Local government

Union round up: Unison local government conference pledges to fight cuts

Around 400 delegates from across local government in Unison met last Saturday for the union’s first virtual sectoral conference since the start of the pandemic.

Battles at Aberdeen city council + Sandwell leisure trust + Royal London hospital

Aberdeen workers are striking over plans to merge the role of housing officer and support officer

Lord Lister and the loan for property developers

Homes England is a government agency set up with the purpose of funding “affordable homes”. It met on 9 May 2019 to consider a request from a luxury property company for a £187 million publicly-backed loan.

Biomedical scientists + Jobcentre resistance +Abellio ScotRail + Encirc + Local Government

Biomedical scientists who do Covid-19 testing at a Lancashire NHS trust are ramping up their industrial action.

Council workers hit back in Norwich, Thurrock and Ealing

Strikes by around 170 environmental workers in Norwich are set to begin on 26 May

DVLA pickets stand firm despite management intimidation + Bolt drivers revolt + Norwich council

Strikers at the Driver, and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) defied bosses’ threats and kept up pickets during their four-day walkout last week.

Vote left in Unison national executive elections

06 May 2021
Voting has begun in the elections for the Unison union’s leading body, the national executive committee (NEC).

Three week strike begins in Thurrock + Scotrail + Bakerloo line + St Mungo's

13 April 2021
Refuse, highway maintenance workers and street cleaners working for Thurrock council in Essex began a three-week strike on Tuesday.

Hundreds of civil service workers strike over safety

13 April 2021
As the Tories push ahead with a dangerous easing of lockdown restrictions, more than 1,000 people at a major government workplace struck last week for safety.

Norwich environmental workers prepare for battle

06 April 2021
Around 170 environmental workers in Norwich have taken part in indicative ballots for strikes.

Tories’ takeover of Liverpool council follows the imposition of the market

29 March 2021
The Tory government has sent a team of bureaucrats to impose its will on the Labour-controlled Liverpool City Council.

Resist cynical Tory takeover of Liverpool City Council

23 March 2021
The Tory government looked set to launch a takeover of Labour‑controlled Liverpool City Council on Wednesday of this week.

Council cuts to services will fail those who rely on them

16 March 2021
Reports suggest that the majority of local councils will impose further cuts. They’re caused by decades of austerity, not Covid-19, argue Sadie Robinson and Charlie Kimber

Dpac action + Clyde strikes + Local government pay

01 March 2021
Workers are set to strike at the Coulport and Faslane naval bases on the Clyde from 12 March.

Private firm puts patients and workers at virus risk

23 February 2021
The scandal of private contracts in the NHS has focused this week on health secretary Matt Hancock’s dodgy dealings during the pandemic.

40 days and 40 nights of strikes planned + Scaffolders fight + Local government pay + Royal Berks NHS

22 February 2021
Cleaning workers at the La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls’ School in south London are planning 40 days of strikes from 16 March.

Tories determined to axe vital council services

13 December 2020
Vicious waves of austerity are hitting English councils, and the Tories are determined to drive through their attacks.

Sunak savages workers as Tories signal new austerity assaults

25 November 2020
Although it is just the beginning, it is a clear signal that the Tories want working class people to bail out a system in crisis.

Croydon sends a sign of councils’ crisis

16 November 2020
Croydon council in south London has issued a section 114 notice banning all spending except for statutory services for vulnerable people.