Unite

A strike by thousands of workers at Unilever (which manufactures well-known food products including Marmite and other household goods) could be the first major set-piece pensions battle in the private sector, after Unite, GMB and USDAW all returned massive majorities for strike action. Workers are attempting to prevent the abolition of their final-salary pension schemes, for both new and existing members. Existing scheme members will retain accrued benefits, but will not receive their full final-salary pensions and will instead be transferred onto career-average pensions on 1 January 2012...

On Wednesday November 23 electricians staged a sit-in at the headquarters of Gratte Brothers, one of the 7 construction firms which are threatening to withdraw from the national JIB collective agreement with electricians in the industry. ConstructionEnquirer.com, an industry website, reports: A gang of electricians chained themselves to doors during a sit-in at a Gatte Brothers site office in Kings Cross this morning. Police had to be called and the protesters were removed with the help of bolt cutters. The demonstration by sparks was the latest round in a wave of protests against plans by...

Southampton council workers have voted to reject the council’s latest offer in a long-running battle over attacks on pay and conditions. 53% of Unison members, 62.5% of construction union UCATT members and 83.4% of Unite members voted to reject the proposal. Unite regional organiser Ian Woodland spoke to Solidarity . The ballot results reflect the very deep anger that’s still felt about the council’s proposals. Our higher vote for rejection is probably a result of our stewards voting to recommend rejection of the deal [Unison did not put out a recommendation]. Unite stewards will meet on 23...

Over 1,000 Unite members at Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, the construction industry contractor leading the charge to rip up the collective agreement, could strike on 7 December. The strike is part of a campaign to defend the Joint Industry Board, the union-negotiated agreement governing pay, terms and conditions for electricians in the construction industry. Unite’s ballot, forced from the union by months of rank-and-file pressure, closes on 28 November. Many rank-and-file activists are frustrated by how long the union has taken to move; 7 December is the day on which BBES plans to...

Unite and Unison members at Southampton council are currently voting on an offer from management that could end the long-running dispute over pay cuts. The deal, which contains some reductions in the scale of cuts for each grade of workers, also involves the unions calling off an ongoing legal challenge to the council’s cuts package. While Unison, the majority union at the council, is not putting out a recommendation to its members on how to vote on the deal, Unison branch secretary Mike Tucker told the Southampton Daily Echo that, while not formal votes were taken at recent members’ meetings...

Nearly 10,000 workers at Doncaster council could face losing their jobs unless they agree to worse contracts imposed by council bosses as part of a £7.5 million cuts programme. Negotiations on the package, which includes a 5.4% pay cut for many workers, were not due to conclude until mid-November, but bosses have attempted to short-circuit that process by blackmailing employees into accepting the new terms. Paul Smillie, the convenor for 800 members of the Unite union at the council, said his members were “up in arms” at the way council bosses had disregarded an ongoing negotiation process...

There is (hopefully) a major development in our dispute. Word is that Bernard McAulay [Unite national officer for the construction sector] is going to announce the balloting of Balfour Beatty Engineering Services [BBES] sites on Thursday [20 October] at the Unite officers’ meeting in Leeds. Possibly three or maybe give BBES sites will be balloted; we are not sure which ones. Although this would be a very good development, the rank-and-file must not take our eye of the ball or let up in any way. Rumour has it that Unite could ask us to suspend the demonstrations during the ballot, but this...

The latest round of strike action in the Southampton council workers’ battle has opened up an unexpected debate on industrial strategy in the pages of the Guardian . Following the 6 October strike by Unison members working in social care (joined by Unite members from a range of council workplaces), a relatively sympathetic article quoted Unison’s Andy Straker, who said: "We could not have called everybody out for 12 weeks. No one would have done it, but this keeps the pressure on. During the summer it looked like the whole of Southampton was on strike”. The article suggested that a “21st...

A retained fire service station in Brough, East Yorkshire, which is responsible for the fire safety of 26,000 people, could close as part of the consequences of huge job losses at the local BAE Systems aerospace plant. The station is staffed by BAE workers trained as retained fire fighters. The Fire Brigades Union is demanding talks with BAE management to discuss the station’s future. BAE, which was at one point Brough’s largest employer, is axing 75% of its workforce as part of nationwide job losses of 3,000. The Brough site manufactures the Hawk Jet, which is largely used as a training...

Southampton local government workers will be back on strike from Thursday 6 October, marking the three-month point in their battle with council bosses over pay cuts. Over 1,000 workers — members of Unison and Unite — will walk out, demanding the reversal of contractual changes made in July which have seen some workers suffer pay cuts of up to 15%. The strikers include Unison members working in social care, and Unite members across a range of council occupations. The strike day will include a march and rally, as well as a mass meeting for workers to discuss and plan further action. Unison...