Hundreds of trade union reps and activists defied the stifling heat wave to attend last Saturday’s National Shop Stewards Network Conference, in the 20th year since the NSSN was initiated by the RMT under the leadership of the late great Bob Crow.
The NSSN Conference was once again a platform for workers from the increasing number of disputes to use to spread the word about their action. Coming just as Starmer resigned and as Andy Burnham looks certain to be the next Labour Prime Minister, the conference debated the strategy and programme needed to defend workers from the cost of living crisis, and unanimously passed an action programme (below) which we appeal to union members to take into their union branches and committees, shop stewards committees and trades councils, and raise on picket lines, protests and demonstrations.
We also encourage everyone to attend and build the NSSN Lobby & Rally at TUC Congress in Brighton on Sunday 13th September – 1pm at the Holiday Inn Hotel, where we will be mobilising behind our Action Programme.
The first session saw militant union leaders speak, alongside striking workers and campaigners.
The afternoon session began with a forum ‘the fightback in local government after May’s elections.’ A number of parties had been invited, and Ed Poole spoke for Greens Organise and Hugo Pierre represented the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Throughout the day, reports were given about the rising tide of strikes, and there was a wide-ranging discussion about the programme needed at this time, including what demands to raise on Andy Burnham and the Greens.
In opening the conference, NSSN Chair Rob Williams said: “If Andy Burnham wants to show he’s on the side of workers, he should go to Birmingham and reverse the fire and rehire on the binworkers.”
We will post videos from the conference, including the platform speakers here.
The platform speakers included: Steve Wright – FBU General Secretary, Sarah Woolley – BFAWU General Secretary, Angela Montgomery – POA Assistant General Secretary, Pádraig Mulholland – NIPSA Deputy General Secretary, Dave Semple – PCS Deputy President (personal capacity), Matt Reid – Unite Birmingham Binworkers, Onay Kasab – Unite National Lead Officer, Rob Williams – NSSN Chair, Rhys Harmer – RMT London Transport Regional Council President, Ben Golightly – DPAC: Disabled People Against Cuts, Seema Syeda – Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Christina Paine – UCU London Met University, Mehmet Türkmen – President of BİRTEK-SEN United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union in Turkey, Ed Poole Greens Organise and Hugo Pierre Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Conference chairs: Katrine Williams NSSN Secretary and Rob Williams NSSN Chair.
The NSSN conference NSSN proposed an ‘Action Programme’, to be taken out to the wider trade union movement to take on the cost-of-living crisis (download here). That Action Programme is carried below:
NSSN Conference 2026 Action Programme to defend workers from the cost of living squeeze: ‘We’re not paying for the bosses’ crisis’
- Above inflation pay rises for workers – automatic rises in pay as inflation increase. In the public sector, for these to be fully funded by central government.
- Scrap all age exemptions on pay, including the national minimum wage. For the immediate implementation of the TUC demand of a £15-an-hour minimum wage for all as a step towards a real living wage, without exemptions.
- Stop the profiteering: nationalise the energy & water companies.
- Freeze rents and energy & utility bills.
- Demand that councils refuse to implement cuts, and instead pass no-cuts needs budgets.
- Oppose disability benefit cuts and attacks on pensions and campaign for a fully resourced, supportive social security system to meet needs of working class people.
- Demand that the TUC enact Congress 2025 policy by calling an Autumn national demo against Labour austerity. If not, for a trade union ‘coalition of the willing’ to step in to organise such a demonstration.
- Support the NSSN lobby of the TUC Congress in Brighton from 1pm on Sunday 13th September, in the Holiday Inn Hotel.
- Strike together: co-ordinate the fight on national public sector pay – unite workers across the public and private sectors.
- Repeal all the Tory anti-union laws – immediate scrapping of the undemocratic 50% strike ballot threshold.
- Restore the right to strike to the POA.
- Workers unity to face down Reform and the far-right: for the unions to implement 2018 TUC Congress policy ‘to launch a campaign of Jobs and homes not racism’.
- Launch the discussion for a Workers Charter, and how we can fight for it, against the attack on our living standards.
Download and distribute our NSSN Workplace Report - ‘We’re Struggling Down Here’
Affiliate your union branch/trades council to NSSN (£50).
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Contact us: email – [email protected].
Support the Birmingham bin workers – over a year of indefinite strike action
The Unite Birmingham bin workers have taken over a full year of indefinite strike action against the brutal £8,000 slashing of their wages by the then Labour Council, shamefully on the watch of a Labour government.
We demand that the new council honour this agreement.
Senior figures in Birmingham bin talks confirm Unite deal (5 June) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has welcomed the statements by former Acas chair Lord Brendan Barber and Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker. Both statements from two senior figures in the room over the months of negotiations with Unite and the leader of the council, are clear and unambiguous. The negotiations between Barber, Parker, former leader of Birmingham council John Cotton and Unite general secretary Sharon Graham began in December 2025 and the deal was concluded in March 2026. As Lord Barber has said, Unelected officers and commissioners of the council attempting to cause delay is unacceptable.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “As Lord Barber and Mayor Parker have both said, the deal to end this dispute has been negotiated and agreed. The continued attempts by unelected council officers and commissioners to block, delay and throw into doubt this deal is unacceptable and will simply not work. We look forward to the elected members of the council agreeing the process for the implementation of the deal, so the usual ballot of members can take place. Workers and residents have put up with enough of the constant dither and delay. This is a good deal for workers and residents and it needs to be swiftly finalised.” Read more
Details of the proposed deal read more
- Sign petition to support binworkers
- Send a message of support to Unite and the binworkers
- Donate to the strike fund – Unite WM/7186 Branch, account: 20308397, sort code: 608301. Title donation: BCC Strike Donation
- Send a postcard to tell Birmingham Council’s leader to ‘Stop attacking your workers’ at https://supportbinworkers.unitetheunion.postbug.app/
- Go to the Facebook pages of Unite the Union and Unite for a Workers Economy for videos and photos of the strike, and watch a video of the MegaPicket from Reel News on YouTube, X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
- StrikeMap: [email protected]
Union News
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RMT
RMT and the TUC call for urgent government action to save rail jobs (26 June) – Rail union RMT and the Trades Union Congress have jointly called on the government to intervene to protect skilled rail engineering jobs under threat at Balfour Beatty depots in Crewe and Preston. The call comes as dozens of workers continue to face the prospect of compulsory redundancy following Balfour Beatty’s announcement earlier this year that it intended to cut 67 jobs. RMT and the TUC have warned that allowing the loss of highly skilled rail engineering staff would further weaken the industry’s skills base at a time when the government has already acknowledged a looming workforce crisis across the railway. In a joint letter to ministers, the trade union organisations challenged claims that the dispute is simply a commercial matter for Balfour Beatty, arguing that the threatened job losses are directly linked to Network Rail funding decisions and could be mitigated through the allocation of alternative work read more
RMT confirms further strike action in Carlisle Support Services pay dispute (18 June) – RMT members employed by Carlisle Support Services, working on the Northern rail contract will continue their long-running dispute over pay by taking 48 hours strike action from Saturday. The action follows Carlisle Support Services’ continued refusal to negotiate a proper pay settlement through collective bargaining, despite increasing demands being placed on frontline staff including gate line operatives and revenue officers…Carlisle Support Services has recently claimed that it has “honoured our agreement to implement an annual pay uplift in line with the Living Wage increase”. RMT has rejected that claim, making clear that the increase is not the result of any negotiated agreement with the union but stems from the company’s commitment as an accredited Living Wage employer read more
RMT members at Heavy Haul Rail to take 48-hour strike action (16 June) – Rail union RMT, will take strike action at Heavy Haul Rail Ltd on Thursday 25 June for 48 hours, after the company refused to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of a major restructuring programme. Despite ongoing discussions and some mitigation measures being secured through negotiations, the employer continues to refuse to provide assurances that jobs will be protected. The dispute centres on proposals affecting Control, Rosters, TOPS, Train Planning, Administration and Management grades, with the company seeking to restructure operations, merge roles, revise job descriptions, and relocate some roles around 200 miles away for no operational or cost benefit. The major rail freight and bulk haulage operator, which supports critical infrastructure projects as well as Network Rail renewal and maintenance work, has rejected the union’s demand for a no compulsory redundancy agreement read more
RMT drivers to strike as management continue to ignore demands or provide reasonable assurances (29 May) – 4-DAY WORKING WEEK & TRAINS FUNCTIONAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATION – LONDON UNDERGROUND. As you know, the strike action which had been scheduled for last week was suspended to allow further negotiations in obtaining clarity on what management’s position is on protecting those drivers who do not wish to accept new terms and conditions to enter into the compressed four-day week arrangements. Your Regional Organiser, accompanied by the functional negotiating team, have met twice with management where the employer summarised its position that has since been formally received in correspondence, and LUL has failed to adequately address the points raised by RMT read more
RFA strike Friday 8 and Wednesday 13 May over pay (7 May) – RMT members at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) will strike on Friday 8 May and Wednesday 13 May in a dispute over pay, transparency and concerns around compliance with National Minimum Wage legislation. During the 24-hour strike action, members will continue to ensure the safety of vessels is maintained at all times, including the management of moorings and gangways. The union says that despite ongoing talks and some progress in negotiations, no acceptable proposal has been tabled by RFA management to address members’ concerns. The union argues that RFA seafarers can routinely work up to 12 hours a day and more when operational duties demand, often spending months at sea, while there remains no clear or transparent formula explaining how pay is calculated against hours worked. RMT has also warned that years of below average pay settlements, combined with poor transparency and growing dissatisfaction over conditions, are contributing to retention problems across the service read more
ASLEF
Luton/Bedford crash (19 June) – Our thoughts tonight are with the family and friends of the driver who died in the crash near Bedford today, and with the passengers injured in the accident. We want to thank the emergency services who responded so quickly to help those on board and are still at the scene read more
Fewer than one in five Tube train drivers will be women in thirty years’ time (16 June) – New research has revealed that unless London Underground changes its recruitment practices for Tube train drivers, women will still be less than 20% of the Underground workforce in 30 years’ time. Almost 50 years after the first woman qualified as a London Underground driver, women are still hugely under-represented in the role. Just 19% of current Tube drivers are female and TfL recruitment practices are doing nothing to change that read more
TSSA
Response to RAIB interim report on Bedford rail crash (24 June) – The General Secretary for the rail and transport union – TSSA – has responded to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) interim findings into the Bedford train crash (Friday 19th June), saying urgent clarity is needed on why existing protections did not prevent the event read more
Statement on forthcoming strike action at West Midlands Trains (18 May) – Rail union TSSA has said strikes planned for later this week at West Midlands Trains over rest day working payments are still due to take place. TSSA is seeking parity with other unions on rest day pay – but talks today between the union and the arbitration service ACAS produced no breakthrough. Therefore, walkouts remain in place for this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday across the WMT network with the strong likelihood of services being cancelled under a much-reduced timetable. The action involves Roster Clerks who are due to walk out on Thursday (21st May) from midnight (00:01) for 24 hours, and also Duty Train Crew Managers and Control Staff who have planned strike action from noon on Friday (22nd May) until midday Saturday (23rd) May. TSSA balloted over 100 members across these roles for the relevant industrial action read more
Unite
Sign this petition: Tell East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT): Hands off Mark Dunne! Stop trade union victimisation! Mark Dunne, ELFT’s most senior trade union representative, is facing redundancy. This redundancy and other processes related to it, have been handled with unprecedented hostility indicating a clear act of trade union victimisation
Disruption in North London as Arriva bus drivers ballot for strikes over hot working conditions (30 June) – There is set to be major disruption to bus services in North London, as over 1,900 drivers across 10 garages are balloting for strike action. The bus drivers work for Arriva North London. They are preparing to take action as their employer has failed to act on complaints about working conditions on buses during hot weather. Most Arriva North London buses have air cooling systems rather than air conditioning. These take in air from outside and circulate it around and can reduce the ambient temperature by a maximum of 10 degrees Celsius – however bus drivers have said in the latest heatwave temperatures have only reduced by around two or three degrees. This has left drivers working in conditions they have deemed unbearable (with temperatures regularly in the high 30’s) as well as suffering from fatigue that has worsened in the recent heatwave. This issue has been raised to Arriva North London in previous years, but action has not been taken. Drivers are calling for improvements to buses, including installing air conditioning read more
Unite cautiously welcomes the long awaited Defence Investment Plan, but calls for clarity on jobs (30 June) – “There are certainly areas in the DIP that Unite have been calling for to ensure British procurement and jobs. Commitment to GCAP and confirmation that the Typhoon remains the core of the UK combat air capability into the 2040s, with the Long-Term Evolution Programme (LTE) alongside the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Programme is welcome. However, we do need sovereign orders to protect skills long term…Payment for the DIP should not be robbing Peter to pay Paul. We have had enough of this government pitting workers against workers, pensioners against the disabled. It is clear we need to borrow to invest for long term security and jobs.” Read more
Andy Burnham is in listening mode. “Britain needs a vision that deals with the rampant inequality and jobs vacuum” (29 June) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, has reacted positively to Andy Burnham first speech setting out his vision for the UK. The union believes the speech shows that Burnham is listening to the issues raised by Unite and is prepared to make much needed changes to tackle the challenges faced by the UK. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is clear that Andy has been in listening mode. Britain needs a vision that deals with its current rampant inequality and jobs vacuum. Actions will speak louder than words – but this is the start of a discussion about a better path for workers and communities read more
Manchester Kimpton Clocktower staff to strike over union busting (29 June) – Workers at Manchester’s Kimpton Clocktower hotel will walk out from tomorrow in a dispute around union busting activity. Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, who work at the hotel and its restaurant The Refuge will strike from 5pm tomorrow (30 June), as well as on 4, 5, 11 and 12 July. It comes as despite weeks of negotiations with hotel owners InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG), has failed to give Unite official recognition. At the last minute IHG cancelled meetings with Unite aimed at finding an agreement to the dispute. Workers now say they have no choice but to proceed with the first ever hospitality sector strike in the North West…Recently, Kimpton Clocktower workers joined Unite and have been attempting to move towards formal union recognition to improve their conditions after raising several issues with management. As well as refusing to offer formal union recognition, IHG UK also sacked two senior Unite representatives on trumped up charges. The union believes they were targeted for undertaking union activities, something which is illegal under UK employment law read more
Unite holding day of action nationwide over energy bill rises (29 June) – Unite, the UK’s leading union, is stepping up its Unite 4 Energy for All campaign to end fuel poverty this week with a series of protests nationwide. The days of action, mainly taking place on Wednesday (July 1), will coincide with the date the energy price cap rises by £221 a year for an average household. Unite Community members will be drawing attention to the shameful fact that 12.1 million UK households live in fuel poverty and cannot afford to pay their energy bills – a problem that is set to worsen with the latest price hikes. On Wednesday the UK energy price cap will increase by 13 per cent for a typical dual-fuel household from 1 July to 30 September, raising the average annual bill to £1,862 for people paying by direct debit. This will add roughly £18 a month to energy bills – this latest rise in the price cap puts gas and electricity bills 79 per cent higher than they were before the energy crisis began in winter 2020/21 read more and find details of protest here
MPs bodyguards denied stab-vests on outsourced protection service contract (28 June) – Mitie security guards not given proper PPE equipment and many not security cleared for high profile roles. The Unite union has lodged a formal grievance with outsourcing giant Mitie over its treatment and management of workers employed as security for MPs after it became known that they were refusing to issue staff with stab vests. Despite the tragic deaths of MPs Jo Cox and David Amess as well as PC Keith Palmer from knife attacks, security personnel employed on a new outsourced contract have been denied access to this critical PPE equipment. Previously the role was done by Met Police officers who were routinely issued with stab vests. Further concerns have also been raised by the union over the security clearance of workers as many had not passed security clearance protocols when they started working for Mitie during the general election period in 2024. Unite believes that this is an ongoing concern read more
Unite welcomes London Mayor’s pledge to sweltering bus drivers (26 June) – Unite, which represents tens of thousands of bus workers, has strongly welcomed a statement by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, concerning the capital’s bus drivers, who have been sweltering in their cabs during the heatwave read more
Stormont must legislate on upper working temperature limits (26 June) – Workers need protection from excessive heat, in particular those involved in strenuous activity. Responding to the current heatwave, Unite has called on the Stormont executive to introduce upper working temperature limits as a matter of urgency. The demand is included in Unite’s ‘Workers in the eye of the storm’ campaign for improved health and safety protections for workers during extreme weather. The union points to yesterday’s record June temperature as evidence that the issue is now pressing read more
Coop ethical values at risk as Unite slams callous closure of Shieldhall coffin factory (26 June) – Union demands Coop Board members save skilled jobs in Glasgow. Unite has today (Friday 26 June) demanded the Coop Board stop the proposed closure of the Shieldhall coffin factory saying its values will be ‘torn apart’ if it fails to save jobs in Glasgow. In April, the Co-op announced that its only coffin manufacturing facility at Bogmoor Place was earmarked for closure with all operations being transferred to a new site in Merseyside putting 81 posts at risk of redundancy. The proposed closure is expected to conclude by the end of the year if the decision by the Co-op is not reversed read more
Further strike action at GKN in Bristol to cause chaos for customers (25 June) – Airbus orders to go unfulfilled as major supplier hit by further industrial action over pay. Major aerospace supply contracts will go unfulfilled as workers at GKN are set to take further strike action this summer over pay. Workers at the Filton site make parts and are the biggest supplier to Airbus who currently have a huge order book for civilian aircraft. With supplies from GKN endangered, orders will cease to be fulfilled leaving major airlines without expected new planes. GKN is a supplier of airframe and engine structures, electrical wiring, and landing gear, with a presence on 90 per cent of today’s aircraft. Around 900 Unite members at the Filton site in Gloucestershire make wings for the Airbus A320. For years workers at GKN have seen their pay fall behind that of other nearby aerospace firms like Airbus and Rolls Royce. Many employees leave in search of better pay. GKN initially offered just a three per cent increase over one year, which was rejected by workers and later improved to just 3.3 per cent. This was also overwhelmingly rejected by the workforce demonstrating the strength of feeling that the offer falls far short of what is required…Unite members have already taken significant strike action and are now ramping up strikes with specific workers and grades across the engineering and maintenance departments that will bring the factory to a standstill. New strikes will take place on 29, 30 June and 1 July as well as on 6, 7 and 8 July. In addition, a blanket overtime ban has also been put in place read more
Unite challenges finance sector pay practices at Moneyfacts Awards (25 June) – Unite, the UK’s leading union for financial services workers, will attend the Moneyfacts Awards at City Central, HAC, London, (Thursday 25 June 2026) to highlight the growing gap between soaring profits in the finance sector and the reality facing frontline workers. The action forms part of Unite’s “Zero Need for Boardroom Greed” campaign, which is demanding major financial institutions to deliver fair pay rises and better working conditions for staff.
Where: City central at the HAC, Chiswell St, London EC1Y 4TW
When: Thursday 25 June
Time: 17:30 – 19:00 read more
Further London strikes at world-leading Institute of Cancer Research (24 June) – Unite ramps up industrial action after no improved pay offer from management. Hundreds of workers at a world-leading scientific institute are to take further strike action over a lack of a decent pay offer. Unite members at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) who work at their two London sites (In Sutton and Chelsea) are taking action due to the low pay offer from the ICR while they sit on large cash reserves and pay whopping six-figure salaries to their managers. Staff at the ICR will now head to the picket line from 29 June until the 10 July. Their walkout will cause huge problems at the ICR with laboratories unable to function effectively read more
Unite slams scandalous golden goodbye payments at Edinburgh Trams and Lothian buses (24 June) – £447,000 of public funds given in two severance deals. Unite the union has today (24 June) reacted furiously to reports that former senior managers at Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses have received hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money as part of severance deals. Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams Boards merged in late 2025 on the instruction of Edinburgh council creating a single board as part of Edinburgh’s wider transport reform programme. Sarah Boyd was appointed as its new chief executive to oversee the integration read more
Scarborough Alexander Dennis bus makers to strike over pay (23 June) – Spending power of striking workers’ wages have fallen by 20 per cent since 2020. Around 400 Scarborough workers employed by bus maker Alexander Dennis will strike over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers have rejected a four per cent offer from the company after the cost-of-living crisis was compounded by years of sub-par pay increases. Between August 2021 and May 2026, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rose by approximately 35.1 per cent, meaning prices increased by about a third over that period. During the same period, wages at Alexander Dennis increased by only 15.3 per cent, meaning the wages have fallen 19.8 per cent behind the cost of living…The workers voted by 81 per cent in favour of strike action. They will strike from 25 June to 1 July read more
Urgent action needed for bus drivers as red weather warning hits UK (23 June) – Unite, the UK’s leading union for passenger transport workers, is calling on bus firms to act immediately to protecting drivers from extreme temperatures over the coming days. The union will fully support its members who believe that temperatures on buses are endangering workers and passenger safety. The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning for parts of the UK as temperatures are set to soar to 40 degrees Celsius, with discomfort exacerbated by high humidity levels. A red warning is the highest alert level meaning there is a risk to life for everyone in the heat, not just those considered vulnerable such as the elderly or people with chronic health conditions. Bus drivers, who work in driver cabs that become even hotter than it is outside, are at particular risk. Cab temperatures can often exceed 40 degrees, as glass windows trap heat and create a ‘greenhouse’ effect. Drivers have also told Unite that their vehicles often remain in service despite air conditioning being broken while some models of buses are only equipped with less effective air cooling systems which take in air from outside and circulate it around and only reduce temperatures by a few degrees. If air cooling systems or air conditioning on buses are not working properly then vehicles should not be taken into service and bus drivers should be able to state this without fear of repercussions from their employer. However, bus drivers fear being disciplined or losing pay if they complain, as well as feeling under pressure to complete journeys in time. Bus companies are reluctant to take action, as this involves additional costs read more
South London & Maudsley NHS estates workers ballot for strikes over equal pay (23 June) – Hospital joiners, electricians, plumbers and painter and decorators angry at creation of two-tier workforce. South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust estates staff are being balloted for strike action over unequal pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers, including joiners, electricians, plumbers and painter and decorators, are on different pay grades – ranging from band three to band five. Some workers are on band three despite doing exactly the same job as colleagues on band five and having worked in those roles for up to 25 years…The workers are being balloted until 6 July. Industrial action will result in disruption to estates and maintenance services at Bethlam Royal, Lambeth, Lewisham and Maudsley hospitals read more
Brake Brothers workers in strike ballot over pay dispute (23 June) – Motherwell based firm delivers meals to restaurants, prisons and schools. Unite can confirm that over 350 workers employed by Brake Brothers based in Newhouse, Motherwell, are being ballot on industrial action in a pay dispute. The strike ballot involving warehouse workers, hygiene and distribution drivers opens today (Tuesday 23 June) and closes on 14 July read more
Disruption to frontline social care services as Change Grow Live staff ballot for strikes (22 June) – There is set to be disruption to frontline social care services run by charity Change Grow Live (CGL) as over 1,200 workers at almost 150 sites across England and Scotland are being balloted for strike action over pay. Change Grow Live (CGL) is one of the UK’s largest health and social care charities, providing vital support for people facing issues with drugs, alcohol, homelessness, mental health, justice, and employment. Its funding is sourced from the UK government… The ballot opens on 26 June and closes on 10 August. Any strike action would cause disruption to the vital services offered by CGL read more
Unite council housing worker’s strike (18 June) – As we have previously reported craft workers in local authorities are in dispute over the ‘Red Book’ and strike action started yesterday. Many of our members working for housing associations do very similar work and we send solidarity. Over a thousand local government craftworkers have started strike action yesterday (17 June) in a dispute over pay and attacks on their conditions. The highly skilled workers predominantly undertake the local authority housing maintenance and repair work that keeps council tenants safe and comfortable in their homes. But, after years of pay freezes and paltry increases, these dedicated craftworkers have downed tools in Bristol, Stoke-on-Trent, Newham, Leeds and Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils read more
Haldane Fisher strike causing construction sector disruption across Ireland (18 June) – Approximately 40 members of Unite have entered the eighth day of strike action at Haldane-Fisher in Newry. The strike is a result of the workers rejecting a below-inflation, 2.5 per cent pay increase imposed by management. Haldane-Fisher has its own network of shops but its Newry supply store is central to its supply trade to builders’ merchants across the Republic of Ireland. The strike has severely impacted deliveries and raises the prospect of significant disruption to the construction sector – coming at a time when contractors traditionally seek to finish work before the holiday period. Haldane-Fisher group’s latest accounts [year to end 2024] show after-tax profits of £1.9 million and a dividend paid to the company’s shareholders of £3.5 million. In the four years of published accounts since 2021 the pay of the highest paid director increased 27 per cent to £154k while average (inflation adjusted) pay for workers fell by four per cent in real terms read more
MoD drivers to strike as management accused of “letting wheels fall off” (18 June) – A group of civil servants within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are taking strike action following years of unresolved concerns regarding workplace treatment, management practices, and failures in leadership accountability. Members of the Unite union have, for years, raised serious and ongoing concerns about the conduct, capability, and decision-making of immediate line management. The specialised civilian service VIP chauffeur drivers operate nationwide, providing discreet, secure, and highly professional transport for senior government personnel. Drawn from highly skilled backgrounds, including former military personnel and ex-police officers, they possess advanced driving qualifications and a deep understanding of security protocols. Beyond the safe and efficient movement of individuals, they are also entrusted with the secure handling and transportation of sensitive and classified documents, delivering a trusted. For over five years, staff have raised serious and ongoing concerns about the conduct, capability, and decision-making of their immediate line management. Despite repeated efforts to resolve these issues through both informal discussions and formal union channels, meaningful progress has not been achieved. Concerns raised have consistently been acknowledged but not acted upon, with agreed actions frequently ignored and established MoD policies not followed…Strike will take place across five days on 16-17 July and 20-22 July read more
Isle of Wight RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Centre workers to ballot for strike action (16 June) – Approximately 50 workers at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) Inshore Lifeboat Centre are currently balloting for strike action after the employer refused to recognise Unite. Staff have been calling for Unite to be recognised since last year. In January, Unite started the formal legal process to recognise the union, going through the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to ask for statutory recognition. The CAC have just completed its membership checks which demonstrates a clear desire by the majority of workers to have the union negotiate on their behalf, however the RNLI is still refusing to allow Unite recognition read more
Striking Walsall Village Hotel workers protest during England’s opening World Cup game (16 June) – Demonstration outside busy big screen venue to show poverty pay and union-busting the red card. Walsall Village Hotel staff striking over poverty pay will demonstrate outside their workplace while it is packed with football fans watching England’s opening World Cup game. The hospitality, gym, events, reception and housekeeping workers are taking strike action over Village’s failure to pay the Living Wage rate of £13.45 an hour and its refusal to pay young workers’ wages equal to their older colleagues doing the same jobs. They are also striking over the company’s failure to recognise their union, Unite, for collective bargaining…Strike action will take place on 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 30 June and 2, 4, 7 and 10 July. The strikes will severely impact Village Hotel bar and grill services during the extremely busy World Cup period when fans will be watching matches on the venue’s big screens read more
Northern Ireland: First one day strike set to shutdown Balcas sawmill (11 June) – Low-paid workforce at highly profitable Enniskillen sawmill vote overwhelmingly to reject insulting pay offer. Unite members at Enniskillen-based sawmill Balcas are to commence the first of three 24-hour strike actions on Thursday (June 18). In the absence of an improved offer from management, the strike will be followed by two further one-day strikes on June 25 and July 2 when the workforce is prepared to escalate the action further. The industrial action is a result of the workers rejecting the three per cent pay increase offered by management. The strike will shut down all production of timber at the site. Balcas is owned by Longford-based Glennon Brothers – a highly successful timber company which recently acquired the Pontrilas group which operates wood processing sites in Wales. In the latest accounts submitted for Balcas in Northern Ireland [end 2024] show the company had pre-tax profits of £18.7 million on turnover of £130.8 million – a profit margin of almost 15 per cent. Meanwhile workers at the Enniskillen plant are paid barely above the minimum wage with new entrants being paid at the minimum wage itself…In 2019, Balcas workers took strike action for a week to end a situation where below minimum wage pay had to be topped up by production bonuses. They won a significant uplift at that time but in the intervening period pay increases have failed to keep pace with inflation or the minimum wage read more
Great Yarmouth summer stink as refuse workers prepare for poverty pay strikes (10 June) – Household waste, street cleaning and grounds maintenance staff would not even earn minimum wage under current offer. Great Yarmouth Services workers are to be balloted for strike action over poverty pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The bin workers, street cleaners, tree surgeons and gardeners, the majority of who earn pennies above minimum wage, are angry at a 3.3 per cent pay offer from the council-owned company. The offer would not even give the majority of workers a legal increase to be in line with the minimum wage, which rose by 4.1 per cent in April. When workers expressed their dissatisfaction with the offer, they were told by council officials that they “are lucky to have this as Great Yarmouth is a low wage, poverty area” and that if they are unhappy they “should work for Sainsburys or Tesco”… Around 100 workers are being balloted for strikes until 1 July. Industrial action would severely impact household waste, street cleaning and landscaping services during the height of the summer season…The dispute also includes members of the UNISON and GMB unions read more
Further strikes at Sellafield as management fail to negotiate (9 June) – Nearly two thousand workers to walk out over special site pay. Further strikes are to take place at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria following the failure of the employer group to engage in discussions. Construction workers at the site are seeking a site-specific allowance due to the specialist skills needed to work at a nuclear site and the hazardous nature of that site. Construction workers at Sellafield undertake highly skilled work in one of the most complex and heavily regulated nuclear environments in Europe. They contribute directly to hazard reduction, major project delivery, and the long-term mission of the site. Other groups of nuclear workers across the Sellafield site are recognised and rewarded for the unique environment in which they work and the contribution they make. Construction workers rightly ask why their contribution continues to be treated differently. Unite continues to make efforts to avert industrial action and remains committed to securing a negotiated settlement. This latest industrial action will begin on Monday 15 June 2026 and conclude on Sunday 21 June 2026 read more
Tower Hamlets Be Well leisure centre staff to strike over zero-hour contracts (8 June) – Workers also angry over unequal pay, bullying, last minute rota changes, overwork and job roles. Tower Hamlets Bell Well leisure centre staff will begin strike action this week over insecure contracts and mismanagement, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Managerial staff, lifeguards, fitness instructors, customer service workers and swimming teachers at the John Orwell, Mile End, Poplar, Whitechapel, York Hall and Tiller leisure centres will start striking from tomorrow. The council has allowed an indefensible two-tier workforce to develop inside its own in-house leisure service. Some workers remain on zero-hour contracts, some have no formal written contract at all, others are guaranteed as little as five hours a week, while some are on full council contracts. This has resulted in workers doing the same role being treated differently on pay, job security and terms and conditions. Workers also report unsafe levels of understaffing, particularly in swimming pools, overwork and the denial of rest breaks. In addition, staff have also been forced to carry out duties that have nothing to do with their job roles, such as swimming teachers being expected to clean toilets. The dispute is also over mistreatment by managers, including the arbitrary changing of rotas, as well as attempts to identify union members who will be taking strike action. Tower Hamlets’ leisure services were operated by Greenwich Leisure Ltd until May 2024, when they were brought back under council control. The workers will strike on 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, 25 and 28 June severely impacting services across all Be Well sites. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more
Unite council workers to strike over pay and conditions (8 June) – Over a thousand local government craftworkers will take strike action later this month in a dispute over pay and attacks on their conditions. The craftworkers who predominantly undertake local authority housing maintenance and repair work are employed at Bristol, Stoke-on-Trent, Newham, Leeds and Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils. The workers will strike on 17,18, 23 and 24 June read more
Staff at Lancashire hospitals to strike over holiday pay refusal (8 June) – Biomedical staff at Blackburn and Burnley hospitals to walk out this summer. Scientists at two teaching hospitals in Lancashire are being forced to take strike action over the NHS trust’s refusal to pay holiday pay that they are entitled to. Management at the trust have a long history of poor employee relations and this is continuing despite an employment tribunal finding against them. The employer lost at tribunal over this issue several years ago for one employee, but they have refused to settle it for the rest of the employees who are now owed thousands of pounds. This is despite senior management stating that they would always be open to negotiations following previous strikes over safe staffing levels…Affected employees work in the biomedical sciences department dealing with urgent and routine blood tests as well as wider diagnostic work for patients. Strike action will see significant delays to tests and procedures across the trust as workers take to the picket line on 15-19 and 22-26 June, 29 June – 3 July and 6-10 July read more
Irish Ambulance dispute: Labour Court proposals offer pathway forward (5 June) – Unite, which represents ambulance workers throughout Ireland, has said that proposals issued yesterday (Thursday) by the Labour Court offer a pathway towards resolving the long-running dispute which saw workers take industrial action last month. The dispute had centred on the failure to fully implement the 2020 ‘Roles and Responsibilities Review’ which recommended enhanced pay scales to reflect the fact that the qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties of ambulance personnel have expanded significantly in recent years. The new Labour Court proposals recommend significant pay increases while largely protecting ambulance workers’ terms and conditions read more
Bilfinger offshore workers strike suspended (5 June) – Alba FSU and FPF1 assets involved in dispute. Industrial action by 20 offshore Bilfinger workers has been suspended following discussions between Unite and Bilfinger aimed at resolving issues raised by the workforce. Bilfinger workers on the Alba Floating Storage Unit (FSU) and its Floating Production Facility (FPF1) were due to undertake eight days of rolling industrial action. However, following progress in talks between the parties, strike action has been suspended while the agreed process is concluded. The Bilfinger employees involved include scaffolders, engineers, deck crew and rope access workers read more
Neo Next offshore workers to be balloted on strike action (1 June) – Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms involved in pay dispute. Unite the union can confirm an industrial action ballot for offshore workers on the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms operated by Neo Next + Energy opens today (1 June). The pay dispute involving approximately 50 Unite members is a result of an unacceptable pay offer of below three per cent which was overwhelmingly rejected by the workers. Neo Next + Energy E&P Limited is the largest independent oil and gas producer in the North Sea and is the product of a merger between NEO NEXT and TotalEnergies’ UK Upstream oil and gas operations. The workers involved in the ballot include control room, production and senior operators alongside operations and production technicians. The ballot opens today and closes on 6 July read more
Fresh disruption to London buses as Bow drivers continue strikes (27 May) – There is further strike action ongoing at Bow bus garage in East London as a dispute around scheduling and driver fatigue continues. Over 300 drivers at the East London Bus & Coach Company (part of Stagecoach) are striking from today (27 May) to Friday (29 May) and then from 11 to 14 June. It comes after the employer has failed to listen to their concerns about scheduling and rota issues, which workers say is leading to severe fatigue issues. These include bus drivers completing multiple hour and a half long journeys without adequate breaks, having just 10 hours of rest times between shifts and Stagecoach refusing to schedule meal relief breaks at the depot, leaving drivers without a suitable area to recover as well as expecting them to refuel vehicles using remote electric charge points, which increases work demands read more
Hundreds of Thales defence workers in strike action ballot (26 May) – Unite members at Govan and Reading plants reject unacceptable pay offer. Unite has confirmed that 300 workers employed by defence manufacturer Thales are being balloted for strike action in a pay dispute. Hundreds of Unite members based at the Thales’ sites in Govan, Glasgow and dozens in the company’s Reading headquarters are involved in the ballot after rejecting a pay offer below the current rate of inflation. Thales remains the sole supplier of periscopes and optronics masts to the Royal Navy. The company has record levels of orders with the Ministry of Defence recently announcing export deals for Thales worth £1.1 billion sustaining hundreds of jobs in Glasgow. The workers involved in the ballot include electronics, software and systems engineers along with manufacturing and mechanical technicians. The ballot opens on 2 June and closes on 23 June read more
Staff at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge to rally over pay (26 May) – Unite members at Addenbrookes Hospital will hold a rally tomorrow (27 May) in their fight for fairer pay. The medical workers will be calling for an NHS high cost area supplement (HCAS) as part of a wider fight for fairer pay among Unite members in Cambridge. Workers at the university of Cambridge are also calling for a ‘Cambridge weighting’ supplement. Like their university counterparts, medical staff at Addenbrookes, the primary teaching hospital for the university’s medical students, receive no extra pay for working in Cambridge. A recent travel survey commissioned by the hospital trust showed that over 50 per cent of staff are travelling over 10 miles from outside the city to work. High costs are driving workers away from the hospital where they are employed and this means they are far away from the patients that rely on their support. Unite believes they need to be given the NHS HCAS payment now to enable them afford to live in Cambridge – this payment is given to NHS workers in London and Oxford. Unite has been carrying out a HCAS campaign and petition, which already has over 1,600 signatures demanding this supplement payment. The Addenbrookes staff involved in the dispute include those who work as porters, clinical engineering technicians and genomics scientists read more
Striking Cambridge Uni workers joined on picket line by Unite leader (21 May) – Unite general secretary Sharon Graham will join nearly 600 striking Cambridge University workers on the picket line tomorrow. The workers, including library, museum, estates management, finance, student services and IT staff, amongst others, are demanding the introduction of ‘Cambridge weighting’. This is a pensionable local pay supplement for all staff to address the exceptionally high cost of living in the city. The University of Oxford has a pensionable Oxford University Weighting of £1,730 per year. Cambridge staff receive no equivalent, apart from a 2.5 per cent interim payment, which does not address the cost of living for those on a low salary. This interim payment can be removed at any time. Cambridge, like Oxford, is one of the most expensive cities in the UK – with rental costs 30 per cent above the national average. At the same time, Cambridge University has multiple billions in assets read more
Unite general secretary joins Cwm Taf health visitors picket line to demand that new government resolves dispute (18 May) – Striking health visitors in Wales are demanding the enforcement of government policy to ensure they receive fair pay. General secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, will be visiting striking health visitors tomorrow (19 May) to hear their concerns and call on the new Plaid Cymru first minister and health minister to resolve the dispute. Unite members at the Cwm Taf Health Board (CTMUHB) have been on strike since February demanding they are paid at the correct grade that recognises their qualifications and skills. The refusal by the health board to do so is currently seeing them lose out on up to £9000 per year. The former Labour Welsh government had asked the health board to honour the job evaluation process and the previous health & social care Jermey Miles wrote to the health board urging an early resolution to the dispute. However, CTMUHB is still refusing to do this. In opposition Plaid Cymru, had also been supportive of the health visitors campaign and called on the health board to pay the workers the correct pay read more
British Army facing vehicle crisis as Babcock workers consider strikes over pay (18 May) – Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed by Babcock Defence Support Group (DSG) on the British army engineering and maintenance contract, are considering strike action, following a derisory pay offer. The approximately 1,400 workers on the contract have rejected a derisory pay increase which is worth on average 2.20 per cent per worker. This is a substantial real terms pay cut as the RPI inflation rate is 4.1 per cent and is set to rise further read more
TfL bus controllers strike to escalate this week (18 May) – There will be further strike action by Transport for London bus workers this week due to an ongoing dispute about rota changes. Over 150 workers, who are bus controllers and network traffic controllers, will walk out on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 May), coinciding with strike action taken by London Underground drivers who are members of the RMT. Bus controllers and network traffic controllers do safety critical roles for TfL, which include dealing with incidents and accidents, managing bus stations and putting in place bus stop closures and diversions due to traffic or emergencies such as accidents read more
CWU
CWU/RMG Agreement 2026 – FAQs read more
SPS workers vote on above-inflation pay deal (28 May) – Outsourced workers at SPS UK&I have accepted a pay deal which sees a nearly 7% pay bump for some workers. Following negotiations between the employer and Communication Workers Union (CWU) representatives, workers at the documentation services contractor voted by 60% to accept a deal which gives pay rises ranging from 3.94% to 6.86% to different employees. This pay bump comes on top of 12 employees already receiving a 3% wage increase to achieve the national living wage of £12.71 an hour in April read more
PCS
You can show your support to the strikes by PCS members by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
Defence investment plan creates more fears for PCS members (30 June) – Explanations and reassurances are needed for civilian staff working in the defence sector following the publication today of the government’s long-awaited defence investment plan. In making his announcement this morning at a British aerospace engineering firm in Berkshire, prime minister Keir Starmer confirmed a £15 billion investment to fund key equipment and technology but also renewed a commitment to cutting civil service staff within the Ministry of Defence read more
DfE Ballot – Have you voted? (30 June) – The ballot closes on 21 July and the deadline for requesting a replacement ballot paper is 10am on Wednesday, 1 July. The Department for Education plans to close offices in Croydon, Exeter, Leeds, Newcastle, Peterborough and Watford, impacting over 350 staff. 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. We are therefore balloting DfE members for industrial action. The ballot opened on 26 May and closes on 21 July. If you have not yet received a ballot paper or have lost it, you have until 10am on Wednesday 1 July to request a replacement read more
MPs debate Capita pensions shamble (25 June) – In the House of Commons today (25 June) MPs quizzed Cabinet Office ministers on the Capita Civil Service Pensions shambles. Euan Stainbank MP said Capita has been fined millions for repeated past failures and has now failed to manage civil service pensions under a contract approved by the Conservatives in November 2023, after replacing MyCSP, which had faced similar problems read more
DWP announces mass office closure programme (25 June) – DWP has announced today Service and Support Centre (SSC) closures in Motherwell, Glasgow, Derby, Hyde, Halifax, Torquay, Liverpool, Sunderland and Blackpool impacting thousands of staff. DWP has announced the closure of the following Service and Support Centres (SSCs) by September 2027. These office closures will impact many hundreds of members read more
Low paid Belfast members launch petition following strike action (23 June) – The petition calls on outsourcing giant Sodexo to reverse planned cuts to jobs and working hours. The Megaphone petition calls on Sodexo to immediately withdraw proposals to cut workers’ hours, remove all threats of redundancy, and abandon plans to merge roles into multi-functional positions. Please sign and share the petition; it only takes a couple of minutes. The petition, addressed to Paul Anstey, CEO for Government and Energy UK & Ireland at Sodexo, urges the company to withdraw proposals that would make members poorer and threaten jobs. Supporters are also being asked to donate to the PCS strike fund to help members sustain strike action without falling into financial difficulty read more
National Library of Wales members ballot on industrial action (19 June) – The ballot is in response to proposed detrimental pension changes. An industrial action ballot of PCS members at the National Library of Wales opened on 15 June in response to proposed pension changes put forward by Library management and approved by the Library Board. The ballot closes on 9 July. The proposed changes to the pension scheme include increasing employee contributions by between 3-6%, depending on pay level; increasing the retirement age to the State Pension Age; and significantly reducing the employer’s contribution to the scheme. These changes will further increase the disparity between National Library terms and conditions and those of PCS members elsewhere in the Welsh devolved sector. The attack on our members’ pensions follows over a decade and a half of austerity and cuts to the National Library and the culture sector in Wales. Wales is one from the bottom of a league table of European nations in terms of spending on cultural services per person and since 2008 the National Library’s budget has been reduced or frozen. 104 permanent posts were lost between 2010-2024. In 2020, PCS members at the library led a successful campaign in conjunction with the library’s other main trade union that stopped a £2 million cut to the Library’s budget. And in 2023, alongside PCS members from Amgueddfa Cymru, they launched a campaign against cuts. Members at the National Library are now balloting to fight the attack on their pensions. PCS is demanding the withdrawal of the proposed changes to the Library pension scheme and for an agreement to transfer scheme members to the Civil Service Pension Scheme, so that they receive the same pension rights as their colleagues elsewhere in the Welsh devolved sector read more
Ask your MP to help protect outsourced workers at the National Crime Agency (19 June) – A planned restructure threatens the jobs, terms and conditions of PCS members employed by OCS as security guards. The National Crime Agency (NCA) plays a vital role in protecting the UK from serious and organised crime read more
Ballot FAQs – industrial action ballot on FCDO2030 (29 May) – Vote now! Ballot papers must reach scrutineers by 22 June (noon) – and over 50% of members must vote. PCS is re-balloting members on FCDO2030 in a bid to save jobs and ensure a better outcome to the restructure. We need over 50% of members to vote and post back your ballot paper – we were just 19 votes short of 50% in the first ballot read more
Get the PCS Samba Band to your protests and demonstrations – go to their Facebook page and on X/Twitter @PCS_Samba_Band
Prospect
Prospect writes to BAE Systems over fair work, British jobs and defence supply chains (29 June) – Prospect has written to BAE Systems Naval Ships following an address at the Scottish Defence Procurement and Supply Chain Summit in Glasgow, calling for stronger standards across the defence supply chain, including fair employment practices, respect for trade unions and greater support for British industry read more
Royal Museums Greenwich staff reject pay offer (3 June) – Prospect members at Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) have overwhelmingly rejected the employer’s latest pay offer, with 92% voting to reject with a turnout of 96%. The offer was for a cash increase of £1,668 for all staff. The result comes after a year in which most staff received no pay increase, except for those on or immediately above the London Living Wage. The dispute at RMG covers a wider range of issues. A major concern for staff is the museum’s refusal to accredit to the London Living Wage. Members are also opposing changes to custom and practice arrangements that would require front-of-house staff to use annual leave to cover museum closure days over Christmas. Additional issues raised by staff include paid breaks for security workers, additional pay for bank holiday working, concerns around the use and renewal of fixed-term contracts, an inconsistent and opaque approach to pay progression, and the absence of a dedicated training and development budget for teams. 90% of members who voted to reject the offer said they would be prepared to take industrial action if the dispute is not resolved. The ballot result reflects concerns among staff about how workplace issues have been handled at the museum. Prospect is calling on RMG to engage constructively with staff and listen to concerns that have been raised in order to improve industrial relations and reach a resolution read more
GMB
Case grows for Nottinghamshire tram extension (26 June) – Nottinghamshire MPs and tram workers have written to the East Midlands Mayor calling for extension of the network. Workers from across Nottinghamshire’s tram network, represented by GMB trade union, have today issued an open letter to the East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward calling for the extension of the county’s tram network. The letter, co-signed by the union and seven Nottingham and south Nottinghamshire MPs, calls on the East Midlands Combined Authority to champion tram extension read more
Leeds faces equal pay claim worth ‘hundreds of millions’ (25 June) – Leeds City Council faces equal pay claims worth hundreds of millions of pounds , GMB Union has said. More than 4,000 women have already joined the claim, which says they have been systematically underpaid for the work they do for the council. GMB says there are structural pay differences between members of staff working in roles staffed predominantly by women – such as teaching assistant – and those roles carried out mostly by men – such as refuse collection read more
South East hosepipe ban after leaking 105 megalitres a day (25 June) – South East Water has today announced a hosepipe ban for Kent after the company leaked 104.8 million litres per day last year read more
Schools must take action when heat hits 30C (23 June) – Schools must take ‘immediate action’ to protect pupils and staff when temperatures top 30 degrees Celsius, GMB has said. The union has written to the Department for Education calling for enhanced heat controls, reduced heat exposure, lowered physical demand and increased access to water. If school leaders cannot reduce temperatures to comfortable and safe levels, they should consider closing the relevant parts of the school estate, the letter adds. Today [Tuesday] is likely to be the UK’s hottest June day on record, with temperatures forecast to rise above 35C read more
Outsourced Parliament cleaners face job losses, with roles cut by a third
GMB Union (23 June) – Around 130 outsourced cleaners in Parliament have been warned their jobs are at risk as their employer, Churchill Cleaning, has announced a significant redundancy process. The company is looking to cut over 1,000 hours of cleaning a week which equates to more than 40 members of staff, or around a third of staff who clean during the work week. Churchill Cleaning has repeatedly refused to make a voluntary redundancy offer, meaning staff face a compulsory exit. This news follows a government pledge last week to end ‘the era of outsourcing’, with new guidance published on public sector procurement read more
1,000s of Evri drivers reject pay deal (15 June) – Thousands of Evri drivers have rejected a pay deal from bosses with a massive majority. More than 6,000 couriers voted on the offer– which dates back to 2025 – with almost 97 per cent voting to turn it down. GMB Union, which has had a recognition deal with Evri since 2019, recommended drivers reject the deal for the first time. GMB will meet with couriers to discuss next steps read more
Doncaster pension ‘rip-off’ sees 100s overpaying (15 June) – GMB Union has today [Monday] demanded as end to the Doncaster pension ‘rip-off’ which sees hundreds of workers pay over pay each month. Since 2019, staff across the local authority including street cleaners, gritters, adult and child social carers have had their pensionable overtime payments calculated monthly rather than annually. Council workers are part of the Local Government Pay Scheme – yet Doncaster is thought to be the only council in the country to funnel the cash in toe general pension fund, rather than workers’ own individual pots. GMB has launched a campaign calling for a refund of workers’ overpayments and potentially compensation read more
Strike action at rail manufacturing giant Vossloh (15 June) – Workers at Vossloh in Scunthorpe will down tools this week. GMB Union has today announced that workers at Vossloh will begin industrial action this week. The news comes after pay talks between the company and GMB failed to reach agreement. Workers are furious after company managers offered a below inflation pay rise, despite staff in other parts of the company abroad being offered packages worth over 5.5% and company Directors pocketing 10% bonuses. The company manufactures rails and connector components, currently planned for Sheffield’s tram network. Workers will down tools from 6AM from today, Monday 15 until June read more
Chase Farm Hospital staff at ISS to take strike action (4 June) – Dozens of staff at Chase Farm Hospital have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action following allegations of bullying, overwork, and a toxic workplace culture. The staff, who are represented by GMB Union, are employed by outsourcing giant ISS in a variety of roles including catering, cleaning, and security. They voted 95 per cent in favour of industrial action, which is set to begin on Wednesday 15 July. Serious allegations made by staff include bullying from managers – including racist comments – failure to properly pay overtime for bank holidays, changes to working patterns causing unmanageable workloads, and workplace grievances taking months to be resolved. Despite repeated attempts by GMB and its members to resolve these concerns with ISS, ISS has yet to make any formal counteroffer to attempt to avert industrial action read more
Strike threat as ‘unacceptable’ delays to equal pay (3 June) – Workers have today written to the City’s lead Commissioner demanding action, says GMB. GMB Union members have today written to Birmingham City Council Lead Commissioner, Tony McArdle, calling on the authority to do more to end delays to equal pay settlement. The open letter, co-signed by hundreds of GMB members, calls on Tony McArdle and the city’s Commissioner team to intervene to end the deadlock in settling outstanding claims. Hundreds of equal pay claimants still await settlement details from the authority, despite commitments from the council bosses to speed up the process read more
Sandwell school workers strike (1 June) – Workers from The Orchard School have been pushed to the edge, says GMB. Teachers, Teaching Assistants and Midday Supervisors will begin strike action in Sandwell next week as part of the ongoing dispute at The Orchard School. The strike is joint action between GMB, the union for school support staff, and NASUWT, Britain’s teachers union. Ninety workers at the school are anticipated to join the strike action which comes weeks after overwhelming support for industrial action in a recent ballot of staff at the school. Workers are furious after school bosses failed to respond to grievances and concern raised about student and staff safety at the facility read more
East London primary school staff to strike over proposed pay cuts (22 May) – Teaching assistants at Sir William Burrough Primary School in Tower Hamlets will take strike action over a restructure that could see their pay slashed by thousands of pounds. The workers were balloted by their union, GMB Union, and voted 88 per cent in favour of strike action on a 100 per cent turnout. The school, which is part of the University Schools Trust, has paused the restructure, but declined to scrap it entirely, meaning staff are living with the threat of having their jobs downgraded. If it went ahead, it would see some support staff moved from grade 5 to grade 3, which could represent a loss of up to £7,500 per year for nursery nurses and up to £2,500 a year for learning support assistants. Any staff member who opposes the changes will have no choice but to resign, as the Trust has refused to offer redundancy pay. GMB is also supporting its members in another school in the Trust, St Paul’s Way, which is consulting on a restructure that would affect the jobs and salaries of both teachers and support staff read more
Net-A-Porter deliveries to be ‘savaged’ as 100 strike at warehouse
GMB Union (19 May) – Luxury fashion merchant Net-a-Porter is set to have its distribution centre savaged by industrial action tomorrow and Thursday. 100 distribution workers will walk out for two days after the company failed to honour its commitment to pay the London Living Wage to its lowest‑paid staff. Net-a-Porter offers high-end fashion deliveries, and its website includes items for sale which cost more than £150,000. In the run up to this action, GMB members have complained of being made to feel under pressure for taking part in lawful and visible union activity read more
Strike action begins at Crane Building Services and Utilities (11 May) – More than 100 workers at Crane Building Services and Utilities (BS&U) in Hitchin have started two weeks of strike action in a row over pay. Strikes will continue until Friday 22 May inclusive and stop manufacturing on the site. The workers, who are represented by GMB Union, voted 84 per cent in favour of strike action following frustrations around an unsatisfactory pay offer that has left them feeling undervalued. This vote marks the second time in two years that Crane BS&U workers have had to take industrial action to secure a decent pay award that matches their skills and experience read more
More than two hundred South London hospital staff to strike over cuts (5 May) – ‘Wards in disarray’ and ‘bad food’ facing three mental health sites for three days
GMB members working for OCS across three hospital sites within South London & Maudsley NHS Trust will take strike action between Wednesday 6 and Friday 8 May. More than 200 workers are expected to take action, who work in cleaning and catering at Maudsley Hospital, Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Ladywell Unit, Lewisham. Having been outsourced to OCS, the contract is now facing a proposed 2000 hours of cuts, which represents a drop in service provision of twenty per cent 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
Teesside NHS staff win long-running pay campaign (30 June) – Call handlers at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust have secured a pay deal worth thousands of pounds a year read more
Term time only pay is morally wrong (23 June) – After a rare Senedd debate united politicians on the scandal of term-time only pay, UNISON Cymru says warm words are not enough. Welsh Government must act now to create a Wales School Support Staff Negotiating Body and lift support staff out of poverty read more
Bedfordshire hospital staff to strike next week in overtime pay row (22 June) – NHS operating theatre staff in Bedfordshire will strike next week in a dispute about overtime pay, says UNISON today. Hospital workers say they will walk out on Thursday and Friday (25 and 26 June) unless managers reverse plans to cut pay for staff working extra hours. Workers employed by Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bedford and Luton & Dunstable hospitals, are upset bosses have scrapped a payment worth up to £120 a shift for staff who work beyond their contracted weekly hours. The union says the payment is urging the trust to reverse its decision to bring overtime payments back in line with national agreements paying time and half for the extra shifts. In February, hospital bosses said they were switching to a system where staff doing extra hours had to take shifts paid at a flat rate. UNISON fears the change will lead to staff shortages and more cancelled operations read more
Sacked mining museum worker submits unfair dismissal claim (18 June) – Neil Williams was removed from his position as health and safety manager at the National Coal Mining Museum last Decemberread more
Hospital staff in Leeds to begin two-week walkout next week (18 June) – Theatre assistants are due to strike as part of the union’s Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign. Low-paid NHS staff working in operating theatres across Leeds are set to strike for two weeks in an ongoing dispute over back pay and fair grading. The theatre assistants employed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will walk out from 8am on Monday (22 June) and remain on strike for 14 days. The workers say they have been carrying out duties that should be paid at a higher rate. This includes reducing the risk of infection for patients, handling clinical samples, supporting surgical teams and assisting with specialist equipment. They are currently employed at band 2, the lowest NHS pay grade, despite carrying out a range of clinical duties which should be paid at the higher band 3. Theatre assistants earn less than £13 per hour. It would cost little more than £1 an hour extra for them to be at the top of band 3, the union adds. UNISON says no progress has been made in resolving the dispute despite a productive meeting with hospital bosses earlier this month. Staff have now been left with no option but to strike. The trust’s position is increasingly out of step with NHS organisations across the region and country. Many others have agreed regrading and back pay settlements for healthcare support workers carrying out higher-level duties. Since the launch of the union’s Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign, tens of thousands of healthcare support staff in England and Wales have secured regrading and back pay settlements. This follows acknowledgement by employers that support staff had been undertaking work above their pay grade read more
Children’s social care managers in Bath escalate strike action over pay and grading (14 May) – Workers will walk out from Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 May. Bath and North East Somerset Council workers protesting in Bath. They’re holding placards. Children’s social care managers at Bath and North East Somerset Council are to strike for a further three days in an escalating dispute over pay and grading, says UNISON today (Thursday). Team managers and deputy team managers will walk out from Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 May. Workers at the local authority unanimously backed strike action following concerns about the council’s job regrading programme, says UNISON. Those affected by the scheme say it was imposed without proper consultation, and has left many on the wrong grade and underpaid. The union says the dispute comes at a time of wider upheaval in children’s services. In March, the council announced a restructure of which UNISON says has left staff facing further uncertainty read more
School support workers vote overwhelmingly to strike in support of victimised trade union rep (20 Mar) – UNISON members at Ash Field Academy, a SEND school in Evington, Leicester, have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action to demand the reinstatement of their elected representative. In a formal industrial action ballot which closed on 18th March, 87% of voting members supported strike action over the suspension of their workplace steward, Tom Barker – who has been suspended since October 2025 – and the attack this represents on their trade union rights. The turnout easily cleared the legal 50% participation threshold. For more than four months, UNISON’s Leicester City branch has been campaigning for Tom’s reinstatement. Discovery Schools Academy Trust (“DSAT”), the multi-academy trust which runs the school, claims that they are still investigating his case – though they have changed the allegations they claim to be investigating since the initial suspension. More than 400 trade unionists, including the UNISON’s new General Secretary Andrea Egan and prominent MP Zarah Sultana, have signed an open letter demanding Tom’s reinstatement read more
Defend Ameen Hadi and Salford City UNISON against the Far Right sign petition – ‘We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with trade unionist and lifelong anti racist campaigner Ameen Hadi. He has been placed under investigation by Salford City Council, following a malicious allegation, driven by far right YouTubers and Fascist Tommy Robinson, after a TOGETHER unity rally in Manchester on International Women’s Day’
Support Camden Unison school support staff members at Richard Cobden school for fair pay and safe staffing levels Camden New Journal: School strike over cuts to support staff
NIPSA
NI Budget and Pay Awards: Update from Carmel Gates, NIPSA General Secretary (26 June) – NIPSA members whose pay is determined by the NI Assembly will be acutely aware that they have not yet received the pay award that was due from 1 April 2026. This is because a budget has not yet been agreed by the NI Executive parties. Department of Finance officials and the NI Executive parties are in discussion with Treasury Officials in an effort to improve the current allocation – a process we hope is not delayed by the changes at the top of government in Britain. Although a draft budget was issued for consultation here in the early part of the year, it was clear then that the allocation was not enough. As NIPSA has been pointing out for many years, the level of funding allocated by Westminster under the Barnett Formula does not come close to meeting our assessed level of need. This fact has been outlined in the independent report commissioned by the NI Executive and has been backed up by the work done by the Fiscal Council. By comparison, both Wales and Scotland are funded above the level of their assessed need. If we were funded at the same level as Scotland, we would have an additional £3billion and if we were funded like Wales, we would have an additional £1billion. The consequence of underfunding, going back more than 20 years, is that public services here are in a dire state and public sector workers have been underpaid. Any budget implemented under the current formula would lead to further drastic cuts which is why NIPSA has called for a needs-based budget. NIPSA is continuing to take action to argue for higher funding. The issue was raised recently with an NIO Minister, and we have begun a round of meetings with all the political parties here to make the case for a better budget and decent pay awards. We have also secured a commitment from the Finance Minister that when a budget is settled, he will prioritise public service pay. I would urge all members to contact your local MLAs and MPs to seek their support in making the case for an appropriate financial settlement that will provide for properly funded services and appropriate pay awards. Further updates will be provided as necessary read more
Too Hot for Comfort? (23 June) – While we’re all glad to see the sunshine… it can make work a bit tougher! The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (NI) 1993 states that employers must ensure the temperature in all workplaces, inside buildings is “reasonable” during working hours. This means providing reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. What is “reasonable” will obviously be subjective and depend on individual comfort, as well as the nature of the workplace and work activities. The Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) says that workrooms should normally be 16 degrees Celsius for most types of work, and at least 13 degrees Celsius for work involving considerable physical effort. For most kinds of work the acceptable range of thermal comfort is between 16 degrees Celsius and 24 degrees Celsius read more
NIPSA Warns Of “Systemic Failure” In DAERA As Vets’ Dispute Escalates (15 June) – NIPSA has warned Stormont’s Agriculture Committee that failures in DAERA’s Veterinary Service have triggered a workforce crisis now affecting key public protections. In evidence to the Committee on 11 June, union officials said the dispute was “entirely avoidable”, accusing management of years of inaction and poor governance. They said two groups of vets were allowed to carry out identical work on different pay scales, despite clear internal policy requiring early review. NIPSA said DAERA ignored repeated warnings from 2019 and failed to carry out a mandatory grading review within required timelines, allowing a known equal pay risk to persist. A long-delayed grading review in 2024 confirmed both roles should be paid the same. While some staff were upgraded last year, NIPSA said DAERA has refused to address years of lost earnings, pension impacts and ongoing financial disadvantage. After “years of being ignored”, members backed industrial action with near-unanimous support. Action is now impacting TB control, export certification and wider veterinary services read more
NIPSA Annual Report 2025 ‘For Working Class Unity and a Socialist Economy’ is now available to download here
Royal College of Nursing
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
RCM campaign secures funding from Government for jobs for newly qualified midwives in England (30 June) – Newly qualified midwives in England will have access to an extra 1,000 new roles by the end of 2026 after the RCM secured funding from the Government following a hard-fought campaign. The RCM has been calling on the Government to find a long-term solution to the graduate midwifery job crisis, after the RCM publicised data which showed one in three newly qualified midwives hadn’t secured a position read more
South Tyneside and Sunderland midwives vote overwhelmingly for strike action (19 June) – Midwives in South Tyneside and Sunderland have voted overwhelmingly for strike action to prevent being rostered on-call on their days off. In a ballot of impacted members that closed this week, 92 per cent of RCM members voted yes to strike action. The RCM has been in negotiations with South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust for more than three years, seeking a solution that keeps maternity services safely staffed, without forcing midwives onto on-call shifts at busy times. The union has warned that the proposed on-call system is unsafe and unsustainable, risking increased burnout and damage to the recruitment and retention of midwives read more
CSP
CSP committed to inclusive society in wake of Edinburgh anti-Muslim attack (21 June) – The CSP has condemned knife attacks on Muslims in Edinburgh read more
CSP condemns racist hate in Belfast forcing members out of their homes and workplaces (12 June) – We are appalled by the outbreak of racist violence in Belfast and beyond that has led to physiotherapy staff and students leaving their homes and staying away from work or their place of study read more
SOR
Ockenden Review highlights systemic failures and staffing pressures (25 June) – Donna Ockenden’s report on maternity care in Nottingham was published on 24 June, highlighting pressure on sonographers read more
BMA
Resident doctors in England accept Government offer on pay and jobs (29 June) – Strikes to end but pay review process ‘on notice’ until restoration achieved, says BMA. The long-running dispute between resident doctors and the Government has come to an end after BMA members accepted the latest offer on pay and jobs. The BMA resident doctors committee in England accepted the latest offer, after 53 per cent of eligible BMA members voted in favour in a referendum. Turnout was 57 per cent, with 32,932 doctors voting. The acceptance of the deal brings an end to the dispute in England, which has seen 15 rounds of industrial action take place since 2023. However, RDC insisted the deal is just a step towards its over-arching goal of pay restoration to 2008 levels and noted that resident doctors’ pay still lags by nearly a fifth on that time. The offer includes 4,500 specialty training places in the next three years in a bid to tackle the jobs bottleneck read more
Resident doctors strike for better pay (29 June) – Primary and secondary care in Northern Ireland in dispute with government simultaneously. Resident doctor leaders accused Northern Ireland’s health minister of ‘burying his head in the sand’ as they prepared to go out on strike owing to pay erosion. A 24-hour walk-out began today at 7am today as resident doctors continue their battle for pay restoration. It follows a 24-hour strike (in the form of Christmas Day cover) by consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors in Northern Ireland on Thursday read more
Consultants and SAS doctors begin strike (24 June) – Senior doctors in Northern Ireland announce 24-hour strike owing to failure to meet agreement on better pay. For the first time, consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors in Northern Ireland will go on strike today because of pay. The 24-hour strike takes the form of Christmas Day cover, which means most routine or elective work will be cancelled but emergencies will be treated and runs from 7am today until 6.59am tomorrow. Representatives of the Northern Ireland BMA consultants and SAS doctors’ committees will go to Stormont around lunchtime to meet the chair and deputy chair of the health committee to discuss the dispute read more
NEU
NEU writes to Bridget Phillipson as schools endure another day of extreme heat (25 June) – Today the National Education Union has written to Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, to demand urgent investment in school buildings to deal with the effects of climate change. General secretary Daniel Kebede points out that the government’s pledge for making schools fit for purpose, on its current trajectory, will not complete until the year 2246. This week we have seen schools, particularly in the more southerly parts of England and Wales, struggling to keep students and staff safe in record-breaking temperatures. This heatwave is not business as usual for education. Heat significantly impacts education, affecting students’ ability to concentrate as well as posing risks to health. Pregnant women teachers and pupils and staff with underlying health conditions are particularly at risk in high temperatures read more
Deltapoll: 95% of NEU members believe their school will struggle to afford an unfunded pay rise (24 June) – Deltapoll interviewed a representative sample of 4,131 NEU Members, online, between 3 – 8th June 2026. The figures have been weighted to be representative of all NEU members.
- 95 per cent of NEU members polled said their school would have difficulty affording the pay increases in September without extra cash.
- 69 per cent of teacher members polled find the rumoured one-year pay deal of around 3.5 per cent unacceptable.
- Over two-thirds (70 per cent) have recently considered leaving the profession.
Amid the political turmoil in Westminster, the union is calling on education secretary Bridget Phillipson not to abdicate her responsibilities. She must urgently publish the report of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) and the government’s proposals on teacher pay read more
NEU Cymru members at Darland High School strike over cuts to teaching staff, behaviour, and workload (23 June) – NEU and NASUWT members at Darland High School are today (23/06/2026) taking their first day of strike action, with two days of action planned for next week. Members voted overwhelmingly in favour of action due to the detrimental changes the employer has made to staffing levels. The cuts in staffing will further exacerbate the already serious challenges around behaviour, with little to no support from Senior Leaders. Meetings have taken place between the unions and the employer, and there has been recognition that the issues raised are fair and reasonable. The school leadership need to convince and reassure members that urgent action is being taken to address the long-standing concerns of members to avoid further action. Staff will need reassurances about class sizes, timetables, genuine and visible SLT support for behaviour and action on workload read more
NEU to launch a formal ballot for strike action (9 May) – The national executive of the NEU has today (Saturday) taken the decision to move to formal ballots for strike action over pay and funding. The formal ballots of teachers and support staff in state-maintained schools in England will open on 3 October and close on 15 December. Early reports indicate that the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) report and the decisions of the Chancellor and Education Secretary will not result in a fully-funded pay offer for teachers that exceeds inflation, nor in sufficient funding for schools to prevent redundancies and rises in workload. The NEU is today signalling that we will move to formally ballot our members for strike action in October if the government does not take urgent action to address these issues. This is part of the NEU’s campaign to save education. The formal ballot follows NEU indicative ballots of teachers and support staff in England, carried out between February and April. Members voted overwhelmingly in support of strike action over the issue of pay, funding and workload read more
Support the strikes:-
- Our Place / Worcester (Conditions of Service) 30 June, 1 July, 3 July; NEU contact: Sean Mccauley [email protected]
- Forest Fields Primary & Nursery School / Nottingham (Conditions of Service) 29-30 June, 1 July; NEU contact: Sheena Wheatley [email protected]
- Homewood School & Sixth Form / Kent (Restructuring/Redundancies) 30 June, 1-2 July; Paige Horsford [email protected]
- Woodfield School / Brent (Reduction to teaching assistant hours) 29 June, 2, 3 July; NEU contact: Jennifer Cooper [email protected]
- Learning Partnership West / Bristol (Conditions of Service) 29-30 June, 1,3 July; NEU contact: Tom Bolton [email protected]
- Grays Convent High School / Thurrock (Redundancies) 30 June, 1-2 July; NEU contact: Paul Robinson [email protected]
- Grimley & Holt CofE Primary / Worcs (Redundancies, Restructure, Workload) 3 July; NEU contact: Sean McCauley [email protected]
- Dixons Fazakerley Academy / Liverpool (Conditions of Service) 29-30 June; NEU contact: Graham Copsey [email protected]
- Ark Priory Academy / Ealing (Workload) 29-30 June; NEU contact: Aisha Abbasi [email protected] & Mat Milovanovic [email protected]
- Melbourn Village College / Cambs (Conditions of Service) 30 June, 1 July; NEU contact: Helen Brook [email protected]
- Rushey Green Primary Lewisham (Conditions of Service) 2-3 July; NEU contact: Karina Maloney [email protected]
- Darland High School / Wrexham (Conditions of Service) 30 June, 1 July; Tracey Williams [email protected]
- Tewkesbury Academy / Gloucs (Conditions of Service) 3 July; NEU contact: Michaela Wilde [email protected]
- Early Years Send Team / Leicestershire (restructuring/redundancies) 30 June, 1 July; NEU contact: Shahida Parveen [email protected]
- Forest Fields Primary & Nursery School / Nottingham (conditions of service) 29-30 June, 1 July; NEU contact: Sheena Wheatley [email protected]
- Samworth Church Academy / Notts (conditions of service) 30 June, 1-2 July; NEU contact: Rob Illingworth [email protected], Sarah Brown [email protected]
- Parkside School / Bradford (conditions of service) 2 July; NEU contact: Lisa Foley [email protected]
- St Ignatius College / Enfield (academisation) 1-2 July; NEU contact: Claire Docherty [email protected]
- Martins Wood Primary / Herts (sick leave policy) 1-2 July; NEU contact: Lizzie Newman [email protected], Nyree O’Brien [email protected]
- Wakefield Grammar Schools / Wakefield (TPS) 1-2 July; NEU contact: Debbie Kahler [email protected]
- Ark Alexandra Academy / East Sussex 30 June, 1 July; NEU contact: Jennifer Drapans [email protected]
- Ark Little Ridge Primary / East Sussex (compulsory redundancies) 30 June, 1 July; NEU contact: Jennifer Drapans [email protected]
- Oxford Spires Academy / Oxfordshire (redundancies & restructure) 3 July; NEU contact: Stuart Robinson [email protected]
- Islip Manor High School / Ealing (compulsory redundancies/restructuring) 29 June, 1, July; NEU contact: Neetu Malhi [email protected]
- St Paul’s Way / Tower Hamlets (restructuring/redundancies/workload) 29 June; NEU contact: Lucy Preston [email protected]
- E-Act Academies (Ex-Venturers Trust) / Bristol (support staff pay) 30 June; NEU contact: Tom Bolton [email protected]
- Great Ormond Street & UCH Children’s Hospital / Camden (conditions of service) 1-2 July; NEU contact: Megan Quinn [email protected]
NASUWT
Government not playing fair with new SEND proposals (25 June) – Commenting on the government’s announcement of new funding and guidance for mainstream inclusion in schools, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “The government insists that it wants to listen to teachers and families, but instead of publishing the long-awaited response to the SEND consultation, ministers are already using guidance, funding conditions and tight deadlines to implement their preferred model. How can schools play by the rules government sets, when the government isn’t playing fair?…” read more
Industrial action ballot over toxic teacher workload in Northern Ireland (2 June) – NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in Northern Ireland, has today served formal notice of an official industrial action ballot across all state-funded schools, following the Department of Education’s sustained failure to deliver a credible implementation plan for the 27 recommendations of the Independent Review of Workload. The ballot will open on Wednesday 10 June and will close on Tuesday 1 September read more
Teachers at SEND school strike against overcrowding (1 June) – Teachers at The Orchard School in Oldbury will begin the first of four days of strike action tomorrow. The Orchard School is a SEND school run by Sandwell Local Authority. Teachers at The Orchard have serious concerns about the numbers of pupils on roll and the impact overcrowding has on their workload, and the safety of both staff and pupils read more
Haberdashers staff strike over pensions raid (11 May) – Teachers at Haberdashers Boys and Girls Schools in Elstree are to start five days of strike action on Wednesday over attempts to impose detrimental changes to their pensions. Employers are trying to cap their future contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, meaning that teachers would have to foot the bill for any future increases in the employer contribution rate, rather than the employer meeting the additional costs. The employer has used fire and rehire tactics to try to force through these changes, with large numbers of teachers receiving letters of dismissal and reengagement on amended contracts. Teachers from NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at both schools are due to take strike action on 13th, 14th, 19th, 20th and 21st May. Teachers will be picketing outside the school between approximately 7.15am and 9.30am read more
Workload threats prompt strike action at two Lincolnshire schools (10 May) – Teachers from NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Banovallum School and Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, both in Horncastle, are due to begin four days of strike action tomorrow (Monday) over the detrimental impact of job cuts and changes to working conditions on teacher workload. The Horncastle Education Trust, which runs both schools, is making seven voluntary staff redundancies and is proposing to cut the time allocated to teachers for planning, preparation and assessment from 15% of timetabled teaching time to 10%. Strike action is planned for 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th May. NASUWT teachers will be picketing outside the school on each strike day between approximately 8am and 9am read more
Strike action begins at St Helens college (7 May) – Teachers from NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Cowley International College in St Helens began the first of four days of strike action today as a result of adverse management practices, escalating workload pressures, and a breakdown of trust caused by the school’s leadership. Teachers have been subjected to unprofessional treatment by the employer and a persistent failure by senior leadership to address workload and safety concerns. By the time the employer began to acknowledge the seriousness of the concerns raised, trust had already collapsed. Teachers now have no confidence that commitments made by management will be honoured. Despite this, they have agreed to attend work to ensure exam classes are taught, demonstrating their continued commitment to their pupils read more
EIS
EIS Lodges New Dispute with City of Glasgow College over Management and Culture (30 June) – The EIS has lodged a new dispute with City of Glasgow College (CoGC) over the management style and institutional culture within the college. The EIS believes that the culture and ethos of CoGC is having a detrimental impact on the health, wellbeing, professionalism, operational effectiveness and morale of lecturing staff read more
EIS Strike Commences at Glasgow Caledonian University over Threat to 100 Jobs (29 June) – Members of the EIS ULA at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) will be on strike this week in an escalation of a dispute over job cuts and redundancies at the university. The EIS has given notice to the university on the planned strike action and has again urged GCU management to return to the negotiating table with a promise to rule out compulsory redundancies. EIS members at GCU are greatly concerned over their future at the university, the negative impact the planned job cuts will have on the workload of those who will remain and the detrimental repercussions to academic provision and the educational experience for students read more
College lecturers to receive 10 per cent pay rise after pay offer is backed overwhelmingly (25 June) – Scotland’s college lecturers are set to receive a pay rise of more than 10 per cent over three years after EIS-FELA trade union members overwhelmingly backed a new salary offer from Colleges Employers Scotland (CES). In a consultative ballot, 98 per cent of union members voted to accept the terms of the proposal on a turnout of two thirds of all members read more
INTO
NITC Lodges Dispute with Department of Education over Teacher Workload Response (12 May) – On 28 April the Minister published his response to the report from the Independent Panel on Teacher Workload. NITC met with the Minister and a range of representatives to discuss the response. The five teaching unions then met with their executive bodies and took comment from members regarding the report. Subsequently, the concerns which were expressed from members right across the system were compiled into a document for consideration by the Minister and the Department. The plan as it currently stands is simply not acceptable to the NITC. Members were informed on Tuesday 5 May that NITC submitted the letter detailing the concerns and requested a reply by Monday 11 May. No reply was received with DE indicating that we may receive a response next week. NITC as a whole, and each constituent union, took the decision in the absence of a response on the date requested, to lodge a dispute with the Department of Education. These actions were taken today. The dispute relates to the failure of the Department of Education to publish a plan which is capable of fully implementing the recommendations from the Independent Review of Teacher Workload read more
UCU
UCU Stop the Cuts campaign
Sign petition against the education cuts
Strike ballot looms at Macclesfield College as staff reject lowball pay offer (30 June) – Macclesfield College staff have overwhelmingly voted to reject a pay offer worth just 1.5% in year and backed strike action in a fight for fair wages. In an online ballot, UCU members at the college overwhelmingly voted by 95% to reject the low-ball award and indicated they are prepared to strike if the college does not come back with a decent offer. Macclesfield initially made an offer of just 2%, lower than any other college in the region, well below inflation and the 4% recommended by the college’s employer body, the Association of Colleges. Management belatedly made a further offer of 3%, but refuse to backdate it to August, meaning it is only worth 1.5% in year. Despite offering staff a real term pay cut the college has a forecasted surplus of over £650,000, generated through the hard work of UCU members. The college is due to be taken over by Cheshire College South and West on Saturday 1 August (2026) meaning staff could be striking within weeks of the college’s takeover read more
Exeter University staff vow to fight ‘vicious’ job cuts (29 June) – Staff at Exeter University have overwhelmingly supported a no confidence vote in the university’s vice-chancellor as they prepare to fight a wave of vicious cuts to the humanities department, announced the University and College Union (UCU) today. Over 500 research and teaching staff, including more than eight in 10 academics in the faculty of humanities, arts and social sciences are at risk of redundancy in plans to axe over 200 staff. UCU fears that courses including history, English, modern languages and politics will suffer irreparable damage if the cuts go through, with the cuts on the Falmouth campus also putting languages and environmental sciences provision at serious risk. A petition against the cuts has already gained over 10,000 signatures. Management says the cuts are needed to reduce financial pressures, but UCU argues there is no financial need to force through cuts of this scale. According to the university’s own accounts, since 2023 it has increased its reserves by over £188m (from £432m to £621m). And since 2021, the number of staff earning over £100k has jumped by more than double (from 157 to 404), despite the university’s claim that it has “taken steps to manage staffing costs”. Last Thursday, at a packed emergency meeting, UCU members overwhelmingly voted no confidence in the vice-chancellor and, later this week, will meet again to vote for industrial action read more
University of Nottingham condemned after latest attempt to end industrial action (19 June) – University and College Union (UCU) has today (Friday 19 June) condemned University of Nottingham management for their lack of willingness to help resolve the current dispute. UCU officials met with University of Nottingham management yesterday in a bid to end the ongoing dispute over large-scale job cuts, course closures and workload concerns. UCU had earlier this week provided potential further savings and a more detailed financial counterproposal to the employer’s plans and on top of the number of staff who may leave voluntarily. With graduations in just a few weeks, this was the ideal time to seek a resolution read more
Staff at Northumbria University to be balloted for strike action in job cuts row (18 June) – UCU has today formally declared a dispute with Northumbria University and will ballot members over potential strike action. The dispute is in response to management plans to slash around 1 in 10 jobs before Christmas, across Geography and Natural Sciences; Engineering, Physics & Maths; Humanities; Theatre & Performance; and Design departments. Management has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies. The £5 million cuts follow an already damaging restructure, plans to push staff out of pension schemes and the folly of expensive building projects, including a £2.5m Centre for Writing which would house some of those staff who survive the cull. The move to a dispute and potential strike action follows votes of no confidence in both the senior executives and the Board of Governors read more
Staff at the University of Lincoln deliver a damning vote of no confidence in the institution’s senior leadership team (18 June) – University of Lincoln staff have delivered an overwhelming no confidence vote in the senior leadership team in a dispute over job cuts, UCU announced today. 97% of members that voted said they had lost confidence in management, driven by poor leadership, insufficient transparency in decision‑making, and policies that have adversely impacted staff wellbeing, job security, and the quality of teaching and research. The union accused the employer of losing around a third of the workforce and refusing to rule out compulsory redundancies either in this academic year or the next. Despite efforts by the union to negotiate with the university over the changes, UCU has been left with no choice but to survey members and hopes the result will be a wakeup call for the employer read more
LSBU staff to strike next week in fight against vicious assault on academics’ terms and conditions (16 June) – UCU has today announced that staff at London South Bank University (LSBU) will take two days of strike action next week in a row over proposed sham redundancies and contract changes. Staff will down tools on Monday 22 June and Thursday 25 June, with pickets at the main entrance on Borough Road, SE1 0AA and the Keyworth Building entrance on Keyworth Street, SE1 6NG from 9am to 12pm on both days. Staff will also hold a rally on Monday 22 June from 12pm until 1pm outside the LSBU Hub on 100-116 London Road, SE1 6LN. The dispute is over LSBU’s decision to terminate the contract of all academic members of staff and pit them against each other in a redundancy selection process determined by the Research Excellence Framework read more
University of Dundee staff vote for strike action in re-ballot (9 June) – Staff at the University of Dundee have again backed strike action in the long running dispute over jobs cuts and management’s refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. In a ballot that ended at 12noon today, UCU Scotland members voted by 79% to back strike action. The turnout was 58%. Action short of strike, including working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, not taking on voluntary activities and a possible marking and assessment boycott was also backed by 89% of members. The branch’s members will now decide what action to take. The re-ballot was required as mandates for strike action are time limited under employment law. Recent changes to the law mean that this new mandate will last for a full calendar year read more
Global academic boycott imposed on University of Sheffield over job cuts & pay docking (4 June) – The University of Sheffield has just been hit with the ultimate sanction of a global academic boycott by the biggest higher education union in the UK read more
Glasgow Caledonian University strike starts today (3 June) – Members of UCU at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) today begin three days of strike action in a dispute over job cuts and possible compulsory redundancies. Staff are taking strike action today and tomorrow, and on Tuesday 4 August. In the vote authorising the strike members supported the action by 79% with a 69% turnout. Staff are also taking part in action short of strike including working to contract, not undertaking voluntary duties or covering for absent colleagues. The strike is over proposals by senior managers to cut up to 100 posts even though the university is not currently in deficit read more
UCU responds to threat of over 100 job cuts at Aberdeen University (29 May) – Speaking following the announcement from the University of Aberdeen that it plans to make over 100 job cuts, UCU Aberdeen co-chair Dan Cutts said: ‘This is absolutely devastating for the workforce. There is a lot of anger, distress and worry amongst our members who have been working tirelessly to support their students. Our members are baffled as to why senior management are choosing to make these drastic job cuts when the university’s financial situation has improved and they report we are in surplus. Management plans are illogical and will be damaging to the student experience here at Aberdeen University. UCU will be gauging the feelings of our membership over the next few days and there is no doubt that our union will be fighting back against these devastating cuts.’ Read more
Ten-day strike at Aberdeen University starts today (13 Apr)
Indefinite strike action to begin Monday 8 June over Goldsmiths lockout (29 May) – Staff will commence an indefinite strike on Monday 8 June at Goldsmiths, University of London. The union said the imposition of 100% pay deductions for participation in action short of strike is an effective lockout, and staff will refuse to work because management refuses to pay them. UCU began a marking boycott, as part of its action short of strike, on Monday 27 April, refusing to mark all work and assessments in a fight to protect jobs. Management responded by threatening to dock 100% of pay even if staff continue to complete all their other duties, including teaching, research and recruitment. The employer confirmed its intention to dock pay from Friday 22 May, ahead of a bank holiday weekend, and UCU has now responded by giving notice for indefinite strike action beginning Monday 8 June. Worryingly, university management has also reportedly issued an ultimatum to students, threatening to ban them from campus for protesting in solidarity with staff. Currently 269 professional services staff and academics are in scope of redundancy, more than one in five of the 1,230 strong workforce. Further academic staff cuts are also slated to start from September. This is the third round of redundancies at Goldsmiths in the last five years, and these cuts are going ahead despite close to £24m being saved in the two previous rounds read more
Union condemns University of Sussex threat of compulsory redundancies (29 May) – UCU has condemned the University of Sussex management’s threat to cut 200 jobs, with around 600 staff placed at risk of redundancy. The threatened job losses form part of a £35m cuts programme following a fall in student recruitment. UCU Sussex, along with sister branches UNISON and UNITE, has written to vice-chancellor Sasha Roseneil demanding that compulsory redundancies be ruled out until Saturday 31 July 2027. UCU said it would fight any threat of compulsory redundancies read more
Staff at Queen Margaret University vote for strike action (22 May) – Staff at Queen Margaret University (QMU) have voted for strike action in a dispute over jobs cuts, compulsory redundancies and changes to working practices. University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members at the university voted by 92% to back strike action on a turnout of 67%. Action short of strike, which could involve working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues or voluntary activities, was also backed by 96% of members voting. Members of the branch will now decide their next steps in the dispute. Senior managers at QMU are looking to make savings of £4million in staffing costs this academic year and in 2027/28 and have refused to rule out the possibility of compulsory redundancies. On top of the job cuts, management also proposed cutting research and scholarship time for academic staff. Research-led teaching is recognised universally as the benchmark across higher education and the union argues that any step backwards on this would harm the university read more
First day of summer of strikes begins at Heriot-Watt University (14 May) – University and College Union Scotland members at Heriot-Watt University will today begin the first of six strike days across May and June. Today’s strike takes place as the university court, the university’s highest decision-making body, meets to consider future strategy. UCU members will also take strike action in June unless management take steps to resolve the dispute before then. Staff are striking over plans to cut jobs in the university’s Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies and the potential closure, including possible compulsory redundancies, of the successful Scholar programme which delivers online learning in schools. Members backed strike action by 74% on a 70% turnout and took nine days of strike action strike action earlier in the Spring read more
Four strike days begin tomorrow at Capital City College Group over workload issues (11 May) – Staff at Capital City College Group (CCCG) begin four consecutive days of strike action tomorrow after the employer failed to meaningfully negotiate over workload concerns. UCU members will be on picket lines each strike day (Tuesday 12, Wednesday 13, Thursday 14, and Friday 15 May) from 8am across the eight college sites. The dispute is over excessive workloads, and the action comes after CCCG failed to meaningfully progress workload issues after belatedly meeting with the union last week, in response to the strike threat (Wednesday 6 May). Prior to that meeting, management had failed to meet with the union over workload concerns since January (when inadequate notice was given to UCU reps of the meeting date), despite committing to two further meetings before the Easter break. UCU demands include increased tutorial time, more support for students with special educational needs, and additional student wellbeing staff read more
Outrage as DfE hire refuses national recommendation to raise pay (5 May) – Staff at Windsor Forest Colleges Group (WFCG) will strike tomorrow (Wednesday 6 May) as they continue to fight for fair pay. College principal Gillian May is now set to leave at the end of the month to take up a senior post, as deputy commissioner for further education, at the Department for Education. Despite holding down her own staff’s pay, she has accepted a 7.8% increase to her own salary of over £10,000. The group runs four colleges across Berkshire and Surrey: Slough and Langley College, Windsor College, Strode’s College, and the Berkshire College of Agriculture. Staff have already taken five days of action and are asking for a fair pay award. WFCG has refused to even meet the 4% pay award recommended by the Association of Colleges, unlike every other college in the region read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority have abandoned proposals to close eight fire stations, under the conditions that…
👉They are granted approval to raise council tax
👉There are no more cuts to DWFRS by February 2027
The FBU will continue to hold Dorset and Wiltshire CFO and the Fire Authority to account and will stay vigilant against potential covert cuts disguised as “service modernisation”.
Firefighters’ duty is to protect the public, and that is exactly what FBU members have done in fighting against these closures (30 June) read more on FBU Facebook page
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
General Secretary update read more
National Chair update June 2026 read here
NEC minutes June 2026 read more
Right to strike campaign – further action (5 June) – POA Circular 033/2026 asked members to contact their local MP and request their support for the POA’s Right to Strike Campaign. If you have received a response from your MP, whether positive or negative, please forward it to [email protected]. This is part of a simple but powerful campaign that will send a clear message that Prison Officers must have their right to strike restored read more
Right to strike campaign – postcard action (28 Mar) – POA Circular 23/2026 was promulgated on 23rd March 2026 and POA Circular 34/2026 was promulgated on the 2nd April 2026 as part of our ongoing Campaign to have our Right to Strike Reinstated and explained that the POA would be distributing pre-printed postcards to all our members. The postcards contain a message to the Prime Minister urging him to Reinstate our Right to Strike. These postcards are addressed to the Prime Minister and will play a vital part in demonstrating our strength and unity on this issue read more
NAPO
Detailed Probation Pay Claim Submitted (26 Jan) – The Probation Trade Unions have now formally submitted the detailed 2026–27 pay claim to senior HMPPS management, marking the next stage in our campaign to secure the pay, recognition and respect that probation staff deserve. This follows the opening of ‘without prejudice’ discussions earlier this month. Further talks will take place throughout July and August and Napo remains absolutely clear: members must have a pay offer to consider before 1 September read more
End IPP – march on 15 July 2026 – Join the march calling for an end to IPP sentences taking place on 15 July at 11am, starting at the MoJ and ending at Parliament. Any members wishing to attend must do so in their own time read more
BFAWU
Spring Foodworker 2025 read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
BALPA
BALPA’s Realtime reporting week: fighting fatigue together (26 June) – It’s midway through our first Realtime reporting week and the team are reporting an impressive response from BALPA pilots with a surge in the rate of submissions. Thanks to all our members supporting this important campaign on pilot fatigue. This is the crucial information we need to make the case for change, including improved FTL regulations and more effective fatigue risk management read more
NUJ
NUJ calls for release of photographer in Uganda (30 June) – The NUJ has called for the immediate release of our member, Klaus Thymann, who was arrested in Kampala, Uganda, on Monday 29 June read more
National Executive Council backs strategy to promote long-term future of BBC (26 June) – The NUJ’s National Executive Council (NEC) has offered its full support to the industrial strategy BBC members deem necessary to resist savage job cuts read more
NUJ concerned over reports of Comcast deal for ITV (25 June) – The NUJ has reiterated concerns over Comcast’s takeover of ITV amid media reports of agreed terms and has called for greater transparency read more
Equity
Equity solidarity statement with Colombian trades unionists (30 June) – Following the election of a far-right candidate to the Colombian Presidency, Equity expresses solidarity with actors’ union ACA, trades unionists across Colombia, the Justice for Colombia campaign and all those seeking peace and social justice in Colombia. We are disturbed by the new President Abelardo de la Espriella’s expressed misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. This, along with his promise to dismantle the National Protection Unit, which has provided protection to activists and leaders at risk of violence, is very concerning read more
Equity issues advice on working in the summer 2026 heatwave (22 June) – Extreme heat is dangerous for health, so follow our guidance on how to stay safe when working in a heatwave (hint: sometimes you have to stop working) read more
West End workers vote YES for strike action in Equity indicative ballot (19 May) – Performers and stage management across the West End have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action and to back Equity’s claim in negotiations, in an indicative ballot aimed at moving talks forwards. The union says producers “must wake up to the real possibility of a summer of strikes unless offers are improved.” Indicative ballot results:-
- 98% of current West End workers voted YES to supporting strike action on an 89% turnout
- 99% of all West End workers from the past three years voted YES to back Equity’s claim on a 78% turnout
- Equity will move to a statutory ballot for strike action if an improved offer is not made read more
Musicians Union
Why Musicians and Trade Unionists Must Stand Against the Far Right (29 June) – In this opinion piece, Peter Raistrick, London Regional Committee member and Young Members’ Network activist, reflects on the responsibility of musicians and trade unionists to defend creative freedom, workers’ rights and an inclusive society in the face of the growing threat of the far right read more
MU Stands with Staff and Students Fighting Nottingham University Cuts (7 May) – MU officials joined staff and students at the University of Nottingham yesterday to protest proposed job and course cuts, including the suspension of music courses for new entrants, as concerns grow over the wider threat facing arts subjects in higher education read more
USDAW
Usdaw members vote overwhelmingly for strike action at the Morrisons Bridgwater distribution centre (4 Mar) – Retail distribution trade union Usdaw has balloted 100 drivers and transport clerical staff at Eddie Stobart Limited, who operate a Morrisons contract at the Bridgwater distribution centre in Somerset. Members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, in a dispute over the 2025 pay award, with an 83% yes vote. The ballot closed on 2 March and the turnout was 83% read more
UVW
Migrant cleaners at South London school Ark Globe Academy vote for strike action (30 June) – Outsourced migrant cleaners, members of United Voices of the World (UVW), at Ark Globe Academy in South London have voted unanimously to take strike action after months of campaigning to restore the full London Living Wage and address persistent payroll issues. Every worker who participated in the ballot voted YES for industrial action, giving a 100% mandate to strike. The cleaners, employed by subcontractor Atlas Cleaning Limited, won the London Living Wage in 2020 and have consistently received it over the past five years. However, from 1 April 2026 they were given only a partial uplift to £14.27 per hour, marking the first time the full annual increase has not been implemented. Months of payroll errors and delayed wage corrections have also left many workers struggling to pay rent, bills and other essential living costs. Atlas Cleaning Limited has told UVW that it cannot fully implement the 2026 London Living Wage increase because of contractual arrangements with Ark Globe Academy. The school told UVW that it decided “to pause alignment to the Real Living Wage for this financial year” due to wider financial pressures across the organisation and education sector…The cleaners’ campaign has attracted growing support from the local community, including National Education Union (NEU) members, teachers across Southwark, and residents; Green Party councillors have also backed the workers’ call for fair pay and treatment read more
Migrant cleaner takes Hackney council to court for discrimination and breach of contract (29 Apr) – “I have felt bullied despite giving 100 percent of myself at work. It is not fair that at the slightest issue, workers can be made to feel belittled and pushed out as though they are worth nothing” – Maryori Pacheco Masias, UVW member. “I have felt bullied despite giving 100 percent of myself at work. It is not fair that at the slightest issue, workers can be made to feel belittled and pushed out as though they are worth nothing” – Maryori Pacheco Masias, UVW member. A migrant cleaner is taking legal action against Hackney Council, alleging bullying, harassment, and discrimination after her working conditions were abruptly changed, leaving her in financial hardship 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
Driver union protest over driverless cars disrupts City Hall transport meeting (26 June) – Private hire drivers working on platforms including Uber and Bolt disrupted a London Assembly Transport Committee meeting yesterday to protest the planned rollout of driverless cars on London’s streets. The meeting at City Hall included a discussion on the future of autonomous vehicle technology, with industry stakeholders invited to give evidence to members of the London Assembly and TfL officials. Speakers included a representative from Waymo, the leading commercial robotaxi operator worldwide, and Wayve, a UK based autonomous vehicle technology company that secured more than a billion pounds in funding from Uber. Drivers belonging to the IWGB Union stood and interrupted the meeting to raise concerns directly with London’s transport decision-makers. Protesters highlighted concerns around passenger safety, the impact of additional vehicles on already congested roads, and the threat posed to more than 100,000 private hire driver jobs read more
Rockstar suffers legal setback as judge rules against studio in union-busting dispute (17 June) – An employment tribunal has ruled against Rockstar Games in the latest stage of a legal dispute over alleged union-busting at the studio. The ruling allows the IWGB Union to continue bringing blacklisting claims against the company at the final trial set to take place over September and October this year. Following the sudden dismissals of 31 of its members in October last year, the IWGB Union has been preparing to take Rockstar to court over allegations including blacklisting – the practice of compiling information about workers involved in union activity in order to discriminate against them.At the latest preliminary hearing, Rockstar sought to strike blacklisting claims from the case being brought against it, but the ruling, published yesterday, rejects this attempt to narrow the scope of the case, and confirms that every one of the union’s allegations relating to union-busting can proceed to trial. The dates for the final hearing have now been shared, with the trial set to begin on the 10th of September and run to the 15th of October this year. The court case will conclude just over a month before the planned release of Grand Theft Auto VI on the 19th of November, expected to be one of the biggest video game launches in history read more
RCA cleaners fired after protesting sexual harassment and workplace abuse (13 May) – Two cleaners at the Royal College of Art have been dismissed after taking part in a letter hand-in protest over alleged workplace abuse and sexual harassment, involving supervisors employed by the university’s cleaning subcontractor, PfP Students. The workers, who are members of the IWGB Union, say they are being victimised for speaking out about harassment and safety concerns in the workplace read more
Mandate (Ireland)
Mandate calls for employers to be legally obliged to offer more contracted hours to part-time workers (23 June) – Latest CSO data shows that average retail worker in Ireland earns half of average industrial wage and less than the Living Wage. Mandate has today called for changes to be made to employment laws so that employers are legally obliged to offer more contracted working hours to part-time workers. The call was made at a briefing on the union’s Make Work Pay campaign in Buswells Hotel, Dublin. At the briefing, Jim Fuery, Mandate’s Assistant General Secretary, explained that – based on recent findings on retail workers’ earnings from the Central Statistics Office – such workers are earning around half of the average industrial wage per week and less than the Living Wage read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
Castolin workers win dispute on redundancy terms (29 June) – SIPTU has received confirmation from management in Castolin Eutectic Ireland, Citywest, Dublin 24, that the company will implement a Labour Court Recommendation on redundancy terms, bringing to a successful conclusion a campaign of industrial action by our members. The Labour Court Recommendation provides for an increase in redundancy terms of 1.5 weeks per year of service over statutory entitlements. SIPTU members at Castolin had taken industrial action and placed pickets on the facility for three days over the past week and had served notice for a further five days of stoppages next week. Following confirmation by management that the terms of the recommendation will be implemented, this further action will not take place read more
Boys in Green Should Not Be Made to Cross a Picket Line (June) – SIPTU has reiterated its demand that the Government and the FAI immediately withdraw from forthcoming football fixtures against Israel, warning that history will judge where Ireland stood while genocide was committed in Gaza read more
SIPTU calls on RTÉ to boycott Israel fixtures as union members will not cooperate with sportswashing (June 24) – SIPTU has written to RTÉ calling on the station to refuse to broadcast scheduled football fixtures against Israel and has committed to supporting workers who refuse to work on them read more
Ambulance dispute update: Labour Court recommend pay rises (5 Jan) – SIPTU representatives have described a Labour Court recommendation of pay rises for ambulance workers as “a major breakthrough” in a long-running dispute over the failure of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to implement the McHugh/Crabtree report. The recommendation includes pay increases for Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics, Specialist Paramedics, and Paramedic Supervisors. It also protects the majority of the existing terms and conditions of ambulance personnel. SIPTU represents around 90% of the NAS personnel affected by the ongoing dispute. It follows the HSE’s failure to implement the recommendations of the independent McHugh/Crabtree report on updating ambulance personnel’s pay scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workloads over the last 20 years. SIPTU spent four days in the Labour Court arguing the Union’s case for recognition of changes and upskilling involving the NAS operational grades, which were the subject of the recommendations of the McHugh/Crabtree report read more
SIPTU members in RTÉ vote for industrial action to prevent further outsourcing (3 June) – SIPTU members employed in RTÉ have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action if there is any further outsourcing of production or roles at the national broadcaster. In a ballot, the results of which were released today (Tuesday, 2nd June), the vote was 85% to 15% in favour of proposals for industrial action if management attempts to implement any further outsourcing of roles and production responsibilities. SIPTU organises approximately 600 RTÉ staff carrying out a wide variety of roles read more
SIPTU receives proposal from Dublin home care provider in pay dispute (29 May) – SIPTU received a revised pay proposal from the Dublin-based home care provider, Trinity Home Care following intensive engagement with the organisation’s management. The proposal represents progress in the ongoing discussions to resolve the current pay dispute. The proposal has the potential to deliver substantial financial gains for members of over 10%. It also includes increases to the Night Allowance for those who provide this service between 5.00pm and 10.00pm. Change in the workers’ pay scales will result in members in their first five years of service benefiting from an annual increase. In line with established procedures, SIPTU will now be putting this proposal to members for their consideration through a formal ballot. To facilitate this democratic process, the planned industrial action has been placed on hold pending the outcome of the ballot read more
SIPTU healthcare workers to begin strike action over pay failure (11 May) – SIPTU members of Blanchardstown and Inner-City Home Care will commence strike action on Tuesday (12th May) for failure by management to fully implement the 2023 Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Agreement. Within the agreement, SIPTU members were to receive an 8% pay increase backdated to 1st April 2023. However, Blanchardstown and Inner City Home Care have failed to fully implement these increases or provide any of the outstanding money owed read more
Strike action set at STERIS Tullamore in union recognition dispute (10 May) – SIPTU members employed by STERIS AST in Tullamore, County Offaly have served notice of strike action on their employer, in a dispute resulting from management at the contract sterilisation and lab testing facility’s refusal to engage with their Union on issues including sick leave and pay. SIPTU members will conduct work stoppages commencing at 8.00am on Friday, 15th May, and concluding at 8.00am on Saturday, 16th May 2026. During this time, pickets will be placed at the entrance to the plant read more
Other news
This May Day, Strike Map launched the Solidarity Fund. A simple to use permanent place, you can contribute to support striking workers read more
Centenary of the 1926 General Strike – Monday May 4, marks the centenary of the 1926 General Strike and an event appropriately called Centenary will be held at Glasshouse Gateshead to commemorate that momentous occasion, which was the biggest rupture in British society since the English civil wars of the 1640s. Centenary will comprise songs, comedy sketches, stand-up comedy and recitations.
Producer Ed Waugh penned Carrying David, Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry and The Cramlington Train Wreckers which transfers to Newcastle Theatre Royal in July.
Ed explained: “Centenary is an appropriate name for the show because it’s amazing to think we’ll be performing the show exactly 100 years to the day that the General Strike actually started. “While Centenary will commemorate the UK’s only General Strike it will also celebrate other working class struggles from the Napoleonic Wars to the present time using popular culture.”
The one-off show will be compered by Micky Cochrane, who is the current Performer of the Year (North East Culture Awards) for his outstanding performances in the Cramlington Train Wreckers and Carrying David.
Ed continued: “Paul Weller and Tom Robinson have has given us personal permission to use their songs. Likewise the tremendous Paul Simmonds of The Men They Couldn’t Hang and the estate of the late-great Alan Hull of Lindisfarne.” He added: “Not only will it be first-class entertainment, we think people will come away inspired, having learnt about real, working class, history.”
- Upcoming performances – The Playhouse Derry/Londonderry on Wednesday 8th July, Belfast Waterfront Hall on Thursday 9th July, Newcastle Theatre Royal on Sunday 12th July
- For further details about Centenary visit www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – adapted by Neil Gore from the book by Robert Tressell, directed by Louise Townsend details
Alan Hardman ‘Need not Greed’ – Alan Hardman’s razor-sharp political cartoons collected for the first time. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Need Not Greed is a career-spanning collection of visual art by one of Britain’s greatest unsung political cartoonists. Alongside Alan Hardman’s essential work, the book also includes a contribution from former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, as well as a foreword by Jeremy Corbyn order a copy – £45 each
Affiliate with STAMMA – at this year’s NSSN Conference, Gary Clark retired CWU Royal Mail rep and a member of the NSSN Steering Committee spoke about STAMMA. STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’! Find out more about this campaign here
From Strike Map – Our final instalment of the ‘Industrial Unionism’ series with Manifesto Press is here. Building on this success of our other pamphlets- which has sold over 2,000 copies, our next pamphlet in our series is the infamous ‘A Manual of Industrial Unionism’ by William Z Foster. Click the button here to pre-order your copy for you and your organisation
Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation
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
Germany: International solidarity against union busting – CWI member under attack for his defence of workers’ rights (19 June) – Cologne’s swimming pool operator, Köln-Bäder GmbH, a subsidiary of Cologne’s council’s municipal services provider, Stadtwerke-Köln GmbH, has filed a motion for the extraordinary termination of employment of works council member, Martin Löber. The reason given for this termination is alleged working-hour fraud. Experts from ver.di (the public sector union) who have reviewed the case have stated that this incident does not even warrant a discussion. Various claims made in the justification for the termination have been proven false, as evidence has already shown. There is a strong suspicion that the grounds for the termination have been fabricated. For Martin, the termination is yet another attempt by his employer to get rid of him. He has already been suspended twice during previous conflicts…Send letters of protest to Köln-Bäder GmbH at [email protected] with copies sent to [email protected] read more
Turkey: Mehmet Türkmen released but the fight for workers’ rights in Turkey continues – The release of Turkish trade union leader Mehmet Türkmen after 57 days in prison is a victory for workers, trade unionists, and all those who stood in solidarity against repression in Turkey. But his case has exposed something far deeper than the unjust imprisonment of one union organiser: it has shone an international spotlight on the deadly working conditions faced by textile workers in Gaziantep and the growing criminalisation of labour activism read more on the website of Solidarity with the People of Turkey
Nigeria: A Call for Solidarity – Drop Trumped-Up Charges against Soweto and Dele Frank Now! On March 11, 2026, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and spokesperson of #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos, and Dele Frank (Arole Fela) are expected to appear before a magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos for the commencement of a sham trial on the trumped-up charges preferred against them by the Lagos State Police Command over their participation in a peaceful protest read more, including model letter of protest. Send copies of letters of protest to the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) is [email protected]
Workers unity against the far-right
The far-right are again trying to whip up racist division by scapegoating refugees and migrants. The NSSN calls for the unions to play a leading role in opposing this offensive, which will only weaken our movement in the interests of the employers. We call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’
For details of protests, check your local trades council and go to the website of Together Alliance
Diary
- NSSN lobby of TUC Congress will be from 1pm on Sunday 13th September in the Holiday Inn Hotel Brighton
