Pay, hours, conditions

Junior doctors fighting over pay held three more days of well-supported strikes on 14-17 June, with lively picket lines and a march and rally of 1,000 in London. Among NHS workers fighting for a pay rise, junior doctors have so far waged the most determined campaign, both in terms of clarity of demands (they are clear they want a real-terms increase and a timetable for “pay restoration” to 2008 levels) and the number of strike days. But as a junior doctor centrally involved in the dispute explained in Solidarity 676 last week, the current level of action — three days a month, with more of the...

Royal Mail workers in the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are currently debating an agreement reached between their employer and their union leadership, which is due to be put to a vote in an all-members' referendum. Solidarity advocates a no vote in that referendum (see here for more). However, we also believe in open debate and accurately reporting on and reflecting the discussion amongst workers. To that end we publish this contribution by a postal worker and CWU rep, which gives a different view. Further comments and contributions are welcome. When the agreement the union reached with...

By most statistical measures — levels of union density; number of members covered by collective bargaining agreements; numbers of workplace reps — workers in the railway, including the London Underground, and in the postal service can be considered among the best organised in Britain. They are also able to hit their bosses’ or the government’s income directly by strikes, unlike most public service workers. Despite ostensibly extensive strikes, neither group has been able to win victories in their 2022-3 campaigns, while gains have been won by some weaker-placed workers. Why? Part of the reason...

Amazon workers have sent a message to the support group established to support their ongoing fight for improved wages and conditions, and for union recognition. A push for recognition has been scuppered by Amazon, with the collusion of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), the government body which oversees requests for union recognition, skewing the figures by suddenly creating thousands of new jobs. This pushes the GMB union's membership level back below the 50% required for statutory recognition, even though a reasonable approach to due process would take the workforce figures from when...

Workers at the St Mungo’s homeless charity, members of the Unite union, are striking from 30 May to 26 June over pay.

The last time the yearly rate of RPI inflation was below 5% was September-to-September 2021-2.

Harry Eccles, who is an activist with "NHS Workers Say No’, "Team Vote Reject", and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), talked to Solidarity. (Photo: Steve Eason). I joined the RCN as a student. I was told I had to join a union to ensure I had indemnity. Five or six years ago I became an RCN "pay champion" for a couple of years. I was working at Southampton General at the time. In the role of pay champion I tried to raise awareness of the problem with pay and get people involved with the campaign. I think that campaign sowed the seeds for the more recent campaign on pay. Last September or...

May 12 and 13 will see workers employed by Train Operating Companies (TOCs) on the mainline railway return to industrial action after a lengthy pause. RMT members, who strike on the 13th, returned a huge majority for action, on a 70% turnout, in their latest re-ballot. Drivers’ union Aslef has also rejected the latest offer put to it by the Rail Delivery Group, the umbrella body representing the TOCs. Aslef drivers strike on the 12th. RMT’s ballot result shows there is still a strong will to fight amongst members; the union leadership must now act on those results by calling the sustained...

Royal Mail postal workers in the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will vote in a referendum, 17 May to 4 June, on the agreement ( cwu.org/deal ) endorsed by their union’s executive on their long-running dispute over pay and conditions. The newly-formed “Postal Workers Say Vote No” group ( @ PostiesSayNo ), which launched with an online meeting on 4 May addressed by a speaker from NHS Workers Say No, is mobilising for a no vote. At least one CWU branch, South East Wales Amalgamated, has already announced its vote not to recommend acceptance of the deal. The group’s leaflet says: “While CWU...

RCN (54%), Unite (52%), RCP (podiatrists) and SOR (radiographers) voted against the government's NHS pay offer