NHS workers on the picket line in Manchester (Photo: Karen Reissmann)
Porter drivers at Prestwich Hospital, Greater Manchester, walked out for five days last Wednesday. The Unison union members voted unanimously to strike over pay and re-banding.
Three years ago, driver porters employed by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), appealed to move higher up the NHS pay scale.
The drivers are an essential part of mental health services in the region, delivering samples, medication, linen and food across the city.
Their role was then re-branded from band 2 to band 3, meaning pay increased and they were entitled to back pay. But at the 11th hour the trust U-turned on the decision.
Workers are furious. They have been cheated out of an agreed pay rise the day before two years back pay was due to be paid.
They are due thousands of pounds in lost income and are determined to win.
The strike follows a two-day strike from Thursday last week after an ‘unproductive’ meeting with management.
Theatre assistants based at three sites run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust also walked out for 48 hours in December last year.
The Unison union members are on the lowest grade in the NHS despite carrying out crucial clinical work. They collect samples, assist with complex machinery and establish a sterile environment.
Workers are demanding that they are paid what they are owed. They should be moved to the correct grade and compensated for the work they have already done.
In the eighth week of a pay dispute at Diligenta, workers walked out for their second round of strikes this year last Monday.
As with other strikes, around 1,000 Unite union members struck for a week at sites in Liverpool, Reading, Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh. Strikes began in November after Diligenta circulated an offer of either 2 or 3 percent, depending on pay. But it ignored any negotiations with Unite.
On the picket line at Glasgow, Unite organiser Willy said management needs to “get real” and “see the strength of feeling in its workers”.
“The reality is, as we are still dealing with a cost of living crisis, our members are finding that the basics for which they have to pay are not met by the salary Diligenta is trying to enforce on them,” he told Socialist Worker.
“Picket lines are strong, our members are determined,” he said, adding that Unite membership was growing during the dispute.
RMT union members on the Dockland Light Railways are set to strike this Wednesday to coordinate with a protest at Transport for London (TfL) headquarters.
The cleaners, employed by outsourcer Bidvest Noonan, are fighting for sick pay. Current policy means it is paid only in certain cases.
TfL’s outsourcing model allows private contractors to drive down terms and conditions while they wash their hands of all responsibility.
Over 40 workers at the National Coal Mining museum in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, have been on all-out strike since last August.
Over the past five months, bosses have hired private security, used cops to break up picket lines and threatened to discipline workers when they return to work.
Last Friday, new General Secretary, Andrea Egan visited the picket to show her support.
Over 600 hospital workers, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire have voted in an indicative ballot against fire and rehire plans.
Bosses want to force GMB union members to accept new contracts which replace paid breaks with longer, unpaid breaks. Most of those affected are nurses. Staff shortages mean that they are unable to take their full breaks.
They should reject this attempt to eat into their break times. The indicative ballot closed on Monday.
Unite union members at the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF) began strike ballot on Monday.
Two Unite reps have been unfairly dismissed, with no consultation about their firing. Both reps had raised grievances within the ITWF, but have been dismissed. It is a clear attempt at union busting within the federation.
The ballot closes on 26 February.
Workers at Sodexo, which runs the Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal in the Shetland Isles, have begun another series of strikes.
After rejecting a poor pay deal, around 30 Unite union members restarted strikes last Wednesday. They are set for seven strike days in February.
Health workers set to strike across four Manchester hospitals
Bus workers rejected an offer and came back out
Deadline to accept new conditions approaches
