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NSSN 782: Come to NSSN Rally to Lobby TUC Congress this Sunday 13th September in Brighton

  • NSSN lobby of the TUC Congress in Brighton from 1pm on Sunday 13th September, in the Holiday Inn Hotel – register here
  • Confirmed speakers so far: Daniel Kebede NEU General Secretary, Sarah Woolley BFAWU General Secretary, Steve Wright FBU General Secretary, Ian Lawrence NAPO General Secretary, Matt Reid Unite Convenor Birmingham binworkers, Matt Webb, President of Brighton & Hove District Trades Council, Rob Williams NSSN Chair, Hannah Ponting Socialist Students
  • As usual, there will be an open mic for people to speak, especially about industrial disputes and campaigns

This coming Sunday 13th September, join hundreds of union reps, members and activists who will be lobbying TUC Congress in Brighton for the strategy needed by workers as the cost of living squeeze continues to bite, and the bosses look to make us pay for their crisis.

Andy Burnham’s first Budget will be on the 28th October, and workers will be looking for it to deliver for them. But already the employers’ representatives are lobbying for cuts, with many calling for the scrapping of the Pension Triple Lock.

The NSSN rally will lobby for the motions that set out the demands and action that workers need.

Because it’s essential that the union movement doesn’t just ‘wait for Burnham’ but sets out a real emergency programme that makes it clear that workers won’t keep paying the price for the bosses’ crisis.

As NSSN Chair Rob Williams says: “We’ve had enough of the constant ‘too much month left without any money!’ At our annual conference at the end of June, the NSSN debated the strategy we need and programme unanimously passed an action programme that we need to defend workers from the cost of living crisis. Policies such as these need to be demanded of Burnham’s government to counter the wish-list of Big Business.”

As part of this, we’ve also got to keep demanding that Labour finally delivers on its promise to scrap the undemocratic 50% strike ballot thresholds.

Over the last few years, in particular the 2022-24 strike wave, many groups of workers have overcome the outrageous barrier of the 50% strike ballot threshold to vote for and take action, that was brought in by the Tories in 2016.

Yet this anti-union law has meant that there have been cases where despite the vast majority of workers voting for action, particularly in national ballots, they have been unable to strike because of falling below the threshold, often just below it. Many workers have paid the price over the last decade by this outrageous attack on their democratic rights and that of their unions through real terms pay cuts, job losses and attacks on their pension rights.

The promise to scrap the 50% ballot threshold was reneged on by Starmer and Burnham’s new ‘Code of Practice on Workplace Electronic Balloting’ makes no mention of it! We also demand the restoration of the right to strike for the POA’s prison officer members. Scandalosuly, this ban is still in place.

The NSSN will be lobbying TUC Congress delegates to support motions that fight for what workers need, including the following:-

  • Motion 34 from the PCS: ‘Public sector pay’ which includes include key themes in our action programme such as the need for real pay rises to protect workers from the cost of living crisis by reopening ‘talks on public sector pay for 2026/27’, and as part of the strategy to fight for this, ‘a national Saturday demonstration this autumn for investment in public services, against austerity and for pro-worker policies’ and ‘urges all public sector unions to join a united campaign on pay, and, if needed, to plan for coordinated industrial action to secure real gains for workers.’
  • Motion 4 from the NASUWT: ‘Employment rights – strengthening rights for all workers’ which “calls on the General Council to: campaign for the immediate removal of the 50 per cent ballot threshold and oppose any linkage between the removal of the threshold and the implementation of e-balloting”
  • Motion 5 from the POA: ‘Employment Rights Act 2025’ – “Congress expresses concern that this year the European Committee of Social Rights held that the ban on prison officers in England and Wales taking industrial action breached the UK’s obligation to comply with Article 6(4) of the Charter which it has ratified. Congress therefore calls on the government to introduce a second Employment Rights Bill to ensure our laws comply with our ratified international obligations.”

Come and join us in Brighton on 13th September for the fight for the militant strategy that workers desperately require.

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

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

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

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

Read our new NSSN SPECIAL HOUSING BULLETIN

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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

   

Union News     

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RMT     

RMT National Dispute Fund  

RMT pays tribute to Merchant Navy Seafarers (3 Sept) – Seafarers union, RMT today paid tribute to the historic contribution of merchant navy Ratings to the economy, security and maritime traditions of all nations in the UK on Merchant Navy Day read more

Prime Minister must tackle outsourcing ‘scourge’ (1 Sept) – The government must deliver on its election pledge to oversee ‘the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation’. Prime Minister must tackle outsourcing ‘scourge’ as spending on private contracts soars, say unions. The government must deliver on its election pledge to oversee ‘the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation’ as new analysis shows spending on private contractors for some key public services has doubled since Labour took power, unions say today (Tuesday). Research by UNISON and RMT found the value of outsourced contracts awarded or renewed for ‘soft facilities’ management, including cleaning, catering and security, reached £6.2bn in 2025. That is up from £3.5bn for 2024 when the Labour government came to power and the figure for 2026 has already hit £6.6bn so far, the unions say. The findings are published as UNISON and RMT today launch Insource Now!, a joint campaign calling for more public services to be brought back in-house rather than given to for-profit firms. UNISON and RMT believe the figures collected so far are just the tip the iceberg, indicating the outsourcing of public sector contracts is still widespread in areas such as health, local government and transport. The two unions say outsourcing often results in a race to the bottom as firms try to deliver services for less and maximise profits. This means already low-paid workers are often exploited with unfair wages, while services get worse and the public gets less value for money. Prior to the 2024 general election, Labour made a manifesto commitment to bring about the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation, and in June ministers declared ‘the age of outsourcing is over’. But UNISON and RMT say figures obtained from official contract registers suggest this is not happening read more

RMT members at East Midlands Railway to strike this weekend (28 Aug) – RMT members working at East Midlands Railway (EMR) will take further 48-hour strike action starting from Sunday August 30 over ongoing safety concerns and major train faults. Ongoing action short of strike remains on in which members are instructed to refuse to work a Class 810 trains if a list of faults including lack of air-con, door faults and non-working toilets continue. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the union would ensure representatives will be permanently available to be involved in discussions with both EMR and Hitachi to try to improve the situation with the 810 units read more

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

Outsourced workers to strike at TransPennine (27 Aug)

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

Outsourced workers to strike at TransPennine (30 July) – Rail union RMT said that outsourced cleaners and catering workers at TransPennine Express (TPE) will take 48-hour strike action against low pay from tomorrow (Friday, July 31). Catering workers at Rail Gourmet and cleaners at Bidvest Noonan will take action as the company has yet to even make a pay offer even though the anniversary date was back in April. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that low pay was how outsourcing giants made money out of the rail network and called on the government to act read more & see strike details read more

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

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

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

TSSA

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

Unite     

BREAKING NEWS!! Pilgrims Europe workforce determined to secure fair pay increase (8 Sept) – Survey of workers confirms huge pressures cost of living crisis is placing on workers. Workers at Pilgrims Europe’s site in Enniskillen have entered the fifth week of strike action in their pay dispute. The dispute has severely impacted production at the site which produces a range of high-profile products including Fridge Raiders, Richmond sausages and Mr Brain’s pork faggots. Meanwhile, a survey of members has revealed that workers are on the breadline due to poverty wages. Workers are paid as little as £12.82 an hour. The survey revealed a staggering 81 per cent had cut back on food as a result of financial pressures. 79 per cent said they worked overtime to make ends meet and 15 per cent worked a second (or in one case a third job to get by. Money is so tight that 39 per cent of workers have reported having to borrow from a bank or credit union, 22 per cent from friends and family and three per cent had borrowed from a loan shark read more    

BREAKING NEWS!! Scarborough Alexander Dennis strikes delaying delivery of 200 new Liverpool buses (8 Sept) – Alexander Dennis’ attempt to resolve dispute by ‘giving with one hand and taking away with the other’ fails. Long running strike action by Scarborough Alexander Dennis workers is set to impact the delivery of 200 new buses for Liverpool, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. In recent days, Alexander Dennis announced it had secured a £57 million contract to supply Liverpool City Region Combined Authority with at least 207 new low and zero-emission buses. Under the contract, the number of buses could increase to 357 with a total investment of £95 million. The 400 workers have been striking since June over pay, with further dates beginning from tomorrow. Earlier this week, members rejected a two year pay offer from the company because the second year would have left workers facing a significant real terms pay cut if inflation increases read more

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

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

JLR workers “must not pay the price” for failings not of their making (7 Sept) – Following the confirmation that JLR is looking to reduce its workforce by 4,000 workers, Unite understands that the company is looking predominantly at cuts to salaried grades and that plans are not expected to impact production workers and the supply chain. Unite is asking for urgent clarification of the extent and focus of its plans for non-production workers given the current lack of detail about the scope and timeframe. Unite is also demanding that JLR and the government ensure all possible options are fully explored and utilised to mitigate job losses. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, alongside business secretary Johnny Reynolds will meet with JLR’s chief executive P B Balaji on Tuesday. Separately there are also discussions in play with Richard Parker, the West Midlands mayor read more

Arriva North London drivers win ground breaking “hot bus” victory (7 Sept) – Unite members at Arriva North London have won a groundbreaking agreement after taking industrial action. The 1,500 drivers, based at Barking, Edmonton, Enfield, Grays, Palmers Green, Stamford Hill, Tottenham and Wood Green, took industrial action last month over hot weather working conditions. However, strikes which were due to start again from today (7 September) have been called off after the drivers voted to accept a new deal following negotiations between Unite and Arriva. The deal includes several improvements to driver conditions. In particular, Arriva and Transport for London (TfL) have confirmed they will fit air conditioning to Arriva London North buses by May 2027. At present, most buses operated by Arriva London North have air cooling systems rather than more effective air conditioning. Air cooling is only able to reduce temperatures by around two or three degrees during heatwaves read more

Arriva North London – significantly improved offer to workers could signal end of dispute (1 Sept)

Support the Unite strike at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – Unite is fighting to raise pay for Band 2 staff, and secure fair treatment for Essentia band staff read more, including details of strike action

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

Bedford Movianto NHS warehouse strikes suspended (4 Sept) – Strikes by nearly 120 Bedford workers at Movianto, a specialist medical warehousing company, have been postponed, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Industrial action has been called off for 21 days to allow the workers to ballot on an improved offer. The workers were due to take strike action from 7 September to 7 October read more

Southern England hospital and pharmacy supply disruption as warehouse workers strike (2 Sept)

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

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

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

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

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

Unite warns it will consider ‘all options’ in opposition to swingeing public sector cuts (1 Sept) – Unite warns it will consider ‘all options’ in opposition to swingeing public sector cuts. Unite, which represents over 15,000 health and social care workers in Scotland, has warned the Scottish government that it is considering ‘all options’ in resistance to swingeing public sector cuts announced today (1 September). The programme for government confirmed plans to slash the number of health boards in Scotland from fourteen to just two bodies running local NHS services. The restructuring of health boards has been portrayed as improving efficiency by cutting layers of management but Unite has warned that this will result in direct cuts to frontline services, and thousands of job cuts. It has been projected that up to 20,000 public sector jobs could be cut as a result of the Scottish government’s proposals read more

Dunfermline based TechnipFMC seven days strike action (1 Sept) – Workers reject below inflation pay offer. Approximately 120 workers employed by TechnipFMC will take strike action in an escalating pay dispute. In the strike ballot, Unite members emphatically backed taking industrial action by 92.75 per cent at the Dunfermline based firm. The workers have rejected an unacceptable pay offer below the rate of inflation from TechnipFMC which designs and manufactures wellheads and specialist subsea equipment for the oil and gas industry. The strike action will begin on 14 September and continue each day up to 21 September when the action will end at 06:59 hours. A continuous overtime ban will also be in place from the start of strike action read more

Pilgrims workers begin all-out strike over pay in Enniskillen (1 Sept) – Escalating industrial dispute will impact supply of some leading UK brands Fridge Raiders, Richmond Sausages and Mr Brains Pork Faggots. Unite which represents approximately 130 workers employed by Pilgrims Europe at its Enniskillen production facility has announced it will begin all out (continuous) strike action beginning at 06.30 Wednesday 2 September. This marks a sharp escalation of the industrial dispute and follows three weeks of strikes. Workers are seeking a decent pay increase and an end to the current regime where morning shift workers are the only shift workers not getting fully paid breaks. The lowest paid workers receive an hourly rate of £12.82 – only eleven pence above the minimum wage. Pilgrims Europe’s latest reported after-tax profit was £128 million. The site produces a range of leading UK and Irish food brands including Fridge Raiders, Richmond Sausages, Mr Brains Pork Faggots, Denny sausages (Republic of Ireland), Rollover sausages (sold at football grounds) and vegan sausages. Fridge raiders are one of the most successful Pilgrims products and are targeted at lunchboxes and for younger consumers read more

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

Outraged Cwm Taf Morgannwg health visitors reject “ludicrous” pay offer (27 Aug) – Health Board attempt one off payment in dispute over £9000 per year pay loss. Outraged Welsh health visitors have rejected a pay offer from the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB) in their ongoing pay dispute. Health visitors provide vital services to babies, children and families but CTMUHB are currently failing to pay their health visitors their correct salary, resulting in them being underpaid by up to £9000 per year. As a result, health visitors have been on strike since February causing thousands of missed appointments. Now, CTMUHB has attempted to end the dispute with a shocking and insulting pay offer. Instead of paying the correct salary every year, that instead offered a one-off payment of just over £5000 that would still be subject to tax and other deductions. This fails to address the fundamental issue at stake and has incensed health visitors who rejected it with a 99 per cent majority read more 

Coca Cola shortages as West Yorkshire Lockwood Haulage workers strike (27 Aug) – Unite members at Lockwood Haulage Ltd based in Knottingley and South Kirby, West Yorkshire, will undertake all-out strike action next month in a dispute around pay. Around 40 workers have rejected a miserly one per cent increase, applied across all grades and allowances, backdated to 1 March 2025. Lockwood has also said it will introduce an attendance-based bonus scheme, rather than pay increases. This would be £250 each quarter if they meet the attendance criteria, which workers believe will leave them financially worse off. The cost-of-living crisis is impacting these workers, who previously worked for GXO before being transferred in March 2025 in a TUPE agreement and have not had a pay rise since October 2023. These workers work four days on four days off and their salary includes weekend working, shift allowances, and bank holiday pay. Unite has attended multiple meetings to try to reach an agreement however Lockwood has failed to resolve the issue… The Unite members are forklift truck drivers and machine operators in its glass division. They will walk out in an all-out strike from 2 September read more

Finance workers at Oxford University Press to strike over offshoring (27 Aug) – Over 30 Unite members at Oxford University Press (OUP) will take strike action next month, after their employer announced plans to move nearly 50 roles to India. The decision to offshore the finance operations department to EXL Services, who will provide services from India, means it is impossible for staff to TUPE transfer with the work. This follows a proposal to make 113 redundancies in the UK last November, with most affecting its education and English language teaching divisions. Meanwhile, OUP recently acquired Swiss publisher Karger and made 76 redundancies, a move described as a “massacre”. In recent years OUP has also faced accusations of labour violations in its New York office, with employees going on strike in June 2024 to contest a series of unfair labour practices while negotiating a union contract read more

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

Ireland public sector pay: Unite members vote overwhelmingly for industrial action (27 Aug) – Government must make meaningful offer or face winter strikes. Trade union Unite, which represents members across the public sector, has announced that members have returned an overwhelming mandate for industrial action, if the government fails to make a ‘meaningful offer’ on pay following the expiry of the 2024-2026 Public Services Agreement. Unite is a member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Public Services Committee, which earlier in the summer advised that they do not believe there is a viable basis for opening formal negotiations, in the absence of the government setting out a sufficiently credible approach to public sector workers’ pay and living standards at the outset. Unite will now consult with its shop stewards on the nature and timing of industrial action read more

Strike threat at Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery (25 Aug) – Around 100 Unite members in dispute over job cuts and company’s failure to consult. Unite the union can confirm that a strike action ballot opens tomorrow (26 August) involving around 100 members at Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery. Diageo has announced that it plans to slash hundreds of jobs across its operations in Scotland as part of global restructuring proposals. Cameronbridge is Europe’s largest grain distillery employing around 200 people. It is estimated that over 70 roles are under review at the distillery. Unite believes Diageo has failed to properly consult on the job cuts at Cameronbridge, and the company has provided no explanation and minimal detail on the proposed redundancies. The union has raised further concerns over safety and wellbeing due to roles being cut with no proposed reduction in production at the distillery. The workers include production operators and cask handlers. The ballot opens tomorrow (Wednesday) and closes on 9 September. Strike action could begin by mid-September read more

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

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

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

Cheshire uranium workers at URENCO vote to strike over pay (18 Aug) – More than 200 URENCO workers who are employed in enriching uranium at the company’s Capenhurst site in Cheshire have voted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Annual pay negotiations with URENCO have always been based on the RPI rate of inflation for the previous September, which was 4.5 per cent in 2025. Despite record orders of €27.3 billion, profits (EBPITA) of €221.8 million and €12.9 million in net income, URENCO has put forward an offer of only 4.1 per cent, which has been rejected by the workers… Strikes that will severely impact URENCO’s UK operations will be announced in the coming days. Members of the GMB union have also voted for industrial action over pay   read more

Staff at Institute of Cancer Research in continuous strike action over pay (14 Aug) – Hundreds of staff at a world-famous scientific research institute have begun continuous and indefinite strike action in their battle to be paid a fair wage. Workers at the Institute of Cancer Research have this week escalated their dispute at the science centre after management failed to make a reasonable offer, despite the severe impact of strike action on lab research, student training, and clinical trials. Anger among the workforce is running at an all-time high over both poverty wages and that illegal, untrained, strike-breaking agency staff has been brought in to try and undermine the legitimate concerns of staff. Many workers earn barely more than the London Living Wage (£14.80ph) and surveys have shown many are struggling to make ends meet read more

Tower Hamlets health visitors ballot for strike action for NHS parity (12 Aug) – Dangerous reductions in staffing levels scrapped after worker action but Tower Hamlets GP Care Group refusing guarantees to fully align with NHS pay structures. Nearly 120 East London health visitors and support staff are balloting for strike action over a service restructuring after their employer failed to give guarantees it would fully align for NHS Agenda for Change structures. The workers have already forced Tower Hamlets GP Care Group (THGPCG) to scrap plans that included dangerous reductions in staffing levels for the borough’s zero to five years old health visiting services, which covers nearly 20,000 patients. During consultations with Unite, however, THGPCG has failed to give commitments that all staff contracts will fully align with NHS Agenda for Change pay, terms and conditions…The workers are being balloted for industrial action until 2 September read more

Blackburn and Burnley hospitals biomedicine staff pay strikes escalate (12 Aug) – Pay strikes by bio-medicine staff at two teaching hospitals in Lancashire have escalated, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The strikes at Blackburn and Burnley hospitals are over Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s refusal to pay the holiday pay the workers 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 an employee, but they have refused to settle it for the rest of the employees who are now owed thousands of pounds…The workers previously took strike action throughout June and July. Fresh strike action that will see significant delays to tests and procedures across the trust will take place every Monday to Friday through to 4 September. Further strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more

Scarborough Alexander Dennis bus maker pay strikes intensify (10 Aug) – Workers’ wages fallen by a fifth in real terms since 2020 while Alexander Dennis owner’s profits continue to climb. Pay strikes by 400 Scarborough workers employed by bus maker Alexander Dennis have intensified, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers have rejected a four per cent offer from Alexander Dennis, which is owned by Canadian bus manufacturing group NFI, 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 have already taken 12 days of strike action beginning in late June. Fresh strikes, shutting down the company’s Scarborough operations, will take place on 11 and 12 August. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved read more

Unite ballots Glasgow Airport workers on strike action (5 Aug) – ABM staff in dispute over unacceptable pay offer. Unite the union can confirm today (5 August) it is balloting workers who assist passengers with restricted mobility based at Glasgow Airport on strike action. Over 90 workers employed by ABM at Glasgow airport are involved in a dispute over an unacceptable pay offer. The workers being balloted include customer service agents, ambilift drivers and allocators. The company has offered an increase for some workers worth only 15 pence per hour more than the Scottish Living Wage level (£13.45). Unite has been running a long-standing campaign to have basic pay levels sustained above the real living wage level at Glasgow airport across all employers. ABM Aviation made profits of nearly £7m after tax in 2025, improving on the £5.95m made in the previous year. The ballot is now open and closes 20 August read more

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

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

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

Tesco stores across UK face ‘empty shelves’ as distribution workers ballot for strike (23 July) – Workers in Belfast, Didcot, Doncaster and Thurrock demand same pay rise as store staff as Tesco continues to rake in massive profits. More than 3,000 Tesco warehouse workers and HGV drivers are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers have rejected a four per cent pay rise, which is considerably below the 5.1 per cent given to store staff. They have voted overwhelmingly in a consultative ballot in favour of strike action. Tesco reported adjusted operating profits of £3.2 billion for 2025/26 and forecasts an adjusted operating profit of between £3 billion and £3.3 billion for 2026/27…Strike action would involve around 700 Didcot workers, 400 Belfast workers, 600 Doncaster workers and 1,400 Thurrock workers – severely impacting distribution to Tesco stores across the UK. The ballot for strike action closes on 17 August read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CWU

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

“People feel shut out”: BT Liverpool workers protest against job losses (19 Aug) – Protesting workers, supporters and politicians have told BT to shelve “atrocious” proposals to relocate hundreds of jobs out of Liverpool, urging bosses to “have a rethink”. Employees, concerned family members and members of the community protested at lunchtime last Thursday at The Plaza, BT’s central Liverpool site, against the company’s proposals to move over 600 jobs out of the area. This has been the second protest of the summer, with the new protest attracting only more members, local and regional politicians, MPs and national union leaders. The company claims that due to rising costs in renewing the lease on The Plaza, continuing operations there is no longer feasible. As such, over 600 employees will be forced to commute to Manchester or Leeds, and some – such as in the relay services, which aim to assist customers with hearing issues – may lose their jobs entirely 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]     

Act now to support PCS campaign to save MOD caretaker jobs and homes (7 Sept) – Caretakers employed by the Ministry of Defence need your help now. The MOD is consulting on plans to abolish 125 caretaker posts across the Army Reserve and University Officers’ Training Corps estate, a move which also puts them and their families at risk of homelessness. The deadline for responses is 11 September. These workers provide a vital service, helping to keep military sites safe, secure and operational. For many, redundancy would also mean losing their home, with around 88% currently living in tied accommodation linked to their job. Many of the staff have also worked for the MOD for decades and some for generations and fear for theirs and their families’ future. PCS is opposing the plans and urging for the posts to be retained, including the tied housing arrangements…To support this important PCS campaign complete our e-action and ask your MP to urge the minister for veterans and people, Calvin Bailey, to reconsider these proposals. So far, 141 MPs have been contacted read more

Time is running out to pass the Good Jobs Bill (3 Sept) – As the NI Assembly returns from recess on 7 September, it must push forward with the Good Jobs Bill to ensure workers in Northern Ireland are not left behind. The Employment Rights Act 2025 passed by the UK Parliament does not apply in Northern Ireland. Please sign our e-action to pressure politicians to move the legislation to the assembly for debate, or workers in the region face falling behind the rest of the UK in vital protections and basic workplace standards. A statutory ban on exploitative fire-and-rehire practices, strengthened redundancy safeguards, enhanced maternity provisions, and new day-one entitlements to neonatal, parental, and carer leave are central measures delivered through the Good Jobs legislation. The proposals also tackle insecure work by introducing the right to request banded-hours contracts, alongside mandatory notice for shifts and compensation for short-notice cancellations. For trade unions, workplace access agreements, modernised electronic balloting, and lowering the statutory recognition threshold to employers with 10 or more workers will modernise industrial relations read more

Urgent Ministerial Meeting to take place on Pensions (3 Sept) – The PCS general secretary will meet with the new parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, Sally Jameson MP, for a detailed account of progress. A general secretary level meeting will take place shortly with new parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, Sally Jameson MP. PCS will be seeking a detailed account of all actions taken since the government statement in July which raised the option of insourcing in the future, while immediately imposing a strict auditing regime over Capita’s performance of the contract. Parliament returned on 1 September, and PCS briefed MPs on their first day back to continue the political campaign to end the pensions crisis. PCS updated John McDonnell MP, chair of the PCS parliamentary group, on the lack of progress towards restoring a normal service and clearing the backlog. We also discussed the intolerable working conditions endured by our members employed by Capita who work on the Civil Service Pension Scheme contract read more

V&A members rally for fair pay ahead of strike (2 Sept) – PCS members who work for the Victoria and Albert Museum attended a rally in South Kensington today, as they prepare to strike on Friday and Saturday at the employer’s east London sites. This weekend, members at three V&A sites (East Storehouse, East Museum and Young V&A) will take coordinated strike action alongside sister union Prospect. As the employer confirmed last week, this strike will close these sites entirely on Friday and Saturday. Our members are taking action over management’s failure to provide an acceptable pay offer or become a Real Living Wage accredited employer. They are also demanding action on a number of health and safety issues, including suitable seating arrangements and heat mitigation measures. Access to drinking water and a policy of closing public-facing areas when the outside temperature reaches 30 degrees are among their key demands. Ahead of these walk-outs, PCS members joined their Prospect colleagues at a rally outside the V&A’s South Kensington site to send a strong message of solidarity read more. Please sign our online petition to pressure Hunt and Lisa Nandy (secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport) into meeting our members’ demands

NEC statement: Build a cost-of-living campaign (1 Sept) – The union’s national executive committee is determined to launch a major campaign to protect our members’ pay, jobs, pensions, hybrid working and a wide range of terms and conditions issues to force progress from the Labour government…The national executive committee (NEC) met on 19 August and agreed that the campaign members need will require industrial action. The NEC intends to call a ballot. The ballot will ask members if they are prepared to take strike action and action short of strike in order to force the government to come to the table, to negotiate a solution to the problems facing our members read more

We are also energy consumers, Ofgem rally hears (26 Aug) – PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote and National President Bev Laidlaw were among the speakers at an online strike rally and digital picket for striking Ofgem members. PCS members at Ofgem today close off their latest round of strike action, after walking out on Monday (24) and Tuesday (25). Their strike today also coincides with the employer’s energy price cap announcement, which limits how much energy suppliers can charge households for gas and electricity. They are taking action over pay, job security, working conditions and industrial relations read more

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

Show support for FCDO strikers on 26 August (20 Aug) – As PCS members in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office gear up for another strike on Wednesday (26) they share why they’re taking action in their dispute over job cuts and restructuring. Workers are facing lots of uncertainty and there has been a lack of assurances over compulsory redundancies…Please show your support by sending a message of support to [email protected], donating to the strike fund and visiting a picket line read more

Picket lines:-

  • FCDO, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH – All four entrances to the building will have picket lines each day from 8-10am
  • FCDO, Abercrombie House, Eaglesham Road, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 8EA – Picket lines each day from 8-10am

We feel taken for granted say MOD caretakers threatened with redundancy (7 Aug) – Fears over homelessness, stress and anxiety and a perception that their work is taken for granted are among the views expressed by some of the 125 MOD caretakers who help keep military bases safe who have been told their jobs and homes are at risk. The staff, including those working within military bases and also the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (RFCA), facing redundancy and the loss of their homes under plans being considered by the Ministry of Defence, have shared their fears with PCS. PCS is opposing the plan, which effectively scraps all existing caretaker posts and ends all the tied housing arrangements they currently have with caretaker staff. For many, redundancy would also mean losing their home, with around 88% currently living in tied accommodation linked to their job. We are urging for the posts to be retained, including the tied housing arrangements. We welcome our caretaker members’ thoughts on the proposal, which they can share by emailing [email protected]. We will support and help those members affected by these proposals read more

Email your MP to save MOD caretaker jobs and homes (5 Aug)

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

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

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

Prospect

Government must end battery rip-off and take control to lower bills, says Prospect (7 Sept) – The government needs to play a much greater role in the roll-out of clean energy infrastructure in order to keep energy prices under control, according to a new report from Prospect read more

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

Prospect members at V&A to strike as senior management refuses to negotiate (25 Aug) – Prospect members at the V&A are to take strike action on the 4th and 5th of September in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The strike action is being coordinated with PCS members who are also striking on those days in a parallel dispute read more

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

GMB  

Thurrock Council caretakers in strike vote (4 Sept) – Dozens of caretakers working for Thurrock Council have [25 August] begun voting for strike action, after a dispute over their terms re-opened. The dispute first arose earlier this year, after caretakers who clean and maintain properties across the council’s housing estate were told their roles would be downgraded and their salaries reduced by £2,000 a year on average. The workers, who are represented by GMB, initially agreed to a trial period but are now asking for this to be brought to an end after alleging they are being asked to perform tasks that should be outside their current remit. The council is under intense financial pressure after a series of failed solar farm investments, with estimated debts of £677 million. The ballot will close on 14 September read more

Robotaxi plans for London ‘must protect drivers’ (3 Sept) – Uber’s plans to roll out Robotaxis in London are ‘premature’ and must protect drivers, GMB Union has warned read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

   

Unison     

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

PM must tackle outsourcing ‘scourge’, say unions (1 Sept) – Campaign launched by UNISON and the RMT aims to deliver promised ‘wave’ of insourcing read more

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

No to Fire & Rehire

Strike Update:-

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

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

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust must scrap outsourcing plans, says UNISON (8 Sept) – Somerset NHS Foundation Trust must abandon plans to outsource hundreds of healthcare workers after a UNISON campaign forced the proposals to be paused, the union says today (Tuesday). Workers at Musgrove Park Hospital and community hospitals across Somerset had been facing transfer from direct NHS employment to Simply Serve Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the trust. The proposals cover staff working in vital non-clinical services, including portering, housekeeping, maintenance and facilities. But following pressure from workers and UNISON, the trust has paused the plans while it awaits further guidance from NHS England. More than 700 staff responded to a UNISON survey about the proposals, with 98% saying non-clinical services should be delivered by staff officially employed by the NHS. Staff and union representatives will protest outside the trust’s board meeting at 8.30am today (Tuesday), ahead of the meeting at 9am. They plan to call on board members to abandon the proposals completely. UNISON is also urging the trust to bring workers at Yeovil District Hospital, who are already employed through Simply Serve, back into direct NHS employment. The campaign comes as UNISON and the RMT union launch Insource Now!, a national initiative calling for public services to be brought back in-house read more

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

Strikes back on at four Greater Manchester hospitals after payment offer withdrawal, says UNISON (19 Aug) – Hundreds of NHS operating theatre staff at four hospitals in Greater Manchester will be back on strike for three days next week in a dispute about overtime payments, says UNISON today (Wednesday). More than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees, including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers, at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield Hospital in Bury, are walking out on Monday 24, Wednesday 26 and Friday 28 August. UNISON says an offer to resolve the dispute was initially tabled by NCA bosses but withdrawn before discussions could take place. The row centres on the trust’s use of an outside agency – NHS Professionals (NHSP) – to manage overtime. When covering staff shortages, staff are entitled to time-and-a-half pay. However, in some cases staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, with some missing out on more than £80 per shift, adds the union. Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines at all four sites in June read more. Send messages of support to [email protected]

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

University of Essex staff vote to strike against cuts (31 July) – Professional services staff back walkouts to stop the loss of 400 jobs. Staff at the University of Essex have voted to strike over cuts to jobs and services, UNISON says today. Admissions advisors, IT techs, administrators and other professional services staff at the main campus in Colchester voted 84% in favour of strikes. In December, the university announced plans to axe 400 jobs and close the Southend campus — which shuts its doors today. Staff, local politicians and residents have all warned that the closure will be felt across south Essex, with people studying to become nurses, midwives, social workers or entrepreneurs no longer having the option to settle down in Southend. University leaders are now turning their attention to Colchester, says UNISON. The union warns the planned cost-cutting measures will undermine the quality of classes and leave students without proper support for their studies. Strike dates are expected to be announced in the coming weeks read more

NHS workers in Leeds to march on trust board in their campaign for fair pay (29 July) – The theatre assistants are currently on strike in their efforts to secure fair wages. Low-paid NHS workers in Leeds who play a key role in keeping patients safe during operations will lobby their health trust’s board as they step up their campaign for fair wages. Theatre assistants at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are currently paid at the lowest grade of their NHS pay scale. But the workers regularly carry out clinical tasks UNISON says should be paid at a higher rate. These include supporting clinical teams during operations, assisting with specialist surgical equipment and helping patients with recovery after surgery. The theatre assistants are currently on strike over fair pay and grading. It’s the latest in a series of walkouts, the first of which took place in December 2025 read more

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

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

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

Bank: Unity Trust

Account name: UNISON Leicester City Branch

Account Number: 20059879

Sort Code: 60−83−01

Reference: Ash Field Strike Funds

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

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

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

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

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

NIPSA

Enough Is Enough – Stop the Cuts to Health and Social Care (19 Aug) – Following a recent meeting with the Permanent Secretary, NIPSA and our sister unions were informed that Health and Social Care organisations will be expected to deliver savings of more than 12% over the next three years. After years of efficiency programmes, we do not believe cuts of this scale can be achieved without impacting services and staff. Agency spending has already been reduced. Overtime has already been cut. Vacancies have already been left unfilled. There is little left to cut. So when managers talk about reducing services or asking already overstretched staff to take on additional duties, let’s call it what it is: These are cuts, not efficiencies. This comes as Health and Social Care workers continue to wait for a pay award already paid elsewhere in the UK, while low-paid staff are still waiting for the Real Living Wage…It’s time to stand together to defend our health service – NO to cuts, YES to fair pay and the Real Living Wage! NIPSA and our sister unions will protest at Trust Board meetings on 27 August 2026. Times and venues will be announced shortly. Together, we can stop this attack on our services, our members and our communities read more

NICS Member Update: Pay Award (18 Aug) – In the bulletin of 26 June, members were advised that we had not yet received a pay offer because the NI Executive parties had not agreed a budget. We understand that the NI Executive parties are still seeking to improve the Treasury allocation before a budget can be agreed. NIPSA continues to press political leaders for a needs-based budget so that pay and public services are properly funded. Whilst we are cognisant of the fact that we are almost 5 months past the date by which the pay uplift was due, we are not, in the circumstances, pressing for an immediate offer which is likely to be unacceptable to members. We will continue discussions with Management Side on pay-related issues and maintain our political engagement, including seeking a meeting with the Secretary of State, to highlight the ongoing delay and its impact on our members. Further updates will be issued as necessary read more

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

   

Royal College of Nursing     

Nursing students face unemployment despite NHS vacancies (27 Aug) – Sign the letter to demand action, as graduates are blocked from a third of entry level NHS jobs read more

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

RCM

RCM Scotland: “The problem was never the number of health boards – it’s the lack of priority given to maternity care” (2 Sept) – The Royal College of Midwives has responded to the Scottish Government’s announcement that Scotland’s 14 territorial health boards will be dissolved and replaced by two new boards, warning that maternity services must not be lost in the reorganisation read more

63 newly qualified midwives still without jobs despite “desperate need for maternity staff”, says RCM Cymru (25 Aug) – RCM Cymru has expressed disbelief that 63 newly qualified midwives in Wales remain without NHS jobs, despite continued warnings to the Welsh Government about the “desperate need” for maternity staff. In June, the Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) streamlining process left 68 graduate midwives without jobs to go to because there were fewer roles available read more

BMA

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

NEU

Northern Ireland ballot results (2 Sept) – NEU teacher members have returned a strong yes vote to take part in industrial action in a dispute with the Department of Education following the failure to agree on the implementation action plan of the Independent Review of Teacher Workload read more

NEU snap poll confirms teachers are ready to take action on pay and funding (17 July) – In an online snap poll, conducted this week, teacher members of the National Education Union who work in maintained schools in England were asked their views of the government’s plan to only partially fund the pay offer of 3.5 per cent for 2026/27 and 3 per cent for 2027/28. NEU pressure to date has resulted in the government shifting ground, from an unfunded to partially funded pay offer, and to an offer of 6.5 per cent over two years rather than three. However, the government expects schools to find ‘efficiencies’ in their budgets to cover the remaining 1.1 per cent of the pay offer for 2026/27, which amounts to £460 million. Heads were informed of this on 1 July, leaving little time to plan budgets. A snap poll of NEU members, conducted this week, found strong support for action on pay and funding read more

Support the strikes:-

  • Forest Fields Primary & Nursey School / Nottingham (Workload, unreasonable management practices and failure to properly maintain industrial relations) 7, 8, 11 September; NEU contact: Sheena Wheatley [email protected]
  • Learning Partnership West / Bristol (TURA, Contractual hours & breaks, pay scale & progression & safety) 8-10 September; NEU contact: Tom Bolton [email protected]
  • Grace Garden School / Bristol (Conditions of Service) 7-8 September; NEU contact: Tom Bolton [email protected]
  • E-Act Academies(Ex Venturers Trust) / Bristol (Sickness absence & wellbeing policies) 9-10 September; NEU contact: Tom Bolton [email protected]
  • Great Ormond Street & UCH Children’s Hospital / Camden (Conditions of Service) 7-11 September; NEU contact: Megan Quinn [email protected]
  • Woodfield School / Brent (Reduction to teaching assistant hours) 8 September; NEU contact: Jennifer Cooper [email protected]
  • Treehouse / Haringey (Workload, pay, TU recognition) 8 September; NEU contact: Efe Kurtluoglu [email protected]
  • Altrincham College / Trafford (Redundancy) 9-10 September; NEU contact: James Starnes [email protected]
  • Chiltern Wood School / Buckinghamshire (Support staff conditions of service / pay) 9-10 September; NEU contact: Robert Tucker [email protected]
  • Oxford Spires / Oxfordshire Restructure/Redundancies 9-11 September; NEU contact: Stuart Robinson [email protected]
  • St Margaret’s CofE Academy / Liverpool (Conditions of Service) 9-10 September; NEU contact: Graham Copsey [email protected]
  • St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary / Liverpool (Transfer of Employer) 11 September; NEU contact: Jack Roberts [email protected]
  • Larmenier & Sacred Heart Primary/ Hammersmith & Fulham (Academisation) 11 September; NEU Contact: David Anderson [email protected]

NASUWT

Teachers send united message as they vote for industrial action (2 Sept) – Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union in Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly in support of industrial action, following the Department of Education’s sustained failure to deliver a credible implementation plan for the 27 recommendations of the Independent Review of Workload. 92.04% of members voted in support of strike action, with 98.63% voting in support of action short of strike action. Turnout was 54.89% read more

   

EIS   

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

Lecturers take fourth day of strike action at Glasgow Caledonian University over job cuts (4 Aug) – Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland University Lecturers Association (EIS ULA) at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) take their fourth day of strike action (Tuesday, 4th August 2026). The walkout forms part of an escalating dispute over university management’s proposals to cut up to 100 staff jobs and its continued refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. Following three initial strike days held in late June and early July, academic staff are returning to the Cowcaddens Road campus picket line to continue opposing management’s redundancy plans. The EIS ULA action will be taken alongside colleagues from the University and College Union (UCU), who are also taking strike action at GCU tomorrow read more

INTO

INTO Workload Negotiations Update (5 Sept) – We know that members are frustrated and anxious for clarity about the next steps in our industrial action, and we want to update you following intensive negotiations this week. We have been clear throughout: any agreement must deliver meaningful, enforceable and lasting reductions in workload for all our members. We will not settle for promises that do not deliver real change in schools. Members gave us a very strong mandate for industrial action, and we remain fully prepared and are ready to act on that mandate. In the last few days, however, negotiations have accelerated considerably. What is currently on the table, and agreed in principle with the Management Side, genuinely has the potential to be the most significant improvement to teachers’ workload arrangements in Northern Ireland since the Jordanstown Agreement. There remain some technical issues, including finalising documentation, which are being addressed as a matter of urgency.  We remain committed to constructive engagement and hope that these outstanding matters can be resolved quickly, thereby avoiding the need for industrial action. At this point, should an agreement not be secured, the last date that Industrial Action can start is the 28 September 2026 read more

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Ballot Result on Workload (1 Sept) – Outcome of the Ballot on the Lack of Progress in Implementing the Independent Review of Teacher Workload Recommendations. On 10 June 2026, INTO balloted members on Industrial Action based on the failure of the Department of Education to resolve issues around the implementation action plan in relation to the 27 recommendations of the Independent Review panel.

The postal ballot closed on 1 September 2026. The result of the postal ballot are as follows:-

  • Turnout – 46%
  • Industrial Action Short of Strike – 99%
  • Strike Action – 91%

Members have voted resoundingly for industrial action read more

Public service unions to prepare strike ballots as no basis for pay talks is established (3 July) – The INTO’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) will meet next week to discuss a decision taken by the ICTU Public Services Committee on 3 July. The Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) today confirmed that its 19 affiliated unions – including the INTO – will convene their national executive bodies to prepare for potential industrial action ballots, following the failure to establish a basis for talks on a new public service pay agreement read more

UCU     

UCU Stop the Cuts campaign  

Sign petition against the education cuts 

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

University boss criticised for appearing at Reform UK conference (7 Sept) – The University and College Union (UCU) today criticised Universities UK president and Manchester Metropolitan University vice-chancellor, Malcolm Press, for appearing at Reform UK’s conference in Birmingham. On Friday (4 September), Press appeared on a panel discussing educational disadvantage among white working-class boys alongside the party’s education spokesperson, Suella Braverman. UCU said that while university leaders should engage with politicians, appearing on a platform at a Reform UK party conference risks conferring legitimacy on the party’s politics, which are fundamentally at odds with the values of an inclusive and democratic education system. The union said it was particularly concerning as Reform UK’s higher education policies include restricting undergraduate numbers and threatening to cut funding to universities who contravene their definition of free speech. UCU has also warned of Reform’s racist and anti-migrant politics, hostility to trade unions, attacks on trans rights, women’s rights and the right to protest. The union has a long held position opposing the growth of the far right and resisting attempts to use education to advance social division read more

UCU response to takeover of Lincoln Bishop University by Global University Systems (28 Aug) – The University and College Union (UCU) has today responded to the takeover of Lincoln Bishop University by Global University Systems (GUS). Subject to regulatory approval, the move will see the university effectively privatised and become part of the GUS group but remain an autonomous university read more

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

University of Nottingham staff to strike as Council decides future of jobs (21 Aug) – Staff at the University of Nottingham will strike on 30th September and 1st October, as the university’s governing Council meets to decide the final Future Nottingham Phase 2 (FN2) restructuring plans. The two-day strike will be followed by sustained strike action from 5th October to 11th December, alongside action short of strike. The action comes as both UCU and UNISON have passed votes of no confidence in University Council over its handling of FN2. Council is the university’s governing body – effectively its board of trustees. It has ultimate responsibility for the University’s finances and strategy and, crucially, for holding senior management to account. The unions argue that Council has failed to do so. Council rubber stamped the draft FN2 business case despite overwhelming opposition from Senate, the University’s principal academic body, and despite serious concerns about the evidence underpinning the university’s disastrous proposals that could result in compulsory redundancies and the loss of entire areas of teaching and research. UCU argues that there is now no financial justification for compulsory redundancies. Undergraduate recruitment has been strong, applications for voluntary redundancy have increased substantially, staff have submitted extensive alternative proposals capable of delivering further savings and the university itself is saying it now has a surplus. Yet the University has still not ruled out compulsory redundancies. UCU has deliberately called the first strike days to coincide with the Council meeting at which the final business case will be considered read more

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

Exeter University shuts down geography courses while consultation still live (13 Aug) – Exeter University today announced it is closing geography programmes, UCU has revealed. Management is shutting down the university’s BA/BsC geography, including history and geography and politics and geography courses at its Penryn campus in Cornwall next month (September 2026). The announcement comes on the same day that prospective students receive their A-level results and go through the clearing process. The cuts also come as UCU ballots for strike action and while the university management are supposed to be consulting on cost saving measures. The union is balloting against plans that include putting more than eight in 10 academics in the faculty of humanities, arts and social sciences at risk of redundancy, and would see 200 staff axed read more

Heriot-Watt University staff back strikes in re-ballot (13 Aug) – Members of the University and College Union at Heriot-Watt University have backed further possible strike action in a re-ballot over cuts and compulsory redundancies. In the ballot that ended at 5.00pm yesterday University and College Union Scotland members at the university voted to back strikes by 70%.  As well as strike action, members also backed action short of strike, such as working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and a possible marking and assessment boycott, by 85%.  The mandate for strike action will last for 12 months, meaning teaching, research and student support at the university could be disrupted well into the new academic year.  Branch members will now decide what further action to take. Staff at the university were on strike last Friday and on Monday this week, making a total of 12 days lost to strikes since the dispute began.  The latest round came after management rolled back on earlier promises for no compulsory redundancies in the university’s Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies before spring next year, and with jobs also due to be lost, including by compulsory redundancy, in the Scholar programme which provides online learning to Scottish schools read more

Glasgow Caledonian University strike today over jobs (4 Aug) – Members of UCU at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) today are striking today over job cuts and the threat of possible compulsory redundancies. Today’s strike follows on from two days of well supported strike action earlier in the summer and follows a ballot where members supported strike action by 79% with a turnout of 69%. Members are also taking part in action short of strike by working to contract, not undertaking voluntary duties or covering for absent colleagues. Striking staff will be on picket lines at GCU as they attempt to save jobs at the university. The strike is over proposals, announced in March, by senior managers to cut up to 100 posts despite the university not being in deficit, holding healthy cash reserves and having a lean staff to student ratio compared to many other universities. While the university sector across Scotland is facing challenges the union said that GCU was in a very strong financial position read more

Five-week strike at Dundee University starting in September (16 July) – Five weeks strike action from 21 September. Lobby of court today, 12.30pm at the Bonar Hall, Nethergate, Dundee. Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Dundee University will strike for 25 days over five weeks at the start of the new academic year in a long running dispute over cuts and job losses including compulsory redundancies. Staff at the university will be on strike each weekday from Monday 21 September through to Friday 23 October, meaning the strike will last for the first five weeks of the new term.  As well as taking strike action, staff will also be taking part in action short of strike which will include action such as not covering for colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities read more

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

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

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

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

     

FBU   

FBU claims victory after Kent County Council reject all fire service cuts proposals (6 Aug) – The Fire Brigades Union has credited Kent firefighters and the local community for forcing the Fire Authority to back down on proposed cuts to the fire service. Following a mass campaign by Kent FBU, the union has delivered a vital win and saved fire stations from closure, kept fire engines available, and saved firefighters’ jobs. In a crunch Fire Authority meeting, the proposals were overwhelmingly rejected 17-2. Kent Fire and Rescue Service had originally proposed 63 firefighter posts be cut along with the removal of six fire engines and earmarked five fire stations for closure read more

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

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

POA     

General Secretary update read more

National Chair update Aug 2026 read here  

NEC minutes Aug 2026 read more

Why is the UK Prison System Failing? Steve Gillan – Bold Politics with Zack Polanski Podcast (3 Sept) – Why are UK prisons so overcrowded? How has the standard of prisons deteriorated over the past 40 years? Why are reoffending rates so high? How do we improve working and living conditions in our prisons?

In this episode of Bold Politics with Zack Polanski Podcast, Zack Polanski is joined by General Secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, and President of the Trades Union Congress, Steve Gillan read more

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

POA calls for trade union solidarity as Guernsey prison officers continue industrial action (29 July) – The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has expressed its full support and solidarity with Prison Officers at Les Nicolles Prison in Guernsey who are currently undertaking industrial action in response to long-standing concerns over pay, staffing, recruitment, retention and increasing workplace pressures. The POA has become aware that retired Prison Officers are being actively recruited through a private agency to undertake temporary roles at Guernsey Prison during the ongoing dispute. The Union believes these appointments are intended to provide operational cover while Prison Officers are engaged in lawful industrial action. The POA is calling on retired Prison Officers not to apply for, accept or facilitate temporary appointments which would undermine the legitimate industrial action being taken by their colleagues read more

NAPO

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

BFAWU     

Post Conference Foodworker 2026 read more

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

Nautilus International

“Red Duster” raised as seafarers honoured on Merchant Navy Day (3 Sept) – Nautilus has marked the UK’s annual Merchant Navy Day by joining commemorative events across the UK that raise the Red Ensign and honour those who have served at sea, past and present read more

4 September strike Boluda Towage Rotterdam – Employees of harbour towage service Boluda will stop work on Friday 4 September between 11.15 a.m. and 7.00 p.m. The members of the Nautilus International trade union, together with FNV Havens, are campaigning against the government’s austerity plans on social security read more

NUJ   

Malta: IFJ condemns verdict in Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination trial (7 Sept) – One of Malta’s richest men has been found not guilty of involvement in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia read more

Journalists at the Lancet vote for industrial action (4 Sept) – NUJ members at the Lancet have overwhelmingly voted in favour of industrial action as part of their long running pay dispute with managers. The ballot results showed 94.51% supported strike action and 97.8% supported action short of a strike on a turnout of 87.5%. The union issued notice of the ballot last month after members at the Lancet NUJ Chapel overwhelmingly rejected the company’s pay offer following extensive negotiations. Staff at The Lancet have absorbed rising workloads, increasing expectations and sustained inflation. This has led to a reduction of the real terms value of their salaries, leaving many employees significantly worse off than they were five years ago despite their growing experience, expertise, and responsibilities read more

MPs call for urgent universal anti-SLAPP legislation as UK government says it’s ‘taking steps’ (3 Sept) – MPs called for universally applicable and robust legislation to clamp down on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) in a debate in Westminster on the first day back from recess read more

NUJ responds to reports of Reform UK banning journalists from party conference (2 Sept) – The NUJ has responded to reports that Reform UK has refused three journalists entry to its party conference. Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said: “Reports that Reform UK has chosen to ban journalists who have scrutinised the party from attending its conference are frustrating and concerning. A functioning democracy depends on a free press that can ask political parties difficult questions and hold those seeking power to account…” read more

NUJ responds to government’s UK media green paper consultation (1 Sept) – The NUJ has responded to a UK government consultation over plans to address the spread of misinformation on social media and reshape TV distribution and regulation read more

Equity

Creatives to deliver letter of no confidence in Gordon Lyons: Artists and arts workers are angry at funding cuts (7 Sept) – Creatives, including actor and playwright Roisin Gallagher and presenter and columnist Lynette Fay, will tomorrow (Tuesday 8 September) deliver a letter of No Confidence in Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, protest outside Stormont, hold meetings with MLAs, and sit in the chamber for Gordon Lyons’ Assembly Questions. The action, organised by Equity, aims to highlight the “failure” of the Minister to produce an arts policy and the underinvestment in the arts across Northern Ireland. The letter of no confidence points to Minister Lyons’ “continued failure to provide the leadership, strategic direction and sustainable investment required to protect and develop Northern Ireland’s arts and cultural sector” and calls on the Northern Ireland Assembly to “recognise the Minister’s failure”. Full text of the letter is contained below. Over 400 meeting requests with MLAs have been made by at least 90 supporters to discuss the disastrous state of arts funding. 75 out of the 90 MLAs have been contacted for a meeting. Creatives attending tomorrow include dancers, visual artists, actors, theatre producers, stage managers, musicians, directors, writers, and circus practitioners read more

Creatives to protest at Stormont (2 Sept) – Artists will deliver No Confidence letter in Communities Minister and demand NI arts funding and policy read more

Equity secures £15k for Manchester Pride Performers (3 Sept) – Money secured a year after the event collapsed. After months of campaigning, Equity has secured £15,000 in funds for performers who were left unpaid when Manchester Pride went into administration last year read more

Musicians Union

Protect Creative Work: AI Petition Passes 10,000 Signatures (28 Aug) – The Creators’ Rights Alliance (CRA) has passed 10,000 signatures on its petition calling for greater transparency around copyrighted works used to train generative AI. The MU, a CRA member, fully supports the campaign, which is now aiming for 100,000 signatures read more

Sign the Petition to Protect the BBC’s Future (3 July) – A collective of arts, entertainment and broadcast unions, including the Musicians’ Union, have launched a joint petition to protect the future of the BBC read more

UVW   

Butlin’s Resort Safety Officers announce strike action over August bank holiday weekend, escalating to continuous action from 21 September (24 Aug) – “We don’t want to strike. We want to do our jobs properly and keep guests and colleagues safe. But we need that same commitment from management” – Max, Resort Safety Officer and UVW member. Resort Safety Officers at Butlin’s Bognor Regis will strike over the August Bank Holiday weekend and throughout September unless the company acts to resolve the dispute. Walkouts are confirmed for 28–30 August, 4–7 September and 10–15 September, followed by continuous strike action from 21 September. Workers are calling on Butlin’s CEO Jon Hendry Pickup to meet urgently with them and their union of choice, UVW, to negotiate a resolution and avert the escalating action. The workers, members of United Voices of the World (UVW), voted 100% in favour of strike action after repeatedly raising concerns about staffing levels, safety, faulty equipment, pay and working conditions 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

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

SIPTU (Ireland)   

Government must reject employers’ demands on the minimum wage (4 Sept) – SIPTU General Secretary John King has called on the Government to reject employers’ demands to reduce the increase in the National Minimum Wage. Following media reports that the Low Pay Commission has proposed a 79-cent increase in the hourly minimum wage, employers are demanding the Government ignore the recommendation and introduce a smaller increase read more

SIPTU calls on Government to prevent 15% public transport fare increase (3 Sept) – SIPTU has called on the Government to provide the funding needed to prevent adult public transport fares from increasing by an average of 15% from January 2027, warning that the move will worsen the cost-of-living crisis, undermine climate policy, and inevitably affect pay negotiations across the public and private sectors. The increases announced by the National Transport Authority will apply across Public Service Obligation services, including Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, Luas, Go-Ahead Ireland and TFI Local Link. They will affect cash and Leap Card fares, along with weekly and monthly tickets read more

SIPTU votes for public service strike action over Government failure to enter talks (31 Aug) – SIPTU members in the public service have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action, in a ballot counted today (31st August) in Liberty Hall, Dublin, and centres in Galway and Cork. The overall result among SIPTU members employed in health, local government and State agencies, who were balloted in this phase, was 97% in favour of strike action and 98% for industrial action read more

SIPTU calls on Trimfold Envelopes to engage with WRC over redundancy terms (31 Aug) – SIPTU has called on the management of Trimfold Envelopes in Trim, County Meath, to reverse its decision not to participate in a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) conciliation process concerning redundancy terms for workers at the company. The issues referred to the WRC include the terms applicable if redundancies arise and proposals concerning voluntary redundancy in the company’s Overprinting Department read more

  

Other news     

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

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

St James campaign meeting — Tuesday 8 Sept – Join St James tenants, Butterfields Won’t Budge, SHAC and Unite Housing workers to hear how workers and residents can organise together against evictions, rent rises and the loss of family homes.

Tuesday 8 September 6.30pm — online
Register for the Unite RISC St James campaign meeting

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

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

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

For any press enquiries please email [email protected]

Or for anything else please email [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STAMMA website    

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

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

     

Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation

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

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

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

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

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

Opening statement to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on behalf of:

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

Blacklist Support Group

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

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

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

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

   

        

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

     

International     

Taiwan: Stop union busting at TaiDoc read more from LabourStart

Turkey: SPOT Statement on the arrest of Deniz Göktaş read more on the website of SPOT – Solidarity with the People of Turkey

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

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

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

Workers unity against the far-right

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

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

   

   

Diary      

  

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