Colchester bin strikes off after workers accept improved pay offer

Council workers in Colchester have accepted an improved pay deal and cancelled the threat of strikes by refuse collectors, UNISON says today. Staff at Colchester City Council and Colchester Borough Homes accepted a rise of £1,925 this week – almost double the council’s original offer. Workers overwhelmingly rejected the council’s initial £1,000 pay offer and […]

Colchester’s bins, leisure services and crematoriums could be hit by strikes

Workers in Colchester’s bin depots, leisure centres and crematoriums are voting on strikes over the city council’s refusal to offer a decent pay rise, UNISON warns today. Colchester staff had asked for an above-inflation pay rise to make up for years of wages failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living. But the […]

Bin strikes back off in Huntingdonshire

Industrial action in Huntingdonshire has been called off after the council agreed to implement the pay day UNISON settled last month. UNISON members were due to strike tomorrow, Friday 6 October. A joint release with the employer can be read on the Huntingdonshire District Council website. The background to the dispute can be read in […]

UNISON members pledging to vote for industrial action at Huntingdonshire District Council

Huntingdonshire Council staff vote to strike over pay

Refuse workers, customer service assistants and planning officers at Huntingdonshire District Council have voted to strike over pay, UNISON said today. The Cambridgeshire council has imposed a pay rise of 4% plus a one-off payment of £1,000. As the strike ballot opened last month, bosses made money available for a further one-off lump sum but […]

A person wearing a UNISON official picket armband

High Court finds strike-breaking legislation unlawful following UNISON case

Employers can no longer use agency staff to fill in for striking workers during industrial action after the High Court ruled that government legislation introduced last year is unlawful, says UNISON today. The important judgment handed down this morning follows successful judicial review proceedings lodged by UNISON and other TUC unions last autumn. For more […]

UNISON members stand around a brazier on the picket line

UNISON health workers vote to accept NHS pay offer

NHS workers who belong to UNISON have voted decisively to accept the pay offer from the government, says the union today. The consultation of 288,000 NHS workers across England closed at 3pm this afternoon. Almost three quarters (74%) voted to accept the offer, and 26% to reject. Turnout in the consultation exercise was 53%, with […]

People pose with placards opposing job cuts outside Pot Kiln

Suffolk primary school staff strike next week to stop job cuts

Teaching assistants and midday supervisors at Pot Kiln Primary School in Suffolk will walk out next week to stop “damaging” job cuts, UNISON announces today. Workers at the school in Great Cornard, near Sudbury, will strike next Thursday (20 April) and again on 24 April over plans to slash 10 jobs. School leaders say they […]

Serco strikers pose for a photo

Norfolk bin strikes suspended after improved pay offer

Refuse workers have suspended next week’s strikes in Breckland and North Norfolk after contractor Serco improved its pay offer, UNISON says today. Bin collectors, street cleaners, grounds maintenance and toilet cleaners across the two council areas were due to walk out from Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 April in a long-running dispute over low wages. […]

Environment Agency pickets at the Colne barrier in Essex

Environment agency workers to walk out for four more days

Thousands of Environment Agency workers in England are to strike for four days over pay later this month, blaming government inaction for putting communities, waters and wildlife at risk, says UNISON today. Despite months of strikes and other action where workers have taken themselves off ‘on call’ incident response rotas, ministers have made no attempt […]

UNISON members stand around a brazier on the picket line

East of England ambulance workers announce first strike over pay

East of England ambulance staff will strike next month in their first day of action in the spiralling dispute over NHS pay, says UNISON Eastern today. The union says the strike on Wednesday 8 March is a serious escalation of the dispute and a direct result of the government’s failure to hold proper pay talks […]

Norfolk refuse workers vote to strike

Refuse and cleansing workers across Breckland and North Norfolk have overwhelmingly voted to strike over pay, UNISON reveals today. In an official ballot, 99% backed strikes on an 84% turnout. They also returned a 97% vote for action short of a strike on the Serco contract at the two councils. The ballot covered around 100 […]

Norfolk refuse workers open vote on strike action

Refuse and cleansing workers in North Norfolk and Breckland are voting on strikes over super-profitable contractor Serco’s refusal to pay staff more than ‘crumbs from its table,’ says UNISON today. During months of negotiations, Serco has refused to meaningfully shift from a pay offer worth just 4% to HGV drivers and around 7% for loaders. […]

UNISON members stand around a brazier on the picket line

Bosses are making a killing but the Tories are going after trade unions

Sunak’s plans to attack our fundamental rights while CEOs get a 37% pay rise show the Tories’ priorities, says Tim Roberts in his latest blog

East Suffolk Norse workers vote to accept their pay deal

East Suffolk strikes called off after workers accept improved pay deal

East Suffolk refuse workers have called off planned strikes after voting to accept a pay deal that “treats them with the respect they deserve,” UNISON says today. Norse, which runs the refuse and cleansing contract for East Suffolk Council, agreed to a one-year rise worth 23% for its lowest-paid staff, bringing them up to the […]

Refuse workers hold signs reading: 'Fair pay now'

East Suffolk refuse workers vote for strikes

Refuse workers in East Suffolk have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in their ongoing fight for a real living wage, UNISON says today. More than 96% of East Suffolk Norse staff voted to strike on an 88% turnout, the union said. UNISON said the ballot result should be a wake-up call for Norse and the […]