Union solidarity round-up: 4 to 10 August

Nurses in England have made it clear that 91% of them thoroughly reject the 3.6% pay offer via their union RCN. The offer notably falls below the rises offered to doctors, teachers, and other public sector workers.

This comes at a time when ambulance crews and NHS staff represented by GMB have rejected a similar offer. The BMA is currently balloting consultant doctors and Unison are also balloting their members. Resident doctors are currently renegotiating their position with the government.

ASLEF members are standing firm with their colleague who was unfairly sacked by Hull Trains. The driver with 20 years of service and no prior incidents was unfairly sacked in January after raising safety concerns about fatigue. Strikes began in February and may now last until February 2026 after union members just voted to extend action.

On Saturday (9), workers from Radisson Blu Hotel Canary Wharf and Draughts London Game Bar will join forces for two picket lines.

Represented by UVW, the hotel house keepers will strike for the first time since 1979—with a 100% yes vote—in protest against outsourced company WGC imposing flexible contracts. These cuts to their guaranteed hours come alongside doubled workloads.

The bar staff at Draughts, also backed by a 100% strike mandate, are fighting zero-hours contracts, chaotic rotas, and unsafe conditions.

GMB members employed by Mitie at Sellafield are taking strike action until 15 August over a “derisory” pay offer.

Fifth week for MyCSP members

PCS members working for pensions administrator MyCSP are into their fifth week of strike action. They are striking over the ongoing refusal by MyCSP to meet our demand for recognition and full consultation regarding the TUPE transfer of our members to Capita.

PCS members working for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) continue action short of strike in their dispute over a forced return to workplaces.

PCS and Prospect members at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are continuing a work to rule with no overtime in their dispute over pay.

PCS members at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) continue action short of strike. The dispute, which began earlier this year, centres on the closure of six offices, the imposition of rigid office attendance policies, and the withdrawal of location-neutral recruitment.

RMT members at CrossCountry are taking ASOS until 25 October – excluding Sundays. They are striking in a dispute over pay and working conditions, particularly a lack of agreement on a universal rest day working policy

UCU’s academic boycott continues for members at Brunel University in response to the institution's continued pursuit of mass redundancies. The boycott began on 15 April; Brunel UCU demands that the university withdraws the threat of compulsory redundancies, provides transparent financial information, enters collective conciliation talks through Acas, and reinstates those already involuntarily dismissed.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak joined striking University of Bradford workers on the picket line last week, as university bosses threaten significant cuts and job losses.

The TUC published analysis warning of the £23million hit to the local economy from the University of Bradford’s proposed cuts.

Solidarity with NHS cleaners

Unison members who are outsourced cleaners employed by Mitie in East Lancashire continue industrial action. The 40 cleaners, contracted by Mitie, are among the lowest-paid staff in the NHS. They have been routinely underpaid for months, due to payroll problems, on top of which they have yet to receive their COVID-19 recovery payments, which were agreed in 2023.

Unison members working as phlebotomists at Gloucester and Cheltenham Hospitals for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust continue their industrial action. Phlebotomists are specialist health workers who take and handle patient blood samples. At present, they are paid at band 2 of the NHS’s Agenda for Change pay scale, but Unison argues that their knowledge, skills and training equate to those of a band 3 worker.

Unite members employed as bin workers by Birmingham City Council are continuing their indefinite strike action. The bin workers are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000 – up a quarter of their wages for some – and have an industrial action mandate until December.

Unite members working in the food and beverage department at Village Hotel in Glasgow are striking until 31 August, fighting for the Real Living Wage, paid breaks, and fair pay - rejecting the hotel chain’s claim that poverty wages are industry standard. Support their picket from 4pm on Saturday (9) at Village Hotel, 7 Festival Gate, Pacific Drive, Glasgow G51 1DB.

Nearly 600 Unite members at Busways Travel Services, part of Stagecoach North East, are striking on 11, 12, 18 and 21 August after rejecting a below-inflation 3.3% pay offer. Drivers earn far less than colleagues in the North West, despite Stagecoach making £51.1m in operating profit last year.

The strike involves drivers and depot staff at Slatyford and Walkergate (Newcastle) and engineers and cleaners in Sunderland and South Shields demanding a fair deal for workers doing difficult, unsocial jobs.

Global

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has strongly condemned the announcement by Myanmar’s military junta to end the state of emergency and proceed with so-called “elections” in December 2025.

Workers in Belgium are to strike over shops’ extending opening hours until 9pm and ending a mandatory 24-hour closure, which would allow more shops to open on Sundays.

In the three years since their own Employment Rights Bill equivalents came in, Australian unions have grown membership by a whopping 12%. The TUC has looked at some of the work and tactics that are behind their success.