Scottish local authorities vote to strike - Unite’s longest strike is victorious - Met pays up for picket line arrest
25 - 31 July 2022
A series of government and parliamentary reports out last week highlighted how employment enforcement doesn’t work for low-paid workers, how NHS workers recruited internationally pay thousands in penalties if they want to change jobs, and how the way employment status is determined causes confusion and can lead to exploitation.
So what’s the answer from the person most likely to become Prime Minister?
Clamp down on union rights.
From the opposition?
Sack a shadow minister who supported workers on a picket line.
In the words of one general secretary: “it would be laughable if it were not so serious”.
Read on for those stories, but also for the outcome of the massive Scottish local government ballot, the longest strike in Unite history ending in a pay rise, and a union official getting compensation from the Metropolitan Police after officers tried to arrest him on a picket line.
And as always, if you have something coming up that I should include in the newsletter let me know here, or send me an email to theweekinwork [at] gmail [dot] com.
DISPUTES
Scottish Council strikes: Unison, Unite and GMB have secured strike mandates to disrupt operation of over 1,200 schools across 16 Scottish local authorities and waste/recycling services in 25 Scottish local authorities, Unison says. The union says this is the largest strike ballot among council workers in over a decade, with Unison securing strike mandates at 9 councils, GMB at 25 and Unite at 26.
Rail strikes: Train drivers at nine train companies will go on strike on 13 August, after firms failed to make a pay offer that keeps pace with the increase in the cost of living, ASLEF says. Drivers were already on strike at seven train companies last Saturday and there are strike ballots closing at four additional rail operators in August and September.
TSSA members across seven train operating companies will also take strike action on 18 and 20 August, the same day RMT members are scheduled to take action, the union says. Four additional operators will be taking action short of a strike and are being re-ballotted for full strike action. This is the first rail-industry wide industrial action taken by the TSSA, the union says.
Hitachi rail workers are also on strike in a separate dispute over pay and conditions, the RMT says.
Going underground: London Underground workers will take strike action on 19 August as part of the ongoing dispute over pay and jobs, the RMT says. The union is giving TfL until 2 August for it to provide assurances over jobs, pensions and working conditions.
And there could be further disruption in the capital as London Overground workers have voted for strike action on Arriva Rail London after rejecting a 5% pay offer, the RMT says.
Glasgow subway strike: Glasgow subway workers have voted to strike, with the first Rangers home game of the season set to be hit by the walk out, Unite says.
Bus drivers in the South East ballot: Arriva bus drivers in Essex and Kent are balloting for strike action, after they rejected a 7.8% pay offer from the company, Unite says. The ballot closes on 12 August. A separate ballot in Bedfordshire, Buckingham and Hertfordshire closes on 10 August. Strike action is ongoing in the North West.
Over 400 pickets: BT Group employees stood at over 400 pickets across the UK in their strike last week, the CWU says.
Felixstowe ballot success: Nearly two thousand workers at Felixstowe, the UK’s largest container port, have voted overwhelmingly for strike action following a below-inflation pay offer, Unite says.
Wildcat food: Around 100 workers at Cranswick Continental Foods in Pilsworth have taken a wildcat strike, complaining about a lack of proper breaks and low wages, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Housing worker ballot: Workers at Walsall Housing Group, one of the West Midlands’ biggest housing providers, have voted to strike, the GMB says.
Oil and Gas industrial action: More than 100 Workers at US oil and gas company Baker Hughes have voted to strike over fire and rehire tactics that could see workers lose around £10,500 in annual income, Unite says. Workers at the Foinaven Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel have also voted to strike over redundancy package discrepancies between offshore and onshore workers, the union says.
Casino poverty pay: Workers at Grosvenor Casinos are being balloted for strike action, in a dispute over pay, Unite says.
Ferry strikes: Red Funnel workers operating the Isle of Wight ferry are on strike over poverty wages, Unite says.
Bexley strike suspended: The Bexley refuse workers’ strike has been suspended to allow for ACAS negotiations, Unite says.
DBS strike: Outsourced workers at the Disclosure and Barring Service have voted for strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions, PCS says.
Court strike suspended: Court security staff have suspended their planned strike to consider an offer including a minimum 8.3% pay increase, a one-off £125 payment, an improved overtime rate, paid time off for hospital appointments and paid bereavement leave, PCS says.
Queen Mary wage theft: Queen Mary University has withheld 100% of wages over 21 days from more than 100 staff who participated in a marking boycott in protest to pay and working conditions, the Guardian reports. The workers had their full pay deducted even though they still carried out the “vast majority” of their duties and the university is threatening 100% deductions again in August.
POLITICS AND POLICY
Truss plans attack on union rights: Conservative party leadership candidate Liz Truss has proposed restricting the ability of workers on critical infrastructure from striking, to increase the notice period for strike action and a reduction in how often workers can strike following a successful strike ballot, the Guardian reports. Mick Lynch of the RMT and Sharon Graham of Unite said unions would organise mass resistance if the plans went ahead.
Unite to debate continuing funding of Labour: “Labour is becoming more and more irrelevant to workers,” says Unite general secretary Sharon Graham to the Observer following the sacking of transport minister Sam Tarry after he made comments from a picket line. Graham says that the continuing funding of Labour is likely to come up at the Unite rules conference and there is a high chance a decision will be made to stop funding. “The last time it was debated, it was only narrowly won. I think it’s harder and harder to defend.”
Keir Starmer has “misread the public mood”, says former shadow secretary John McDonnell, adding that he supports “coordinated action” by unions if it “results in a decent pay rise”.
Scab charter legal challenge: Twelve unions are preparing legal action to challenge new regulations permitting the use of agency workers during industrial action, according to a press release by Thompsons Solicitors.
Enforcement doesn’t work: The process for reporting labour abuses does not work for the most vulnerable low-paid workers and fails to engage with the third-party bodies whom workers trust more than enforcement agents, according to a report by the Low Pay Commission into Leicester textile manufacturers.
No reform on employment status: The government says in its latest consultation on employment status that it has decided to not create a new framework for employment status, even though a large number of respondents were in favour of reform. Respondents highlighted the confusion around the current arrangement and how rules around “personal service” were being used by employers to exploit workers.
NHS repayment fees should be scrapped: The NHS should ensure that no international health and care staff are being subject to punitive repayment clauses, according to a report by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee. The recommendation follows an investigation by the Observer newspaper, which found some workers were tied to roles and could face fees of up to £14,000 if they want to change jobs or return home early.
110,000 off work with long Covid: One in ten workers with long Covid have to stop working while sick, leading to 110,000 workers currently missing from the labour market, according to a new report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
PAY
Live-in carer pay deductions: Live-in carers face pay deductions from their employers for accommodation, have unclear payslips, and even suffer threats of physical violence, according to a new report by The Nottingham Rights Lab. The researchers found that live-in carers are most commonly employed on zero-hours or self-employed, and some are unable to open bank accounts because the employer or client does not let them use the address where they live and work.
Poor in retirement: Four in five workers (16 million people) are not saving at levels which are likely to deliver an acceptable standard of living in retirement, according to new research commissioned by the Living Wage Foundation and completed by the Resolution Foundation.
LEGAL
Unlawful arrest: The Metropolitan Police has apologised to a United Voices of the World (UVW) official for his arrest, and paid compensation to the union and the official worth a total of £5,000, UVW says. Franck Magennis, a barrister at Garden Court chambers, and former head of UVW’s legal department was arrested while on a picket line outside the St George’s University Hospital.
Mixed decision on gender critical barrister: The London Central Employment tribunal has found that barrister Allison Bailey’s gender critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act, but dismissed all of her claims against Stonewall and most of her claims against Garden Court Chambers, according to a tribunal press release. The tribunal did uphold her claim that Garden Court discriminated against her in a tweet and when it decided her tweets likely breached the barristers’ core duties. The full judgement is here.
Postman unfairly dismissed: An employment tribunal has found that a postman who took parcels home in the middle of a shift because he was feeling ill was unfairly dismissed by Royal Mail, Wales Online reports.
Six figure compensation: A prison worker has won almost £135,000 at an employment tribunal after he was sacked while off sick, Hull Live reports.
WINS
Coventry victory: Coventry refuse workers have won a pay rise of up to 12.9%, the equivalent of £3,600 a year, after six months of strike action against the Labour-run council, Unite says. The deal also includes a lump sum for workers working Christmas hours, worth up to £4,000, and the dropping of disciplinary charges against Unite Shop Steward Pete Randle. The strike is the longest in Unite’s history, a title previously held by the Chep dispute, where workers were out for over four months (17 December - 27 April 2022).
The council says the strike has cost it £4 million in replacement bin services and in loss of commercial waste income.
Gatwick bus drivers win: Gatwick Airport bus drivers have secured a 21.5% pay increase, from £12.34 to 14.25 per hour, backdated to 1 April, Unite says. Pay will further increase to £15 an hour from 1 January 2023.
Getting Sanctuary: Over 300 repair workers employed by Sanctuary Housing Association secured a 13% pay increase and a £500 bonus, Unite says.
College workers win nearly 10%: Hugh Baird College workers in Merseyside have won an up to 9.8% pay rise and three additional days annual leave per year after voting for strike action, UCU says.
Arriva Yorkshire deal: Around 650 workers at Arriva Yorkshire have ended their dispute after agreeing a pay deal averaging 9%, Unite says. The rate for new starters has increased from £9.79 to £10.84 an hour, the rate for people with one year’s service will be at least £11.96 and all drivers with at least three years’ service will receive £13.20 an hour.
Parking charges paused: Mid and South Essex NHS Trust has paused plans to charge hospital workers for parking, following a Unison campaign, the Essex Echo reports.
Clean bill of health for Glasgow bar: The Broadcast bar in Glasgow has reopened following negotiations with Unite representatives, the BBC reports. The bar had previously closed after the union sent a letter listing more than 50 complaints including health and safety, pay and contractual issues.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Not enough firefighters: Eight of the fifteen fire services inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services don’t have enough fire protection staff to carry out vital fire safety work, and services are over reliant on overtime to provide an operational response, according to recent inspection reports, the Fire Brigades Union says.
Gatwick construction death: A construction worker employed by subcontractor Kilnbridge on Costain’s £150m expansion of Gatwick Airport train station died following an incident at work, Construction News reports. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and British Transport Police are investigating the death.
Trapped under a wagon: An employee of Lancashire County Council that was working on a road in Bolton by Bow died after he became trapped under a wagon, suffering fatal injuries, LancsLive reports.
Dockworker death: The HSE is investigating the death of a worker at Southampton docks, The Southern Daily Echo reports. The terminal operator DP World says the worker died of natural causes.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Ongoing: Bosch Rexroth Glenrothes strike every Monday and Tuesday and overtime ban every day
Ongoing: Arriva North West workers on strike
1 - 2 August: Hitachi rail workers on strike
1 August: BT workers on strike
1 August - 19 August: Elmbridge and Surrey Heath refuse workers on strike
2,4,8,10 and 12 August: VFS Southampton workers on strike
4 August - 21 August: Mid Ulster District Council refuse workers on strike
4-8, 12 -15, 19 - 22, 25 -29 August: Saint James Tavern workers in Brighton on strike
5 August: Foinaven Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) workers on strike
5, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 23, 26 and 29 August: Red Funnel ferry workers on strike.
6, 9, 13, 27 August: Glasgow subway workers on strike
13 August: Train drivers at nine train companies on strike
18 & 20 August: TSSA and RMT members across the rail network on strike
19 August: London underground workers on strike
19 August: Close of Unison higher education strike ballot in Scotland
22 August: Deadline for Scottish government consultation on the extension of Transparency in Supply Chain legislation for Scottish public bodies
22 – 26 August, 30 August - 2 September, 5 September - 9 September: Richmond upon Thames College workers on strike
26 August: Close of Unison higher education strike ballot across the UK, except Scotland
6 - 7 September: Burnley College, The Manchester College, City of Liverpool College, and Oldham College staff on strike
FEEDBACK
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