Category Archives: Industrial action

Heatwave brings surge in A&E patients as England doctors’ strike begins

Posted on by

Some hospitals record highest ever A&E attendance figures as heat, high pollen count and air pollution bring rise in demand

A&E units across the UK are experiencing a surge in patients seeking care as a direct result of the heatwave, which is leaving many people unwell with shortness of breath, heat exhaustion and sunburn.

The number of people suffering problems as a direct result of the sustained high temperatures in many parts of the country has resulted in some hospitals recording their highest A&E attendance figures.

Continue reading...

Train drivers’ 24-hour strike stops rail services in England

Posted on by

About 40% of services expected to run on Saturday as 12,000 Aslef members hold second day of industrial action this week

Rail services across England have again come to a halt as 12,000 train drivers strike for the second time this week amid a long-running dispute with the operating companies over pay and conditions.

Members of the drivers’ union Aslef are walking out for 24 hours on the majority of lines in England and some cross-border routes into Scotland and Wales, leaving only 40% of services running.

Continue reading...

Heathrow security guards expected to announce fresh strikes

Posted on by

Unite says it will serve notice to airport of fresh round of strikes in long-running pay dispute

Fresh strikes by security guards at Heathrow airport are expected to be announced next week.

Members of Unite are embroiled in a long-running dispute over pay which has led to previous industrial action.

Continue reading...

St Mungo’s homelessness charity workers begin month-long strike

Posted on by

Members of the Unite union will picket in London, Brighton, Bristol and Oxford after ‘pitiful’ pay offer

Workers at the homelessness charity St Mungo’s will begin a month-long strike on Tuesday in a dispute over pay.

Members of Unite who work at the organisation will mount picket lines outside its head office in Tower Hill in London and in Brighton, Bristol and Oxford. The union said the industrial action was over a “pitiful” pay offer of 2.25%, which was made in April 2023.

Continue reading...

Civil service unions enter new pay talks with UK government

Posted on by

Prospect and FDA suspend strike action after offer of ‘meaningful’ talks, with PCS also attending

Civil service unions have entered talks with the government on pay, believing ministers may finally be willing to offer more money to match rises given to health and teaching staff.

Two unions, Prospect and the FDA, said they would be suspending strike action and ballots because the government said it was willing to engage in “meaningful” talks.

Continue reading...

RMT to hold rail strike across England on eve of FA Cup final

Posted on by

Latest action on 2 June comes between two days of strikes by Aslef and will bring further disruption to football final

The RMT has announced another rail strike on Friday 2 June, the day before the men’s FA Cup final, warning that the government “cannot wish the dispute away”.

About 20,000 RMT members working for the 14 major rail companies in England will strike for 24 hours in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Continue reading...

Senior doctors in England to vote on industrial action

Posted on by

BMA says consultant pay has declined by 35% since 2008-9

Senior doctors in England are to vote on whether to strike amid the continued row over pay in healthcare, as teachers’ unions also plan to hold a ballot for industrial action.

The ballot will open on Monday until 27 June as the British Medical Association urges members to approve.

Continue reading...

Nurses’ union head calls for double-digit pay rise in England ahead of strike ballot

Posted on by

Pat Cullen raises stakes in dispute with government after nurses reject earlier offer of 5%

The head of the Royal College of Nursing union has called for a double-digit pay rise for nurses in England, raising the stakes in the long-running dispute with the government.

Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the RCN, had previously told members to accept the government’s offer of 5% in March but it was rejected in a vote by 54% to 46%.

Continue reading...

NHS disruption warning as ambulance staff strike in south-east England

Posted on by

Hospitals chief says action ‘will pile even more pressure’ on already overstretched services and calls for talks

Ambulance staff in the south-east of England are to strike over pay for the second time on Tuesday, prompting warnings from hospital bosses of further pressure on overstretched emergency services.

Members of the Unite trade union employed by two ambulance trusts are striking after rejecting the government’s pay offer of a lump sum cash payment for 2022-23 and a below inflation increase of 5% for 2023-24.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer accuses government of trying to resurrect Sue Gray story to damage Labour ahead of local elections – UK politics live

Posted on by

Follow all the latest UK politics news

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, has also been giving interviews this morning. He told Sky News that Keir Starmer would have “some serious questions to answer” if today’s Cabinet Office report says she started talks about taking a job with Labour while still working with the civil service team giving advice to the privileges committee in relation to its inquiry into Boris Johnson and Partygate.

Labour sources have told the Telegraph that Gray was not involved in the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team’s (PET’s) work with the privileges committee while she was in contact with Labour.

Continue reading...

RCN and train drivers’ union dispute ministers’ claims about their strikes

Posted on by

Nurses union head clashes with Steve Barclay over plans to protect patients and RMT rows with Mark Harper about striking on eve of Eurovision final

The Royal College of Nursing has clashed with the government over whether sufficient exemptions have been made to protect patient safety during the nurses’ strike in England that started on Sunday evening.

The clash came as a row erupted between the leader of the train drivers’ union and the transport secretary, who had criticised a planned strike on the eve of the Eurovision song contest final for its impact on Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Nurses’ union makes apparent U-turn over staffing exemptions during strike

Posted on by

Two trusts and one children’s hospital to receive emergency nursing staff after RCN had said there would be no derogations

The Royal College of Nurses appears to have U-turned on its decision to allow no exemptions to hospitals during this weekend’s strike action, with nurses now due to work in an emergency capacity in dozens of hospitals across England.

Nurses will be working across several NHS trusts – including Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, in London, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust – in wards including intensive care and A&E. This is despite the RCN vowing when strike action was announced that exemptions would not be made for any hospitals.

Continue reading...

NHS leader asks union to let striking nurses go back to work for emergencies

Posted on by

Health service bosses say patient safety could be at risk when nurses in England stage 28-hour stoppage from Sunday evening

An NHS leader has urged the Royal College of Nursing to let striking nurses leave picket lines and go back to work in their hospital if emergencies occur during their strike this weekend.

Matthew Taylor made the appeal as the NHS braced itself for renewed disruption to services as a result of the first strike by nurses since they rejected the government’s improved pay offer.

Continue reading...

All state schools in England may shut in ‘unprecedented’ coordinated strikes

Posted on by

Four main teaching unions could unite after ‘months of stonewalling’ from education secretary Gillian Keegan

All state schools in England could be closed by “unprecedented” coordinated strikes involving all four teaching unions, after their leaders vowed to increase pressure on the government to improve its pay offer.

In a joint press conference, the leaders of the four major education unions said they wanted to send a message to the education secretary that she needed to resume negotiations over pay and school funding.

Continue reading...

Steve Barclay says RCN left him with no choice but to go to court to block unlawful strike – UK politics live

Posted on by

Health secretary defends court action as Pat Cullen says government decision could make nurses more determined to vote for further strike action

Maclean tells MPs that the last Labour government required photo ID for voting in Northern Ireland. She claims fears that this would lead to people being disfranchised did not materialise.

Earlier, in response to opposition claims that the policy was all about voter suppression (reducing the chance of non-Tories voting), she said Labour required party members to provide photo ID when they turned up to vote to select a Labour candidate.

Continue reading...

Barclay ‘wasting public money’ with legal action against nursing strike

Posted on by

Exclusive: Health secretary trying to ‘wear down’ NHS nurses rather than negotiating, RCN general secretary to tell high court

Steve Barclay will be accused of wasting taxpayers’ money by pursuing striking nurses through the courts when the government seeks on Thursday to shorten their industrial action due to start on Sunday evening.

In a witness statement to be heard in the high court, Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, will say the health and social care secretary is trying to “wear down” nurses through legal action.

Continue reading...

Heathrow remains loss-making despite rise in passenger numbers

Posted on by

Airport says people will be able to ‘travel as normal’ in peak period around coronation despite strike

Heathrow airport has warned that it is still loss-making, even as it continues to be Europe’s busiest airport, welcoming almost 17 million passengers in the first three months of the year.

The airport also said that passengers would be able to “travel as normal” during the peak getaway period around the coronation of King Charles III, taking place on 6 May, despite a fresh planned strike by security staff.

Continue reading...

Amazon workers in Coventry to request union recognition after membership doubles

Posted on by

It would be first time a UK union wins formal negotiation rights and comes after GMB-organised strikes at warehouse

Amazon workers at the delivery firm’s Coventry depot are demanding formal union recognition, after membership more than doubled during strike action.

If granted, it would be the first time a union in the UK has won the right to negotiate with the American tech firm.

Continue reading...

Nurses’ leader blasts Steve Barclay over ‘disgraceful’ use of legal action to stop strike

Posted on by

Pat Cullen attacks health secretary’s attempt to prevent 48-hour action in England as ‘frightening for democracy’

The leader of the Royal College of Nursing has said a legal attempt by the health secretary to block next weekend’s strike in England is “frightening for democracy and very frightening for trade unionism”.

Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, said it was “disgraceful” that Steve Barclay was attempting to thwart the strike via the courts, and said nurses would “not be bullied into silence”.

Continue reading...

RCN head accuses Barclay of issuing ‘blatant threat’ with legal action over strikes

Posted on by

Pat Cullen said health secretary’s attempt to block 48-hour nurses’ strike was ‘cruel’ and ‘unacceptable’

The health secretary’s legal challenge against the Royal College of Nursing’s forthcoming strike is a “blatant threat”, the union’s leader has said.

Steve Barclay’s decision to refer to the courts, revealed on Friday, is the latest twist in the long-running saga over pay between nurses and the government.

Continue reading...