Union News 21 December 2022

Trade Union News. Here’s a round up of the latest trade union and labour related news from around the UK. In this programme: NHS Staff March on Downing Street, Train Drivers to Strike, Christmas Post Truce Rejected By Management, Ambulance Workers Pledge To Maintain Essential cover and Union Leaders Meet To Discuss a unified day of strikes.

NHS Staff March on Downing Street

NHS staff and campaigners marched on Downing Street yesterday as picketing nurses were greeted with outpourings of public support in towns and cities across the country.
The march was organised jointly by campaign groups NHS Workers Say No! and NHS Staff Voices which are part of the Keep Our NHS Public campaign.
Spirits were high on nurses’ picket lines nationwide, with many people honking their horns in encouragement as they passed by.

Train Drivers to Strike

Train drivers represented by their Union, Aslef, will go on strike on Thursday January 5, joining RMT members who are scheduled to walk out on January 3, 4, 6 and 7.
This is a result of a new ballot that was forced on them by government anti-strike laws. The mandate was even stronger than in the original ballot six months ago – 93 per cent for strike action on an 85 per cent turnout.
The drivers’ strike will halt services at 15 train companies including Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia and GTR Great Northern Thameslink.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We don’t want to go on strike but the companies have pushed us into this place.”

Christmas Post Truce Rejected By Management

The Communication Workers Union has announced that postal workers will be striking on December 23 and 24, after Royal Mail rejected their offer of a Christmas truce.
The union had sought to get Royal Mail to sign a joint agreement incorporating the company’s latest promise of no compulsory redundancies, but the offer was rejected almost immediately.
This will be the 17th and 18th day of action in the dispute over pay, and is likely to cause significant delays in mail delivery during the festive period.

Ambulance Workers Pledge To Maintain Essential cover

GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said that unions representing ambulance workers had been working “round the clock” to ensure there were enough strike exemptions to keep critical services running.
Tens of thousands of ambulance staff including paramedics and call handlers are expected to walk out today in a dispute over pay.
Speaking to MPs on the Commons health and social care select committee, Ms Harrison said strike action would go ahead unless Health Secretary Steve Barclay is willing to talk about pay.
The GMB leader said that “essential” parts of the service will still be covered today, including responses for the most life-threatening conditions, like cardiac arrest.
Ms Harrison told MPs that ambulance workers have been forced to take strike action after raising concerns for years about ambulance delays and unsafe conditions for patients as well as pay.

And finally, Union Leaders Meet To Discuss a unified day of strikes

According to a report in Socialist Worker Trade union leaders are planning to call a unified day of strikes on Wednesday 1 February, which could involve over a million workers. Union leaders met last week to discuss whether some sort of joint action was possible, and agreed to reconvene on 10 January when a final decision could be made.

This plan is a sign of the potential for powerful struggles to transform British politics says the report.

Episode Notes

Thanks for listening to this episode of Union News. Don’t forget to like & share to spread news of the labour and trade union movement in the UK. You can also send us news, soundclips, photos and video footage by email. Our email is given in the show notes. Please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

Ambulance picture credit: Florian, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

, via Wikimedia Commons

Union News 19 December 2022

Transcript of programme, click on image to view

Trade Union News. Here’s a round up of the latest trade union and labour related news from around the UK. In this programme: Amazon workers to strike, Unions warn against using troops to break strikes, Disabled Scots hit hard in cost-of-living crisis and strike dates announced by ambulance workers.

Amazon workers to strike

The workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse in the UK have voted to go on strike after a derisory hourly pay offer of just 50 pence.
98% of staff voted in favor of the strike, which is likely to take place next year.
The workers are represented by the GMB union.
Amazon has been accused of union-busting activities on both sides of the Atlantic.

Unions warn against using troops

Unions and campaigners warn that using troops to break national strikes endangers NHS patients and threatens civilian democracy.
The Royal College of Nursing, Unite, GMB, and others slam proposals to deploy 1,200 “insufficiently trained” military personnel to cover for striking nurses, ambulance staff and Border Force officials.
Thousands of RCN members are set to follow up last Thursday’s walkout with a further 24-hour strike tomorrow.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has responded by claiming inflation-matching salary packages are “unaffordable” and threating to further curb the right to withdraw labour.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay claimed yesterday that his “number one priority is keeping patients safe,” but Unite accused the government of “hollowing out” the NHS and blasted plans to rely on troops as a “desperate measure.”

Disabled Scots hit hard in cost-of-living crisis

Disabled people in Scotland are facing a hidden cost-of-living crisis due to bills associated with their health condition, a charity warned today.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is urging disabled people or their carers to seek advice on energy bills and other household costs amid the costs crisis they face.
A YouGov survey of 1,002 adults in Scotland found 37 per cent are in households where someone has a disability or long-term health condition.
•The charity’s analysis of the poll found 31 per cent of adults in such households need to keep their homes at a certain temperature, 15 per cent have to cook specific meals and 8 per cent must run medical equipment, incurring higher costs.

Strike dates announced for ambulance workers

The GMB union has announced strike dates for more than 10,000 ambulance workers across nine trusts in England and Wales on Wednesday 21 and Wednesday 28 December. Action will involve paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff. Unison union members working as part of A&E road crews in five ambulance trusts in England will strike on Wednesday 21 December.

More than 1,600 workers in the Unite union at three trusts in England are scheduled to strike on 21 December.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Union News. Don’t forget to like & share to spread news of the labour and trade union movement in the UK.

Episode Notes

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

If you have news, video footage, pictures etc that you want featured in Union News please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

Ambulance picture credit: Florian, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Union News 18/12/2022

Here’s a round up of the latest trade union and labour related news from around the UK. In this programme: Rail strikes stay solid, A quarter of Britons to enter the new year in debt, a union launches a Buy British at Xmas campaign and Scottish female footballers demand equal pay.