strikespotting UK 01.04.04 - 10.04.04
www.prol-position.net | 12.04.2004 13:31 | Social Struggles
Strikespotting UK 01.04.04 - 10.04.04
08/04/04
Rise in work days lost to strikes
Industrial action by firefighters and local government workers contributed to an increase in working days lost to UK strikes in 2002. Over the year an average of 51 days were lost to strike action per 1,000 employees - up from 20 in 2001. However, the Office for National Statistics said unpublished figures for 2003 were expected to show a drop of 60%. A spokesman for the ONS, which released the figures in its Labour Market Trends report, said the strike by firefighters was one of the key reasons for the 2002 rise.
05/04/04
Vehicle tests hit by strike
Civil servants have been in dispute with management since last year
Three vehicle test centres have been forced to close because of strike action by civil servants in Northern Ireland. More than 3,000 vehicle tests and 300 driving tests have been cancelled at the centres at Boucher Road in Belfast, Mallusk and Craigavon in the run up to Easter. Thousands of civil servants have taken part in a series of strikes since late last year over being denied a "cost of living" pay increase from April 2003.
05/04/04
Stalemate on jobs at strike-hit school
The headteacher of a troubled Telford school today admitted negotiations with striking staff were at a standstill as unions threatened further industrial action. Members of the union NASUWT at struggling Madeley Court School went on strike last week because they fear a controversial partnership with Thomas Telford School will result in job cuts for teaching staff.
07/04/04
New peace bid in nursery strike
Council chiefs in Glasgow were today put on alert amid growing speculation that the bitter nursery nurses dispute could soon be over. The move came as strike leaders and local government negotiators held joint crisis talks in a bid to find a peace formula. Officials with Unison, the public sector union which has co-ordinated industrial action across Scotland since the indefinite strike began 38 days ago, insist they are still holding out for a national pay deal. However, the union's hierarchy has allowed 12 branches to negotiate local council deals since the pay row began two years ago.
07/04/04
Wildcat post strike spreads again
The latest walkout affects the OX1 and OX2 postcode areas
An unofficial postal strike that is badly affecting mail services in Oxford is continuing to spread. Workers from a third Royal Mail premises walked out on Thursday, in support of striking colleagues at the main Cowley sorting office. Industrial action began at the sorting office more than a week ago over claims of bullying and harassment. On Wednesday, delivery staff from Headington walked out and now staff at Royal Mail House have joined them. "If we didn't take action like this then we'd see this repeated elsewhere". (Royal Mail spokeswoman)
10/04/04
New wave of strikes by civil service staff
More than 200 civil servants are set to take part in the latest wave of strike action from Monday week, hitting departments including Child Support and Social Security.
Waiting to happen...
05/04/04
Teachers threaten workload strike
Teachers are still carrying out administrative tasks
Teachers could hold strikes if their workloads are not reduced, a union leader has warned. The government's Workload Agreement, brought in last year, was intended to take tasks like taking the register out of teachers' hands. But implementation had been "patchy", Mary Bousted of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said.
10/04/04
Teachers support strike ballot
Teachers have voted for a ballot for strike action to stop classroom assistants from taking charge of lessons. The National Union of Teachers, meeting in Harrogate for its annual conference, says that only qualified teachers should be in charge in the classroom. The union has rejected a deal to cut teachers' workload, which would rely on a wider role for classroom assistants.
06/04/04
Revenue staff threaten strike action
Inland Revenue staff may stage spontaneous walkouts in a repeat of protests over last year's tax credit payment problems if it happens again this year, their union has warned. A spokesman for the Public and Commercial Services Union told BBC Online that morale was low at the department following the Budget, which dropped the bombshell that 10,000 jobs will be cut over the next few years.
07/04/04
Workers threaten an all-out factory strike
A ONE-DAY stoppage at a factory in Shipston could escalate into an all out strike, a union official has warned. Pete Coulson, regional officer for Amicus, formerly the Amalgamated Electrical Engineering Union, claimed that the 24-hour strike at Norgren last Thursday was supported by "100 per cent" of the unioon's 140 members at the site. And he warned that unless management at the company, which makes pneumatic valves for a range of industries, is prepared to improve its 2.8 per cent pay offer then the union has the option of increasing the stoppages to two days a week or even an all-out strike.
07/04/04
Citizens advice staff set to strike
Staff at the national association which represents citizens advice bureaux are threatening to strike over the introduction of new contracts. Citizens Advice employees who belong to the trade union Amicus are holding a ballot for strike action after negotiations over the new contracts broke down in the latest industrial dispute to hit the voluntary sector. Last September staff at the Child Poverty Action Group walked out for a day, also in a dispute over contracts, while a strike over job losses at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was narrowly averted.
07/04/04
Onley staff in two day strike
A TWO-DAY strike over pay is taking place at Onley Young Offender Institution next week. It is the second strike this year by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union. "The pay offer is simply not good enough". The dispute does not affect prison officers or managers as their pay is negotiated separately through a pay review body.
08/04/04
ONS staff to strike as pay hits record low
Staff at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are going on strike on Tuesday April 13. Picket lines will be manned at all four ONS sites - London, Titchfield, Newport and Southport - by members of Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services union. The action reflects the anger and frustration felt among ONS staff who, four months into 2004, are still fighting an imposed pay deal for 2003 which is among the worst for any group of public servants.
08/04/04
Strike on UK railways to go ahead
The RMT represents many workers on Britain's railways
Nearly 3,000 rail maintenance workers at engineering company Jarvis have voted to strike over job security. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the company had failed to provide an assurance that there would be no compulsory redundancies. The dispute has arisen during the transfer of Jarvis workers and rail contracts to government-backed track operator Network Rail. The union will decide on Tuesday exactly what action to take.
08/04/04
Rise in work days lost to strikes
Industrial action by firefighters and local government workers contributed to an increase in working days lost to UK strikes in 2002. Over the year an average of 51 days were lost to strike action per 1,000 employees - up from 20 in 2001. However, the Office for National Statistics said unpublished figures for 2003 were expected to show a drop of 60%. A spokesman for the ONS, which released the figures in its Labour Market Trends report, said the strike by firefighters was one of the key reasons for the 2002 rise.
05/04/04
Vehicle tests hit by strike
Civil servants have been in dispute with management since last year
Three vehicle test centres have been forced to close because of strike action by civil servants in Northern Ireland. More than 3,000 vehicle tests and 300 driving tests have been cancelled at the centres at Boucher Road in Belfast, Mallusk and Craigavon in the run up to Easter. Thousands of civil servants have taken part in a series of strikes since late last year over being denied a "cost of living" pay increase from April 2003.
05/04/04
Stalemate on jobs at strike-hit school
The headteacher of a troubled Telford school today admitted negotiations with striking staff were at a standstill as unions threatened further industrial action. Members of the union NASUWT at struggling Madeley Court School went on strike last week because they fear a controversial partnership with Thomas Telford School will result in job cuts for teaching staff.
07/04/04
New peace bid in nursery strike
Council chiefs in Glasgow were today put on alert amid growing speculation that the bitter nursery nurses dispute could soon be over. The move came as strike leaders and local government negotiators held joint crisis talks in a bid to find a peace formula. Officials with Unison, the public sector union which has co-ordinated industrial action across Scotland since the indefinite strike began 38 days ago, insist they are still holding out for a national pay deal. However, the union's hierarchy has allowed 12 branches to negotiate local council deals since the pay row began two years ago.
07/04/04
Wildcat post strike spreads again
The latest walkout affects the OX1 and OX2 postcode areas
An unofficial postal strike that is badly affecting mail services in Oxford is continuing to spread. Workers from a third Royal Mail premises walked out on Thursday, in support of striking colleagues at the main Cowley sorting office. Industrial action began at the sorting office more than a week ago over claims of bullying and harassment. On Wednesday, delivery staff from Headington walked out and now staff at Royal Mail House have joined them. "If we didn't take action like this then we'd see this repeated elsewhere". (Royal Mail spokeswoman)
10/04/04
New wave of strikes by civil service staff
More than 200 civil servants are set to take part in the latest wave of strike action from Monday week, hitting departments including Child Support and Social Security.
Waiting to happen...
05/04/04
Teachers threaten workload strike
Teachers are still carrying out administrative tasks
Teachers could hold strikes if their workloads are not reduced, a union leader has warned. The government's Workload Agreement, brought in last year, was intended to take tasks like taking the register out of teachers' hands. But implementation had been "patchy", Mary Bousted of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said.
10/04/04
Teachers support strike ballot
Teachers have voted for a ballot for strike action to stop classroom assistants from taking charge of lessons. The National Union of Teachers, meeting in Harrogate for its annual conference, says that only qualified teachers should be in charge in the classroom. The union has rejected a deal to cut teachers' workload, which would rely on a wider role for classroom assistants.
06/04/04
Revenue staff threaten strike action
Inland Revenue staff may stage spontaneous walkouts in a repeat of protests over last year's tax credit payment problems if it happens again this year, their union has warned. A spokesman for the Public and Commercial Services Union told BBC Online that morale was low at the department following the Budget, which dropped the bombshell that 10,000 jobs will be cut over the next few years.
07/04/04
Workers threaten an all-out factory strike
A ONE-DAY stoppage at a factory in Shipston could escalate into an all out strike, a union official has warned. Pete Coulson, regional officer for Amicus, formerly the Amalgamated Electrical Engineering Union, claimed that the 24-hour strike at Norgren last Thursday was supported by "100 per cent" of the unioon's 140 members at the site. And he warned that unless management at the company, which makes pneumatic valves for a range of industries, is prepared to improve its 2.8 per cent pay offer then the union has the option of increasing the stoppages to two days a week or even an all-out strike.
07/04/04
Citizens advice staff set to strike
Staff at the national association which represents citizens advice bureaux are threatening to strike over the introduction of new contracts. Citizens Advice employees who belong to the trade union Amicus are holding a ballot for strike action after negotiations over the new contracts broke down in the latest industrial dispute to hit the voluntary sector. Last September staff at the Child Poverty Action Group walked out for a day, also in a dispute over contracts, while a strike over job losses at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was narrowly averted.
07/04/04
Onley staff in two day strike
A TWO-DAY strike over pay is taking place at Onley Young Offender Institution next week. It is the second strike this year by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union. "The pay offer is simply not good enough". The dispute does not affect prison officers or managers as their pay is negotiated separately through a pay review body.
08/04/04
ONS staff to strike as pay hits record low
Staff at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are going on strike on Tuesday April 13. Picket lines will be manned at all four ONS sites - London, Titchfield, Newport and Southport - by members of Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services union. The action reflects the anger and frustration felt among ONS staff who, four months into 2004, are still fighting an imposed pay deal for 2003 which is among the worst for any group of public servants.
08/04/04
Strike on UK railways to go ahead
The RMT represents many workers on Britain's railways
Nearly 3,000 rail maintenance workers at engineering company Jarvis have voted to strike over job security. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the company had failed to provide an assurance that there would be no compulsory redundancies. The dispute has arisen during the transfer of Jarvis workers and rail contracts to government-backed track operator Network Rail. The union will decide on Tuesday exactly what action to take.
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