Move could see synchronised strikes in autumn as new prime minister takes office
Britain is facing a wave of coordinated industrial action by striking unions this autumn in protest at the escalating cost of living crisis, the Observer can reveal.
A series of motions tabled by the country’s biggest unions ahead of the TUC congress next month demand that they work closely together to maximise their impact and “win” the fight for inflation-related pay rises.
Continue reading...Sharon Graham, head of Unite, on picket line with Felixstowe dock strikers, says people could rise up again as they did in the 1990s
British workers are at breaking point, with anger over the cost of living crisis reaching a level not seen since the poll tax riots of the 1990s, the head of one of the UK’s most powerful trade unions has said.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said frustration at pay failing to keep pace with soaring inflation was spilling over into a wave of strike action that would extend from a summer of discontent into the winter.
Continue reading...Analysis: £15 an hour is ‘logical next step’ amid cost of living crisis but neither Labour or Tories likely to back campaign
• Minimum wage should be increased to £15 an hour as soon as possible, says TUC
The TUC has chosen its moment well. With Britain gripped by a cost of living crisis, the umbrella body for trade unions has called for the minimum wage to be raised from £9.50 to £15 an hour as soon as possible, and by 2030 at the latest.
It is an ambitious target, as the TUC openly accepts. The minimum wage is now 64% of median earnings. A £15-an-hour minimum wage by 2030 would be 75% of median earnings, the highest of any of the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development group of rich countries.
Continue reading...Move opens new policy gap between unions and Labour party, which is reluctant to commit to specific figure under Keir Starmer
The minimum wage should be increased to £15 an hour as soon as possible to help millions of low-paid workers struggling amid the cost of living crisis, the TUC has said.
In a move that opens a fresh policy gap between unions and Keir Starmer’s Labour party, the TUC has thrown its weight behind calls for a more ambitious legal floor on pay rates. The union body said the government needed to draw up plans to get wages rising as workers suffer the biggest hit to living standards on record.
Continue reading...About 1,900 crane drivers, machine operators and stevedores involved in eight-day action
Workers at the UK’s biggest container port have gone on strike for the first time since 1989, with shipping companies and union leaders warning the action could impact supply chains and leave shoppers waiting for goods.
About 1,900 members of Unite at Felixstowe have walked out in a dispute over pay today, in the latest outbreak of industrial action to hit a growing number of sectors of the economy.
Continue reading...Rail services will be much-reduced, and buses in west and south-west London and Surrey also affected
Travellers are facing a further day of disruption on Saturday as thousands of transport workers go on strike in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Network Rail, several train companies, and bus services in London and parts of Surrey will be hit by industrial action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), TSSA and Unite unions which will also affect Sunday morning train services.
Continue reading...Denial comes as language toughens on both sides and head of RMT again warns of de facto general strike
Downing Street has denied that ministers are deliberately seeking a political fight with rail unions, as both sides toughened their language further and the head of the RMT warned the impasse could continue “indefinitely”.
Just 20% of rail services ran on Thursday, in a sixth day of strike action since June involving the RMT and TSSA unions, with further disruption taking place on Saturday, which is likely to affect trains throughout the weekend.
Continue reading...Network Rail, several train firms, London Underground and London buses to be hit by latest action
Commuters and other travellers are facing further disruption over three days from Thursday on rail, tube and bus services, as tens of thousands of workers begin the latest round of strike action.
Network Rail, several train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital will be hit by industrial action due to long-running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Continue reading...Measures aim to ensure safety, pay transparency and anti-harassment and discrimination policies
The performing arts and entertainment trade union Equity has launched a comedian’s charter in an effort to ensure good working practices and the safety of performers.
Developed by the union’s comedians’ network, the measures included in the charter “will ensure pay transparency, a safe working environment, late-night safety, and anti-harassment and discrimination policies”, according to Equity.
Continue reading...Owners prioritise multimillion-pound shareholder dividends over paying decent wages, says union
Dockers at Felixstowe are planning eight days of strike action over pay that could cause serious disruption to the UK’s largest container port.
Nearly 1,900 workers plan to stop work for more than a week at the Hong Kong-owned port, starting on Sunday 21 August and ending on Monday 29 August, according to the union Unite. The workers voted 92% in favour of strike action last week.
Continue reading...Head of party’s biggest union donor warns members feel ‘crushed’ and may vote not to pay millions to Starmer
Labour is becoming “irrelevant to workers” and it is now hard to justify handing the party millions in funding, the head of the party’s biggest union donor has warned.
In an interview with the Observer, Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said she felt Labour’s leadership was, in effect, “sticking two fingers up” at workers with its response to strike action and its abandonment of pledges to renationalise public utilities.
Continue reading...‘Special shuttle’ is only service running in Birmingham after the latest industrial action on the network in England and Wales
Rail strikes brought fresh misery for millions across the country on Saturday, including major disruption to Birmingham as it hosted one of the busiest days of the Commonwealth Games.
The latest round of strikes during a summer of chaos for passengers prompted bitter exchanges between union leaders and ministers.
Continue reading...Head of Aslef says transport secretary ‘misrepresenting’ the truth after claim the union was ‘dragging its feet’ in pay talks
Mary Kelly Foy, the Labour MP for City of Durham, has expressed solidarity with Aslef union members as they strike.
LNER, which runs trains between London and Scotland, is warning customers of its “extremely limited services” today.
Continue reading...Leadership rivals bid to win members’ support in foreign secretary’s home town
Drug-related deaths in Scotland fell by nine in 2021, according to the latest figures released by National Records of Scotland, the first decrease since 2013 but falling well short of the significant reduction that campaigners are calling for.
The latest figure of 1,330 is still the second highest annual total on record, and Scotland continues to have by far the highest drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe and five times the rate in England.
We’ve had a raft of reports, policies and strategies that say what needs to change, and families are more likely to be included round the table, but it’s much harder to track their influence on the ground. We don’t understand what’s getting in the way of good words becoming good deeds.
1,330 of our fellow Scots have died entirely preventable deaths and we should not be celebrating this as an achievement ... The solutions are no secret. We need action, not reports with recommendations that are never implemented.
Continue reading...Union source claims MPs will join BT staff on Friday despite Labour leader’s call for frontbenchers to stay away
Up to 70 Labour MPs could join union picket lines on Friday as Keir Starmer faces a renewed battle to maintain party unity over support for striking workers.
One shadow minister was believed to be considering joining a Communication Workers Union (CWU) picket line as thousands of BT staff began two days of strikes over pay, which would set up a fresh potential conflict with the Labour leader’s office.
Continue reading...Aslef members voted for action in August, while the RMT chief, Mick Lynch, is calling for a general strike
Unions warned the UK could face a general strike this year as rail workers voted for fresh action set to intensify a summer of industrial unrest.
The vote for further transport strikes came as Keir Starmer sacked shadow transport minister Sam Tarry who conducted broadcast interviews alongside striking RMT workers at Euston station – a move that is likely to increase divisions between Labour and trade unions.
Continue reading...Some 40,000 workers from 14 train companies and Network Rail are striking in an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions
Here’s the latest TfL update:
Bakerloo — Part suspended. There is no service between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone.
I’m looking at banning strikes by different unions in the same workplace within a set period. We should also place an absolute limit of six pickets at points of Critical National Infrastructure, irrespective of the number of unions involved, and outlaw intimidatory language.
More than 40,000 staff involved in widespread action after union leaders rejected ‘paltry’ 4% pay rise
The railways will again grind to a halt on Wednesday as workers strike over pay, job security and working conditions.
The latest talks to avert the action failed last week, a month since three days of industrial action in June. The strikes involve more than 40,000 workers at Network Rail, 14 train companies, and members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
Continue reading...Labour dismisses Conservative leadership hopeful’s plan for minimum service levels as unworkable
Liz Truss has promised a further crackdown on trade unions, widening restrictions to a significant new number of industries, but her proposals were immediately criticised as the “biggest attack on civil rights” since the 19th century.
Truss said she would legislate for minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure in the first 30 days of government under her leadership. The pledge would go further than the Tories’ 2019 policy, which promised a minimum service should operate during transport strikes.
Continue reading...Public asked to avoid using ride-hailing service on Wednesday in response to issues raised by Uber files
A trade union representing “gig economy” workers is calling on Uber customers to join a 24-hour strike in response to the Uber files, a series of revelations about the cab-hailing app published by the Guardian and its media partners.
The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) invited Uber users to avoid using the service for a day on Wednesday and instead join a demonstration at the company’s headquarters in London.
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