Whitehall shutdown - Migrant farm workers kicked out and in debt - Less than 1% of discrimination cases end up at tribunal
7 - 13 November 2022
There seems to be no end to the momentum behind the current wave tsunami of strikes. This week PCS and the The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) confirmed they had secured strike mandates at a majority of the sites they balloted.
The national votes were not aggregated, which means that workers at some large government departments, such as HMRC and the Ministry of Defence, will not be able to strike unless they run new ballots which are successful. But that still means that other departments such as the Home Office and hospital trusts such as Guy’s and St Thomas will be able to take industrial action.
I also wanted to share an investigation I published yesterday with the Observer’s Shanti Das on the visa scheme the government introduced to cover post-Brexit labour shortages in the agricultural sector. We discovered that workers at a farm in Kent have been told to return to Nepal, in some cases even with threats of blacklisting, just weeks after they arrived in Britain. Many of the workers, who were expecting to stay here for six months, have now been left thousands of pounds in debt and with no money to arrange for travel back home. This follows on from my earlier work on the visa scheme.
DISPUTES
Civil service strike: Workers at 126 employer areas, including the Home Office, BEIS and the Department for Work and Pensions, crossed the 50% turnout threshold and secured a strike mandate in the civil service, PCS says. PCS will reballot members at HMRC after workers at the tax authority failed to reach the ballot threshold by a small margin, the union says.
Nurses to strike: Nurses at all NHS employers in Northern Ireland and Scotland have secured a strike mandate, while their colleagues at all bar one of the health boards in Wales and many of the biggest hospitals in England will also be able to strike, the RCN says. Nursing Times has a list of the sites that secured a strike mandate.
Hundreds of health workers in Northern Ireland have also voted for strike action, GMB says.
Further NHS strike ballots by Unison and ambulance service ballots by GMB and Unite conclude at the end of the month.
Ambulance industrial action: GMB Scotland members in the Scottish Ambulance Service will take strike action on 28 November, the union says. A further 1,500 Scottish Ambulance Service workers will take industrial action consisting of an overtime ban and work to rule from 25 November, Unite says.
NHS strike ballot notices: Unite will serve notices of strike ballot to NHS employers covering nearly 10,000 workers in a range of services, the union says. Details of the employers being balloted will be posted on the Unite website as notice is served and the ballots will conclude before Christmas, it added.
First Scottish teacher strike in four decades: Scottish teachers will strike in November over pay, their first strike action in four decades, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) says. A total of 96% of EIS members voted for strike action on a 71% turnout, the union says.
London bus strike: Over 950 bus drivers employed by Abellio in South and West London will take 10 days of strike action, after the company failed to enter into meaningful pay talks, Unite says.
Amazon package shortage: Almost 1,000 workers at DS Smith, who make corrugated packaging for Amazon, Chivas, Princes and Seabrooks crisps, have voted to strike over a real terms pay cut, GMB says.
Go East pay dispute: Around 150 Go North East bus engineers are being balloted for strike action over pay, Unite says. The ballot for strike action comes after the workers at depots in Dunston, Sunderland, Consett, North Shields, Washington, Hexham and Gateshead rejected a 10 per cent pay offer from the company.
Gimme Shelter: Over 500 workers at the housing charity Shelter are taking strike action in response to the organisation’s attempt to impose a real terms pay cut on staff, Unite says.
Refinery dispute: Around 130 workers on construction engineering maintenance contracts at Fawley oil refinery in Hampshire are striking as part of a dispute over bonus payments, Unite says. GMB members that work as mechanical contractors will also go on strike, the union says.
Support services strike: Workers employed by Hestia, a referral service which provides adult services in Hounslow in London, are voting on possible strike action after the charity decided to impose changes to work practices which makes it impossible for workers to provide their services, Unite says.
Oil and gas strike: More than 200 workers at oil and gas company Baker Hughes in Newcastle will take strike action as part of an ongoing dispute over pay, GMB says.
First privatised university strike: Workers at the University of Sheffield International College will take five days of strike action over pay, in the first strike to ever take place in a privatised higher education provider, UCU says.
Stagecoach pay offer: Stagecoach Sunderland bus drivers have suspended their strike action to vote on a pay offer from the company, GMB says.
Sixth Form pay deal: Following consultation with members working in sixth form colleges, Unison says it has agreed to accept the SFCA pay offer of 5-7.7% for 2022/23.
WINS
Victory at Liverpool docks: Liverpool dockers employed by Peel Ports have called off their dispute after winning pay hikes between 14% and 18%, Unite says.
Stagecoach strike win: Strikes by more than 250 Stagecoach workers in Hull have ended after the workers accepted a two-year pay deal worth 20%, Unite says. Driver pay will increase to £13 per hour this December and £13.50 a year later.
Equal pay agreement: Unite, GMB and Unison have called off industrial action after Glasgow City Council agreed to pay about £770 million to settle equal pay claims to around 19,000 present and former workers by the end of next year, Unite says.
University of Glasgow pay deal: Workers at the University of Glasgow have secured pay rises between 6% and 12.9% for this year, the university’s Unison branch says in a tweet.
End outsourcing: Security and reception staff at Newham Hospital University have been insourced ahead of the expiration of Serco’s contract, Unison says.
Not settling for crumbs: Engineers at Fox’s Biscuits have called off their strike after accepting a 6.5% pay increase backdated to 1 April for this year and a 7% increase for next year, Unite says.
Fueling stability: Tanker drivers on the ASDA North and South contracts have had their jobs assured until 2031 after threatening strike action, Unite says.
Tramway Museum deal: Workers at the Tramway Museum have secured a £2,000 pay increase across the board, Derbyshire Unison says on facebook.
LEGAL
Have it Made: Around a dozen employees at Made.com have instructed law firm Aticus to pursue a legal challenge after being made redundant over Zoom, despite the business being bought out of administration by retail giant Next, the Yorkshire Post reports.
Courtroom Blitz: Dozens of employees who lost their jobs after events firm Blitz Communications went into liquidation will each receive two months’ pay following an employment tribunal, the Borehamwood and Elstree Times reports.
Health workers unfairly dismissed: An employment tribunal has ruled that a Lincolnshire hospital worker who suffered years of pain after a fall was unfairly dismissed by a Lincolnshire health trust, Lincolnshire Live reports.
Dismissed with parenting tips: An employment tribunal has awarded £130,000 to a woman made redundant by the University of Cumbria two months before she was due to go on maternity leave, HR Magazine reports. During her dismissal meeting, which took place in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, her boss gave her parenting tips, the report says.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination unenforced: Less than 1% of reports of discrimination from employees end up at the employment tribunal, according to research by the Resolution Foundation. The study found that one in five working age adults experience some form of discrimination at work, but The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the state body responsible for tackling anti-discrimination law, undertakes relatively little enforcement action due to a lack of resources and powers.
Disabled teachers face discrimination: Three-quarters of teachers say they have been subjected to ableism from their employer, according to a NASUWT poll.
POLITICS AND POLICY
Sunset clause fears: Shantha David, head of legal services at Unison, told a parliamentary committee examining the retained EU law (revocation and reform) that 20 days of statutory holiday and eight bank holidays, along with a “tapestry” of workers’ rights, are at risk under post-Brexit plans to remove EU laws from the UK’s statute books, the Guardian reports.
Half a million more long-term sick: The number of working-age adults who are out of the labour market (not in work nor seeking work) because of long-term sickness has risen by half a million to 2.5 million between 2019 and 2022, the ONS says.
JOBS AND PAY
Seasonal workers sent back after weeks: Nepali workers hired to pick fruit on British farms say they have been left thousands of pounds in debt after being sent home only weeks after they arrived, the Observer reports.
Wage growth high but below inflation: Year-on-year wage growth increased by 5.2% in the euro area and 6.2% in the UK, where it appears to have peaked, but remains far below inflation, according to the Indeed Wage Tracker, a monthly indicator of wage growth based on data from millions of online job postings on Indeed.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Worker death from burns: Chipboard manufacturer Norbord Europe Limited was found guilty of two charges under health and safety legislation by Perth Sheriff Court after a worker died by sustaining burns over 90% of his body from hot water, steam and ash, according to a press release.
Driver killed while unloading: Sheffield company Arnold Laver & Company Ltd has been fined £400,000 after a driver was killed while unloading a lorry, the Sheffield Star reports.
Crushed by gates: Two companies have been fined a total of more than £360,000 after a lorry driver was fatally crushed by half-a-ton of steel gates, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Strikes and protests:
Ongoing: Dundee university workers strike
Ongoing: Continuous strike at Arriva Northumberland
Ongoing: Quorn continuous strike action
Ongoing: Northern Ireland Housing Executive strike
14 - 28 November (not continuous): Walsall Housing Group workers strike
14 November - 5 January (not continuous): West Midland Metro workers strike
14 November - 24 December (every Monday Wednesday and Friday): Arrow XL strike
14 - 22 November: Renold Couplings strike
17 and 24 November 2022: Honeywell workers on strike
14 - 21 November: Co-op coffin makers strike
14 November - 3 December (not continuous & different departments): Strike action at Royal Mail
14 - 16 November: UCL security officers strike
14 - 28 November: Tyne and Wear Metro engineer strikes
16 - 17 November; 30 November - December: Petrofac strikes
16, 23, 30 November; 7, 14 December: BEIS outsourced workers strike
18 - 21 November: Dnata and Menzies strike at Heathrow
21 - 26 November; 28 November - 3 December: Fawley oil refinery strike in Hampshire
22, 25, 26 November, 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17 December: Abellio bus strike in London
24, 25, 30 November: Strike at 150 universities
24 November: Scottish teachers strike
5 - 18 December: Shelter workers on strike
Ballots:
14 November: FBU consultative pay ballot concludes
15 November: RMT rail strike ballot ends
17 November: Starbucks national day of action
18 November: Unison NHS Northern Ireland strike ballot concludes
21 November: NASUWT strike ballot in Scotland concludes
25 November: Unison NHS England and Wales strike ballot concludes
29 November: GMB ambulance service strike ballots end
30 November: Unite ambulance service strike ballots end
4 December: Asda ballot concludes
12 December: Royal College of Midwives ballot in England and Wales concludes
9 January: NASUWT strike ballot in England and Wales concludes
13 January: NEU ballot of 300,000 teachers and support staff concludes
Legal:
16 November: GMB3 appear before Brighton magistrates court
Events:
15 November: UK monthly unemployment figures
15 November: Strike MCR, Organise Now and StrikeMap organising training in Salford
6 December: Nae Pasaran - film screening and CWU strike fundraiser in Salford
FEEDBACK
Did I miss anything? Email me on theweekinwork [at] gmail [dot] com.