UVW

The Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) security guards’ strike kicked off on 3 February with a lively demo at the entrance to the hospital, and is set to go on for the next six weeks (the longest continuous strike in NHS history). The security guards, the majority of black and Asian backgrounds, organised with UVW, are striking against outsourcing, calling it out for the racist discrimination it is, and demanding equality with directly employed NHS staff in conditions and pay, particularly sick and maternity pay. The security guards are employed through Carlisle Support Services, owned by...

A strike by outsourced security guards at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in central London, due to begin on 19 January, was postponed. The workers are fighting for parity with NHS terms and conditions on issues like sick pay, holiday entitlement, and pensions. Their union, United Voices of the World, tweeted: “The guards have made the good faith decision [to postpone their strike] following last minute news that the GOSH board of Trustees are preparing a package of improvements to their terms and conditions. The guards are clear that if these improvements are not presented within the next...

On Saturday 15 January, I spoke at the “Kill the Bill” demonstration in London. The demo protested both the Policing Bill and the Nationalities and Borders Bill. We need an ongoing movement against both pieces of legislation, which represent a slide towards authoritarianism. The government’s war on migrants has direct industrial implications for our union (PCS) members who work in the Border Force. The government wants our members to drag migrant boats back towards France. Given that these boats are frequently overcrowded and unseaworthy, such a policy greatly increases the danger to the...

Security guards at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital will strike for six weeks from 18 January, demanding equality of pay and conditions with directly-employed workmates on NHS contracts. The strike is set to be one of the longest in NHS history. Erica Rasheed, a security guard and activist in the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, said: “In seven months, I will give birth to my second child at an NHS hospital, and like many women across the country, I will marvel at this wonderful service which I’m proud to be part of delivering. “But it will be a bittersweet moment, because I won’t...

A number of countries, including the US and France, are seeing waves or flurries of strikes as workers try to gain or make up ground as economies revive after lockdowns. Here, pay in the private sector is rising but inflation is rising faster, with the left-Blairite Resolution Foundation noting that "real wages are already falling and are likely to continue to do so for the next six months”. In the public sector the government is seeking to impose even more real-terms cuts after more than a decade of huge cumulative losses. There is a wave of attacks on pay, terms and conditions as bosses try...

Outsourced security guards at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in central London will strike from 6-9 December, demanding parity with directly-employed NHS workers’ pay and conditions. The strike follows the successful struggle of outsourced cleaners at GOSH to win in-house employment and NHS contracts. Following the cleaners’ victory, security guards voted unanimously for industrial action. Security guard Samuel Awittor said: “We are going on strike because we feel that we have not been treated fairly and we’ve been discriminated against. GOSH is made up of departments of families. If you...

Strikes by care workers at the Sage care home in north London have won significant pay increases. From 1 December, care workers, domestic, and maintenance staff will receive a pay increase to £10.85 an hour. This represents a minimum pay increase of 11%. All other staff will receive a pay rise of 5%. The dispute at the care home began in March 2020, and has seen workers, who are members of the United Voices of the World union (UVW) strike several times, most recently in October 2021. Trustees of the care home include property magnate Benzion Freshwater, who has a net worth of over £2 billion...

Last week I wrote that one of our members in the Royal Parks dispute was facing victimisation. Until that threat was lifted we couldn’t settle the dispute. The good news is that the threat of dismissal has now been withdrawn, and the member’s probation period has been extended, which is the outcome he was looking for. That means we can move forward with discussion around the employer’s offer. That offer includes the recognition of PCS, significant enhancement of sick pay arrangements, and improvements in many contractual terms. We’ll discuss the offer with members at a meeting on Thursday 18...

Workers at the Sage care home in north London struck from 20-22 October, as part of their ongoing fight for higher wages and improved conditions. The workers are demanding a pay increase to £12 per hour, as well as parity with NHS staff terms on sick pay and annual leave. They also want paid breaks on night shifts, and unsocial hours pay for weekend and night working. The strike saw a lively picket at the workplace, as well as a demonstration outside the head offices of Freshwater, the property conglomerate whose owner, Benzion Freshwater, is on Sage’s board of trustees. Care worker Bile, who...

One of my briefs as Assistant General Secretary is to oversee the union’s work on climate change. With the COP26 conference coming up, we’re mobilising members to attend demonstrations and take part in actions around the country. We also want to use COP as impetus to build up a network of “green reps” throughout the union, with at least one in every branch. Longer term, we want to push for employers to recognise these reps. Climate change can’t be treated as an issue “out there”, it’s something we have to organise around as an industrial issue in our own workplaces. I want to see green reps...