UK faces biggest pay squeeze in G7 - union membership up 1% - Fire & rehire setback at Tesco
11 July - 17 July 2022
Two reports out last week show how the UK is faring worse than comparable nations when it comes to pay and household incomes, and how this is expected to continue.
So it should come as no surprise that in the coming weeks we will have strikes in the railways, at BT, among council bin collectors, at hospitals, at colleges and at factories. According to Unite, 63,000 of its members have gone into dispute in the last ten months and in this interview the union’s general secretary says they have had 46 pay disputes just in the bus sector.
Read on for more on these disputes, but also the latest trade union figures from the Certification Officer, legal setbacks for Tesco workers fighting fire and rehire, and what to do in this heat!
DISPUTES
Thousands of rail workers vote to strike: Train drivers at eight train companies have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and will strike on 30 July, Aslef says. Contingency cover at Great Western will also be affected as TSSA members will be taking industrial action short of a strike on 30 July.
RMT members will be on strike on 27 July, as will TSSA members at Avanti West Coast. RMT members will also strike on 18 and 20 August.
The Aslef ballots reflect significant support for action, with 86.1%-98.9% of ballots returning a ‘yes’ vote on turnouts between 83.5% and 92.5%.
A further 2,500 Network Rail controllers and maintenance engineers have also voted for strike action and 3,500 workers on management grade for action short of a strike, the TSSA says. The strike ballot for management grade workers passed the 50% turnout threshold, but fell short by 42 votes of the additional 40% total support requirement set for “important public services”.
Similarly, hundreds of workers at Southeastern and Great Western Railway have secured a strike mandate, while Great Anglia and TransPennine Express members only met the threshold for action short of a strike, the TSSA says.
Civil servants vote to strike: Civil servants will vote to strike in a six-week ballot starting on 26 September and ending on 7 November, PCS says. The union is calling for a 10% pay rise, a living wage of at least £15 an hour, a cut to pension contributions that members have overpaid, no further cuts to redundancy terms, a job security agreement and more resources for public services.
BT Workers to strike: 40,000 BT Group workers will strike on 29 July and 1 August, CWU says.
Scottish healthcare ballot: The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison are doing consultative ballots of their members over the Scottish Government’s latest pay offer and the potential for strike action, The National reports.
Court security strike vote: Following on from Criminal barristers, security officers employed by OCS on the Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service contract have overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action, PCS says.
Colleges to strike: Staff at Burnley College, The Manchester College, City of Liverpool College, and Oldham College will walk out for two days during college induction weeks in a dispute over pay, UCU says.
Staff at Hackney College have also voted in favour of strike action, the branch says in a tweet.
Higher education ballot on horizon: UCU says it will move ahead with a ballot for industrial action at UK universities after the joint higher education trade unions were told by Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association that there would be no increase to the employers 3% pay offer.
Ford and Mercedes manufacturers strike: Workers at VFS Southampton Ltd, which assembles large vehicles for Ford and Mercedes, will go on strike in a dispute over pay, Unite says.
Sandwell refuse workers strike: Sandwell refuse workers will strike on different days over July and August, in a dispute over pay, Unite and GMB say.
Newham refuse strike ballot: Newham bin workers are also voting to strike over pay, with the ballot closing on 3 August, Unite says.
Exam board strike: Workers at exam board AQA are striking on 27 July in a dispute over pay, Unison says.
Brighton pub dispute escalates: Workers at Saint James Tavern in Brighton have announced 20 days of strike action, including Brighton Pride and August Bank Holiday weekend, UVW says. The union says that one of the pub’s leaseholders told a local MP it would be sacking all workers taking part in union activity.
PAY
Worst pay squeeze in G7: UK workers are set for the worst real wage squeeze among G7 nations, according to a TUC analysis of OECD figures. Wages in the UK are forecast to shrink by 6.2% over the next two years. Italy, the second worst-hit economy, will see at 0.7% fall in the same period.
UK poorer than peers: A new report by the Resolution Foundation says that the last 15 years have left the average British household £8,800 poorer than its equivalent in five comparable countries, including Germany and France, the Guardian reports.
Care providers call for funding: The CEO of Care England, the body that represents care providers, says it is impossible to offer better pay without significant increases in funding to keep pace with cost of living, Care Home Professional reports.
Convenience stores ask for caution in minimum wage: The Association of Convenience Stores has urged the Low Pay Commission for a cautious approach to increases in the minimum wage, Convenience Store reports.
UNIONS
Union membership nudges up: Union membership increased by 1% to 6.7m, between 2019/20 and 2020/21, according to the Certification Officer’s annual report. Union funds were also down 4% to £1.65bn, but political funds were up 24% to £52m. The latter wasn’t a result of an increase in income for political funds (there was a 4% decrease), but because political fund expenditure decreased by 43.97% to £13.57m.
Nowak to succeed O’Grady: TUC Deputy General Secretary Paul Nowak was the sole candidate nominated by unions and will become the General Secretary Designate at Congress in September, before officially taking the post in January 2023, the TUC says.
LEGAL
Fire and rehire setback: The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision by the High Court blocking Tesco from firing and rehiring a group of workers at its Daventry and Litchfield distribution centres, Usdaw says. The union will seek to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Barrister Jason Braier has more details on the judgment.
Bullying claims hit record levels: The number of employment tribunal claims lodged citing allegations of bullying has increased by 44% to a record high of 835 over the past 12 months, according to research by law firm Fox & Partners.
Racist and unfair dismissal: An employment tribunal has ruled that a senior doctor and a leading voice in Lincoln’s ethnic community was unfairly dismissed, victimised and subjected to racial discrimination by United Lincolnshire Health Trust, Lincolnshire Live reports.
Subway vegan discrimination: A vegan Subway worker was awarded £13,000, after a tribunal ruled she was harassed by her manager because of her beliefs and was sacked after making protected disclosure, The Mirror reports. The worker said her manager waved meat in her face and that she was dismissed from the company shortly after she reported the company to Environmental Health for serving dairy-based cheese to vegans.
Sick leave dismissal: A worker who took sick leave after confronting an aggressive maskless shopper during the pandemic has won an unlawful dismissal case, Teesside Live reports.
WINS
Free travel for late night workers: Newcastle council has passed a motion that will require venues seeking late night licenses to pay for free travel home for workers after late shifts, the Express and Star reports.
Verso union recognition: Verso workers in the UK have signed a recognition agreement, after 17 months of negotiations, the branch says in a tweet.
Capital City College pay deal: Workers at Capital City College Group have won a 9% pay increase for those earning under £30k and 6% for those earning between £30k and £45k, UCU says. Workers have also secured an increase of three days to their holiday entitlement.
London uplift: SOAS university’s Unison and UCU branches have negotiated an 8% uplift to London Weighting, a one-off payment of £1000 and an additional £250 for staff that were on-site during the pandemic closures, according to a tweet by SOAS UCU.
Security night pay: Security officers at City University have won a night shift allowance and back pay, the Unison City University branch says in a tweet.
POLITICS AND POLICY
Scab law: Parliament has voted through changes allowing agency workers to replace striking workers, the Guardian reports.
Algorithmic discrimination investigation: The UK data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating whether artificial intelligence systems are showing racial bias when dealing with job applications, the Guardian reports.
Racism at the Cabinet Office: More than 80 PCS members have formally complained about being racially bullied or profiled at the Cabinet Office, PCS union says in a letter to William Wragg MP, the chair of the parliamentary public administration and constitutional committee. The union calls for an inquiry into racism within the Cabinet Office.
Self-checkout tax: A Brussels municipality, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, has introduced a tax of EUR5,600 per self-scanning cash register, to help counter the social and economic effects these counters have, Brussels Times reports.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Heat is a hazard - HSE: Employers must make sure indoor workplaces remain at a reasonable temperature and manage the risk of working outdoors in hot environments, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE is sharing guidance on temperatures ahead of this week’s heatwave and says heat is classed as a hazard, with legal obligations like any other hazard. Here is a briefing note for unions on what to do in this heat.
Too hot to teach: Schools across the south of England will close this week due to record-breaking temperatures, despite the fact the Department for Education said it was not advising schools to close, TES reports. The NEU said it would support headteachers closing or partially closing schools.
Nine years for manslaughter: The director of a recycling company has been jailed for nine years for the manslaughter of an employee who became trapped in machinery, the BBC reports.
Prison sentence for H&S breaches: A construction employer was sentenced to jail and another was fined, after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety regulation at Belfast Crown Court, Health and Safety Matters reports. The hearing followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland into the death of a man in 2014, who fell from through the roof of a disused factory.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Ongoing: Coventry refuse workers on strike
Ongoing: Bosch Rexroth Glenrothes strike every Monday and Tuesday and overtime ban every day
18 - 20 July: LSHTM outsourced workers on strike
18 July - 7 August: Bexley refuse workers on strike
19 July: Royal Mail managers work to rule
19 July: Budweiser workers on strike
23 - 24 July: St George’s Hospital workers on strike
19 July: UK monthly unemployment figures
20 July: Merseyside Stagecoach workers start all-out strike
19 July: Royal Mail strike ballot result
21 July: Online event by the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers to discuss the Criminal barristers’ strike.
20 - 22 July: Royal Mail managers on strike
23 - 25 July, 4-8, 12 -15, 19 - 22, 25 -29 August: Saint James Tavern workers in Brighton on strike.
21 July - 24 July: Aviation Fuel Services workers on strike in Heathrow
26 July: Instagram Live Q&A with solicitor Raj Chada on new anti-protest laws
26 July: End of Unison Scotland, Unite and GMB local government strike ballot
26 - 27 July: Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust outsourced workers on strike
27 July, 18 & 20 August: RMT members across the rail network are on strike
27 July: Avanti West Coast workers on strike
27 July: AQA workers on strike
27, 29 July, and 2,4,8,10 and 12 August: VFS Southampton workers on strike
28 & 29 July, & 26 & 30 August: CNH Industrial workers on strike in Basildon
28 - 29 July, 4 - 5, 8 August: Sandwell refuse workers on strike
29 July, 1 August: BT workers on strike
29 - 31 July: UK Hazards Conference
30 July: Aslef members at eight rail companies and on strike. TSSA members at Great Western take action short of a strike
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
6 - 7 September: Burnley College, The Manchester College, City of Liverpool College, and Oldham College staff on strike
FEEDBACK
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