UNISON

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called its first strike dates, on 15 and 20 December, kicking off what will hopefully be a string of NHS strikes. 176 Trusts across the UK crossed the threshold in the strike ballot and have a legal mandate for action. Of those that got over the line in England, less than half will be taken out on strike in December. The union is in the process of establishing strike committees which will, among other things, determine derogations: the members that will be exempt from action and asked to keep a minimum service running. This is a very important decision —...

Unison’s NHS pay action ballot closed on 25 November but as of 29 Nov Unison is yet to announce the results. Early indications suggest union leaders are wobbling. Unison Scotland is recommending members accept a new below-inflation offer just £250-350 more than was previously rejected. Unite is consulting on that offer without a recommendation. GMB is recommending their members reject the offer but have suspended strikes by Scottish ambulance workers that were due to start on Monday. All this dithering and backsliding must delight the Tory and SNP governments. The RCN and RCM have still to...

Sign the statement protesting against the Labour leadership's attempt to ban Workers' Liberty here Labour’s new lead in the opinion polls has encouraged the unreconstructed Blairites who now run Keir Starmer’s office to push further to make the Labour Party ultra-safe for capitalism. Labour has expelled Andrea Egan, president of Unison, and Martin Mayer, formerly a Unite rep on Labour’s National Executive. The charges are risible: “liking” social media posts from Socialist Appeal (Egan) and Labour Against the Witchhunt (Mayer), many years ago, when (even if you think the current bans are right...

Nineteen Unison Higher Education (HE) branches will strike alongside UCU on 24/25 November, and some on 30 November. The dispute is over pay: the union demanded a rise in 2022-23 of RPI +2% but the employers imposed an offer of around 3%. Some universities have also made bonus payments in an attempt to head off strikes. While it is a minority of all Unison HE branches, the number is set to grow. Around 40 branches that did not make the threshold for striking in this round and some branches who opted out of balloting up till now have opted into a second round of balloting for more strikes...

Following the historic vote for strike action by RCN members in 176 NHS trusts, the ballot result from the largest NHS union, Unison, is due on 25 November. Yes votes will win with high percentages. Healthworkers across the country are convinced that they have no choice but to take a stand on pay now as the service crumbles around them. With union organisation on the ground weak in many NHS Trusts, the turnout in some ballots will be below what it is demanded by the Tories’ 2016 law. Despite that, with targeted organisation and a boost from the RCN vote, Unison is likely to meet the threshold...

Nineteen Higher Education HE branches of the public services union Unison are organising a second round of strikes of university admin and other staff since the start of term, most striking on the same days as the UCU (lecturers etc.) on 24/25 November, and some on 30 November. The dispute is over pay. The union called for a rise in 2022-23 of RPI+2% but the employers imposed an offer of around 3%. Some universities also made non-consolidated bonus payments. The national negotiations are conducted on behalf of universities by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). Against...

Teachers in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action to force the Scottish Government to improve the 5% pay offer already on the table from three months ago. With a 71% turnout, 96% of EIS members voted in favour of taking industrial action. The first one day strike is scheduled for 24 November. Ambulance workers in the Scottish Ambulance Service have also voted to take industrial action over pay. A one day strike has been called by the GMB for 28 November, and Unite has called a work to rule from the preceding Friday. Nurses in the RCN are planning industrial action...

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced on 9 November that 176 Trusts across the UK had passed the threshold in their strike ballots and voted for action. That’s 100% in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Wales missed the threshold in only one of its Trusts (by only nine votes!). The shortfall comes from England, where Trusts are much larger. This RCN result should encourage members and activists in the bigger health unions, Unison, GMB, and Unite, to push for big turnouts in their ballots. The Unison ballot closes on 25 November, GMB on 29th, and Unite on 30th for their first wave. The RCN...

Housing Repairs workers in Unison who work for Barnet Homes have settled their dispute over sick pay for an employee who was injured at work. The worker did not receive sick pay for three weeks while the employer delayed in upgrading transferred-in repairs workers to its standard contract which pays sick pay from day one. The details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but I understand it is a satisfactory one for the worker concerned. The strike which began on 17 October, the first indefinite strike authorised by Unison, remained solid for 13 working days. It was well supported by the...

Workers at the National Coal Mining Museum for England, in Wakefield, struck 26-30 October over pay. More negotiations in the week starting 7 November may reach agreement, but if not workers will strike again 12-13 November. No frontline workers crossed the lively and regularly 30-strong picket lines, and the museum closed for the duration of the strike. The picket lines were large and lively and regularly had 30 workers on them. The museum had stated that they were subject to a 5% pay cap by the government but refused to provide evidence. Unison inquired, and the Department of Culture, Media...