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NSSN 761: Solidarity on International Womens Day as  365 Day: mass Demo 17 March announced for Gloucestershire phlebotomists

The NSSN sends solidarity greetings ahead of International Womens Day (IWD) on Sunday 8th March. There will be events going on over the next week, some of which you can find through #IWD2026 #InternationalWomensDay on social media.

Just 9 days after IWD, there will be a demonstration in support of the Unison Gloucestershire phlebotomists to mark a full year of their strike action.

(From Unison website) Unison General Secretary Andrea Egan – Opinion: This International Women’s Day, let’s uplift the rights and dignity of all women (3 Mar) – The gender pay gap means that the average woman works the first 47 days of the year for free. How can that still be right in 2026? Read more

Support the Unison Gloucestershire phlebotomists strike– 365 Day: mass Demo & march for the Gloucestershire phlebotomists (hosted by Strike Map) – 9:30am, 17 March – Join us on the picket line in solidarity at Cheltenham General Hospital, Sandford Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7AN

🚩10:00–11:30am – march to Sandford Park, Cheltenham, GL50 1DZ for a rally

✊After the rally – March back to the picket line together Strike Map Facebook event

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Picket plan week 51:

  • Monday 2nd: No picket. Meeting at Cheltenham General Hospital.
  • Tuesday 3rd: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Wednesday 4th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Thursday 5th: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
  • Friday 6th: Relaxed picket both sites.

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

Please show phlebotomists your support and solidarity by donating to their strike hardship fund: 

Make a donation via SumUp 

UNISON Gloucestershire DHC Branch 21311 

Sort code: 60-83-01 

Account number: 20301750 

Reference: strikefund 

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

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

On Friday, 30th January, along with many trade unions, we joined the MegaPicket, hosted by Strike Map, in support of the long-running Unite Birmingham Bin Strike. These workers started strike action a year ago against a brutal £8,000 slashing of their wages by the Labour Council, and they have been out indefinitely since last March. Agency workers employed by Job & Talent began strike action on 1 December over bullying and harassment.

Disgracefully, the Council has used vicious strike-breaking measures. There has been mass support for the binworkers and hundreds of union members stood in solidarity with them on the MegaPicket. The Council were forced to close the three bin depots.

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

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

Below are some posts from personal and organisation accounts:-

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

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

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

Support the Unite Sheffield Bin Strike

New strike tactics at Sheffield waste depot aim to cause increased disruption (16 Oct) – Workers at Veolia will now return to work periodically to disrupt employer’s use of agency strike breakers. Striking workers taking part in a year-long dispute in Sheffield are set to cause greater disruption for their employer as new dates for action have been announced. Members of Unite working for Veolia at the Lumley Street depot have been on strike for over a year in their fight for union recognition. In a new tactic designed to disrupt Veolia’s use of agency staff in strike-breaking roles, workers will now periodically return to work before then heading back to the picket line. Workers will now walk out from 10-16 November, 24-30 November, 8-14 December, 22-28 December, 5-11 January, 19-25 January, 2-8 February, 16-22 February and 2-8 March read more

Donate to the strike fund – Unite NEYH, 60-83-01 20173962

Sign the Statement of Solidarity

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

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

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

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

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

We will continue to support workers taking action to resist the cost of living squeeze, while at the same time continuing to demand that the TUC calls a national weekend demonstration against Starmer’s austerity offensive. This action was passed at last September’s TUC Congress and is now TUC policy. The TUC and the unions must now name the date! 

Consider taking this brief model motion to your next union meeting:-

  • This union NEC/branch/union branch committee/trades council welcomes the unanimous vote at this year’s TUC Congress for the motions from the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and Trades Councils Conference.
  • We fully support the demand in the motions: “for the TUC to organise a weekend demonstration against Labour austerity as a launchpad for sustained trade union action in defence of workers and young people.”
  • We welcome that this is now official TUC policy and call on our union NEC to demand that the TUC name the date for such a demonstration.

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

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

Oppose Trump and Netanyahu’s attack on Iran

Hands Off Iran – Stop Trump’s Wars: Demonstrate Central London – Saturday 7th March, assemble 12noon more details on the Stop the War Coalition website

Workers unity against the far-right – The far-right are again trying to whip up racist division by scapegoating refugees and migrants. The NSSN calls for the unions to play a leading role in opposing this offensive, which will only weaken our movement in the interests of the employees. We call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’

See info on counter-protests on union and trades councils social media and the Stand Up to Racism website.

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

   

Union News     

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RMT     

RMT National Dispute Fund      

Sign this petition to Tricia Williams, Managing Director, Northern Trains

Northern Trains: End the dispute with Carlisle and bring outsourced rail workers in-house

(From BBC): Tube drivers approve strike over four‑day week (27 Feb) read more

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

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

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

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

ASLEF   

(From BBC): Train driver strikes end after deal reached (13 Feb) read more

Unite     

Northern Ireland ambulance service response times more than twice target (3 Mar) – Lack of recruitment leaves no possibility of filling the NIAS staffing gap in next five years. Unite has challenged the ongoing failure of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) to meet its response time targets and called for a new ambitious approach to recruitment to fill the staffing gap. The union has released statistics highlighting the serious and consistent failure to meet targets for either category one or category two cases read more

Unite response to chancellor’s spring statement (3 Mar) – In response to the chancellor’s spring statement, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Today’s statement was a real opportunity to do something for Britain – to back workers, to commit to our public services and British industry. Britain needs the government to have a real Labour vision. One that understands the deep cost-of-living crisis that is crippling families. This cost-of-living crisis is an everyday reality, and workers need immediate change that they can touch and feel, not numbers on a spreadsheet. If this government is going to reconnect with everyday people in Britain, it needs to stop the performative statements, roll up its sleeves and back Britain. Britain is hurting and we need action now.” Read more

Leeds Passenger Transport action ended as council commits to tackling safety fears (3 Mar) – Disruption to services for people in Leeds with disabilities and special educational needs over safety concerns has ended after Unite members accepted improvements to conditions. Around 80 workers at Leeds Council Passenger Transport walked out in January after funding cuts saw staff and passengers suffering injuries due to a lack of vital equipment such as restraints and missing risk assessments. Staffing shortages had also led to gaps in services, such as school transport being cancelled without notice. Industrial action was paused to allow the council to implement improvements to the service, which have now been accepted. These include hiring more staff and the implementation of a new management structure, risk assessments put in place and the issuing of mobile phones with this rollout completed by the end of April for passenger assistance staff. The latter is an important part of the improvements, as it will give staff access to risk assessments, method statements and key information while also supporting safer, more modern ways of working in real time read more

Doncaster bus disruption as drivers ballot for strikes over pay (3 Mar) – There is set to be major disruption to bus services in Doncaster as around 230 drivers are balloting for strike action over pay. The Unite members involved in the dispute work at First South Yorkshire, part of First Group. The workers are seeking pay parity with fellow workers employed by First in Sheffield who are paid more than them. First Group is a highly profitable company, seeing revenues rise 30 per cent to £833.6m for the half year ending September 2025… The ballot closes on 11 March and strike action could start in late March, coinciding with the Easter holidays. Strikes would cause major disruption to services including those that go to and from Doncaster city centre read more

Unite responds to Reach Plc’s financial results (3 Mar) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has today (3 March) responded to media company Reach Plc’s results for 2025. Reach Plc has said it has delivered ahead of current market expectations, increasing its adjusted operating profit by 2.4 per cent to £104.7m. While print revenue declined 4.6 percent, this year’s figure was £388.1m with Reach Plc saying this “importantly outperformed volume trends”. Despite this, Reach is pressing ahead with closure plans for its historic Watford and Saltire, Scotland, printing sites putting around 250 jobs at risk and it is planning to outsource much of its printing. Unite has asked for the financial reasons why the two sites have been earmarked for closure, however, Reach is refusing to share this information despite Unite being legally entitled to this information

Unite appalled at staff mistreatment in Brew Dog sale (2 Mar) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, which represents thousands of hospitality workers including many Brew Dog workers, has reacted with anger to the manner in which workers have been treated, as a result of the company’s “rescue” sale to Tilray. The workers were informed on a hastily arranged conference call that the sale would result in 38 bars closing and the loss of 484 jobs, some with immediate effect. To add insult to injury Tillray and the media were informed of the sale and job cuts before the workers were told read more

Northern Ireland Executive must ringfence public sector apprenticeship funding (26 Feb) – Skills shortages looming as Translink fails to confirm restoration of suspended apprenticeship scheme because of funding squeeze. Unite which represents frontline workers across the public sector in Northern Ireland has called on the executive to ring-fence funding in the budget for public sector and local council apprenticeships. Under current Stormont rules public sector and arms-length bodies, including local councils, are excluded from the region’s apprenticeship fund. Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK with such an exclusion on funds raised by the Apprenticeship Levy. In the context of squeezed budgets apprenticeship programmes have been reduced and suspended, raising the prospect of future skills shortages read more

Unite response to Accounts Commission report on health and social care services (26 Feb) – Trade union says politicians failing to grasp urgency of funding crisis. Unite today (26 February) said that ‘irreversible cuts’ are inevitable in health and social care services across Scotland without urgent investment in response to an Accounts Commission report. The Accounts Commission published report on the finances of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) highlights there is insufficient finances to meet rising costs and demands in health and social care with many boards using reserves to address an almost £450 million gap between demand and available funding read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yorkshire Airedale NHS microbiology pay strikes escalate (9 Feb) – Strikes by Airedale NHS microbiology workers responsible for carrying out diagnostic tests will escalate, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has failed to address the fact that the workers are on the pay band below what they should be for the work they carry out. The trust has also agreed to undertake extra work for another trust that the microbiology workers will have to carry out, increasing the number of call outs during nights and weekends. As a result, out of hours rotas have been changed without consultation or regard to current workloads…The workers previously took strike action from 18 to 25 December. Fresh strikes will take place from 9 February to 11 February and from 18 February to 20 February, resulting in testing delays for Airedale general hospitals and local GP services. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more

Health visitors in Wales to strike over unfair pay (6 Feb) – Workers at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to take industrial action over wrong pay banding costing them thousands. Health visitors working in South Wales are to strike for four weeks after their NHS employer refused to pay them the correct salary based on their qualifications which is costing them between £8000 to £9000 per year. Health visitors who do vital community outreach work for new mothers and families, are furious that they are only being paid as band six workers. This is despite internal job grading now matching them as a band seven acknowledging a masters qualification. The CTM University Health Board has refused to acknowledge their own job descriptions and pay health visitors accordingly. This deliberate act of downgrading is costing health visitors between £8000-9000 per year dependent on where workers are on their pay scale. Health visitors will now take strike action from 23 February to 20 March read more

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

  • Email messages of solidarity to:-

           branch secretary Faz – [email protected]

           branch organiser Moe – [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crane operators strike will see building sites across the UK shutdown (13 Jan) – Workers from Wolffkran cranes taking action over pay and conditions. Strikes by workers from Wolffkran tower cranes at building sites across the UK will see construction work grind to a halt this winter. Nearly 100 tower crane operators are taking strike action after not receiving a pay rise in three years. Unite members at Wolffkran are furious that the company is now also seeking to cut some of their additional benefits including standby payments. Given the importance of tower cranes on major construction projects, sites will see work halted when the crane operators walk out later this month. Wolffkran operates on some of the biggest construction sites in the UK including the Grenfell Tower deconstruction, the Cambridge Science Park and the new headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Berkshire… Tower crane operators will be taking the first day of strike action on Tuesday 27 January and will then take strike action every fortnight from then on. Exact days will be determined by members at each site based on what will cause the most disruption    read more

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

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

CWU

Royal Mail Campaign 2026 – In December 2022, Royal Mail started employing new recruits on worse terms and conditions. The CWU did not agree to this, has never agreed to this, and is striving to resolve this. We want a pathway to equalisation. The postal industry regulator Ofcom has changed the statutory delivery requirements for the UK. The company wants to implement this change by an ‘optimised delivery model’ (ODM) which does not work in practice. The CWU wants to implement this change by a ‘heavy and light’ method, which will work in practice. Talks are ongoing on both issues at this time read more

Latest updates:-

  • We’re Not Going Anywhere – ‘If any of the top brass at Royal Mail or EP think the unions going anywhere, they’ve got another thing coming.’ Rousing Speech from Ralph Ferrett, South Wales/South West Div Rep
  • USO Pilot Consultation Result – Update from CWU Deputy General Secretary (Postal), Martin Walsh, on the membership consultation from the 35 Royal Mail USO reform pilot sites

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]     

Email your MP about the Capita civil service payroll contract (2 Mar) – The DWP has named Capita as the preferred bidder to be given the £700m contract to handle the payroll for more than 250,000 civil servants read more

Latest PCS parliamentary briefing dominated by Capita issues (2 Mar)

Government set to give £700m civil service payroll contract to Capita (26 Feb) – Capita has been named as the preferred bidder to handle the payroll for more than 250,000 civil servants. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), acting as the lead department for the programme, has selected the outsourcing company as preferred provider for payroll covering staff in the DWP, Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. PCS has branded the decision a “reckless gamble” with civil servants’ livelihoods, warning that any disruption to pay would have immediate consequences for staff, some who already face below-inflation wages, and struggle to get by. The deal sits within the government’s “Synergy” shared services cluster, part of a strategy to collapse 286 legacy systems into five major platforms through a single cloud-based system to cover HR, payroll, finance and procurement. Capita already has a track record of serious failures, including the current pension crisis, which is not an isolated incident. Last year, the Information Commissioner’s Office fined Capita £14 million following a data breach that exposed the personal information of millions back in 2023 read more

Help us halt Private Sector involvement in HMRC (27 Feb) – HMRC is testing private managed service providers for customer contact, with early accuracy concerns and decisions expected before the joint evaluation concludes. Sign our e-action to ask your MP to support our campaign read more

PCS members at MHCLG ballot for strike action (27 Feb) – The members are in dispute over office closures, mandatory office attendance and changes to recruitment opportunities. PCS members at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government will be balloted for industrial action from 2 March to 15 April in a dispute centred on three key issues: office closures, the imposition of a mandatory 60% office attendance policy, and changes to recruitment opportunities. The department’s plans affect 367 staff across six regional offices. By 2 March 2026, four of those offices will have closed, with three already shut leaving employees facing uncertainty, significantly longer commutes and restricted career progression read more

Bailiffs and Bailiff Managers update (26 Feb) – A message from MoJ Group vice president, Jackie Green, following on from this week’s members’ meetings on bailiff and bailiff managers’ grading and pay read more

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

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

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

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

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

Prospect

Pensions update for defence members in the public and private sector (26 Feb) – Neil Walsh, Prospect Pensions Officer, has been tracking the latest developments on pensions for defence members in the public and private sectors read more

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

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

GMB  

‘Incompetent’ Capita gets £700 million pension contract (27 Feb) – GMB Union has criticised ‘incompetent’ Capita scooping a £700 million contract to run payroll for the civil service. The outsourcing giant suffered a data breach in 2023 in which the personal and financial records of 6.6 million people in the UK were exfiltrated, leading to the company being hit with a £14 million fine. Then in 2025 Capita was awarded a contract to manage the Civil Service Pension Scheme, leading to backlog of 120,000 cases and thousands of retiring workers yet to receive the pension they expected. The Cabinet Office has been forced to put an emergency team in place to help Capita address their failings read more

Cadent Gas workers vote for industrial action (26 Feb) – Cadent Gas first call operatives have voted to take industrial action in a bid to secure fairer rosters and a reasonable work–life balance. Workers say they are forced to work more than half of all weekends, leaving them struggling to book holidays or spend proper time with their families and children. Despite this, management – who themselves do not work weekends – have dismissed concerns and insisted the current rotas are “reasonable”. GMB members are calling for a modest and fair change: to work just one fewer Saturday and Sunday per year read more

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

BMA staff to vote on strike action over ‘eroded’ pay (13 Feb) – GMB Union is set to ballot more than 400 members working for the British Medical Association (BMA) after pay talks at ACAS broke down. The union has previously accused the BMA of hypocrisy for offering its own staff less than the Government offer to resident doctors, who the BMA have taken out on strike. A revised offer from BMA management didn’t go far enough to ensure the vast majority of staff would receive the pay rise they need. GMB representatives at BMA took the position that the latest offer still fell far short of the pay claim and represented yet another year of real terms pay cuts for most of its professional and executive members, who support doctors across the UK. This comes at a time when morale is at its lowest point following the announcement of a major restructure, which could result in job losses read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    

Unison     

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

Opinion: Why Reform UK is misguided, mistaken and just plain wrong on the LGPS (2 Mar) – As with many other Reform UK announcements, there’s a worrying lack of understanding of the things the party intends to change read more

Water should not be a ‘dirty business’, says UNISON (26 Feb) – The union sympathises with public anger about sewage discharges, pollution incidents, executive pay and rising bills as entirely understandable but it’s clear who created this crisis read more

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

Mining museum bosses’ refusal to come clean over finances is prolonging strikes (19 Feb) – Managers’ failure to come clean over finances at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield is prolonging a long-running pay dispute. The union says it has repeatedly asked for clarity on the museum’s financial position in an effort to find a solution that suits all parties. Staff, who’ve been on strike since mid-August, submitted six questions to the museum last month, following a pledge from bosses that these would be answered. However, no response has been provided and UNISON says it hasn’t received any correspondence from the museum since then. The refusal to answer questions after encouraging workers to submit them is another bizarre move from chief executive Lynn Dunning. Dunning has previously called the police to a picket line, spent tens of thousands of pounds on private security and attempted to include a clause in a pay offer which would’ve seen staff disciplined when they returned to work read more

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

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

BACS transfers –

Account Name: UNISON WAKEFIELD M.D 13351 BRANCH

Account number: 20320236

Sort Code: 608301

Please mark your payment as ‘MINING STRIKE’ read more

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

Hospital staff in Leeds to walk out for further strikes next week (12 Feb) – Low-paid NHS staff working in operating theatres across Leeds will be on strike next week in their ongoing pay dispute. Theatre assistants, who are on the lowest grade in the NHS, will walk out for five days on Monday (16 February). They want to be regraded and paid properly for the extra duties they say they’re now carrying out, and compensated for the extra work they’ve already done. They’re required to carry out crucial clinical work, such as establishing sterile environments, collecting samples and assisting with complex machinery. Staff, who work at three sites run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, went on strike for five days earlier this month, as well as for 48 hours in December. UNISON says the trust’s refusal to pay staff fairly is out of line with other hospital trusts across the region, and around the country. Since 2021, over 100 NHS trusts and health boards in England and Wales have agreed deals on regrading and back pay worth £250m for over 65,000 healthcare support workers. This includes a deal at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, which was overseen by the current interim chief executive at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Brendan Brown read more

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

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

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

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

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

(Hosted by Leicester and District Trades Union Council).

To Paul Stone, Discovery Schools Academy Trust (DSAT)

Leader, and Richard Bettsworth, Chair of DSAT Trustees.

On October 20 2025, UNISON members at Ash Field Academy, a special educational needs school in Leicester, voted to take industrial action over inadequate staffing levels, excessive workload, and health and safety. Staffing levels at Ash Field, which was taken over by Discovery Schools Academy Trust (DSAT) in 2024, have been diminishing over the last year as DSAT sought to make savings. Combined with a redundancy consultation that took place shortly before the 2025 Summer break, this led to the loss of approximately 10% of the school’s workforce, mostly from frontline workers. These cuts have greatly increased the workload of the remaining staff, stretching them to the point that their health and safety is at risk. The union, which represents around 100 members at the school, completed a formal industrial action ballot on October 20. 86% of members voted in favour of strike action, on a turnout of 60%. Just three working days after the result of this ballot, UNISON’s lead steward at the school, Tom Barker, was suspended from his duties. Tom was given no prior warning of a complaint and was escorted from the premises. This is a disgraceful act of trade union victimisation and potentially places DSAT outside the relevant employment laws. Tom’s suspension is a direct attempt to silence union members and victimise their rep who also now sits on the UNISON’s National Executive Council (NEC)  SIGN HERE

Support Camden Unison school support staff members at Richard Cobden school for fair pay and safe staffing levels Camden New Journal: School strike over cuts to support staff

NIPSA

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

   

Royal College of Nursing     

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

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

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

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

RCM

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

CSP

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

SOR

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

BMA

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

NEU

Support the strikes:-

Access Creative College / Tower Hamlets (Conditions of service)2,4,6 MarchNatasha Chaudhury [email protected]
Colebourne Primary School / Birmingham (Pay policy)4-5 MarchShirley Perry [email protected]
Children’s Hospital School at Great Ormond Street and UCH / Camden (Conditions of service)6 MarchMegan Quinn [email protected]
Duke of Lancaster / Norfolk (Conditions of service)3-4 MarchTim Wilkes [email protected]
Kent County Council Specialist Teaching Service / Kent (Pay and appraisal Policies)4-5 MarchJamie Pout [email protected]
King Henry VIII 3-19 School / Monmouthshire (Redundancies)5 MarchKellie James [email protected]
Kew Green Prep School/ Richmond (Pay)3-4 MarchSusan O’Connor [email protected]
Kew House School / Hounslow (Pay)3-4 MarchTom Gallahue [email protected]
Oak Lodge School / Wandsworth (Redundancies)3-5 MarchBarbara L’Episcopo [email protected]
Samworth Church Academy / Nottinghamshire (Conditions of service)3-5 MarchRob Illingworth/Sarah Brown [email protected][email protected]
Stone Lodge Academy / Suffolk (Conditions of service)3-5 MarchWendy James [email protected]
Sydenham School / Lewisham (Workload)2-3 MarchEleanor Davies [email protected]
Tennyson Road / Luton (Conditions of service4 MarchDavid Mingay [email protected]
Tewkesbury Academy / Gloucestershire (Conditions of service)4-6 MarchMichaela Wilde [email protected]

NASUWT   

Unsafe working environment prompts strike action at Rochdale schools (24 Feb) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at St Cuthbert’s RC High School in Rochdale began nine days of strike action over the failure of the trust leadership to provide adequate staffing and resources and to put in place systems to address violent and abusive behaviour from some pupils. The Union believes that St Teresa of Calcutta Academy Trust has failed to invest in and maintain the school, resulting in an unsafe and chaotic working environment for staff, which has resulted in volatile and violent behaviour, unsustainable levels of workload, high levels of staff absence, and working conditions that are impeding teachers’ ability to deliver for pupils. Teachers have been hit, shoved, grabbed, sworn at, threatened and slammed with doors. Pupils have smashed windows, overturned tables and kicked doors open. Teachers have had to receive hospital treatment for their injuries in some cases. Members believe that the school has been stripped of staff and resources since it became part of St Theresa of Calcutta Academy Trust and that this has contributed to the turmoil at the school. There has been an overall reduction of more than 20 members of staff which is driving up workloads for remaining staff and leaving important roles unfilled, further exacerbating challenges in managing pupil behaviour and meeting pupils’ needs. Funding for educational equipment and resources has dwindled to the point where members report that even basics such as books and pens are in short supply. Strike action is planned for 24th, 25th and 26th February, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th and 12th March. The NASUWT will be picketing outside the school on each strike day between 8am and 8.45am read more

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

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

    

EIS   

EIS urges teachers to grasp last chance to vote in teacher workload ballot (26 Feb) – The EIS has urged Scotland’s teachers to grasp their last chance to vote in the current statutory industrial action ballot on teacher workload, which closes on Wednesday of next week read more

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

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

UCU     

UCU Stop the Cuts campaign  

Sign petition against the education cuts  

University of Essex strikes escalate over campus closure & job cuts (2 Mar) – Nine days of strike action begins this week at the University of Essex in an escalating dispute over plans to close Southend Campus, cut 400 jobs and limit course provision. The full strike days are:-

  • Week 1:  Thursday 5 and Friday 6 March.
  • Week 2:  Monday 9, Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 March.
  • Week 3:  Monday 16, Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18, and Thursday 19 March.

UCU members will be on picket lines each strike day. This comes after seven days of action last month and action short of strike that began on Thursday 12 February, including working strictly to contract, boycotting exam boards and open days, and refusing to cover for absent colleagues. Staff, students and local community members will hold a rally to save Southend campus on Sunday 8 March meeting at 1pm at the top of Pier Hill and marching to Broadway. During the previous round of strike action, UCU and Unison held two rallies and were joined by students and members of the local community. UNISON and Unite will also ballot their University of Essex members for strike action over the cuts read more

Durham University staff begin industrial action this week (26 Feb) – Staff at Durham University will begin working to rule tomorrow. The start of the action coincides with Trades Union Congress’ (TUC) ‘work your proper hours day’ and will highlight the unbearably high workloads management has forced onto staff after axing hundreds of their colleagues. Working to rule includes strictly adhering to mandated hours, refusing to undertake any voluntary activities, the withdrawing of ‘goodwill’ and refusing to cover for absent colleagues. It will continue for six months, unless management begins meaningful negotiations over unfair workloads, with the potential for a reballot and extended mandate read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

FBU   

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

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

POA     

NEC minutes February 2026 read more

General Secretary update read more

National Chair update February 2026 read here  

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

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

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

NAPO

Napo members resoundingly reject 2025-2026 Probation Pay Offer (25 Feb) – Our election scrutineers CIVICA have now provided the result of the indicative ballot that has been taking place between 4th to the 27th February 2026. With a hugely impressive turnout of 83.46% of voting members, 88.97% voted to reject the above offer with 11.03% voting to accept. The Probation Negotiating Committee is meeting this afternoon to determine our next steps, including moving as quickly as possible to ballot on industrial action. We will also be formally writing to the employer to notify them of the result, which we believe sends a strong signal about the anger and disappointment among our members in response to the current pay offer, and the manner it has been presented to the workforce by HMPPS. In our view the employer and Government must now urgently produce a significantly improved pay offer that properly demonstrates the value of Probation staff to the criminal justice system and our communities. The outcome of the ballots being held by UNISON and GMB/SCOOP will be known next week read more

Joint union UPW survey reveals shocking results unions demand action (27 Feb) – In March of last year, Napo and UNISON undertook a survey of our members in Unpaid Work.  You can see the survey report here. It tells a terrible story of the unacceptable conditions which our UPW members are forced to work in. We carried out the survey because members in UPW had been telling us about the poor and dangerous working conditions and the inadequate equipment, vehicles and premises they were having to endure, day in day, out when doing their job read more

BFAWU     

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

Winter Foodworker 2025 read more

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

Nautilus International

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

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

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

NUJ   

Members encouraged to respond to BBC Charter Review consultation (26 Feb) – As the collective voice for journalists, the NUJ has prepared a response to the government’s consultation on the BBC Charter Review. We are now encouraging members to amplify our calls by making their own personalised submissions based on our response and the points below. The deadline is Tuesday 10 March read more

Vincent Kearney treated as a ‘suspect’ (26 Feb) – Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, looks back on day one of this week’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing of the case taken by union member Vincent Kearney and the BBC against the Police Service of Northern Ireland read more

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

Musicians Union

MU Addresses MPs and Peers on the Future of the BBC (25 Feb) – The MU joined sister unions at Westminster on Tuesday to make the case for sustainable BBC funding read more

USDAW

Usdaw to enter into consultation talks to seek the best deal possible for members affected (25 Feb) – Retail trade union Usdaw will enter into consultation talks with supermarket giant Tesco, after the company announced restructuring proposals at their Hertfordshire head office in Welwyn Garden City. The proposed changes could create around 250 new roles, while removing around 180 roles across some of the office teams read more

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

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

UVW   

Draughts Games bar Kitchen Worker Dismissed After Strike Ballot Notice Takes Case to Tribunal (10 Feb) – “I had so many plans for my life when I was working at Draughts, and my dismissal has been devastating” – Awed, dismissed kitchen workers and UVW member. A migrant kitchen worker at the trendy London board-game bar Draughts will face his employer at an employment tribunal this week after being summarily dismissed shortly after a union strike ballot was announced. Last summer, workers at Draughts organised with United Voices of the World union (UVW) over insecure work and worsening conditions. When UVW formally notified the company of a strike ballot, one worker — employed at the Stratford branch on a zero-hour contract — was dismissed the very next day read more

Solidarity Financial Appeal: UVW’s office was targeted in a break-in! – in January 2025, laptops, essential equipment and other valuables worth several thousands of pounds were stolen, disrupting critical support for low-paid, migrant and precarious workers. This won’t stop our fight for justice. The theft comes as UVW leads critical campaigns with hundreds of workers taking strike action across London. Please support UVW during this critical time. Help replace stolen equipment and ensure campaigns for dignity and equality continue. Every donation makes a difference. Donate now: https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/donate. Read more on UVW Facebook page   

IWGB

IWGB Private Hire Drivers Statement on TfL’s ‘Goodwill’ Payment for License Delays (26 Jan) – If Transport for London believes its announcement of a £500 “Goodwill” payment will be met with anything other than contempt by the drivers whose lives were torn apart by TfL’s prolonged incompetence, it is profoundly mistaken read more

UCL Cleaners – Stop the Cuts! – In August 2025, UCL and Sodexo announced plans to make dramatic cuts to cleaning services at UCL and across students’ halls of residence. UCL say that these redundancies are part of a modernisation and cost-cutting agenda. At the same time, the university is in a very strong financial position, with student numbers up from 38,000 in 2015/16 to 52,000 last year. These changes come after cleaners have reported long standing issues with overwork, unsafe conditions and precarious contracts read more. More info on IWGB Facebook page

SIPTU (Ireland)   

Workers will put humanity before football points in Israel match crisis (27 Feb) – SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Greg Ennis, has reiterated his Union’s call on the Government and FAI to boycott the proposed Ireland vs Israel Nations League matches or face the likelihood that workers may refuse to assist with the fixture on conscience grounds read more

National Ambulance Service dispute intensifies following student jobs decision (27 Feb) – SIPTU members are urging the HSE’s National Ambulance Service (NAS) to reverse its decision not to offer student paramedics full-time contracts following graduation, breaking with what had previously been common practice read more

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

  

Other news     

Save CaterEd Plymouth – Sign petition; Lobby Plymouth Council: 12.30pm Monday 16th March – outside Plymouth Council House, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 2AA

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

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

Townsend Theatre Productions presents: WE ARE THE LIONS, MR MANAGER!

– the story of Jayaben Desai and the Grunwick Strike

Written by Neil Gore      Directed by Louise Townsend

We Are The Lions Mr Manager!” is the story of the Great Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike of 1976-8, and the inspirational strike-leader Jayaben Desai, one of many newly arrived Gujarati women workers from East Africa.

Grunwick wasn’t a strike about wages – it was about something much more important than that: it was about dignity. Dignity at work. And, for the small band of Asian women strikers, who braved the sun, rain, and snow month-in and month-out on the picket lines, from August 1976 to July 1978, rights in the workplace and pride at work were far more important than any amount of money

  • Tour dates and tickets here. Tickets: £15 and £7.50 concessions

General Strike Centenary & The Cramlington Train Wreckers 2026 – As you know, this is a hugely important year for working history (centenary of the General Strike) .Following the success of The Cramlington Train Wreckers last November (4,000 people attended 7 venues)  it is transferring to the 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal next July. We are looking to touring it next year but would like feedback from unions re support. Can you circulate it among your affiliates, please? We also have an event at Glasshouse in May to mark the first full day of  the centenary of the General Strike.

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

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

www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk

www.wisecrackproductions.co.uk

www.worbella.co.uk

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

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

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

STAMMA website    

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

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

     

Stop the attack on Gaza    

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

See Stop the War website for info on protests.

A number of unions have issued statements on the situation in the Middle East, including: the TUC, FBU, RMT, NEU, Unite, Unison, PCS, ASLEF, TSSA, UCU, EIS, USDAW, BFAWU, CWU, Equity, BMA, NUJ, MU, UVW, GMB, SOR, RCM, RCN, IWGB, Prospect, CSP, NAPO, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)     

Oppose Trump’s attack on Venezuela

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

Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation

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

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

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

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

Opening statement to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on behalf of:

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

Blacklist Support Group

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

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

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

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

   

        

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

     

International     

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

We send our solidarity to the family of nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti who was killed in Minneapolis on 24th January. His union American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has issued this statement.

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

NSSN Chair Rob Williams sent this message of support

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

Türkiye: No to union-busting at Digel read more

   

   

Diary      

  • 2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm
  • NSSN lobby of TUC Congress will be from 1pm on Sunday 13th September in Brighton

  

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