All the union news that's fit to blog...
Unite welcomed a decision to fine British Airways £3.2m over health and safety failings on Friday (16 May). Two baggage handlers, both Unite members, were hurt in ‘near-identical’ incidents at Heathrow Airport while using machines used to load luggage into planes. The machines, called televators, had not been fitted with adequate protection such as guardrails […]
The post “Fortunate to be alive” appeared first on Unite Live.
The following feature first appeared in the most recent edition of Landworker – you can read the full issue online here. The government’s decision to cut Winter Fuel Allowance – a previously universal entitlement for retired people – has provoked a collective outcry, and rightly so. Critics say that to limit the benefit to only […]
The post Old and cold in the countryside appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite joined a coalition of campaign groups on Wednesday morning (14 May) outside Parliament, demanding “climate justice” and calling on the government to commit to a fully funded plan for a just transition that supports jobs and skills in the North Sea. Unite is part of a partnership, including fellow unions and climate groups such […]
The post United for jobs appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite members at Spirit AeroSystems are pressing the UK government to take action to protect British aerospace and the jobs and skills on which it relies. A delegation of Unite members travelled down to Parliament in London on Wednesday (April 30) to urge the government to intervene after aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced only a […]
The post Stronger together appeared first on Unite Live.
Livv Housing workers are more determined in their fight than ever as their long-running dispute continues. Workers, who have been taking discontinuous industrial action since October after years of real-terms pay cuts, received a big morale boost this week when Unite general secretary Sharon Graham visited the picket line (pictured below) on Tuesday (April 29). […]
The post More determined than ever appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite members in Liverpool gathered at the Harry the Hod statue near the union’s Jack Jones House statue to pay tribute to those who’ve died or been injured in work on International Workers’ Memorial Day on Monday (April 28). The sun was out but the mood was solemn, as more than 100 people including local […]
The post ‘The time for talking is over’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Construction workers and activists gathered at the Building Worker statue at Tower Hill in central London this Monday (April 28) for an International Workers Memorial Day commemoration. The annual Unite event is sadly still as relevant this year as ever, with the latest statistics showing that construction is the most dangerous sector to have a […]
The post Solidarity at Tower Hill appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite marked International Workers’ Memorial Day yesterday (Monday 28 April) with a demand for more action at all levels to reduce workplace deaths. Memorial events happened across the country as workers gathered to remember colleagues who have died or been injured while at work. The latest figures revealed that in 2023/24 there were a total […]
The post Unite remembers appeared first on Unite Live.
The unveiling of a deliberately symbolic red plaque and a special children’s rendition of a song written in her honour were the highlights of a celebration of the life of Betty Tebbs (1918-2017), a lifelong trade union member of one of Unite’s legacy unions. Betty’s radical reputation meant that the event at the Festival Gardens […]
The post The time for action is now appeared first on Unite Live.
Time to climate-proof health and safety laws Unite in Northern Ireland has called on Stormont to protect workers during ‘Extreme Weather’ events. The call went out on International Workers’ Memorial Day following Unite releasing the results of a survey today (Monday 28 April) conducted after Storm Eowyn. The survey of members was carried out by […]
The post Unite “extreme weather” call appeared first on Unite Live.
A sea of Unite flags filled Blake Gardens in Bridgwater on Friday (April 25th), as construction workers from Hinkley Point C and trade union activists gathered around the Unite Workers Memorial to mark International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD). Around 100 people gathered for the breezy lunchtime event, an event which is now the “largest event […]
The post Bridgwater remembers on IWMD25 appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite members gathered outside the Unite office in Moreland Street yesterday (April 23) to show support and solidarity with the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) and its “Stop Deadly Dust” campaign against silica exposure. The construction sector members were all delegates attending the spring National Industrial Sector Committee (NISC) in London, where they heard […]
The post Solidarity against silica appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite has called on the government to make a final investment decision on the building of a new nuclear power station during this quarter. Although groundwork for Sizewell C, located on the Suffolk coast, started over a year ago, the funding needed to build it has still not been agreed. Sizewell C would create up […]
The post Commit to Sizewell C appeared first on Unite Live.
Talks started today (April 16) between Unite and Birmingham City Council, and before they began the Council leader, John Cotton, and his team were busy doing a media round giving interviews. However once the talks had started they entered a “parallel universe” as the council refused to put in writing what John Cotton and his […]
The post Unite ready to continue talks appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite members are being urged to get involved with this year’s International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD), with plans well underway for country wide commemoration events to “remember the dead and fight for the living” later this month. The annual event is held around the world every year on April 28 as workers gather to reflect […]
The post Unite prepares for IWMD 2025 appeared first on Unite Live.
Birmingham bin workers have today (April 14) overwhelmingly rejected a partial offer from council, branding it ‘totally inadequate’. Hundreds of refuse workers, members of Unite, voted overwhelmingly to reject the deal, which still includes substantial pay cuts for workers. The offer also did not address potential pay cuts for 200 drivers. The industrial dispute escalated […]
The post Bin workers overwhelmingly reject council appeared first on Unite Live.
Unite is calling on people to join them tomorrow (Tuesday 15) at the Council House in Birmingham’s Victoria Square when the union will be delivering a petition to Birmingham City Council. The petition in support of the more than 350 Birmingham bin workers are on strike, due to the council’s decision to abolish the safety […]
The post Backing Birmingham’s refuse workers appeared first on Unite Live.
A chorus of voices is now backing Unite in calling for the nationalisation of British Steel if crunch talks fail. British Steel owner Jingye, a Chinese company, is in talks with the UK government to provide a lifeline of raw materials to the Scunthorpe plant, which it desperately needs to ensure its blast furnaces keep […]
The post Nationalise British Steel now call appeared first on Unite Live.
“No one should ever have to choose between heating and eating” was the message from Unite’s members holding protests as part of a nationwide Day of Action over energy price hikes. Unite Community activists joined comrades from Unite Retired Members Branches, along with other fuel poverty and pensioner groups, held over 40 events yesterday (April […]
The post Countrywide protests over energy price hikes appeared first on Unite Live.
The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) have launched the STOP Deadly Dust Campaign to spotlight the often silent killers of workers in their sectors. The BWI is the Global Union Federation grouping free and democratic trade unions with members in the Building, Building Materials, Wood, Forestry and Allied Industries. Unite members in construction and […]
The post Stop Deadly Dust, Protect Workers appeared first on Unite Live.