HEALTH
Solihull pay slash strike
Unite members at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust took one day’s strike action in June, protesting over the trust’s plans to slash hundreds of pounds from their pay.
The trust has axed the recruitment and retention premia (RRP) payment to staff working in regional secure units. This means workers losing, on
average, £1,400 a year.
Owen Granfield, Unite regional officer, said, “The removal of the RRP is another bitter blow to this embattled workforce who have endured a two year long pay freeze, attacks to their pensions and the steady erosion of working terms and conditions.” The campaign continues.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction bosses’ contempt
Construction unions accused employers of treating workers with contempt after a pay freeze for workers was proposed in May at the industry’s joint pay talks, where the employers declined to make a pay offer. The offer affects 500,000 workers.
Unite national officer John Allott, said, “The employers don’t get it, construction workers simply can’t make ends meet. The employ- ers are seeking to maintain their profits at the expense of hard work- ing construction workers.” Pay talks reconvened at the time we went to press.
CIVIL AVIATION Swissport ‘free days’ row
Unite Swissport baggage handlers at Stansted Airport walked out for four days over the Jubilee weekend after last ditch attempts to avert the strike failed.
Union reps were forced to reject the company’s plans to make staff work 14 days for free. The strike went ahead after Swissport failed to come up with a set of
new proposals to address the work- force’s concerns.
Swissport’s decision to impose roster changes without agreement mean airport ground staff, including bag- gage handlers, would work 14 extra days with no extra pay. The dispute continues.
9 uniteWORKS July/August 2012
MANUFACTURING
Merthyr jobs fight
Unite, pledged to fight the threat to 146 jobs at Ardagh Group’s Merthyr Tydfil aerosol manufacturing plant, in May. Closure plans included relocating aerosol manufacturing to the Sutton in Ashfield plant, and printing to the group’s Norwich site. Unite regional officer, David Lewis said, “Unite does not accept the possibility of the site’s closure when it has a good order book of contracts and a loyal customer base.” The fight continues.
Joanne O'Brien/
reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd/
reportdigital.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36