Category Archives: Trade unions

British Steel halts redundancy plans after government rescue

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Union welcomes announcement company is closing consultation on laying off up to 2,700 Scunthorpe workers

British Steel will not continue with a consultation on making up to 2,700 steelworkers at its Scunthorpe plant redundant, after the government took control of the firm earlier this month.

The Chinese company Jingye, which promised a “new chapter” when it bought British Steel in 2020, last month proposed closing Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces, putting the roles under threat and ending Britain’s ability to produce steel from scratch.

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Scottish Water staff to strike for two days as pay standoff continues

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Emergency repairs and quality checks for 5m people in Scotland will not be done on Tuesday and Wednesday, union says

Scottish Water staff will strike for two days from the early hours of Tuesday as a standoff over pay continues at the state-owned company.

The striking workers’ union warned that emergency repairs and quality checks to water supplied to 5 million people across Scotland would not be carried out during the action on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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UK prison officers to demand electric stun guns for dangerous jails

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Meeting called with justice secretary after attack on three guards at HMP Frankland

Prison officers will demand the immediate issue of electric stun guns to protect staff guarding Britain’s most dangerous jails when they meet the justice secretary this week.

Wednesday’s meeting with Shabana Mahmood was called after the attack on three guards at HMP Frankland, allegedly by the convicted terrorist Hashem Abedi. Two were seriously injured after being doused in hot cooking fat and stabbed, one five times in the torso, in a sustained assault.

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Second teachers’ union vows to strike if pay award fails to fund schools in England

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NASUWT conference votes to launch strike ballot if spending review does not top up school budgets in full

A second teaching union in England has vowed to strike if the government fails to compensate schools in full for next year’s teachers’ pay award.

The NASUWT union’s annual conference voted to reject any pay offer from the government that did not top up school budgets in June’s spending review, and to “move immediately to ballot members for industrial action”.

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Ministers under pressure to nationalise British Steel if crisis talks fail

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Business select committee chair joins calls for Scunthorpe steelworks to be taken into public ownership

The government is under mounting pressure to nationalise British Steel if crunch talks aimed at a rescue deal fail, as the chair of the influential business and trade select committee added his voice to those calling for the Scunthorpe steelworks to be taken into public ownership.

Jingye, the Chinese owner of the company, and the UK government were not able to reach a deal on Thursday to supply the Scunthorpe plant with crucial raw materials, with talks expected to restart on Friday.

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More than 90% of schools in England ban mobile phone use, survey shows

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Head of National Education Union calls for statutory ban on phones in schools and social media ban for under-16s

Almost all schools in England have banned mobile phone use by pupils, according to the first national survey conducted, as the leader of the largest teaching union called for a statutory ban owing to the “damaging impact” on young people.

The national survey, ordered by Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, showed that headteachers have swiftly instituted bans on smartphone use during school hours. The survey of more than 15,000 schools found that 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools have some form of ban.

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‘They’re everywhere’: workers warn of rat infestation at Somerset nuclear plant

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Unions urge energy giant EDF to take action as concerns mount over health of construction staff

Workers building the troubled Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor in Somerset have raised concerns that the construction site is overrun by rats.

The Unite and GMB trade unions are understood to have warned the developer, the French energy giant EDF, that urgent action is needed because the rodents are “everywhere”.

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England’s NHS crews ‘watching patients die in back of ambulances’ due to A&E delays

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Survey says queues outside emergency departments are leading to ‘car park care’ and fatalities

Paramedics across England are watching patients die in the back of ambulances because of delays outside emergency departments, according to a survey by Unison.

The gridlock of patients in some of the country’s hospitals has led to queues of up to 20 ambulances outside casualty departments in certain areas. In a number of cases, crews have been forced to wait more than 12 hours before handing over patients.

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Birmingham bin collection strike offers ‘banquet’ for rats, pest expert says

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Uncollected food waste ‘poses public health danger’ as 400 workers take indefinite action over pay and conditions

A bin collection strike in Birmingham could lead to rats thriving on a “banquet” of food waste and pose a public health danger, pest controllers have said.

About 400 council bin workers in Birmingham began an indefinite strike on Tuesday as part of a dispute over pay and conditions.

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Deal ends strikes on Britain’s biggest intercity rail line

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RMT union wins 87% backing from members for improved package for train managers at Avanti West Coast

Train managers on Britain’s biggest intercity service, Avanti West Coast, have settled a dispute over rest-day working, ending a series of weekend strikes.

The RMT union said 87% of its members had voted to accept a deal including additional pay for working weekends and an agreement on the allocation of staffing for extra shifts.

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Britain’s biggest unions call for much closer UK-EU ties amid ‘volatile’ global economy

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Exclusive: union umbrella body calls for new cooperation agreement ahead of Keir Starmer’s reset talks with Brussels

The UK should forge much closer ties with Europe amid an increasingly “volatile and unpredictable” global economy, Britain’s biggest trade unions will argue as they push for new workers’ rights across the continent.

In its first major intervention on Europe in five years, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) will call for a “much-needed” closer relationship with the EU, in a joint statement with European counterparts.

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Ministers delaying inquiry into treatment of migrant carers, RCN says

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Exclusive: Nursing union says it continues to receive complaints about low pay, unfit housing and illegal fees

Ministers are dragging their heels on an investigation into the mistreatment of migrant carers, the country’s largest nursing union has said, as it continues to receive complaints about low pay, substandard accommodation and illegal fees.

Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has written to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to urge her to speed up her promised investigation into the abuse of foreign care workers.

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English academy chain to improve conditions for Jamaican teachers after strike threat

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Union leader describes chain’s record on overseas-trained teachers as ‘Harris Federation’s Windrush’

The National Education Union has claimed a “resounding improvement” in workload and conditions for teachers from Jamaica and other countries at a leading academy chain, as part of a deal ending threats of strike action.

The Harris Federation of schools confirmed it will improve conditions for qualified teachers from Jamaica and others trained overseas, as part of a deal that eases the route for overseas-trained teachers to gain similar qualifications in England.

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‘Real anger’: Labour can expect hostile reception at farmers’ annual gathering

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UK food producers plan more protests over inheritance tax changes ahead of this week’s NFU conference in London

The suits and black cabs which typically dot the streets around Westminster have been frequently replaced by the wellies, tweed jackets and tractors of aggrieved farmers of late. The next protest in London by the nation’s food producers is expected on Tuesday morning, ahead of the annual get-together of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

Farmers have regularly swapped their fields for the city since October, when changes to inheritance tax (IHT) for agricultural businesses were announced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, angrily protesting and waving banners.

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Reeves warned UK inflation will push public sector unions to seek higher pay rises

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Plan for ‘reasonable’ 2.8% rises may prove insufficient, forcing chancellor to find billions in extra funding

Rachel Reeves has been warned public sector unions will demand higher pay increases to compensate for accelerating inflation, heaping pressure on the chancellor to find billions of pounds in extra funding.

The government made recommendations in December for a 2.8% pay rise for teachers, NHS staff and other public sector workers for the financial year beginning in April, saying it was a “reasonable amount” given forecasts for the economy.

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Starmer union ally joins opposition to rules barring citizenship for small boat refugees

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Head of Unison Christina McAnea is one of 148 signatories of letter warning rules will ‘breed division and mistrust’

Keir Starmer’s most generous union backer has joined faith leaders to warn Yvette Cooper that new rules refusing citizenship to refugees who arrive in small boats will “breed division and distrust” and could fuel attacks on migrant hotels.

Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, and nine Church of England bishops are among 148 signatories of a letter saying the home secretary’s plan to bar naturalisation for anyone who has made a dangerous journey will label tens of thousands of people “second-class citizens”.

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Amazon accused of targeting Coventry union members after failed recognition vote

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GMB says 60 workers have been targeted, with disciplinary action increasing significantly, but company denies claims

Amazon has been accused of targeting 60 trade union members with disciplinary action after narrowly defeating a recognition vote at its Coventry warehouse last summer.

The GMB trade union said all 60 workers were involved in action at the warehouse – where it has about 700 members out of a workforce of at least 1,500 – that culminated in a ballot on formal recognition in July last year that failed by only a handful of votes.

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Ofsted’s new school report card worse than old system, say headteachers

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Unions as well as school leaders say proposed changes to replace four-grade approach in England are ‘demoralising’

Moves to overhaul the way schools are inspected in England have been criticised by headteachers and teaching unions as “demoralising” and worse than the system they are aiming to replace.

The changes by the Ofsted schools inspectorate would replace single judgments such as “outstanding” with a new report card for parents. They will be unveiled by Ofsted’s chief inspector, Martyn Oliver, on Monday alongside the launch of a public consultation.

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Cardiff University to cut 400 staff and drop subjects including nursing and music

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Union describe reductions as ‘cruel’ as university says it will run out of money without changes

Cardiff University has announced plans to shed 400 academic staff – almost 10% of its total – and cut subjects including nursing, music and modern languages, saying it will run out of money in four years if no changes are made.

Academics, union representatives and students expressed shock and dismay at the scale of the cuts, which were announced at staff meetings at the Russell Group university on Tuesday.

A reduction of academic headcount by about 400 full-time equivalent (7% of total workforce), using compulsory redundancy only if absolutely necessary. ​

Ceasing subjects and programmes in ancient history, modern languages and translation, music, nursing, and religion and theology.

Increasing student-to-staff ratios across the university.

Bringing “complementary” disciplines together through school mergers. For example, the creation of the school of natural sciences (merging chemistry, Earth sciences and physics) and school of global humanities (merging English, communication and philosophy, Welsh, and remaining elements of history, archaeology and religion and modern languages).

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Labour pledges to make Sunday trains as reliable as weekday services

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Government plans to renationalise railways will establish new public body to improve the network

Sunday train services will be as reliable as those on weekdays under plans to renationalise the railways, the new transport secretary will claim in a keynote speech on Monday.

Issuing a series of pledges on which the government will be judged by millions of passengers – as well as its political opponents – Heidi Alexander will cite the creation of a network “where Sunday services are as ­reliable as Monday’s” as one of her key priorities.

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