The U-turn may help to end wave of strikes, though funding it could require cuts to key services
Steve Barclay has privately conceded he will have to increase his pay offer to NHS staff, in a U-turn that may help to end the growing wave of strikes.
However, the Treasury has made clear he will have to find any new cash from within the existing health budget, raising the prospect of cuts to key services.
Continue reading...Officials from 14 health unions want to hold direct talks with ministers to agree pay rises for NHS staff
The system for setting NHS staff pay is under threat after health unions refused to submit evidence to the two bodies that advise ministers on how big annual increases should be.
The role and credibility of both the NHS pay review body (NHSPRB) and the review body on doctors’ and dentists’ remuneration (DDRB) have been brought into question by the move.
Continue reading...Legislation to be published today particularly aimed at firefighters; Shapps denies new laws would increase risks of strikes
The anti-strikes bill being published today is aimed particularly at firefighters. Fire and rescue is one of the areas where minimum service levels will definitely be set; in other areas, the government says mandatory MSLs will just be a last resort, because it is hoping the voluntary agreements can be reached. (See 9.21am.)
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the bill was a “shameful attack” on democratic rights and he called for a “mass movement of resistance” against it. He said:
This represents one of the most shameful attacks on the democratic rights and liberties of working people in decades …
This is an attack on all workers – including key workers, who kept our public services going during the pandemic.
Continue reading...Business department says bill will enforce ‘basic’ level of service from different sectors during stoppages
Ministers are to unveil controversial new legislation designed to curb the effectiveness of strike action as industrial disputes continue to paralyse services across the UK.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has previously said the bill will enforce a “basic” level of service from different sectors if workers choose to strike.
Continue reading...Some suggest political naivety played a role as No 10 admits it is taking a ‘new approach’ by discussing pay
At the end of talks over next year’s pay deal for NHS workers, which broke up without resolution on Monday, union negotiators told Steve Barclay: “You know we’re going ahead with strikes?” One of those in the room said the health secretary shrugged his shoulders in resignation. “I accept that,” he told them.
But the fact ministers sat down with unions to discuss pay at all is, in itself, a breakthrough. For weeks the government has been indicating that, while it would meet unions to avert further strikes, reopening this year’s pay deal was not an option.
Continue reading...Union chief welcomes hour-long meeting with ministers on Monday but says ‘months have been wasted’
A potential government offer of a one-off payment to teachers is unlikely to be enough to prevent upcoming strikes in England and Wales, the head of the biggest teaching union has warned ahead of talks with ministers on Monday.
Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said while talks with the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, were welcome, she was sceptical about what could be achieved.
Continue reading...February and March closures will mean biggest shutdown for years if union ballots for action this week
Most state schools across England and Wales will have to close completely on several days in February and March if the country’s biggest teaching union votes for industrial action this week, the Observer has been told.
In what would represent a dramatic escalation of the chaos sweeping the public sector, and affect millions of working parents, the National Education Union (NEU) expects a ballot of its members, which ends on Friday, to approve action that would trigger the biggest shutdown of schools for many years.
Continue reading...Industrial action over pay and working conditions has caused almost four weeks of disruption
The last day in the latest stretch of railway strikes has begun, ending a run of almost four weeks of continuous disruption caused by industrial action over pay and working conditions.
Only about one in five trains across Great Britain will run on Saturday as a 48-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union concludes, with no early morning or evening services and a pared-back schedule on main intercity and urban lines.
Continue reading...Industrial action on 23 January in England and Wales will coincide with strike by Unison members
More than 2,600 additional ambulance workers plan to strike in late January over pay, the trade union Unite announced on Friday.
Unite’s members will join colleagues belonging to Unison in striking on 23 January, with hospital bosses calling for “serious talks” between the government and unions to avoid “even more pressure on already overstretched NHS services”.
Continue reading...Legislation will allow bosses of key public services to sue unions and sack employees who refuse to work
Rishi Sunak’s new anti-strike legislation to enforce “minimum service levels” in key public sectors including the NHS and schools has drawn a furious reaction from unions as the prime minister scrambles to get a grip on industrial disputes.
The law, which the government plans to introduce in the coming weeks, will allow bosses in health, education, fire, ambulance, rail and nuclear commissioning to sue unions and sack employees if minimum levels are not met.
Continue reading...Chief negotiator says better communications could sway union members, as first of five days of rail strikes begins
A deal to stop strikes is “in touching distance”, the chief negotiator for Network Rail has claimed, as drivers and staff began the first of five consecutive days of national rail strikes.
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, suggested the pay offer would not be improved but claimed that better communication of the deal would begin to win over union members.
Continue reading...Proposed law requiring 20% of rail service during strikes could extend across public sector including NHS
Unions are expected to take legal action against anti-strike laws being prepared by Rishi Sunak amid reports the curbs will be unveiled when parliament returns this month.
The legislation being looked at by Sunak would extend plans already announced by ministers to enforce minimum service levels on public transport – meaning 20% of regular rail services would need to continue during strike action.
Continue reading...RMT staging two 48-hour strikes from Tuesday and Friday and Aslef has called strike for Thursday
Rail passengers will face fresh travel disruption this week because of strikes by tens of thousands of workers in bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators will stage two 48-hour strikes from Tuesday and Friday, while drivers in the Aslef union will strike on Thursday.
Continue reading...Rico Back believes postal service’s talks with union have been poorly handled
The former Royal Mail boss Rico Back has launched a withering attack on the company’s board, saying its chief executive lacked experience and had mishandled talks with the Communication Workers Union that led to strikes and chaos in the run-up to Christmas.
Royal Mail has been locked for months in an increasingly bitter battle with the CWU over pay and changes to working conditions. Simon Thompson joined as chief executive two years ago from the online grocer Ocado.
Continue reading...Minister ratchets up hardline stance as he rejects claim government is sabotaging efforts to end strikes
Trade unions are seeking to hold the government “to ransom” by demanding direct talks on public sector pay, Ben Wallace has argued in a further apparent ratcheting up of ministers’ hardline stance towards strikes.
Speaking at Manchester airport, where he met military personnel covering for Border Force staff, the defence secretary rejected a charge from the new TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, that the government was sabotaging efforts to end the strikes.
Continue reading...Incoming general secretary, Paul Nowak, says PM has overestimated public support for confronting unions
Rishi Sunak needs an “exit strategy” from ongoing industrial disputes to avoid them escalating in the months ahead after overestimating public support for his “1980s playbook” approach to widespread strikes, the incoming TUC general secretary has said.
Paul Nowak, who takes over as Britain’s top union leader next month, predicted the government’s “war of attrition” against the unions would fail and accused ministers of having their “hands over their ears” about the severity of the situation.
Continue reading...General secretary Mark Serwotka predicts ‘coordinated and synchronised’ action from January
The head of the largest civil servants union has warned ministers that “coordinated and synchronised” strike action across the economy will “significantly escalate” from January.
Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), was speaking as his members employed in passport control for Border Force set up picket lines at Britain’s largest airports on Wednesday, in a four-day strike set to continue until New Year’s Eve.
Continue reading...Ex-Labour MP and former critic of privatisation risks claims of hypocrisy over advisory role with Daniel Křetínský
The MP turned banker, Chuka Umunna, is advising a Czech tycoon who was accused of planning a secret takeover of Royal Mail by union leaders.
The former Labour MP is one of a team of bankers working on Daniel Křetínský’s British business interests, many of which are held within Vesa Equity Investment, including a 23% stake in Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS).
Continue reading...Delays and cancellations linked to 20 years of privatisation, rising costs and labour shortages worsened by pandemic, say experts
Rail passengers have been delayed or disrupted on more than half of all train services departing from 15 of Great Britain’s busiest stations in the last year, Guardian analysis shows, exposing what has been described as a “broken” railway system that cannot easily be fixed.
Experts said the figures – which show rail services in the north and Midlands as the hardest hit – demonstrated the impact of two decades of privatisation, which had increased costs and public subsidies, combined with labour shortages exacerbated by the pandemic.
Continue reading...No services on railways for second consecutive day as RMT union members strike over pay
Thousands of people face Boxing Day travel chaos across Britain as a rail strike means no services will be running.
Many have been forced to cancel or make alternative plans as the industrial action continues.
Continue reading...