Waste, Privatisation, U.K.

Health workers around the country, many of them employed by private contractors and among the lowest paid, have had to resort to strike action to ensure they get a £1600+ (€1870) lump sum payment that was paid to most directly employed staff last year. Action has just paid off for members of UNISON and Unite in Dudley in the West Midlands where until recently their employer, Mitie, had refused the payment. UNISON members were also successful following their action in the South West against the contractor Sodexo and Wiltshire Health and Care, a company jointly owned by three NHS trusts. UNISON

The UNISON, Unite and GMB trade unions have been mobilising their members in the NHS and private contractors to secure unpaid COVID bonuses and pay rises. UNISON and Unite members are taking on Mitie, the large private contractor, which has refused to pay a COVID bonus despite the company being signed up to the national Agenda for Change agreement which requires the payment. Meanwhile, Unite members formerly employed by the contractor Serco but now directly employed by the NHS at Bart’s Hospital in London are also claiming their COVID payment which the hospital management have so far refused

Following strike action, the Unite trade union has secured a 10.1% pay increase for waste workers employed by the Suez multinational in South Gloucestershire. Strike action against Suez also delivered in Somerset, where the union won a 9% pay increase up from the original offer of 4.85%. However, disputes continue elsewhere, including with the Urbaser company in North Yorkshire where workers have rejected an 8% pay offer and days of strike action have been planned stretching through August and into September. Meanwhile, renewed strike action is likely in Coventry. Lengthy strike action by

Unions organising in the waste sector are taking on both local councils and private contractors in campaigns to secure better pay offers from employers. Action by Unite members at Welwyn and Hatfield delivered a 13.5% pay increase when the employer, private contractor Urbaser, agreed to increase its original offer of 8%. Meanwhile, several other disputes continue with one of the longest running in the North West where Unite members have been taking action since May in their dispute with Cumberland Council. In Selby in North Yorkshire Unite members are also taking on Urbaser and have voted for

Drivers, refuse workers and street cleaners continue to take action around the country to secure pay rises as inflation eats further into purchasing power. The Unite, GMB and Unison trade unions are all involved in a dispute with Serco the private contractor used by Sandwell council near Birmingham. Workers have voted for strike action on 28 and 29 July and then on 4, 5 and 8 August. They have rejected an 8% pay offer and argue that the company can afford a higher increase having seen profits soar by 25%. Refuse workers employed by Newham council in east London are being balloted for strike

Industrial action by waste workers is continuing in a number of local authorities. Drivers in Coventry have just voted unanimously to continue their strike to secure pay levels comparable to the private sector and in line with other local authorities in the region. The strike against the Labour Party-controlled authority began at the end of January. Meanwhile waste workers employed by the Veolia multinational that provides services to Croydon Council in South East London are set to strike for three weeks from 16 June. As with the Coventry dispute, their union, Unite, is calling for pay rates

In a long-running and bitter dispute over pay in Coventry, the Unite trade union has just discovered that the local authority has agreed a 12% pay increase for the workers in the private company that is being used to try to break the strike. Meanwhile, Unite members at Rugby Borough Council began strike action on 26 April to get the local authority back to the negotiating table. In Croydon, South London, Unite members employed by Veolia are being balloted for industrial action following the rejection of a 2.5% pay offer. Members of Unite and the GMB, in Manchester called off their action when

The GMB and Unite trade unions have been mobilising their members in the waste sector in a series of disputes over pay that have led to strike action or the threat of strike action. The longest-running dispute, which began in January, is in Coventry in the West Midlands where the union is currently pursuing a tribunal case against the local authority over victimisation of a trade union activist. Workers in Northampton in the East Midlands employed by Veolia have voted for strike action on 27 April while a vote for action was backed by a 90% majority in Manchester, in a dispute with the Biffa

Strike action by waste workers employed by Eastbourne council in South East England has helped secure a new pay deal which includes a minimum rise this year of 11% and a guarantee that the hourly rate will reach a minimum of £13.50 (€16.20) per hour in April 2023 – a 19% rise in total. Strike action could be on the cards in nearby Adur and Worthing, where a consultative ballot revealed more than 90% in favour of action over pay. In Carmarthen in Wales action by lorry drivers has brough the local authority back to the negotiating table while waste workers in Coventry in Central England are

The GMB and Unite trade unions have negotiated a major boost to pay for lorry drivers working in waste services for Plymouth City Council in the South West of England. The re-classification from unskilled to semi-skilled means that the workers will be moved up the pay scale resulting in pay increases of 12.6% for some. The two unions argue that this should have major implications across the sector and are trying to win improvements to pay and conditions for waste workers in other local authorities but are having to resort to industrial action to make progress. A 48-hour strike in Coventry in

Waste and cleansing workers in Sheffield in North East England and Glasgow in Scotland have been involved in industrial action over pay. The dispute in Sheffield is over a below-inflation pay offer from the contractor Veolia and the GMB trade union has called all-out action in response to the employer’s use of agency staff to try to undermine the action. The strike in Glasgow was also over pay and the attempt by the council to use the courts to block the action. It was supported by other workers and activists attending the COP26 climate conference. Industrial action by the UNISON public

Three trade unions (CGT, FP-CGIL and PCS) representing workers in cultural services in France, Italy and the UK have come together to highlight the urgent need for action to support the sector and tackle poor pay and employment conditions. They argue that the sector has been particularly hard hit by measures to tackle the pandemic and these have been intensified because of the extent of outsourcing and precarious employment. The unions are calling for a strengthening of public culture services, decent and secure employment conditions and action to stop privatisation and outsourcing. CGT (EN

Public service union UNISON reports that the Medirest private company will give its 2,200 staff, who provide cleaning, portering and catering services in NHS hospitals across England, will see their pay increase by an average of 5% from the beginning of June. The lowest pay rate will rise from £8.75 (EUR 9.80) to £9.21 (EUR 10.30) an hour, bringing it in line with the minimum rate for directly employed health workers.