All the union news that's fit to blog...
On Wednesday (February 1) more than half a million workers from unions across sectors took strike action, including Unite members employed as bus workers for Abellio and many others. As Unite ramps up strike action in many disputes, UniteLive will bring you a selection of quotes straight from the picket line. Below are quotes from […]
The post Quotes from the picket line appeared first on Unite Live.
Responding to the government’s announcement today (January 30) that it intends to invest an additional £1 billion in the NHS to increase the number of hospital beds and ambulances, Unite warned that it is again failing to address ‘the elephant in the room’ of low pay, huge vacancies and experienced staff quitting the service. Unite […]
The post Government NHS investment ignoring ‘elephant in the room’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27) when people across the world gather to remember the more than 6m Jewish people who were massacred in the Holocaust, as well as the millions more who were likewise murdered in other genocides, including in Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Cambodia and others. This year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day […]
The post ‘We must stand together united’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Widespread public support for the latest Unite ambulance strikes was apparent from the start – as cars and lorries relentlessly honked their horns driving past a picket line in Chorley in the early hours of Monday morning, the taxi driver who dropped off your UniteLive correspondent likewise offered his solidarity. “I hope you guys win […]
The post ‘We can’t afford to let the NHS sink’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Thousands of Unite members, ambulance workers, took strike action across England and Wales on Monday (January 23). Unite general secretary Sharon Graham joined dozens of striking workers at a picket line in Chorley in the North West of England. Commenting from the picket line, Graham said, “The Prime Minister is missing in action. “It’s been […]
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Although spiders’ webs were frozen on treesAlthough the leaves had been dipped in iceAlthough waters’ constant drip turned into shafts of iciclesShe hunkered down on a pavement in Kentish TownOn cardboard ready to sleep under polystyrene Her name was Lidia or perhaps MariaHer birthplace BoliviaHer heart gave out on TuesdayShe lit up when someone spoke […]
The post A cold spell appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite has announced fresh dates in an escalation of the ambulance workers dispute. Members of Unite will stage ten further strikes over the coming weeks*. Additional dates could be announced in the comings days. The announcement of fresh strike comes ahead of the latest day of industrial action with Unite’s ambulance workers set to walk […]
The post Fresh ambulance strikes announced appeared first on Unite Live.
Around 200 West Midland’s National Express engineers have voted by 93 per cent in a ballot with a turnout of 80 per cent to strike over pay, Unite said today (January 19). The engineers – responsible for maintaining 1,200 vehicles that cover 93 per cent of the region’s bus network – could be joined on […]
The post West Mids National Express engineers to strike over pay appeared first on Unite Live.
More than 1,000 ambulance workers, Unite members, took strike action on Thursday (January 19) in their fight to save the NHS from total collapse. Unite ambulance workers in Wales overwhelmingly voted to take strike action – by a margin of 88 per cent – over a pay offer that is well below inflation during an […]
The post ‘This is ultimately about our patients’ appeared first on Unite Live.
The government is being accused today of `setting fire’ to workers’ rights’ in its forever war against UK workers which will see them become ever poorer amid a chronic cost of living crisis. Unite has hit out as the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill returns to Parliament for its report stage today (January […]
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Inflation continues to stay at record-breaking levels, according to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics today (January 18). Although headline inflation fell slightly for the second month in a row, from 14 per cent RPI in November to 13.4 per cent in December, food inflation continues to soar to a 40-year […]
The post Cost of living crisis continues appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite, the union representing 100,000 NHS workers, is set to announce further and broadening strike action among its ambulance members. The union’s ambulance Organising Professional Committee (OPC) will meet later on Wednesday (January 18) to set new dates which could see strike action throughout February and March as the government continues to refuse to negotiate […]
The post Unite set to announce further ambulance strikes appeared first on Unite Live.
Britishvolt, which was planning to build a giga-battery factory in Northumberland, has today (January 17) announced that it is going into administration. Unite national officer for the automotive sector Steve Bush said, “This is a grim day for the North East and for the just transition to the electrification of the nation’s automotive sector. “The […]
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The government’s new anti-strike bill – which is now being rushed through Parliament – had its second reading in the Commons on Monday (January 16). Unite and other unions have lambasted the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill as an anti-democratic power grab by the government which will severely curtail the right of union members to […]
The post ‘The government has lost the plot’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Around 3,000 West Midlands bus drivers are preparing to be balloted for strike action over pay, Unite said today (January 16). Last Friday, the drivers, some of whom earn as little as £11.80 per hour, rejected a pay offer for 2023 worth around eight per cent. National Express, which made £15.8 million in profits during […]
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Average ambulance response times in England last month were the longest on record and more than half of people at major A&Es had to wait longer than four hours – the worst delays since records began in 2011. The new figures also show that the number of people waiting more than 12 hours to been […]
The post ‘National disgrace made in 10 Downing Street’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite has slammed Liberty Steel’s latest announcement that up to 440 jobs could be at risk of redundancy under new proposals to restructure the business. Liberty Steel announced on Thursday (January 12) plans to mothball three factories and cut production at another. The three mothballed sites will include West Bromwich, Newport and Tredegar, while production […]
The post Unite will ‘fight tooth and nail’ for Liberty Steel jobs appeared first on Unite Live.
The long running pay dispute at housing and homelessness charity Shelter has ended after workers accepted a vastly improved pay offer. Over 600 members of Unite took strike action last December over pay. During the strike action talks were held at the conciliation service Acas and an improved pay offer was made. The revised offer […]
The post Shelter pay dispute ends in victory appeared first on Unite Live.
Strike action planned by nearly 200 Veolia workers at 22 Merseyside household waste sites will not go ahead after the workers accepted an improved pay offer. The two year pay deal, secured by Unite, will see workers receive a 10 per cent pay rise backdated for the financial year 2022/23 and an 8.4 per cent […]
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Health unions won’t be submitting evidence to the NHS pay review body (NHSPRB) for the next wage round while the current industrial disputes remain unresolved, it has been announced today (January 11). Instead, the 14 unions – representing more than one million ambulance staff, nurses, porters, healthcare assistants, physiotherapists and other NHS workers in England […]
The post NHS pay review body ‘long passed its sell-by date’ appeared first on Unite Live.