All the union news that's fit to blog...
Gatwick airport taxis will not be available during protests held by drivers employed by Airport Cars during protests over an attack on their rep, Unite said today (October 25). The worker has been sacked for undertaking his duties as a Unite union workplace representative. The protests will take place from between 0700 hrs and 1000 […]
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New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms London is facing a week of turmoil as its security guards, employed by outsourcers OCS Group UK Ltd, take a week of strike action, after the company refused to even enter into formal pay talks. The security guards, who also act as the first aiders at the fruit, […]
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Unite has written to London Assembly members to raise concerns about the use of poorly trained agency workers being used to run a limited service during the Woolwich Ferry strike. The union has called on GLA members to give an assurance that the agency staffing arrangements along with the condition of the boats give no […]
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Shortages of the UK’s most popular pickles and vinegars, including Branston Pickle, Sarsons Vinegar and Haywards Pickled Vegetables, will increase as Unite has announced further strike action as a result of the employer’s (Mizkan Euro) derisory pay offer. The 50-plus workers, who are based at Mizkan Euro’s factory in Rochdale, will take fresh strike action […]
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Unite paid tribute to a giant of the trade union movement, trailblazer of union education, and tireless anti-racist campaigner Avtar Singh Jouhl after his death earlier this month. Unite colleagues joined hundreds of others at Avtar’s funeral, which was held last Saturday (October 22). Honouring Avtar’s legacy has never been more important than now, especially […]
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Shoppers will struggle to buy Fox’s Biscuits this Christmas as engineers, employed by the company at its Batley factory, take strike action in a pay dispute. The dispute involves 36 engineers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union. They have been offered an increase of five per cent (with strings attached). The offer […]
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Commenting on the appointment of Rishi Sunak as new prime minister, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Changing the leader of Conservative Party, changes nothing for workers and communities who are being lined up for Austerity Mark Two. Yet again, workers and communities are paying for a crisis not of their making. The economy is […]
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They say knowledge is power – and Unite members at IT firm Fujitsu in Manchester stand ready to wield it after a key win earlier this year. For years, Fujitsu has withheld vital information on colleagues’ pay across the company. Not only has this made it nigh on impossible to have effective pay negotiations, but […]
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Climate change campaigners have joined Unite in a further demonstration that the union’s clear focus on jobs, pay and conditions is resonating with workers. Hope for the Future is a climate charity with offices in Sheffield, London and Liverpool. It works to equip communities, groups and individuals with the tools they need to communicate the […]
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Unite delegate Suzanne Abachor spoke in support of an emergency motion on public services o the last day of TUC Congress on Thursday (October 20). “What a shameful period in our history — in-work poverty has spread right across or public service working people, having struggled through austerity, a deadly pandemic, and now a devastating […]
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Unite delegate Aaron Griffiths gave a heartfelt and moving speech in support of a motion on young workers’ mental health on the last day of TUC Congress on Thursday (October 20). Aaron said he spoke on the same motion, which he called ‘very close to my heart’, in London at the TUC young workers’ conference, […]
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Unite delegate Dave Allan seconded a motion on disabled workers at TUC conference on Thursday (October 20) as he outlined how the “government’s disability strategy fails on all fronts”. “It was delivered too late; it was not based on any consultation with disabled people or disabled people’s organisations; it has zero ambition and any recommendations […]
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham highlighted the ‘horror story’ of the present government and called on Labour to present a ‘a clear and action-based’ alternative, as she reacted to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s speech to TUC Congress. Starmer addressed TUC Congress on its last day on Thursday (October 20), outlining what a future Labour government […]
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Unite delegate Jane Stewart spoke passionately in support of a composite on menopause on Wednesday (October 19) at TUC conference. Seconding the composite, Jane said, “Menopause is not an illness, it’s part of a woman’s life cycle and should be accepted as that without fear or embarrassment.” But, she added, because it is considered a […]
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Unite delegate Lesley Mansell spoke passionately in support of a motion on tackling and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace on Wednesday (October 19). She highlighted how lesbians are not protected from sexual harassment because their “experiences are still largely invisible and therefore ignored”. Lesley pointed to a 2017 TUC report which shed light on […]
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At TUC Congress in Brighton on Wednesday (October 19), Unite called for a just transition for UK food industry workers impacted by efforts in the sector to reduce carbon emissions. Supporting composite three in favour of declaring a food emergency, Unite noted that last year Congress welcomed the government’s National Food Strategy. However Unite said […]
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Unite delegate Susan Matthews gave an impassioned speech at TUC conference on Wednesday (October 19) as she moved a composite on winning equalities in the workplace. What is needed, Susan said, “is stronger action – action is needed to drive an equalities strategy through our workplaces, as part of achieving a more equal society and […]
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Unite called for the government to prioritise UK jobs and industries when issuing defence contracts at Congress in Brighton on Wednesday (October 19). Supporting composite two on economic recovery and manufacturing jobs, the union said hundreds of thousands of skilled workers in shipbuilding, defence, steelmaking and other industries are all being failed by a government […]
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Unite delegate Tommy Murphy seconded an emergency motion on the Royal Mail, which recently announced it would be cutting 10,000 jobs. Tommy said at the heart of this “disgusting threat to jobs” was the “grim reality of privatisation”. “Royal Mail, a once great public service, used to set the standards that all public postal services […]
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Unite head of operations and former TUC president Gail Cartmail gave a moving speech at TUC conference on Wednesday (October 19) in which she paid tribute to the NHS. Reflecting on a previous speech given by then-TUC president Mark Serwotka in 2019, Gail noted how Mark had said he’d passed an important milestone – 1000 […]
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