Category: Industrial action

Recap: Striking for fair pay in the Environment Agency

Thousands of environment agency workers from across the country took strike action over pay on Wednesday for the first time in the agency’s history.

Environment Agency salaries have fallen by more than 20% compared to inflation since 2010, which means staff are effectively working one day in every five for free.

To make matter worse, workers were only given a 2% pay rise (plus £345) for this financial year, but the previous year, the majority of staff had a pay freeze and received nothing at all.

River inspectors, flood forecasting officers, coastal risk management officers, sewage plant attendants and staff at the Thames Barrier are among those who walked out, escalating their industrial action after refusing to do voluntary overtime in the run up to the festive period.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea visited some of the agency strikers at the Thames Barrier to show her and the union’s solidarity.

Blog: Standing with our EA members

Photos by Marcus Rose

UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, visits striking workers at the Thames Barrier.

UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, visits striking workers at the Thames Barrier.

UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, visits striking workers at the Thames Barrier.

UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, visits striking workers at the Thames Barrier.

UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, visits striking workers at the Thames Barrier.

A striking UNISON environment agency member standing in front of the Thames Barrier with a UNISON flag

UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, visits striking workers at the Thames Barrier.

Highlights from the rest of the country

Meanwhile, Environment Agency workers were out on picket lines across the rest of the country – here are just a few of the highlights from the day.

 

 

The article Recap: Striking for fair pay in the Environment Agency first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Standing with our members at the Environment Agency

Pay erosion is the common crisis across many public services that’s now resulting in waves of industrial action. The problem is rooted in the political decision, first taken by the 2010 coalition government, to cut funding to our public services.

Successive governments have refused to depart from that decision ever since.

For workers in the Environment Agency (EA), their pay has been devalued by 20% over that time. Mix that with the cost of living crisis, a pay freeze from July 2020 to November 2022, and it’s no wonder workers at the EA rejected the latest pay offer of around 2% + £345.

It’s well below inflation, so they’ve been left with no option but to take their first strike action over pay for the first time in the agency’s history.

EA workers are emergency workers too, keeping communities safe by responding to floods, pollution, waste fires, fly-tipping, and maintaining the Thames Barrier and sea defences, every day of the year.

But their low pay has pushed them to breaking point and they’ll walk out on Wednesday 18 January from 8am until 5pm.

UNISON and EA workers have agreed escalation plans and life and limb cover with the employer for the duration of the strike. But the action could have been avoided if the government had stepped in to unlock pay negotiations.

The government says it values the Environment Agency’s work, but it has put the agency – and the communities depending on it – at risk, by underfunding it for years. Expecting staff to accept declining living standards, and greater workloads as vacancies increase when their colleagues go to find better paid work elsewhere.

UNISON has called on the DEFRA Minister to step in to resolve the pay dispute. But until then, we’ll be supporting striking EA workers in their action, and I’ll be meeting workers who have taken the difficult decision to go on strike at the Thames Barrier this Wednesday.

Environment Agency workers to take historic strike action

UNISON calls on minister to unlock pay talks 

The article Blog: Standing with our members at the Environment Agency first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Environment Agency workers to take historic strike action

Thousands of Environment Agency (EA) workers in England will strike for the first time tomorrow in a significant escalation in a dispute over pay.

UNISON members working in the EA are now “working one day in every five for nothing” due a decade of government failures to pay workers wages in line with inflation.

Workers who maintain important safety structures such as the Thames Barrier, coastal sea defences and those protecting communities from floods, water pollution, spills, waste fires and fly-tipping will walk out tomorrow, Wednesday 18 January from 8am to 5pm. 

Last November, EA workers were given an inadequate pay rise of just 2% plus a £345 payment.

In December, thousands of workers started working to rule for an indefinite period, meaning they are working only their contracted hours and taking all their scheduled breaks and full rest time between shifts. 

The strike comes at a time of year when extreme weather is more likely to hit the country. Where there is a threat to life or property from incidents such as a major flood, officers will step in as emergency ‘life and limb cover’ has been agreed.

UNISON head of environment Donna Rowe-Merriman said: “Dedicated staff have been left with no other option but to strike over pay for the first time in the agency’s history.

“The decision to strike wasn’t taken lightly as workers know their role is crucial in keeping communities and the environment safe.

“But the cost-of-living crisis has reached a point where the lowest paid are truly struggling to make ends meet. Staff often have no choice but to look for other work outside the Agency. This appalling situation cannot go on.

“Communities rely on these critical workers, particularly during bouts of extreme weather and rising problems of river pollution. They should be paid accordingly.

“UNISON is urging ministers and the agency to negotiate and ensure workers are given an improved pay offer. Otherwise, more staff will join the exodus.”

The union’s EA committee chair Jackie Hamer said: “It is a measure of the anger and frustration of our members that they are taking strike action over pay for the first time in the history of the Environment Agency.”

“Twelve years of this government’s austerity policies and below-inflation pay rises have eroded pay in the EA by over 20%, and that was before the current spike in inflation. Our lower-paid members are finding it very hard to manage financially and some depend heavily on working significant amounts of overtime to make ends meet.

“These are frontline workers who deliver vital services, protecting the environment and turning out regularly in force to manage the impacts of flooding. To be so badly rewarded for such important work is shameful.”

UNISON’s EA sector committee vice chair Greg Marshall said: “Our members care deeply about the communities they serve and about protecting the environment we live in. For them, it’s more than just a job. Whether it’s getting up in the middle of the night to build flood barriers or sacrificing their public holidays to attend waste fires or sewage pollutions, they just want to do the right thing.”

“But enough is enough, they can’t survive on a derisory 2% pay offer on top of the 21% cut they’ve had over the last 12 years. Our staff deserve a fair pay rise. We need fair pay in the EA.”

The article Environment Agency workers to take historic strike action first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON calls on minister to unlock EA pay talks ahead of strike

UNISON is calling on the secretary of state of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Thérèse Coffey to meet to resolve the current Environment Agency (EA) pay dispute.

EA pay was frozen in 2021 – with staff having no pay rise from July 2020.

Staff in the agency have seen their pay eroded by over 20% in the last decade and are now “working one day in every five for nothing”. UNISON members have voted to take strike action over pay for the first time this week.

Workers who maintain important safety structures such as the Thames Barrier, coastal sea defences and those protecting communities from floods, water pollution, spills, waste fires and fly-tipping will walk out on Wednesday 18 January from 8am to 5pm.

UNISON national secretary for the environment Donna Rowe-Merriman said: “Dedicated staff have seen their salaries eroded and the cost of living crisis sees many at breaking point.

“The public must be astounded that as flood waters rise across England, the government is making no attempts to try and resolve the dispute and reach an agreement.

“The sum allocated to the agency was woefully inadequate to recruit and retain skilled public servants in key roles. The agency is seeing the impact of low pay on staff recruitment and retention in a similar way to that seen across the NHS – but is not seeking engagement to try and address the key issues.’

The government’s pay remit was set before summer 2022 and did not take inflation or spiralling energy bills into account.

This remit is non-negotiable and the agency has no delegated power to amend without prior approval from DEFRA, leaving staff with little alternative than to take industrial action to try and seek an improved offer as wages fail to keep up with living costs.

Ms Rowe-Merriman continued: “Last week we saw government ministers meeting with unions to attempt to find a resolution to other ongoing disputes. We have had no response to repeated requests to meet with various DEFRA ministers to outline the key issues in the agency and to seek an improved offer.

“The lack of any engagement from the secretary of state to try and find a resolution to this dispute when the two largest trade unions are taking industrial action is unfathomable.”

Where there is a threat to life or property from incidents such as a major flood, officers will step in as emergency ‘life and limb cover’ has been agreed.

The article UNISON calls on minister to unlock EA pay talks ahead of strike first appeared on the UNISON National site.

The streets of London – pictures from the picket lines

Wednesday’s day of strike action in the ambulance service, across England, saw pickets throughout London.

Touring the capital was UNISON head of health Sara Gorton – above, with pickets at Waterloo – moving from there, where she addressed massed ranks of news media, to sites including Deptford and Greenwich.

She was accompanied by photographer Marcus Rose, who recorded events.

Waterloo picket – sun shining through flags

Pickets at Waterloo attaching a sign to an ambulance to stress provision of emergency cover

Waterloo picket – UNISON head of health Sara Gorton being interviewed by media

UNISON ad van between two ambulances at Waterloo

Pickets at Waterloo with an ad van

Waterloo picket with 'honk for the NHS' handwritten placard

Sara Gorton addressing media at Waterloo picket

Flags waving on Waterloo picket

Three pickets with placard, around a brazier, at Deptford

Cyclist waving to pickets at Deptford

Pickets at Deptford applaud as emergency cover ambulance leave the station

Pickets at Deptford Show placards to passing traffic

Pickets at Deptford with 'honk your support' placard

Pickets at Deptford

Sara Gorton with pickets at Deptford

Sara Gorton talking to media at Deptford

Pickets at Greenwich stand clear as emergency cover ambulance leaves

Sara Gorton with UNISON flag, with pickets at Greenwich

Pickets at Greenwich greet two small dogs

Pickets at Greenwich with a brazier

Sara Gorton listening to a picket at Greenwich

Christina McAnea tours pickets in Yorkshire and the North East

Through sun and rain, on the picket lines in Bristol

#PutNHSpayright – our rolling covering from the day itself

 

The article The streets of London – pictures from the picket lines first appeared on the UNISON National site.

#PutNHSpayright – all the news with our rolling report

08:20am In response to government plans to introduce minimum cover regulations for strikes, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea told the BBC that during the strike in December, staff didn’t hesitate to leave picket lines when someone’s life was in danger”.

But she continued: “After a decade of refusing to bring in minimum staffing levels, it’s ironic that the government is only prepared to do so during a strike.

“Every other day of the year, ambulance crews are stuck queuing for hours outside A&E departments and hospital staff are rushed off their feet. But the government isn’t interested in minimum staffing levels then.”

07:45am Good morning all. This is the start of another historic day, as UNISON members working in the ambulance service across England take a second day of industrial action.

We will be bringing you reports from around the regions, so stay tuned.

The article #PutNHSpayright – all the news with our rolling report first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Rolling report: #PutNHSpayright

09:25am After health secretary Steve Barclay used an article in today’s Daily Telegraph to state that: “We now know that the NHS contingency plans will not cover all 999 calls. Ambulance unions have made a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients”, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea and assistant general secretary Jon Richards responded in shock at the claims.

Screengrab of tweet from Christina McAnea

Screen grabs of tweets by Christina McAnea and Jon Richards

Ms McAnea, speaking on Good Morning Britain, described the claims as “utterly untrue”.

09:05am There are strict laws on picketing during industrial action and the union could be heavily fined if these are broken.

But there are plenty of way in which non-striking members and any other supporters can show their solidarity with strikers today.

Check here to find out more

If you’re following events on Twitter, make sure to check @unisontheunion and @cmcanea. And if you yourself are tweeting, please use the hashtag #PutNHSpayright.

08:55am Good morning all. As UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea tweeted last night, today’s strikes are going ahead. “I had hoped the government would move on pay, to get this dispute resolved, but their position is still fixed. We have no option but to continue with our strike action and consider more action in January.”

So, at 7.30am this morning, “nurses, porters, HCAs, cleaners and other NHS staff at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and Royal Liverpool University Hospital took brave action and started their 24hr strike over pay and staffing,” continued Ms McAnea.

We will be updating this rolling report throughout the day, so check back to find out what’s going on.

The article Rolling report: #PutNHSpayright first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Supporting NHS members on strike

The clock is ticking down to the start of strike action tomorrow involving UNISON members in the ambulance service in five regions in England, together with staff at two hospitals in Liverpool. 

There are legal provisions and a statutory code of practice around who can picket and how pickets are run. Members may only lawfully picket at or near their own place of work and the union could be sued if any members engaged in unlawful picketing.

In the case of ambulance strikes, branches will be managing the need to safely dispatch ambulances from picket lines under agreed life-and-limb exemptions.

It’s important to make sure legal requirements and patient safety are maintained, and UNISON regional offices will be working with striking branches to manage invitations and arrangements for visitors to their pickets.

However, there is plenty that non-striking members and supporters can do to show solidarity.

The article Supporting NHS members on strike first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Pensioners Convention extends solidarity to UNISON members

UNISON members taking industrial action this month have today received a message of solidarity from the National Pensioners Convention (NPC).

In a letter addressed to Christina McAnea, NPC general secretary Jan Shortt said that, as older people, convention members were “much more aware of the cuts and staff losses to services that they rely on in their later years to help them cope with what are sometimes complex health conditions”.

Ms Shortt noted that the NPC was “also grateful for the support that your trade union gives to us as the largest campaigning organisation for older people in the UK”.

She added that, where possible, convention members will support picket lines and concluded: “We send our best wishes to all those taking action to ensure that healthcare services can be properly delivered by staff whose commitment to caring for others is apparent in their everyday work”.

Ms McAnea said: “We are grateful for the support of pensioners and the public. They know what is at stake and that staff do not take the decision to strike lightly.

“The cost of living crisis is hitting both pensioners and workers alike.”

The article Pensioners Convention extends solidarity to UNISON members first appeared on the UNISON National site.

NEC hears plans for industrial action, plus new ballots

UNISON’s national executive council (NEC) met today and heard reports on the preparations for strike action, balloting and re-balloting across the union, as the third Conservative prime minister of the year shows little sign of improving the lives of working people.

Addressing the meeting, general secretary Christina McAnea said that the “last time we met was just after Liz Truss was elected – by the Tories, not the country”.

The autumn statement from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt “did nothing to reassure us,” she added, noting that whatever the claims to the contrary, “we’re not all in this together”.

Ms McAnea stressed that UNISON was working with the TUC to try and put as much pressure as possible on the government. She has written to Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but as yet had no responses.

The general secretary thanked branches and staff for helping to build an average of 35% turnout in the NHS ballot, noting that UNISON has “never had that level before” and it gives a great base to build on.

She also cited the 183,000-signature petition that was handed in to Downing Street, calling on the government to end the pay crisis, observing too that the union had been gaining good press coverage, nationally and in local media.

As well as hearing about the NHS pay ballot and industrial action plans, the meeting heard of the preparations for strike action in the Environment Agency, and how the union organised to meet the legal thresholds for the ballot.

In higher education, UNISON is also re-balloting 49 higher education institutions and a few more for the first time.

With a packed agenda, the council also:

  • heard an update on organising, which revealed that the union has seen growth in five regions, driven by industrial mobilisation;
  • welcomed the news of growth, it also discussed the importance of retention;
  • heard about the landmark legal case of Polly Jones that the union supported;
  • examined a raft of proposals on standing orders;
  • passed a budget for next year.

The article NEC hears plans for industrial action, plus new ballots first appeared on the UNISON National site.