Pay, hours, conditions

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Half a million on zero hours

New figures have shown that 582,935 workers were on zero-hours contracts in 2013 — more than double the government’s own estimate. The upward revision comes after a change in how the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates its figures, as it emerged that many employers were not reporting the use of the contracts. Zero-hours contracts guarantee workers no minimum hours or benefits, effectively placing them “on call” when their employer needs them. Often thought to be a marginal element of the labour market restricted to hotels, catering and similar sectors, zero-hours contracts are in...

Industrial news in brief

Campaigners presented online retail giant Amazon with a 56,000-strong petition demanding it pay living wages. The hand-in, which took place on Friday 28 February, was the latest action in an ongoing media campaign to expose exploitation in Amazon warehouses. Campaigners have now set up a blog where Amazon workers can share and discuss experiences of working life. Yorkshire care workers' seven-day strike Workers at Care UK in Doncaster, South Yorkshire struck for a week from Thursday 27 February. Care UK, which won the contract tendered by Doncaster council to provid its supported-living...

University cleaners strike

Outsourced cleaners at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in central London struck on 4 and 5 March to win the same holiday entitlement, contractual sick pay, and pension scheme as directly-employed staff. The cleaners, who work for the outsourced company ISS, have been involved in the long-running Justice 4 Cleaners campaign at SOAS. The strong ballot of 100% in favour of strike action on a 62% turnout is a testament to the strength of the campaign and the local SOAS Unison branch. The union was approached by ISS and the company said it wished to meet the union on 3 March if...

Lecturers threaten marking boycott

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) have threatened to refuse to mark essays or exam papers from 28 April unless Higher Education bosses make concessions on pay. The threat has already secured the promise of new talks ahead of the scheduled pay negotiations for 2014/2015. A marking boycott is considered to be lecturers’ “nuclear option”, and widely seen as a more effective and impacting form of industrial action than striking. Higher Education workers have already struck several times against a 1% pay offer for 2013/2014. Some UCU members were disappointed that their union held...

Real fight needed on local government pay

Local government workers’ unions have told the Local Government employers’ body that they consider themselves to be in formal dispute, after bosses failed to make a pay offer for 2014/2015. Bosses also insisted that any offer they did make would be “pegged” to the national minimum wage, thereby rejecting unions’ demand that all local government employers pay at least the Living Wage (£8.80 in London and £7.65 elsewhere). Heather Wakefield, head of Local Government at Unison, the biggest public sector union, said: “Our members are now beginning to say that they’d rather lose a few days’ pay and...

NUT must end its “one-day” culture

The upcoming National Union of Teachers (NUT) strike against the government’s attacks on teachers pay, terms, and conditions on March 26 is a positive development, and the strike should be built for across the country. There needs to be serious discussion about what to do on the day and, most importantly, what should follow on from this strike. These discussion must involve the members at every level of the union. NUT activists must link up with other workers fighting across the public sector. One glaring issue that stands out in the latest strike announcement is that we appear to have another...

Royal Opera House workers' new fight

Cleaning workers at the prestigious Royal Opera House in London have launched a new dispute to win back pay, guaranteed hours, and union recognition. A strike that threatened to disrupt the BAFTA ceremony held at the Royal Opera House on 16 February was called off after cleaning bosses Mitie caved and agreed to pay the London Living Wage. But now workers have begun a new battle to win back pay and union recognition. Their union, the Industrial Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB), says it will serve notice of a strike ballot, which it is confident will return a yes vote after its previous...

Cleaners' stuggles

Cleaning workers at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) in central London will strike on 4-5 March. The cleaners, who are employed by ISS, are members of Unison. Their strike ballot returned a 100% yes vote for strikes, on a 62% turnout. The strike aims to win improved sick pay, annual leave, and pension rights for the cleaners, who currently receive only statutory sick pay and annual leave, and, while they can join ISS's pension scheme, are excluded from joining the SOAS scheme alongside their directly-employed colleagues. The union intends to announce strike dates in the coming...

Where next for the universities dispute?

After three one-day strikes — and three two-hour strikes by UCU members — the universities’ pay dispute looks no closer to resolution. The employers are refusing to talk, and say they regard the 2013/14 round as settled with the imposition of a 1% rise. The UCU leadership has not delivered the escalation strategy proposed back in September — which would have seen a marking boycott begin in time to hit first semester exams in a significant proportion of institutions. Instead there have been two-hour strikes which, although not badly supported, have not caused the disruption necessary to move...

Industrial news in brief

Lecturers at Edinburgh College are continuing their rolling programme of strikes. The aggressive campaign of walk-outs has met with the overwhelming support of members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) at the college, 92% of whom backed strike action. The union is striking in protest at the 3% pay rise offered by management, a deal which is tied in with a number of attacks on workers’ terms and conditions, including the abolition of a class-contact maximum. Lecturers fear that with these protections removed, they could face a major increase in their work load with little to show...

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