Welcome to Union News, your weekly round-up of the stories that matter to working people and the trade union movement. It’s Saturday, the 24th of October 2026.
This week, Barclays announces thousands of job cuts as artificial intelligence becomes the latest excuse for reducing its workforce. Outsourced railway workers fight to retain the Real Living Wage. NHS staff face another disappointing pay proposal, university workers continue their battles against redundancies, and we look at important changes to employment rights.
We also remember the 144 people who died in the Aberfan disaster, sixty years ago this week.
We begin with Barclays, where around five thousand jobs are being cut by the end of this year.
The bank says artificial intelligence will help it achieve greater efficiency. The reductions represent roughly five per cent of its global workforce, with many affecting operational and administrative roles.
Unite has condemned the announcement. Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, argues that Barclays is using artificial intelligence as an excuse to dispense with loyal employees rather than investing in their skills.
There is a much wider issue here.
Technological change is nothing new. Throughout industrial history, employers have introduced machinery and new working methods that have transformed employment. Sometimes these changes have brought genuine improvements in productivity and working conditions. At other times, workers have paid the price while shareholders have collected the benefits.
Artificial intelligence presents exactly the same challenge.
If new technology allows businesses to produce more with less effort, why should the benefits flow overwhelmingly to the owners?
Why shouldn’t workers enjoy shorter hours, improved conditions and greater job security?
There is nothing inevitable about technological progress leading to unemployment. That is a consequence of decisions made by employers and governments.
Trade unions need to be involved in those decisions from the beginning, rather than being consulted when redundancies have already been decided.
And where jobs are genuinely disappearing, workers deserve proper retraining, redeployment and compensation.
From banking to the railways, where members of the RMT union employed by gatesolutions have been taking industrial action over pay.
These workers provide catering supplies for London North Eastern Railway services, operating across the route between London and Edinburgh.
Although LNER is publicly owned, important parts of its operation remain in the hands of private contractors.
The dispute follows gatesolutions’ decision to stop maintaining pay at the Real Living Wage level, leaving workers facing rates barely above the statutory minimum.
RMT members took strike action on the 16th and 17th of October, with picketing and campaigning highlighting the treatment of outsourced staff.
The distinction between directly employed and outsourced workers is particularly important.
Two people can contribute to the same railway service, sometimes working alongside one another, yet have very different pay rates, pensions and employment conditions.
Outsourcing has allowed employers to distance themselves from responsibility for those inequalities.
The union argues that these services should be brought back into public ownership and that publicly owned LNER should ensure its contractors pay workers properly.
There has also been parliamentary support for the campaign, with MPs calling for action to resolve the dispute.
The question is straightforward. If a railway is publicly owned, why should workers providing essential services on that railway be denied decent employment standards?
The principle of public ownership ought to extend beyond the name above the door.
We turn now to the National Health Service.
The government has indicated that it considers a pay increase of just 2.4 per cent affordable for NHS staff in 2027 and 2028.
UNISON has described the proposal as derisory, arguing that it fails to recognise the pressures facing healthcare workers.
The union points out that more than two hundred thousand NHS employees are paid below the Real Living Wage.
That is an extraordinary situation for a service that depends on the dedication and professionalism of its workforce.
We regularly hear politicians praising NHS staff. But expressions of gratitude do not pay the mortgage, cover rising food bills or compensate for exhausting shifts.
Low pay also creates recruitment and retention problems. Experienced employees leave, vacancies remain unfilled, and those who stay face additional pressure.
There is a direct connection between the conditions experienced by NHS workers and the quality of care available to patients.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the Royal College of Nursing has opened a ballot for industrial action because nursing staff are still waiting for their pay award for the current financial year.
The ballot closes on the 20th of November.
Once again, healthcare workers are being forced to consider industrial action simply to secure fair treatment.
The government needs to recognise that rebuilding the NHS requires investment in the people who keep it running.
The crisis in higher education is another major concern.
Across Britain, university staff are fighting proposed job losses, departmental closures and changes to their contracts.
At the University of Edinburgh, members of the University and College Union have been taking prolonged strike action against cuts and compulsory redundancies.
At Nottingham, staff are also involved in sustained industrial action over proposed redundancies and course closures.
And at Goldsmiths in London, union members have been engaged in a particularly lengthy dispute over restructuring and job losses.
There have also been strikes at Glasgow Caledonian University, where unions have challenged management’s plans and demanded guarantees against compulsory redundancies.
The consequences extend well beyond university employees.
When experienced lecturers disappear, courses close and teaching provision is reduced, students suffer too.
Universities are supposed to be centres of learning, research and critical thought. Increasingly, however, many are being managed according to financial priorities that place these functions under threat.
Trade unions are right to challenge whether cuts are genuinely unavoidable and to demand transparency over university finances.
The principle is the same as in every other workplace. Employees should not simply be expected to accept management decisions without scrutiny.
There are also significant developments in employment law.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being introduced in stages, with further changes due to take effect on the 30th of October.
These include stronger rights for trade unions to gain access to workplaces, improvements to the statutory recognition process and additional protections for workers participating in lawful industrial action.
Trade union representatives will also benefit from strengthened rights relating to facilities and time off for union duties.
Earlier this month, the normal time limit for bringing many employment tribunal claims increased from three months to six months.
That is a welcome change, although workers should remember that the extension does not automatically revive claims whose deadlines had already expired.
There are also stronger obligations on employers to prevent sexual harassment and address harassment involving third parties.
These reforms matter. Too often, workers encounter unfair treatment without having the resources or confidence to challenge it.
But legislation alone cannot transform workplace relationships.
Rights must be understood, enforced and defended. Employers must be held accountable when they disregard them.
That is why workplace organisation and effective trade union representation remain essential.
Finally, we turn to an anniversary that deserves particular attention.
On the 21st of October 1966, a mountain of coal waste collapsed above the Welsh mining village of Aberfan.
The avalanche engulfed homes and Pantglas Junior School.
One hundred and forty-four people were killed, including 116 children.
Most of the children were attending school on the last day before the half-term holiday.
It remains one of the most appalling disasters in modern British history.
But Aberfan was not simply an unfortunate accident.
Warnings about the danger posed by the colliery spoil tips had been made before the disaster. The National Coal Board failed to respond adequately to those concerns.
The official inquiry subsequently placed responsibility for the disaster on the Coal Board.
For the families, the suffering did not end with the loss of their loved ones. They also faced a long struggle for justice, accountability and recognition.
Sixty years later, the lessons remain painfully relevant.
When organisations dismiss safety concerns, when commercial or institutional interests take priority over human lives, and when those in authority refuse to listen to warnings, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Workplace safety is not a bureaucratic formality. It is a fundamental responsibility.
And the right of workers and communities to raise concerns without fear must be protected.
This week, as Aberfan remembers those who died, we should remember too the extraordinary solidarity shown by miners, emergency workers and volunteers who rushed to help.
Their courage stands in sharp contrast to the failures of those responsible for preventing the disaster.
The best way to honour the dead is to ensure that the lessons are never forgotten.
That brings us to the end of this week’s Union News.
From the threat posed by artificial intelligence to jobs in banking, to the fight against low pay and outsourcing on the railways, the disputes affecting NHS and university workers, and the struggle for stronger employment rights, one message runs through all these stories.
Working people deserve respect, security, fair treatment and a genuine voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
None of those things can be taken for granted.
History shows that improvements in working conditions have rarely been handed down voluntarily. They have been won through organisation, negotiation and, when necessary, collective action.
Trade unions remain essential to defending those achievements and securing further progress.
If you’ve found this edition useful, please share it with colleagues, friends and fellow trade unionists.
You can find out more about Solidarity Trade Union at www.solidaritytradeunion.org.
Thank you for watching Union News. Until next time, stay informed, stay organised and stand together.
Script by Maria Camara