Pay, hours, conditions

Between 2008 and 2013 real wages fell by 8.2%, on average. The median worker lost £2000 a year, for many that will have been much worse. The wage squeeze is worse for younger workers, a 14% drop for those aged 18-25, 12% for 25-29 year olds. Each decade since the 1980s real wages growth has been lower than the previous decade. In the public sector wages have fallen by 15%, many face a pay freeze. Overall price inflation over the past 5 years has been 19% (RPI), but the income needed for a minimum living standard has risen significantly. For a couple with a child this could be up to 33%, for...

On October 14, local government workers in Unison, Unite and GMB unions will strike over pay. They may be joined by health workers in Unison, Unite and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) who all have ballots under way. If civil servants in PCS union join the strike this will be a very large and important action against the huge cuts in pay public sector workers have endured since 2009. Health workers’ wages have dropped in real terms between 12 and 15 per cent since 2010. This year 60% of health workers are been offered no rise, and others will get one percent. Real wages for all workers have...

The Hands Off London Transport coalition plans a day of action for 16 September, involving leafleting, petitioning, and demonstrations at Tube stations. The action will coincide with the introduction of contactless payment technology on the Tube which unions say will lead to problems for both passengers and staff. The HOLT coalition want to raise the profile of cuts as a political issue, mobilise community direct action against them, and pressure GLAs and London MPs to take a stand on the issue. London Underground management insists it will push ahead with plans to cut 953 jobs and close all...

Traffic wardens in Ealing, West London, will strike on Thursday 11 September in a dispute over pay. The workers have rejected a management offer of a 1.5% increase, well below the current Retail Price Index of 2.5%. The workers are employed by NSL Ltd., a private contractor which runs traffic and parking services for many local councils. Unison members employed by NSL on a contract at Camden council had a prolonged dispute in 2012, which involved sustained strike action. The NSL workers at Ealing Borough Council, who are members of Unite, estimate that their strike could cost the council £25...

On 4 September, thousands of fast food workers and other service industry employees (including home healthcare workers), backed by both the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) and UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers), held strikes and protests in cities in California, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, and elsewhere in the United States, for respect, improved benefits, the right to organise, and for a $15 minimum wage. Hundreds of workers and supporters were arrested. The “Fight for 15”, a movement by fast food and other low-paid workers across America, began in November 2012...

The civil service union PCS is almost certain to join the unions striking on 14 October over pay. Local government workers who struck on 10 July are already set to strike again on 14 October. This time they may be joined by health workers also demanding pay rises. Health workers’ wages have dropped in real terms every year since 2009, and between 12 and 15 percent since 2010. This year 60% of workers are offered no rise, and others get one percent. Unite health workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have a strike ballot running from 26 August to 26 September; Unison health workers in...

Unison members in Doncaster are now on their 57th day of strike action as part of action against Care UK who cut wages by up to 35%. They will be on strike until 14 September, and have pickets every day at 7am outside Care UK’s Doncaster office, as well as trips to picket offices in other cities and to speak at meetings. The strikers are also currently having weekly members’ meetings to discuss the dispute. Ritzy workers reject offer In a ballot closing on 26 August, Ritzy cinema workers have voted to reject an offer by management, by 24 votes to 23. On their Facebook page workers said: “We...

Why the Liverpool dockers have linked up internationally in their fight for trade union rights. Download PDF

Workers at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton, south London, will vote on a new pay offer from their employer, Picturehouse Cinemas. The deal was reached after exhaustive late-night talks at conciliation service ACAS between Picturehouse management and reps from the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU), including workplace reps from The Ritzy itself. Workers have struck repeatedly in a dispute aimed at wining the London Living Wage. The negotiating team is recommending acceptance of the deal, which provides what a BECTU statement calls a “voyage to higher pay.” The...

Local government workers and most school support staff (members of Unison, GMB, and Unite) will strike again on Tuesday 14 October, following the mass strike on 10 July (which involved a greater number of unions). Members of Unison, GMB, Unite, and the Royal College of Midwives in the NHS will also be balloted for strikes from late August, and could join a 14 October strike if the ballot returns a yes vote. For those of us in Unison, it had appeared that, for the first time in years, an attempt was being made to set out a serious strategy on pay. This involved: • A clear industrial demand (a...