U.K.
The RCN nurses' union has taken the unprecedented step of organising an indicative ballot for industrial action over pay. The RCN, along with other health unions, is angry that the government is insisting on paying this year's 2.5% pay increase instalments. This means that the effective pay rise this year will be only 1.9%. Other unions are also planning ballots on the issue.
Read more at > RCN (EN)
And at > UNISON (EN)
And at > Amicus/Unite (EN)
Public service unions have been forced to mobilise their members once again in order to secure the pay increases they negotiated for their members for the years 2006-2007. The public sector pay agreements are re-negotiated every two years although often with long delays. The various agreements on pay for 2006-2007 for public sector workers for were finally signed in May 2007 but have still not been implemented. A national mobilisation of workers in the local and regional government sector was called for 28 January while health workers will demonstrate on 4 February. [Read more at > FPCGIL (IT)
The PCS public and civil service union has organised industrial action over pay at the Equiniti company which provides pensions payments systems to the NHS. The strikes are calling on the company to pay a living wage and to honour an agreement to benchmark pay against public and private sector comparators. And more at > PCS
Trade union demands to re-open negotiations over National Health Service (NHS) pay have been rejected by the Pay Review Body, the independent organisation responsible for recommending NHS pay increases to the government. Unions had called for the three-year deal to be re-negotiated in the light of the 2.75% increase for 2008 that had been rapidly overtaken by inflation that reached 5% by the summer. The Unite trade union is still in dispute over the three-year agreement. It organised a day of industrial action on 3 December and is meeting to discuss what further action might follow in 2009.
