Unemployment begins to rise - Government boycotts RMT talks - teaching unions prepare to ballot
13 - 19 June 2022
With each passing month, labour market data appears to be worsening. The Office for National Statistics released figures showing the biggest decline in real pay since records began, and while previously rising employment figures acted as a slight consolation, those too are starting to worsen.
Teaching unions are now threatening to ballot members if the government does not come forward with an offer that restores their pay rates, following years of decline, while UCU is already balloting members at dozens of further education colleges.
It’s not clear what sort of offer will come from the government, but if it follows the approach taken with the RMT, the prospects of a pay deal in line with inflation seem unlikely. Not only is the government boycotting talks, but it was also revealed last week that it had actually prevented rail operators from negotiating with the RMT to avoid this week’s strikes.
Finally, of the many chants heard over the weekend at the cost of living protest in London, this one is arguably the best.
DISPUTES
Government blocks negotiations: The government is not allowing train operating companies to negotiate with the RMT to avoid this week’s rail strike, the i reports, while the Guardian writes that ministers refused to join last-ditch talks. Meanwhile, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has said in an interview with TalkTV that he is opposed to the strikes.
Teachers prepare for ballot: NASUWT says it will ballot members if the government does not deliver pay restoration for teachers, equal to a 12% pay rise. The NEU also said that it would be balloting its members if it didn’t get a pay offer closer to inflation by Wednesday, the Observer reports.
College workers ballot: Workers at 33 colleges are being balloted for strike action over low pay and workloads, UCU says. The Association of Colleges has recommended that colleges raise wages by only 2.25%, despite a 8.4% increase in funding given by central government in 2020-21.
There is a separate ballot for staff at New City College, the second largest college group in London, over failures to agree pay rises, level up holiday leave and agree action to reduce workload, and fire and rehire threats, the union says.
North West bus strike ballot: More than 1,800 bus workers employed by Arriva in the North West are being balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay, Unite says. Unite has also warned that strikes could be on the cards if jobs are lost as a result of cuts to London bus routes.
Nuclear strike: Plating engineers creating products to supply to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station are striking over a pay dispute, GMB says.
Pub workers victimised: Saint James Tavern in Brighton has launched disciplinary proceedings against workers after they announced they would be going on strike action, UVW says. The union is asking supporters to use this online tool to email the pub bosses.
Whirlpool ballot: Whirlpool repair, installation and maintenance workers are being balloted for strike action, after the company offered a 2.5% pay rise, Unite says.
Workers at Thirteen Housing Group will go on strike for three weeks, over a 3% pay offer and pension changes that will leave them £1,000 a year worse off, Unite says.
Pension cuts deep: A new study finds that university workers under the age of 40 will lose between £100,000 and £200,000 each in retirement as a result of cuts to the scheme, UCU says.
French pilots strike: A French pilot union has called for a one day strike at Air France-KLM, as a result of mounting safety risks related to an increase in capacity during the busy season, Bloomberg reports.
Tunisian general strike: A strike by The Tunisian General Labour Union ground the country to a halt in protest to frozen wages and cuts to subsidies, Al Jazeera reports.
POLITICS AND POLICY
Wages falling: Average wages in the UK are falling at the fastest rate for more than two decades, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Guardian reports. Annual growth in pay, excluding bonuses fell by 4.5% in April, after adjusting for inflation - the biggest fall since comparable records began in 2001.
The ONS also reveals the first increase in short-term unemployment since 2020, and a rise in overall unemployment, signalling a turning point for the jobs market, The Resolution Foundation’s Torsten Bell tweeted.
Corporate profits driving inflation: The jump in UK wide company profits is responsible for 58.7% of inflation in the last year, while only 8.3% is due to labour costs, according to a new study by Unite. The report also found that average executive pay increased by 29% to £2.59 million.
Cost of living march: Thousands marched in London over the weekend to protest the government’s lack of action in tackling the cost of living crisis, the Guardian reports.
Nobody left at Amazon: A leaked internal Amazon memo warns that the retailer could run out of people to hire in its US warehouses by 2024, unless it changes its business practices, Recode reports.
4-day week support: Officials at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have met with the organisers of the four-day week trial in the UK and accepted that it “may work” for some businesses, the Independent reports.
Early retirees lead to labour shortages: The rise in people dropping out of the UK workforce has been largely because of older people choosing to retire early, according to an analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, the FT reports.
Mirror correction: The Mirror has published a correction and paid £18,000 to the former General Secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, after it quoted a Labour source incorrectly stating that he had nearly bankrupted the union, according to a tweet by McCluskey.
GIG ECONOMY
The gig is up: High inflation, gloomy growth forecasts and higher interest rates are putting the gig economy model in jeopardy, pushing down shares in companies such as Uber, Lyft and Deliveroo, the FT’s Sarah O’Connor writes.
WINS
Move on up: More than 300 Gatwick mobility workers employed by Wilson James have won a 21% pay increase, Unite says. Around 200 British Airways Gatwick Ground Handlers have also won a 10% pay increase, the union says.
Croydon bin strike win: Croydon refuse workers have called off their strike after winning an 8.5% pay rise and a £750 bonus, Unite says.
Six weeks of strikes end: Refuse workers at Wealden district council have won a pay offer between 24 and 27 percent, following six weeks of strike action, GMB says.
Citybus pay deal: Leicester Citybus drivers have won a 13.3% pay deal over two years and a commitment to reopen negotiations if the Retail Price Index is at 5.5% or more in 10 months’ time, Unite says.
You can bank on that: Lloyds Banking Group staff have been awarded a £1000 cost of living bonus, following a campaign by Unite, the union says.
Restructuring halted: Sodexo have cancelled a restructuring of “soft” facilities management services at Queen Mary’s Hospital Roehampton, following a successful strike ballot, according to a tweet by GMB organiser Helen O’Connor.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Corporate manslaughter: Managers of a food waste company have been jailed after two staff members drowned in a tanker of pig feed, the BBC reports.
Crushed to death: A man died when a trailer he was working on on a farm in Nottinghamshire fell and crushed him, Farmers Weekly reports.
MODERN SLAVERY
Leicester garment exploitation: More than half of the Leicester garment workers involved in a new study say they are paid below the minimum wage and receive no holiday pay, the Guardian reports.
Care workers charged illegal fees: Migrant workers coming to the UK on a new visa scheme for care workers were charged up to £18,000 in illegal fees, the Observer reports.
TRIBUNAL
Coastguard employment status case: A Coastguard worker is taking HM Coast Guard to court over his employment status, GMB says.
Dormant case: A non-legal member of the employment tribunal in the south east region was sanctioned by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office after appearing to fall asleep at a hearing, The Law Society Gazette reports.
Substitution not enough: A recent employment appeal tribunal ruling raises questions about the extent to which an unfettered right to substitution is sufficient to deny worker status. Barrister Jason Braier has a full analysis of the case here.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Ongoing: Coventry refuse workers on strike
Ongoing: Arriva bus drivers dispute in Yorkshire
Ongoing: Caterpillar workers on strike in Northern Ireland
Every Friday and Saturday until 26 June 2022: London night tube strike
20 June: Deadline for minimum wage recommendations to Low Pay Commission
20 June: O-I Glass Harlow plant workers on strike
20 June: Lerwick Port Authority workers begin continuous strike action
20 - 26 June: Cleaners and hostesses at St George’s Hospital go on strike
20,21,28 and 29 June: Hinkley Point C plating engineers on strike
21 June: London underground strike
21, 23 and 25 June: Rail strike
21 & 22 June: London Underground and TfL workers on strike over pensions and pay
21 & 28 June: Richmond upon Thames College staff on strike
25 June & 2 July: Saint James Tavern workers on strike in Brighton
25 - 28 June, 2 - 6 July, 9 - 14 July, 16 - 22 July: Thirteen Housing Group workers on strike
28 and 30 June and 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 July: CabAuto workers in West Midlands on strike
29, 30 June: Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Trust outsourced workers on strike
29 June & 2, 5, 10, 11 July: St Monica Trust workers on strike
3 - 8 July: RMT AGM
26 July: End of Unison Scotland, Unite and GMB local government strike ballot
FEEDBACK
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