Strike, Local government, U.K.

(May 2016) Most local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will get pay increases of 1% this year and next year under a new two-year agreement. Lower paid workers will benefit from higher increases ranging from 1.01% to 6.6% in 2016 and from 1.3% to 3.4% in 2017. while the deal was accepted by Unison and the GMB it was rejected by members of the Unite trade union. Read more at Unison and at Unite

Over 8000 workers employed by Glasgow City Council in Scotland took strike action on 23-24 October to put pressure on their employer to deliver equal pay. The dispute dates back as far as 2006 when a new pay scheme was supposed to end to pay inequality based on gender. Instead, its implementation introduced new discriminatory measures. The action involved women in a wide range of jobs, including school administration workers, learning support workers in schools, nursery workers, home carers, cleaners and catering workers.

The solidly supported two-day strike by around 8000 local government workers in Glasgow was successful in getting the council back to the negotiating table. The strike was over the council's failure to deal with longstanding demands for equal pay for a wide range of low-paid women workers in care, catering, cleaning, school support and other services. The strike on 23-24 October was called by the GMB and UNISON trade unions and UNISON now reports that initial talks with the council have been positive and constructive. EPSU, PSI and many affiliates sent messages of support.

Members of the three main unions representing local government workers in Scotland - UNISON, GMB and Unite - have rejected the employers' 3% pay offer. There were large majorities in each case with also strong support for industrial action. The unions argue that 3% is inadequate after years of pay freezes and the 1% public sector pay cap. The unions will jointly discuss their next steps and the formal process of balloting for industrial action.

Both UNISON and the GMB, unions representing care workers, have condemned the ruling of the Court of Appeal on 13 July that care workers needn't be paid the minimum wage for the whole of the period when they are on a "sleep-in" shift. The ruling overturns an earlier judgement by the lower level Employment Appeal Tribunal that workers were entitled to at least the minimum wage for the whole "sleep-in" shift when they were on-call, even if they weren't working. The unions say this is an attack on a large group of low-paid workers whose work is already undervalued.

The UNISON, GMB and Unite trade unions have welcomed an agreement in principle to end the long-running equal pay dispute at Glasgow Council in Scotland. Over 8000 council workers took strike action last October to put pressure on the municipality to end the pay discrimination faced by many women workers in jobs such as cleaning, care and catering. The agreement finalises the principals and structure of any payout to thousands of women but the detail of individual payments still has to be calculated and agreed.

Home care workers employed by Birmingham City Council in Central England have mobilised for a rally on Tuesday 29 January supported by their union, Unison, and the TUC, the UK's single trade union confederation. The workers have taken over 50 days of strike action in their long-running dispute over plans by the Council to cut their working time. If the Council implements its plans then some workers will face poverty pay levels and cuts in annual salary of up to GBP 4000 (EUR 4600).

A new survey published by public services union Unison exposes the pressure faced by home care workers and their precarious working conditions.Three-quarters (75%) of care workers said they had too little time to provide proper care because they are too rushed, often because employers pressure them to fit in an excessive number of visits.The report also highlights the job insecurity faced by home care workers with more than half (52%) on zero hours contracts, and more than three in five (63%) not getting paid for the time it takes to travel between care visits.

Public service unions are maintaining their pressure on the government to lift the 1% pay cap that continues to be applied to most public service workers, with the exception of police and firefighters. Civil service union PCS has organised a day of action on 31 October, while UNISON is running a Pay Up Now campaign. The GMB union organised a rally at Westminster to highlight the situation of public service workers to MPs and the RCN nurses' union handed in a petition to the Prime Minister on 20 October.

Hundreds of home care staff, members of the Unison trade union, joined a strike and demonstration in Birmingham in central England on 20 January in protest at plans to slash jobs and impose a new three-shift pattern on workers. The workers had voted by a massive majority to take strike action with the first stoppage running from 11.30 to 14.00 and with a further stoppage taking place on 6 February. The workers say that the new shift pattern (7.00-10.00; 12.00-14.00; 16.00-22.00) will make it impossible for them to have proper rest breaks and put the quality of care at risk. Around 150 jobs are

(July 2017) Seventeen health sector unions have come together to condemn the government's decision to impose the 1% pay gap for another year. Meanwhile, the firefighters' union has rejected a pay offer of 2% this year and 3% in 2018, saying that it fails to take account of the increasing workloads facing firefighters and workers at the Bank of England could go on strike for the first time in over 50 years unless the employer comes up with a better pay offer by the end of the month.

Public service workers across the UK have been involved in number of disputes over pay, jobs and safety. Waste workers in Birmingham and Doncaster are taking or planning action over pay and safety while cleaners at four hospitals in East London are continuting their campaign for a higher pay increase against outsourcing company Serco. Meanwhile in Sheffield members of the PCS civil service union are taking strike action in protest at the closure of a local Job Centre, part of a campaign against government proposals for closures across the country. Finally, janitors in schools across Glasgow

After the recent success of public service union UNISON in getting the courts to end the government's policy to charge workers for the right to take employment tribunal cases, UNISON and the PCS civil service union have celebrated two further court victories. UNISON's second success came in another landmark case that will effectively require employers to consult over workplace restructuring such as redundancies. The PCS victory was in a judicial review of government cuts to the civil service pension scheme which the government now has to withdraw.

Public service unions have stepped up their campaign to end the public sector pay cap for all workers following the government's decision to offer higher pay rises to police, prison officers and firefighters. The unions used the annual meeting of the Trade Union Congress to make the case that all public service workers have seen their real pay decline significantly and deserve a higher pay rise. The FBU firefighters' union has rejected the 2% pay offer arguing that it comes with too many unacceptable conditions.