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☆ UK unions suspend London Underground strikes next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People stand outside Victoria Underground station that is closed while London Underground workers strike over pay and terms, in London, Britain, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Two British trade unions on Friday called off strikes on London's underground train network which had been planned to take place next week, citing progress in talks on pensions and working conditions. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union had been planning to take industrial action between July 23 and 28. "After a week of intense negotiations, we have made real progress in making sure our members’ working conditions and pensions are protected," Finn Brennan, ASLEF organiser, said in a statement. "Our campaign to defend jobs, conditions and our members pensions will continue in the coming weeks and months," Lynch said.

Persons: Henry Nicholls LONDON, Finn Brennan, Mick Lynch, Lynch, William James, Farouq Suleiman, Jason Neely Organizations: London Underground, REUTERS, National Union of Rail, Transport Workers, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers, Firemen, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British, Maritime

☆ Balfour Beatty's engineering workers to stage strikes in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - More than 100 engineering workers at Balfour Beatty (BALF.L) will stage three 48-hour strikes in March over pay disputes, British trade union RMT said on Saturday. The decision comes after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport workers (RMT) rejected the company's offer to increase pay by 5.5% from April 2022. "Balfour Beatty is a highly profitable company and they need to use some of their excess wealth to reward their workers properly," RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said. The strikes will start at 2200 GMT on Fridays to 0959 GMT on Sundays from March 3 to March 5, March 10 to March 12, and March 17 to March 19. Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.K. Faces New Wave of Strikes as Workers Fight for Higher Pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Paddington train station in London on Tuesday during a strike by members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in a dispute over pay. LONDON—British rail workers Tuesday began a five-day strike over pay, as the U.K. government faces the biggest wave of industrial action to hit the country in decades. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said 40,000 members are expected to walk out for four days this week starting Tuesday, shutting down most rail services across the country. Meanwhile, train drivers from a separate union are striking at 15 rail companies on Thursday, adding to the disruption.

☆ Britain's new 'winter of discontent' deepens as widespread strikes mount over festive period
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In recent weeks, upcoming strike actions have been announced by nurses, rail workers, postal workers, ambulance workers, airport staff, Border Force agents, highway workers, Eurostar staff, civil servants, bus drivers, firefighters, charity workers, meteorologists and offshore workers. For the public sector, real earnings were 5 percentage points lower, and Hollingsworth suggested that the growing gap had become "unsustainable." "I think there's clearly a lot of pressure here for some catch-up on the public sector side of things, and it's clear that there is that labor bargaining power there." "However, the gap between private and public sector pay narrowed slightly, with private sector pay up 6.9%, while public sector pay is up by 2.7%." However, with negotiations remaining fraught and unions showing no signs of backing down, he said some catch-up on public sector pay growth will likely be required to prevent further disruption.

☆ British rail workers union rejects offer aimed at averting strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain's RMT union said on Sunday that it had rejected a pay rise offer of 4% in 2022 and 2023 from train operators aimed at heading off further strike action, which has disrupted travel for millions of rail users. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, had earlier offered the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers a pay rise of 8% over two years with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies to April 2024. Rail workers in Britain have staged several strikes this year, including the country's biggest strike in decades during the summer, pressing demands for better pay during a cost-of-living crisis. Businesses and train companies warned of travel disruption in the run-up to Christmas from the strikes. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has said the week of the strikes planned for December is usually the year's busiest for the pub industry.

☆ UK public sector pay won't keep up with inflation: transport minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dylan MartinezLONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - British public-sector pay will not be able to keep up with soaring inflation, transport minister Mark Harper said on Sunday, as the country faces a wave of industrial disputes. British consumer price inflation hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, but the latest official wage data, for July-September, showed public sector pay rose by an annual 2.4%, while average private sector wages increased by 6.8%. "We want to try and give all the workers in the public sector who work very hard decent pay rises. We haven't seen those in the private sector either," Harper told Sky News. Harper said he wanted changes to employment practices in the rail sector - where Sunday working is optional - before agreeing more public funding.

Now, one day after the monarch’s funeral, strikes are back on as workers press their claims for better pay and conditions and annual inflation hovers around 10%. More strikes could be on the way this fall, threatening unprecedented disruption across a range of industries. Teachers, doctors and nurses are set to vote on strike action in the coming weeks. The walkout will overlap with strike action by hundreds of dockworkers at the Port of Liverpool, another key UK trade hub. Last week, the country narrowly averted a rail strike by more than 50,000 workers after unions and railroad companies came to a tentative deal over pay.

☆ UK train drivers at 8 rail companies to strike on July 30, union says
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Train drivers at eight British rail companies will strike on July 30 over a pay dispute, the drivers’ union ASLEF said on Thursday in the latest industrial action sparked by demands for wages to keep pace with soaring inflation. The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) said it had announced the day of strike action after train companies failed to make a pay offer that matched the increased cost of living. "Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open to talks if the train companies, or the government, want to talk to us and make a fair and sensible offer," General Secretary Mick Whelan said in an emailed statement. ASLEF said its members at eight companies – Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains – would strike. “It’s incredibly disappointing that, just three days after their ballots closed, ASLEF bosses have already opted for destructive strike action, instead of engaging in constructive talks," Britain's transport minister Grant Shapps said.

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