All the union news that's fit to blog...
Angered over a tracker device measuring workloads inaccurately, more than 300 engineering service workers employed by lift firm Kone took strike action today (April 7). The vehicle tracker device, known as VAMS, has shown itself to be unreliable, Unite contends. For example, one driver was alleged to have driven 1,000 miles in one day […]
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Unite kicked off its fight back against mass privatisation of Bromley council services today (April 7), in day one of a widely supported two-day strike. Unite members working in libraries, adult services and parks, among other areas, are participating in the walk-out as the Conservative-led Bromley council embarks on a privatisation programme which will […]
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The Council of Europe has launched a new online platform to record violations of journalists’ rights. Hosted on the Council’s website, the platform will help compile information on…Read more…
Rural communities across Northern Ireland are under grave risk to their safety after Unite has discovered plans to severely cut road maintenance services. Unite representatives were informed that Transport NI management have proposed reducing the inspection of rural roads for potholes from three times a year to only once a year. Management has also […]
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Workers at the Northampton plant of one of the world’s largest packaging firms have begun a 48-hour strike over the dismissal of two Unite shop stewards. Unite members at Smurfit Kappa, who had previously been working to rule, walked out at midnight (April 1) calling for their colleagues to be immediately reinstated. Speaking from […]
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The Tories are refusing to set out how they are going to cut £12 billion from the welfare budget. But documents leaked to the BBC show they are looking to hit carers, children and the disabled in the next round of cuts. Labour urged the Tories to ‘come clean’ about where the axe will […]
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As UNITElive reported today, most of us expect our pay to stay the same this year or rise ever-so-slightly. Drivers who transport disabled children to school for Hackney council, however, face something else entirely – an astounding 50 per cent slash in their wages as the local authority embarks on vicious cost-cutting measures. […]
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A damning new report by the Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) published on Friday (March 27), found that construction companies involved in the blacklisting scandal have hardly atoned for their sins. It’s been six years since the Information Commissioner’s Office first discovered a database containing the names of more than 3,000 construction workers. Those […]
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Rolls-Royce is set to deliver a blow to the Scottish economy as it announced plans on Friday (March 27) to further axe over 200 jobs at two aircraft engine plants in Inchinnan and East Kilbride. An estimated 180 jobs will be cut at the Inchinnan site, which manufactures aircraft engines, and will entail slashing […]
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Unite closed its consultative ballot of North Sea offshore members today (March 27), and the results were resoundingly clear. An almost unanimous 94 per cent voted in favour of proceeding to an industrial action ballot to stop the vicious attacks on jobs, pay and working time that North Sea offshore workers have suffered. […]
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A report launched today (Thursday 26 March) reveals that London NHS’s crisis has moved into intensive care. London’s NHS – into the unknown outlines a further unravelling of services as the NHS becomes more fragmented and financially squeezed. Roy Lilley is the chair of the inquiries that formed the basis for the reports. […]
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Reassurances about future UK job security are being sought by Unite, following today’s (March 25) announcement that US food giant Heinz is to merge with Kraft Foods Group. Unite national officer for the food sector Julia Long said that in addition to discussing job security, the union also wants to know the combined […]
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A community and 270 people’s livelihoods have been put on 12 months’ notice as Scottish Power announced yesterday (Monday 23 March) that it will be forced to bring Longannet’s closure forward to March 2016. Unite had previously called for both Scottish and UK government interventions to resolve a dispute between the company and the […]
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‘Stand Up for Free Expression!’, a conference organised by the IFJ (International Federation of Journalists) and the SNJ (French Syndicat National des Journalistes), takes place in Paris…Read more…
Rolls-Royce, the iconic luxury car manufacturer which now predominantly builds aircraft engines, owes much of its success to the thousands of highly skilled UK workers who’ve made the business the bastion of world-class engineering it is today. In a short-term bid to cut costs amid profit losses, however, Rolls-Royce announced a global restructuring exercise […]
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Unite Community members today held protests against grotesque benefit sanctions outside over 75 job centres across the United Kingdom. Millions of claimants have faced sanctions varying in length between four weeks and three years. Many are often imposed for the most trivial reasons that are beyond the claimant’s control. The unemployed, sick, disabled, […]
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‘Iain Duncan Smith’ has today ‘been jailed for crimes against humanity’ by Unite community members in Southampton over the government’s widespread use of benefit sanctions. As part of a national day of action against the sanctions – which lead to a cut or loss of benefits for the most trivial reasons – Unite […]
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Among the few winners in yesterday’s budget was the North Sea oil industry, which was handed over a £1.3bn tax cut to combat a slump in oil prices. The industry responded to the initial New Year slump, which saw the global price of crude plummet to below $50 a barrel, by attacking workers’ pay […]
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That Hinchingbrooke Hospital – the first privately run NHS hospital in history—was a complete disaster was further proved today (March 18) after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concluded the experiment put the taxpayer at grave risk. Private operator Circle won a contract to run the hospital for 10 years, but pulled out in January, […]
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Fears have been expressed that sign language interpreting services for the UK’s 100,000 deaf population could plummet, if further privatisation takes place, Unite has warned. The union is concerned that downward pressure on costs and standards could mean that staff with fewer – or even no – qualifications could make mistakes when a […]
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