Workers the biggest housing association employer, Sanctuary, have been calling on senior management to recognise their union, Unite, for years. Many local managers see the importance of working with Unite and, in practice, they engage with Unite reps but the senior bosses refuse to engage read more on Unite LE/1111 Housing Workers Branch

Unite secures Forestry Commission workers above RPI inflation pay rise (8 Oct) – Lowest paid workers will go from just above minimum wage to Real Living Wage. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured above RPI inflation pay rises for hundreds of Forestry Commission workers across the country. Workers across a range of roles will receive pay rises of between 3.5 and 5.5 per cent – RPI inflation currently stands at 3.4 per cent. Those on the lowest pay band, which is just above the minimum wage, will receive a 5.5 per cent pay rise taking them to the real living wage of £13.45 an hour read more

Gate Gourmet strike averted as workers win improvements to conditions (8 Oct) – There will no longer be a threat of disruption to inflight meals operating on British Airways CityFlyer routes from London City Airport as Unite members at Gate Gourmet have won significant improvements to conditions. Earlier this summer the affected workers, who are delivery drivers of inflight meals, were TUPE transferred from Dnata to Gate Gourmet. Staff were based at Barking, however the Civil Aviation Authority closed the site and Gate Gourmet relocated them to Gatwick – a 50-mile trip away. Unite members at Gate Gourmet were due to walk out later this month after voting for strike action over the situation. However, following negotiations between Unite and Gate Gourmet members are now working directly from City Airport. Previously, when they were working from Gatwick they would have to drive for up to two hours there, pick up their truck, drive to City to work from there, do a 10-hour shift, then drive the vehicle back to Gatwick before going home. This was causing workers significant fatigue read more

Oxford University Press workers to demonstrate against offshoring plans (6 Oct) – on 7 October, striking Oxford University Press (OUP) finance operations staff will continue their fight against offshoring plans with a rally outside OUP’s headquarters. As well as protesting outside OUP, 30 Unite members at the company are currently on strike until Friday (9 October) over plans to move their roles to India. They have been seeking a resolution since the announcement was made in June. The workers were given a deadline to sign the settlement agreement a day before the first planned industrial action or be transferred to new employer EXL and lose the standard redundancy terms, which has been described as ‘intimidating’, and they have also been asked to stay on for six months to train their replacements read more

Strikes by MoD drivers suspended (5 Oct) – Planned strikes by drivers at the Ministry of Defence have been suspended following last minute concessions by the employer. Drivers has been due to strike over a complete breakdown in workplace relations but, having announced strike action, the MoD came back to the negotiating table with a new commitment to resolve long-standing issues 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CWU

CWU responds to proposed Virgin Media O2 job losses (2 Nov) – CWU Assistant Secretary Stephen Albon said: “The most recent news briefed out to the media will undoubtedly leave member feeling stressed and worried about their long-term job prospects…” read more

Strong legal safeguards needed over “damaging” workplace surveillance, CWU says (2 Nov) – Workplace surveillance has created a climate of fear and distrust among workers, trade unionists have warned a government consultation. Responding to the recent government Make Work Pay consultation on workplace monitoring technologies, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has backed proposals to impose a duty for employers to consult with trade unions over the introduction or modification of workplace monitoring read more

Delivery – the right kit for the right job! (29 Oct) – Once again, you’re out there in rainy and windy weather serving the public. And now more than ever, it’s vital that every postman and postwoman is issued with the right kit. The last time we had bad weather, we received reports of new starters not being given uniform, and of some managers saying they’d not issue proper the kit to new starters for their first four weeks. If this is happening at your office, this is in direct breach of the Uniform National Agreement, which clearly states that new starters are entitled to basic uniform from day one read more

Capita TVL members vote for strike action (21 Oct) – Capita bosses have been warned to “listen to employees and act accordingly”, as nine out of ten TV Licensing (TVL) workers have voted for strike action. Communication Workers Union (CWU) Assistant Secretary Andy Furey has urged the outsourcing giant to engage with the union through the Acas arbitration body, after workers voted by 91.5% to take strike action against what they saw as a derisory pay offer. The vote, which was on a turnout of 71.5%, followed September’s unanimous rejection by members of the same pay offer 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]     

National Campaign ballot to open on 20 October (9 Oct) – PCS has formally served dispute and ballot notices on all 138 employers covered by our national campaign, PCS has formally served dispute and ballot notices on all 138 employers covered by our national campaign, marking an important step forward in our fight for improved pay, pensions, jobs, terms and conditions, and workplace rights. Subject to the completion of the final statutory requirements, the national ballot is expected to open on 20 October 2026 and close on 1 December 2026 read more

National ballot: our fears over future of work and job security (2 Nov) – Fears over the future of work and job security have been cited as reasons by PCS members to support our national ballot as we mark two weeks since voting opened. PCS is running a ballot until 1 December 2026, which is about securing meaningful improvements for our members on pay, pensions, terms and conditions, job security and industrial relations. The ballot is a combination of electronic, online voting and postal voting read more

Email your MP – Back PCS’s National Campaign (30 Oct) – Use our new e-action to urge your MP to support PCS’s national campaign for fair pay and conditions, secure jobs, decent pensions and stronger workplace rights read more

Capita crisis should never have come to this (2 Nov) – PCS members affected by the civil service pensions crisis continue to call for their scheme to be insourced. Since Capita took over the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), countless retired or retiring civil servants have suffered financial hardship. PCS continues to meet regularly with representatives of the Cabinet Office to address this crisis. And the union has joined the Insource Now! campaign with Unison and RMT to pressure the government to fulfil its election promise of carrying out “the largest wave of insourcing in a generation.” Many people affected by Capita’s pensions chaos believe that the scheme must be brought back in-house, serviced by civil servants like them read more

Save Johnston House: New e-action launched to defend Motherwell jobs (2 Nov) – Email your MP today and help protect 500 jobs, vital public services and Motherwell’s future. A new e-action has been launched calling on members and supporters to email their MP and oppose plans to close Johnston House in Motherwell. The campaign comes after the Department for Work and Pensions announced on 25 June 2026 that Johnston House is one of nine sites earmarked for closure. For many in Motherwell, the decision raises painful memories of the devastating industrial losses that transformed the town in the 1980s and early 1990s read more

Future of HMRC’s AA grade – Voluntary Redundancy (VR) scheme launched (29 Oct) – PCS challenges HMRC’s claim that a redundancy situation exists and will hold a members’ meeting on Tuesday, 3 November. HMRC has today launched a voluntary redundancy (VR) scheme for all AA staff in HMRC. AA staff have six weeks to decide on whether to accept the offer of VR. The indications are that most AA staff will accept the VR offer and PCS respects that. We accept that the option under VR to obtain early access to the civil service pension with the actuarial reduction bought out may be an attractive option for some AAs. PCS is committed to supporting AA members who wish to stay either in HMRC or in the wider Civil Service. The PCS lead negotiators on this issue have had regard to the Resolution EM9 passed in relation to AAs at PCS group conference this year read more

Stop the outsourcing of Student Loans Company jobs (29 Oct) – Use our new e-action to urge your MP to oppose plans to transfer SLC jobs to Capgemini and protect secure public sector employment in Glasgow, Darlington and Llandudno Junction read more

Scottish Government digital workers ballot for industrial action (28 Oct) – More than 800 PCS members are being balloted after over 1,100 digital workers lost a longstanding £5,000 annual pay supplement. The dispute centres on the Scottish Government’s decision to replace the existing Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) supplement with a new Government Digital and Data (GDD) supplement. The change has significantly reduced eligibility, leaving around 71% of workers in the profession no longer entitled to the payment read more

PCS repeats calls for DE&S pay award to be paid immediately (28 Oct) – PCS has called for a pay award in Defence Equipment and Support to be expedited to support our members during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and we are working with legacy DE&S management to help ensure this happens read more

V&A strike suspended for talks (26 Oct) – PCS members at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum have called off this week’s strike action. PCS reps at the V&A have decided to suspend the planned 29 and 30 October strike to allow for ACAS-facilitated talks, after the employer sent an improved offer. Should these negotiations fail to produce a deal that is acceptable to our members, however, PCS will announce further strike action. PCS members at the V&A are determined to get the deal they deserve. And they continue to have a strong mandate for industrial action. PCS had already entered negotiations with the V&A over the provision of water bottles and adequate seating for front of house staff at V&A Storehouse. Now, the V&A has also made an improved offer on pay. PCS members are demanding a reasonable pay award and London Living Wage accreditation. They are also looking for heat mitigation measures, improved food offers at the East sites and a new industrial relations framework. You can support our members by using our e-action to email your MP read more

MHCLG members to strike on Budget Day (21 Oct) – The action is part of a long-running dispute over office closures, arbitrary office attendance and changes to location and recruitment policies. During October, PCS members working in the Finance and RED directorates of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have taken three weeks of targeted strike action, withdrawing their labour to stand up for colleagues across the department and to demand a fairer deal for staff. Members have also been taking part in action short of strike for the past six months, as part of the branch’s action to support the “Our Work, Our Way” campaign. The dispute centres on the closure of six regional offices, affecting hundreds of staff. There are also concerns over strict office attendance targets and recruitment policies that could restrict future opportunities for staff based in regional offices and contribute to further closures. Members continue to express concerns that the department is not listening, and that despite new leadership in MHCLG, they have not seen progress to addressing their demands. Given the lack of movement, PCS MHCLG is calling all members to take strike action on Wednesday 28 October read more

Ofwat members vote overwhelmingly for strike action (20 Oct) – In the ballot that closed on Monday (19), 74% of members said they were willing to strike over assurances on jobs and their future. PCS members in Ofwat have voted in favour of industrial action to secure guarantees on jobs, terms and conditions, pay, and wider working conditions. In the ballot that closed on Monday 19 October, 73.72% of those who voted said they were willing to take strike action and 91.3% voted yes for action short of strike. The ballot result shows the strength of feeling among union members working in the water regulator. Over a year after the government announced plans to abolish Ofwat and create a new water industry regulator, these members are still waiting for the assurances they need about their future. PCS will write to the employer and ministers in both Defra and the Welsh Government to demand swift action to deliver basic assurances on the members’ conditions of employment. If these assurances are not provided, PCS will consider a plan of strike action and action short of strike in order to secure these demands read more

Ask your MSPs to support Marine Energy jobs in Scotland (16 Oct) – PCS members in Wave Energy Scotland have, through engagement with Scottish politicians, secured the submission of a cross-party Scottish Parliament motion. An e-action has been created to enable individuals to easily ask their MSPs to support the important motion, Realising the Economic Potential of Marine Energy (S7M-01592). All PCS members living in Scotland are encouraged to use the e-action to ask their MSPs to support the motion, and to share the link with colleagues and family who are also resident in Scotland read more

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

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

PCS members in Sodexo on strike again – PCS members working in Sodexo started their second wave of strike action today (17 July) 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 strikes landmark access agreement with Google (2 Nov) – Prospect union have announced that they have successfully struck an agreement with Google that will give the union the right to speak to Google employees in the UK read more

Prospect members to take further strike action at Royal Museums Greenwich (22 Oct) – Prospect members at Royal Museums Greenwich will take further strike action on 31 October as part of a long-running dispute over pay, terms and conditions. The union members took strike action for two days in August, resulting in the closure of some sites and the cancellation of a number of events related to the solar eclipse. While some progress has been made in negotiations with management, particularly over use of fixed-term contracts and annual leave, the union is frustrated with the absence of binding commitments and timelines which it says risk undermining the agreement. The union says that its remaining demands are perfectly reasonable and that they hope that management will agree to them so that they can call off the strike read more

V&A strike escalated to all London sites (19 Oct) – Prospect members at the V&A in London are to escalate their industrial action by going on strike on the 29th and 30th of October (half term) in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The strike action is being coordinated with PCS members who are also striking on those days in a parallel dispute. It will affect V&A South Kensington, V&A East, V&A Storehouse and Young V&A 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   

Staff and families to protest against children’s services cuts in Suffolk (3 Nov) – UNISON leads demonstration over threats to healthy children services and family. Suffolk children’s services staff and families who depend on their support are to protest against planned cuts, UNISON says today. They will join a protest outside Suffolk County Council headquarters in Ipswich at 10am on Friday over the future of child services and children’s centres. Councillors will vote on plans to slash funding for health services for children on Monday. The cuts are opposed overwhelmingly by the public, UNISON says read more

Leeds hospital bosses need to get back to talks to end pay strikes (3 Nov) – Theatre assistants are on an indefinite strike in their campaign to be paid fairly. Senior managers at four Leeds hospitals are refusing to resolve a long-running dispute with low-paid staff. Theatre assistants at Leeds General Infirmary, St James’s University Hospital, Chapel Allerton Hospital and Wharfedale Hospital in Otley are striking indefinitely because they say the trust is not paying them properly for their work. The workers are responsible for making sure operating theatres are clean and sterile. They use specialist equipment and support surgical teams, yet they’re on the lowest grade in the NHS and paid less than £13 an hour. The staff want to be regraded and paid fairly for their duties, which include clinical tasks that should be paid at a higher rate. The union says although hospital managers agreed to a meeting last week, they offered no suggestions on how to find a solution read more

UNISON responds to home secretary’s visa reforms (2 Nov) – Some changes are overdue and welcome – but wider, serious concerns remain. UNISON has partially welcomed the home secretary’s announcement on visa reforms this afternoon (2 November) – but the union has continued to demand a sector-wide visa for social care read more

Stop union-busting in Leicester – In the summer, we wrote to you about an important fight against union busting in Leicester (From Megaphone UK) – Dozens of school support staff at Ash Field Academy were suffering financial hardship as they took over 15 days of strike action. Their rep, Tom Barker, had been suspended just days after organising a successful strike ballot over staffing and safety. Hundreds of you chipped in, helping raise £3,735 to help these UNISON members sustain their campaign for Tom to be reinstated. They’ve just called another strike day and rally after Tom was summarily dismissed at the end of last month. If you live locally, can you join the rally on Wednesday morning? Or can you send a message of solidarity to the workers?

RSVP: Rally to Reinstate Rep Tom Barker

Or send a message of solidarity on Kudoboard!

Here’s a message from Sam, the UNISON Leicester Branch Secretary, thanking everyone who donated to the hardship fund: “Thank you all for the overwhelming support you’ve shown — it’s been a huge boost to everyone involved in the campaign, especially the striking members. They’ve been able to take much more sustained action as a direct result of the donations made. Your support has been crucial in allowing us to continue the fight against trade union victimisation — a cause that’s vital to the whole labour movement. The help and the solidarity are greatly appreciated.”

Last summer, managers announced plans to cut student-facing jobs at Ash Field, a special educational needs (SEN) school. Staff raised concerns over the health and safety impact, but senior managers refused to shift. So, in the autumn, members balloted for strike action to reverse the cuts. Tom played a key role in organising the ballot, with 86% voting in favour. Just days later, he was suspended from work pending investigation of unspecified allegations. And now he has been summarily dismissed following three investigations over an 11-month period. UNISON is clear, this smells like trade union victimisation.

Next week, the workers will be back out on strike on Wednesday. Can you join their picket line, running between 7.30am and 11am, to show your support?

Staff at Kent County Council are paying out of own pocket to do their jobs, says UNISON (29 Oct) – Council staff launch ‘Kent Workers Can’t Run on Empty’ campaign demanding Reform-run Kent County Council pay fair mileage rates read more

NHS staff 2.4% pay proposal ‘derisory’, says UNISON (19 Oct) – ‘This government came into office on a promise of change. Two years later, it’s pledging hope. But most NHS workers have seen neither’ read more

Healthcare workers in Wiltshire and Somerset to strike over safety and workloads (19 Oct) – Staff working for HCRG Care Services in Bath, Chippenham and Swindon will take 24 hours of strike action from 8am on Wednesday read more

Scandal-hit Essex mental health NHS trust wants to scrap security guards (15 Oct) – EPUT plans to remove security staff from most of its sites read more

Support the strike by Barnet Unison members at The Barnet Group (TBG) – 24-hour strike 27th October

‘They Were Heroes During Covid. Now They Are Fighting for Fair Pay. We Must Stand With Them’ – Branch Secretary Blog — John Burgess, Barnet UNISON

On Tuesday 13 October, Barnet UNISON announced that our members working for The Barnet Group had voted overwhelmingly for strike action. 88% voted YES on a 55% turnout. That is a powerful result, and I want to explain why this dispute matters to every Barnet UNISON member, not just those working for The Barnet Group. Who are The Barnet Group workers? The Barnet Group (TBG) is a company wholly owned by Barnet Council. It includes Barnet Homes, which provides housing services, and Your Choice Barnet, which provides social care and support services.

These are not optional services. Housing and social care are essential public services which councils have statutory responsibilities to provide or arrange.

Our members include care and support workers looking after vulnerable adults, and housing workers helping residents with their homes, repairs and housing needs.

They are public service workers. They work for organisations owned by Barnet Council. But they are not treated the same as Barnet Council employees.

Many members reading this may be surprised to learn that TBG workers do not automatically receive the same pay, annual leave, sick pay, overtime rates or other terms and conditions as Council staff. They also do not have the same access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). How can that be right? Read more on Barnet Unison Facebook Page

UNISON secures major improvements on pay and grading at Glasgow City Council (5 Oct) – UNISON has secured significant new protections for Glasgow City Council workers following intensive negotiations involving the council and Scottish government, says the union today (Monday). Following an intervention by the Scottish government, a proposal for pay protection for workers facing losses has been increased to three years, UNISON says. The council has also agreed to continue discussions with UNISON on outstanding issues including lower-paid workers, allowances, unevaluated jobs, equality impacts and the operation of the new pay model. UNISON says the latest position creates a route towards a ballot of its membership, without the council dictating the union’s recommendation or communications. Under the proposals, the council has agreed not to issue fire and rehire notices during the ballot process. The union says important issues remain unresolved and negotiations will continue before members vote, including further investment to address detriment and the position of workers whose jobs have still not been evaluated.

  • Glasgow City UNISON branch secretary Chris Sermanni said: “UNISON stood firm because Glasgow’s workers deserved better than what was originally put on the table. That position has secured significant movement. Staff will have three years’ pay protection and further commitments around workers facing detriment. There’s now a path for UNISON members to give their verdict without the immediate threat of dismissal and re-engagement hanging over them. Importantly though, this isn’t UNISON’s acceptance of the pay and grading package and the fight for improvements isn’t over. Thousands of workers are owed substantial and long-overdue increases and we want them to receive every penny. At the same time, other workers face significant losses and some still don’t even know their final outcome. The period ahead will be used to keep fighting to give the whole workforce the information they need to make their decision. Ultimately, it will be UNISON members who decide.” Read more
  • Read more on UNISON Glasgow City Branch Facebook Page

Glasgow Caledonian University staff to strike for two weeks over redundancies (1 Oct) – Security staff, cleaners, couriers, accommodation and registry workers at Glasgow Caledonian University are to strike across 15 days from tomorrow in a dispute over compulsory redundancies, says UNISON today (Wednesday). The union says employees will walk out en masse tomorrow and on Thursday 15 October, while individual staff groups will take selective strike action every day during the next two weeks. UNISON says up to 100 jobs remain at risk of compulsory redundancy. The union was in negotiations through arbitration organisation Acas earlier this month. But the talks failed after the university remained intent on pursuing compulsory redundancies 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

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

Strikes back on at four Greater Manchester hospitals after payment offer withdrawal, says UNISON (19 Aug) – Hundreds of NHS operating theatre staff at four hospitals in Greater Manchester will be back on strike for three days next week in a dispute about overtime payments, says UNISON today (Wednesday). 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, are walking out on Monday 24, Wednesday 26 and Friday 28 August. 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

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

Enough Is Enough: Defend Daisy Hill (23 Oct) – NIPSA members have made their message clear. Across the Health and Social Care service, workers are demanding fair pay, safe staffing levels, and properly funded public services. In the Southern Trust, that fight also means defending maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital. The proposed transfer of maternity services away from Daisy Hill has been presented as a temporary response to consultant recruitment difficulties. However, recruitment challenges should be met with investment, workforce planning and long-term solutions, not the removal of vital local services. Healthcare workers and local communities should not be forced to pay the price for political decisions and years of underfunding. Stormont ministers and the UK Government must take responsibility for funding decisions that have left health services under increasing pressure. The impact of losing local maternity services will be felt most by working families, particularly those who face additional travel costs and longer journeys to access care read more

Education Workers Warn of Industrial Action as Minister Delays Agreed 3.3% Pay Award (15 Oct) – Education Support Staff Trade Unions are extremely concerned that the Education Minister has not yet given approval for the Education Authority (EA) to implement the NJC pay award of 3.3%, following NJC pay being settled in August. This is despite the commitment from the Department of Education (DE) since 2015 for workers to receive their contractual and legal entitlements to pay awards when they fall due. Education workers in other UK regions have received their 2026/27 3.3% pay uplift, backdated to 1st April, with EA employees in Northern Ireland still without any clarity as to when the pay uplift will be in place here. This means that a promise made by DE that pay awards would be implemented when they fall due is now broken. Education workers are extremely frustrated and angry at the failure of the Education Minister and DE to implement their contractual entitlement to the pay award. Education Support Staff Trade Unions wrote to the Education Minister, Paul Givan, last week requesting that he gives urgent attention to approving the NJC pay award. The Education Minister has responded that in the absence of an agreed Executive Budget for 2026/27, the pay award remains part of wider Executive discussions around public-sector pay and he is not in a position to provide approval to implement the award. Education Support Staff Trade Unions have repeatedly expressed our serious concerns at the inadequate funding available for education services and want to see a budget that delivers against the level of need. But we are very clear that NJC pay is a contractual and legal entitlement and cannot be held back by the delays in the NI Executive agreeing a budget. The Education Minister must recognise the contractual right of the workforce and give approval to the EA to implement the pay award. The Minister should further make funding available for Voluntary Grammar Schools and Grant Maintained Schools to implement the pay award. Any further delay in implementing the pay award risks exacerbating difficulties in recruiting and retaining the workforce and damaging workforce morale. The Education Minister should demonstrate that he values the immense contribution made by the many thousands of Education workers delivering services across our education system. Education workers will not accept their contractual rights being denied and cannot be caught in the middle of the ongoing budgetary issues. The longer the Education Minister delays on giving approval for the NJC pay award, the greater the potential of industrial action becomes. Education Support Staff Trade Unions are now seeking an urgent meeting with the Education Minister for the immediate approval of the NJC pay award for Education workers read more [The Education Support Staff Trade Union Side comprises NIPSA, UNISON, GMB and UNITE and represents thousands of non-teaching education workers across Northern Ireland]

Health Strike Action – NIPSA to ballot health workers for industrial action over cuts, pay delays and staffing crisis (9 Oct) – The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) is set to formally notify Health and Social Care Health and Social Care employers of its intention to ballot members for industrial action as growing anger mounts over proposed cuts, delayed pay awards and increasing pressure on frontline services. The ballot will open on 21 October and close in November, with thousands of Health and Social Care workers being asked whether they are prepared to take industrial action to defend jobs, staffing levels, pay and services. The move follows NIPSA’s Enough Is Enough campaign and an extensive consultation with members working across the Health and Social Care Trusts. Members have told the union they are no longer prepared to accept a cycle of broken promises, increasing workloads, unsafe staffing levels and cuts to services. NIPSA’s decision comes after confirmation that Health and Social Care organisations will be expected to deliver savings of more than 12% over the next three years. The union has warned that, after years of so-called efficiency measures, cuts of this scale cannot be delivered without damaging services and impacting staff read more

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

  

NEU

New remit for the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in England (22 Oct) – Commenting on the Secretary of State’s remit letter to the STRB on teacher pay and conditions in England published today, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “At a time when we desperately need the Government to step up and deliver the properly funded education system our children and young people deserve, the narrowness of the new STRB remit is shocking.  Teachers have lost around a fifth of the value of their pay in real terms against RPI inflation since 2010 and inflation is on an upward trajectory – but the STRB remit does not include a review mechanism on the proposed 3 per cent pay increase for September 2027. Unfair blocks to pay progression, often due to school funding issues, remain in place and drive experienced teachers out of the profession. Yet there is nothing in the remit about the fair, mandatory and transparent national teacher pay structure needed to support recruitment and retention…” read more

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

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   

EIS, TUC and STUC Write to Princess Royal, Scottish and UK Governments over Continuing Disputes at City of Glasgow College (3 Nov) – The EIS, has written to the Princess Royal and the Scottish and UK Governments to raise serious concerns over the management of City of Glasgow College (CoGC), in light of continuing industrial disputes at the college. The College – where a Health & Safety dispute has been ongoing for almost a year and another dispute over management style and institutional culture was lodged in the summer – recently announced that HRH The Princess Royal has been appointed as Honorary Chancellor of the College. In letters co-signed by the General Secretaries of the EIS, Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), concerns have been raised with HRH The Princess Royal, the Scottish and UK Governments over the continuing disputes at the College read more

EIS ULA Continues Strike Action at GCU as Redundancy Threat Persists (28 Oct) – Staff at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), represented by EIS ULA, took further strike action on Monday and will also be on strike Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week in defence of jobs and to secure and maintain high-quality education at the Institution. Thursday will mark their twenty fifth day of action in this dispute so far, with a further eight days scheduled and additional dates being considered beyond this. The continuing strike action follows the University management’s continued refusal to withdraw threats of compulsory redundancies, leaving staff with no alternative but to remain resolute in their industrial action to protect the future of the University. A focal point of this week’s action is scheduled for Thursday, when Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and Roz Foyer, General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), will join those on the picket line to demonstrate nationwide trade union solidarity read more

Long-Running City of Glasgow Health and Safety Dispute to be Raised at Holyrood (28 Oct) – The long-running Health & Safety dispute at City of Glasgow College (CoGC) is set to be raised at the Scottish Parliament 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

Updates – re: local bargaining payments for primary teachers working in a substitute/part-time capacity; dispute resolution arrangements; and pay deal negotiations read more

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 

UCU condemns new settlement rules that leave migrant workers facing years of insecurity (3 Nov) – Responding to the Home Secretary’s announcement, UCU general Secretary Jo Grady today said: “It is shocking to see these anti-immigrant reforms announced by a Labour Home Secretary. Enabling employers to hold the threat of deportation over migrant workers’ heads undermines collective bargaining for all workers. It is profoundly unfair to change the rules on settlement for people who have built their lives here in the UK, made our country their home and dedicated years of their working lives contributing to our society…” read more

UCU members at University of Lincoln declare formal dispute in lecture recording row (30 Oct) – Staff at the University of Lincoln have declared a formal industrial dispute in a row over plans to make lecture recording compulsory, UCU announced today. Members of UCU Lincoln voted overwhelmingly this week to enter an industrial dispute over a new policy that makes lecture recording compulsory except in limited circumstances. Staff argue that the policy removes academics’ right to choose whether their teaching is recorded and fails to provide sufficient safeguards against recordings being used for other purposes read more

UCU condemns the Israeli military attacks on the Islamic University of Gaza (28 Oct) – Statement by Dr Jo Grady, UCU general secretary: The University and College Union (UCU) condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli military attacks on the Islamic University of Gaza on 25 October, which killed three university staff members and injured several students, some critically, as they attended lectures. We extend our deepest condolences and solidarity to the families of those killed, to the injured, and to our colleagues and students at the Islamic University of Gaza and the academic community across Palestine read more

UCU and Unison members at INTO Manchester declare dispute in pay and workload row (22 Oct) – Staff at INTO Manchester have declared a formal industrial dispute in a row over pay and workload, the University and College Union (UCU) announced today. INTO Manchester is a private international study centre in central Manchester, that prepares international students for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at UK universities. It charges students as much as £30,000, and in 2025 made a net profit of almost £9 million. The decision follows a vote that closed last week where 91% of UCU members who voted called for a formal dispute, in a vote which paves the way for potential industrial action.  Unison members in support roles at the centre are also in dispute and moving to ballot, which could result in staff from all departments across the centre taking strike action read more

Strike ballot at Aberdeen University raises prospect of Autumn industrial action (21 Oct) – Members of UCU at Aberdeen University are being asked if they are willing to take future strike action in a ballot that opens today. The dispute is over job cuts at the university, including the failure by management to rule out compulsory redundancies, and the lack of consultation between management and the union. The dispute also relates to the dismissal of long-standing union rep at the university, Professor David Anderson, and concerns about him being victimised by management for carrying out trade union activities. Last month the union withdrew from negotiations with management over his dismissal. The ballot also asks members if they are willing to take action short of strike, such as working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and including a possible marking and assessment boycott. The branch took ten days of strikes earlier in the year over job cuts and the possibility of compulsory redundancies. The ballot closes on 30 November. A petition set up calling on university management to reinstate David Anderson has been signed by over 1,100 people in just over a week, with signatories signing from across the word including 100s from France. The union said that the speed with which people had signed and the support from the academic community and beyond abroad showed the dismissal risked damaging the university’s reputation at a time when the university’s attractiveness to international students and researchers has never been more important read more

Lakes College UCU members declare dispute in workload row (20 Oct) – Staff at Lakes College in Cumbria have declared a formal industrial dispute in a row over workload, the University and College Union (UCU) announced today. The decision follows a branch vote last week where UCU members overwhelmingly called for a formal dispute, in a vote which paves the way for potential industrial action. The dispute centres around on-going issues around excessive workload, stress and timetabling changes with little communication, and the impact this is having on both staff and student wellbeing. The union said staff and students shouldn’t have to suffer the mistakes of senior management and added that industrial action could be inevitable unless meaningful discussions and actions plans are put in place to address staff concerns read more

Union calls on Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to open up about cuts plans and rule out job losses (15 Oct) – UCU is calling on Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) to be open about potential cuts and rule out job losses. LSTM is seeking savings of approximately £8 million this financial year, with similar savings in each of the following two years, as announced by the vice-chancellor in all-staff communications at the end of July. A voluntary severance process has taken place, with significant redundancies now being considered. Staff unions have not received a sufficiently detailed explanation of the plans and UCU is calling on LSTM management to share its intentions with the unions, and outline in full its financial position, the proposed savings, the scale and distribution of any potential redundancies, and the potential impact on research programmes, education, and specialist expertise read more

University of Sunderland staff declare dispute in fight against job cuts (15 Oct) – Staff at the University of Sunderland have declared a formal industrial dispute in a row over job cuts, UCU announced today. The decision follows a branch meeting last week where UCU members overwhelmingly called for a dispute, a vote which paves the way for potential industrial action. The dispute centres on the university’s plans to operate ‘on a budget that costs £40m less than it does currently’ and will involve cuts in both staff and non-staff costs. The dispute also follows the controversial decision taken by the university to employ all new academic tutors through a wholly owned separate company, with these staff ineligible for the industry-standard Teachers’ Pension Scheme. The union has said that this means that the University of Sunderland now has a two-tier workforce read more

UCU condemns De Montfort University plans to employ staff through subsidiary company (14 Oct) – UCU has today condemned plans by De Montfort University (DMU) to employ new professional services staff and new academic teaching fellows through a subsidiary company, DMU People, on worse terms and conditions. The company is wholly owned by the university but the decision would mean that De Montfort bosses remove newly employed staff from their statutory entitlement to a public sector pension scheme. UCU says the proposed use of a wholly-owned subsidiary company risks creating a two-tier workforce, with new employees denied the terms, conditions and pension provision available to colleagues employed directly by the university. Staff appointed through DMU People would instead be enrolled in a private pension scheme rather than the Local Government Pension Scheme or Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Similar measures have been taken at other universities, including Southampton Solent, leading to calls for the government to close the loopholes that enable employers to avoid paying staff statutory entitlements read more

Striking lecturers rally at London South Bank University (8 Oct) – UCU members on strike at London South Bank University (LSBU) held a rally on campus today to highlight their dispute over cuts, changes to contracts and union recognition. UCU members began a week of strike action on 5 October, with further action planned for 19-20 October and 2-3 November. The dispute has escalated after LSBU put forward proposals that could see 66 academics dismissed and re-employed on new contracts before Christmas. UCU says the university intends to do this by breaching notice clauses in staff contracts, in what the union says would amount to ‘fire and rehire’ read more

Strike ballot opens at Glasgow University over job cuts (6 Oct) – A ballot for industrial action, including possible strikes, opens today at Glasgow University in a dispute over cuts, job losses and possible compulsory redundancies. University and College Union (UCU) members at the university are being balloted on whether they are willing to take strike action and action short of strike.  Action short of strike could include working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and other actions up to a possible marking and assessment boycott.  The ballot will run from today until 10 November. The ballot is in response to the announcement of job cuts and the opening of a voluntary severance scheme on 14 August.  Managers have also confirmed their intention to undergo a number of organisational change projects which the union said will involve cuts to staff numbers, and they have also cancelled promotions for academic staff during the current academic year, although the union has negotiated their reinstatement from next year. The union said that it had repeatedly asked university senior management to rule out compulsory redundancies but that they had refused to do so.  An earlier, consultative ballot showed support for strike action at 68% read more

University of Nottingham staff to strike for two 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

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

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

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  

GMB to represent 1000s of coastguards after landmark deal (29 Oct) – GMB Union will represent thousands of coastguards after signing an historic deal with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The agreement was reached this week after months of negotiations. Now the union will negotiate on behalf of around 3,000 coastguards for pay, terms and conditions. Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) carry out rescues and search for missing people around the UK’s coast, including Scotland, Wales and England’s south coast. CROs are now classified as workers, rather than volunteers, after GMB won a landmark worker status case in 2024read more

Royal Berkshire Hospital porters strike for further five days (20 Oct) – Workers to walk out next week after two days of action in September. Almost 100 porters working at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading will take five days of strike action starting on Monday 26 October. The members of GMB union took two days of action on 29 and 30 September but have not received a sufficient offer to call off the action. The dispute centres around overtime payments, which the Trust have removed read more

Barnsley nursery workers vote to strike (20 Oct) – Dozens of nursery workers across Barnsley have voted to strike with a 100 per cent majority. Industrial action is now expected in November following the unanimous vote. 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 read more

Strike by ‘vital’ defence manufacturing workers begins (19 Oct) – Workers at  Nottinghamshire’s Cinch Connectors will down tools from today, says GMB. GMB Union Members have today announced that workers at Cinch Connectivity Solutions near Worksop have begun a week of strike action. This news comes in due to an ongoing dispute with management over pay for production and warehousing staff at the company. Cinch Connectivity Solutions are one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of advanced electrical components, primarily for the defence and aviation industry. Strike action has begun today, lasting for one week. Around 50 workers are expected to join the strike read more

Sunderland carers ready to strike over equal pay (16 Oct) – Hundreds of Sunderland care workers have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in anger over equal pay. More than 300 staff at Sunderland Care and Support (SCAS) voted in favour of industrial action during the indicative ballot, which closed today [Friday]. GMB will now open a full, legal strike ballot in the coming days. The women workers have an equal pay claim against Sunderland Council after the authority outsourced the service. This mean they were denied access to the Local Government Pension Scheme and paid less than male colleagues doing work over similar value to the council. GMB Union has a second claim against the council based on discrimination against female dominated roles such as teaching assistants and catering staff read more

1000s of Leeds council workers ready to strike (15 Oct) – Thousands of Leeds Council workers have said they are ready to take strike action over equal pay. Almost two and a half thousand workers took part in the indicative ballot for industrial action, with 94 per cent percent voting in favour. GMB Union launched the ballot after Leeds Council acknowledged the equal pay dispute – meaning women have been systematically underpaid for the work they do. GMB will now open a legal strike ballot, which will begin in the coming days read more

South Yorkshire witness liaison officers vote to strike (15 Oct) – Dozens of witness liaison officers are set to go on strike after a unanimous vote for industrial action. GMB Union members are demanding the same pay as their counterparts at West Yorkshire Police – who are often paid £5,000 a year more for the same job. 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 and child abuse victims. Without them key evidence sessions in court are unlikely to go ahead. Strikes will be decided in the coming days – and GMB warns of disruption to the criminal justice system as witness liaison officers walk out across South Yorkshire read more

Barnsley Hospital threatens 200 with fire and rehire (7 Oct) – Almost 200 workers at Barnsley Hospital are ready to take action after bosses threatened them with fire and rehire. Barnsley Hospital NHS Trust wants to hit nurses, radiographers and front line care staff with worse contracts – removing all paid breaks and imposing longer unpaid breaks which will see staff working extra and longer shifts for no more pay. Anyone who doesn’t sign up to the new deal will be sacked. Earlier this year the trust imposed the worse terms on more than 1,000 workers but backed off when more 400 refused to sign. But now bosses appear to be taking advantage of the Government’s delay in implementing new restrictions on fire and rehire practices by sneaking the worse terms through read more

1000 school support staff to march on parliament over pay (7 Oct) – More than 1000 teaching assistants and other school support staff are expected at a rally and march this Friday in Westminster. These GMB members are employed at schools in Merton and Greenwich and are taking a second day of strike action, having previously downed tools on Friday 1 May. Their dispute centres around London Weighting payments, whereby teachers in their schools receive the Inner London rate and they receive the lower Outer London rate – a difference of up to £1400 per year. The workers will stage a rally in Old Palace Yard before marching to the Department for Education to take their message to senior politicians read more

Amazon deploys ‘Orwellian’ AI tools (7 Oct) – Amazon must come clean on how it monitors workers in the UK. GMB Union has today responded to reports that Amazon is deploying sophisticated AI powered systems to monitor union activity amongst its workforce. The report [1] highlights use of Atlas, an AI powered tool that combines hundreds of data points to assess union organising risk at individual workplaces, and predict where future unionisation efforts may emerge. The report focuses on it’s use in Canada, but source data [2] from the company reveals that company bosses have identified the retail giant’s Coventry and Minworth sites as at risk of unionisation efforts. Described as “Risky” by the company, these sites have been the focus of worker-led campaigns for union recognition in recent years. The classification of sites is reportedly based on the collection of multiple data-points by the Atlas system and company bosses, including correspondence between staff and even comments made on external websites such as Reddit. Coming just weeks before new trade union workplace access rights come into force, the union has today called on Government to urgently seek answers from Amazon about the use of Atlas in British workplaces read more

Briar Chemicals staff begin strike vote (29 Sept) – More than 100 workers at agrochemical firm Briar Chemicals Ltd in Norwich will begin voting in a formal strike ballot in a row over pay. The workers, who are represented by GMB Union and work in operational, engineering, maintenance and technical roles, recently voted 97 per cent to reject a pay offer that would have seen them receive no pay rise in year one and just 1 per cent in year two. They also voted 87 per cent in favour of industrial action in an indicative ballot. The formal ballot will close on Tuesday 13 October 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

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

FBU   

Firefighters demand action as survey exposes wildfire resilience crisis (21 Oct) – Nearly three quarters of firefighters want to see thousands more recruited to the service to ensure the UK is wildfire resilient, a new survey by the FBU has found. Thousands of FBU members took part, laying bare the scale of the wildfire resilience crisis facing the country, with overwhelming support for more funding and national standards on PPE and equipment. The Fire Brigades Union survey found that 98 per cent of respondents believe funding for fire services in their local brigade should be increased following this summer’s wildfires. Almost all firefighters who responded to the survey want national standards for wildfire PPE and equipment, and 84 per cent back legal requirements for proper welfare and fatigue management on scene. But our data also reveals how poorly equipped firefighters are for the reality of prolonged wildfires. Some 69 per cent feel significantly under-equipped, with only 8 per cent saying they feel fully equipped. Nearly half (50 per cent) reported that welfare facilities during wildfire deployment were insufficient, with just 7 per cent saying they were fully adequate. 71 per cent fully support recruiting at least 5,000 more firefighters to the service over the coming years. The FBU has warned that over a decade of Tory led cuts and the loss of 12,000 firefighters have stripped the service of its resilience to deal with wildfires read more

FBU demands West Midlands fire service halt frontline cuts (15 Oct) – The Fire Brigades Union has called on West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Fire Authority to halt all proposed reductions to frontline fire and rescue cover, warning the plans would leave communities across the region less safe. Proposals under discussion include the closure and relocation of Ward End Fire Station, the removal of night-time cover from stations at Bloxwich, Willenhall and Kings Norton, and a reduction in overnight availability from second fire engines at up to 11 further stations. Overall 14 fire stations at risk across Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The union said the changes would reduce the number of firefighters and fire appliances available, particularly at night, when major incidents can occur. The union has warned that the service has not provided the operational modelling needed to properly assess claims about the impact on fire attendance times 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 Oct 2026 read here  

NEC minutes Oct 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

Setting the Record Straight – Probation Pay Offer and CBF (21 Oct) – Napo members will have seen the HMPPS issued communications to all employees yesterday, including what they claimed to be “a clarification” on Napo’s earlier mailout of the 9th of October 2026 read more

Napo reject pay offer and move to industrial action (9 Oct) – Pay negotiations with HMPPS have ended with a 5% “best and final” conditional pay offer being presented to the trade unions. Napo’s Probation Negotiating Committee (PNC) – made up of Napo members across different pay bands and roles – have rejected this offer as unacceptable and members will now be asked to vote for industrial action on pay, along with the question on workloads, in a formal ballot on industrial action to launch on the 19th of October 2026 read more

BFAWU     

BFAWU statement on proposed Gregg’s manufacturing changes (2 Oct) – The BFAWU is deeply concerned by today’s announcement from Greggs, which places hundreds of workers and their livelihoods at risk as part of proposed changes to the company’s manufacturing network. Our immediate priority is our members, their jobs, their families and the communities that could be affected by these proposals. Greggs is clear in its own announcement that the business continues to perform strongly, that more customers are choosing Greggs than ever before, and that it is investing significantly to support further growth. Against that backdrop, our members will understandably be asking why their jobs and livelihoods should now be put at risk in the name of efficiency and future progression. The workers affected by these proposals have played a huge part in getting Greggs to where it is today. They have worked through enormous changes within the business, increased demand, restructuring and the challenges of recent years. They have produced the food, packed the products and kept the operation moving while Greggs has expanded from just over 2,100 shops in 2021 to almost 2,800 today. They cannot simply be dropped like stones as the company moves on to its next phase of growth. We recognise that Greggs has stated that no final decisions have been made and that a consultation process will now take place. BFAWU will be entering that process determined to scrutinise these proposals in full, challenge the business case where necessary and explore every possible alternative to compulsory redundancies and site closures read more

Post BFAWU Conference Foodworker 2026 read more

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

Nautilus International

We back renewed action to tackle violence and harassment in inland shipping (29 Oct) – We are supporting a renewed European commitment to stamp out violence and harassment in the workplace and strengthen protections for workers across the inland shipping sector. Through the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), we have joined other social partners in backing a new declaration that commits employers and worker representatives to preventing abuse, supporting those affected, and promoting workplaces where everyone is treated with dignity and respect read more

Royal College of Nursing     

Immigration reforms scaled back after campaigning by nursing staff (2 Nov) – Registered nurses and some care workers will keep a five-year route to settlement under new rules, but the RCN warns wider measures could still worsen workforce shortages read more

RCN Northern Ireland opens strike ballot over absence of pay award (14 Oct) – RCN members urged to use their vote. RCN Northern Ireland has today opened a ballot for industrial action and strike action among nursing staff employed in Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland, following the continued failure to deliver a pay award for staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions. Eligible RCN members now have until Friday 20 November 2026 to return their ballot papers to Civica Election Services. Members are being urged to vote in support of both action short of strike and full strike action. The ballot follows months of uncertainty over pay. Earlier this year, the NHS Pay Review Body recommended a 3.3% pay increase for staff across all pay bands. While health care workers in England and Wales have already received the award, nursing staff in Northern Ireland are still waiting for confirmation of when, or if, the award will be implemented. Despite previous commitments from former Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to implement the pay award, ongoing political deadlock over Northern Ireland’s budget has left thousands of nursing staff without the increase recommended for 2026/27 read more

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

SOR

SoR consults members in Northern Ireland on outstanding pay award (9 Oct) –

The industrial action ballot stems from delays to recommended pay increases for health workers in NI. The Society of Radiographers is consulting members on industrial action in Northern Ireland over the lack of a pay award for 2026-27. The consultative ballot stems from the failure to honour, or provide a timeframe for, introducing the 3.3 per cent increase recommended by the NHS Pay Review Body for all Health and Social Care staff in Northern Ireland for 2026-27. The pay award for NHS staff in Northern Ireland should have been made in April 2026, in line with pay changes for NHS staff in England and Wales. This follows the recommended 3.6 per cent pay award for all Health and Social Care staff in Northern Ireland for 2025/26, which was due to be introduced in April 2025, but was not paid until late March 2026 read more

CSP

Government pay proposal is ‘unacceptable, short-sighted and counter-productive’, says CSP (20 Oct) – The UK government has proposed a below-inflation pay rise of no higher than 2.4 per cent for the NHS for 2027/28 read more

CSP opens indicative ballot for HSC members in Northern Ireland (14 Oct) – Six months into the 2026/27 financial year, the Northern Ireland Executive still has no agreed budget, putting pressure on health and social care services, staff, patients and communities read more

BMA

Consultants announce strike action (26 Oct) – Senior doctors decide on industrial action following Government’s sub-inflationary pay offer. Consultants in England will strike next month, with senior doctors warning that the Government had ‘run out of road’ in negotiations over improving working conditions and pay. The BMA consultants committee confirmed today that a 48-hour walkout would take place between 25 and 27 November, unless the health secretary Yvette Cooper took meaningful steps to avoid action. The strikes, which would be the first-time consultants in England have taken industrial action since 2023, would see consultants providing only Christmas Day level care across the two-day-period. The announcement of fresh strike dates comes just days after it was revealed that the Government was recommending a sub-inflationary pay rise of just 2.4 per cent for all doctors in 2027/28 to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration. Consultants in England have been in dispute with the Government since May 2025, with members delivering a mandate for strike action following a ballot in July this year read more

Doctors prepare to strike (15 Oct) – Northern Ireland health service faces workforce walk-out owing to pay dispute. Secondary care doctors in Northern Ireland are set to stage walk outs next month, as part of the latest strike actions around pay. Consultants, specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors and resident doctors will all be engaging in industrial action, with BMA Northern Ireland warning that such action could face further escalation in future unless meaningful progress on restoring pay is made. Resident doctors will stage a full walk-out from 7am on 20 November until 7am on 21 November, while consultants and SAS doctors will provide only Christmas day cover as part of action scheduled from 7am 23 November until 7am 24 November. Should action go ahead it will be the second time this year that the three secondary care branches of practice in Northern Ireland have been forced to down tools after taking strike action at the end of June. The announcement of fresh strike dates comes following efforts by BMA Northen Ireland leaders to engage with Northern Ireland’s health minister over finding a way forward on resolving stagnating pay amid increasing demand on Northern Ireland’s health service read more

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

NUJ   

NUJ responds to Tommy Robinson conviction over harassment of journalists (29 Oct) – The NUJ has issued a statement after far right activist Tommy Robinson was found guilty of harassing two journalists working for the Daily Mail, causing fear of violence read more

NUJ to ballot BBC journalists for industrial action (28 Oct) – The union has informed the BBC that journalists will soon cast their vote in a statutory industrial action ballot, indicating their willingness to take strike action and action short of a strike. The NUJ this week gave formal notice to the BBC of its intention to ballot, following concerning changes to workloads and planned compulsory redundancies read more

NUJ statement on proposed job cuts at The Telegraph (27 Oct) – The union is engaging with the company’s leadership on the scale and impact of cuts read more

Lancet strike action continues as publication impacted (21 Oct) – NUJ members at The Lancet have moved into the third consecutive day of strike action over pay. Publication of The Lancet – one of the world’s leading medical journals – will be impacted with fewer articles published in a reduced edition. On 22 September, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members at The Lancet staged a walkout and held action short of a strike over a two-week period. This followed a ballot in which 97.8% of members on a turnout of 87.5% voted for industrial action over the company’s failure to offer an adequate pay deal despite extensive negotiations. With no movement from the employer on its pay offer since the action last month and attempts by the NUJ to facilitate negotiations through the employment mediator Acas, union members called three consecutive days of further strikes read more

  • From Niall Mulholland – Chair, NUJ London magazine branch: Journalists at The Lancet, the 200-year-old medical journal, are taking three days of strike action from Monday 19th October in a fight for fairer pay. Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) face rising workloads and falling living standards, with many worse off than five years ago. Meanwhile, the journal’s owner, publishing giant Elsevier, made an adjusted operating profit of 1.035 billion in 2025. Despite these huge profits, Elsevier has refused the workers’ pay demands and walked away from negotiations. After the strike, NUJ members will begin working to rule, causing significant disruption to the journal’s operations.

Equity

Win! Equity members secure commitment to arts policy from Northern Ireland Executive (3 Nov) – Key win for Equity members campaign to Save the Arts in Northern Ireland, which have been in survival mode due to years of underfunding and lack of arts policy read more

Musicians Union

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

USDAW

Poundland’s future hangs in the balance as High Court approves notice of intention to appoint administrators (29 Oct) – The move was prompted after the majority owners, Gordon Brothers, refused a solvent bid from Martin Property group, which increased the probability that the business could fall into administration 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

IWGB Black History Month Statement: Jason Arday and challenging racism in our workplaces and beyond (28 Nov) – This Black History Month, the IWGB remembers Professor Jason Arday, whose tragic death highlights the devastating consequences of the racialised scrutiny and vilification faced by Black people in public life read more

SIPTU (Ireland)   

SIPTU members in Kostal Ireland to take strike action in redundancy dispute (30 Oct) – SIPTU members at the Kostal Ireland plant in Abbeyfeale, County Limerick, will begin a campaign of industrial action, including work stoppages, on Monday, 16th November, in a dispute over redundancy terms and management’s refusal to engage meaningfully with their Union. Kostal announced plans in January this year to make 140 workers redundant at the end of March 2027, following a decision to move production of onboard chargers to China 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

NEW BOOK: ‘The Family in the Photo – Resisting the Kensington Bumbles’ – by Jim Horton order a copy at the pre-Xmas price of £12 p&p (£15 RRP)

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

New Book: ‘LET THEM HAVE IT LADS’: THE BATTLE OF HOLBECK MOOR AND ANTI-FSCISM IN LEEDS 1936 – £5. Order from the author Michael Agboh-Davison by emailing [email protected]

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

For any press enquiries please email [email protected]

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

From the Banner Theatre: A Just Transition – Jobs, People, Planet/ First of May Band (duo) – see tour dates and book tickets

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

Blacklist Support Group update October 2026

1. “Our report is in the final stages. We hope to clarify a final date for delivery soon”. 

Nick Randal KC – Independent #Blacklisting Collusion Inquiry

4th October 2026

Everyone is frustrated about the length of time the collusion inquiry has been going on. This recent statement by the lawyer leading the inquiry confirms that the report is very close to completion. The delays mean that there are rumours circulating that the inquiry report is some how being influenced by UNITE. The oversight committee (made up of 3 blacklisted workers) have been assured by the lawyers that this is not the case. Any delay has been due to new evidence arising that needed to be fully investigated before a fair and robust report can be published. 

2. Trade Union Football & Alcohol Committee 10th Anniversary Party

The iconic TUFAC have assisted the Blacklist Support Group on multiple occasions during our campaign for justice. They made ‘Blacklisted’ stout, football tops, t-shirts & posters. All the profits were donated to good causes, including striking workers & foodbanks. 

On Sat 24th October, TUFAC are holding a 10th anniversary party in New Cross (South London). A crowd of blacklisted workers from London are attending – be great to see other friends & comrades too. Tickets in the link below. Nearest station New Cross. If you’re coming from outside London, you might need to find accommodation. 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-tufac-10th-year-birthday-bash-tickets-1985905933105

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     

Egypt: Free jailed journalists now read more

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]

November 20 International Youth Strike

Read more on Socialist Students website – On Friday 20 November, students and young people across Europe will be striking in opposition to capitalism, war and racism as part of the International Youth Strike, “Fight for our future, Not their wars”. Tens of thousands of young people are set to walk out and protest across Europe on November 20 – and you can be a part of it. Socialist Students are alongside other organizations, helping students build for November 20. If you’re interested in building a youth strike at your school, college, University or in you’re local area then fill out the form below to get in touch with Socialist Students to help build the strike.

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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