Environment Agency staff start industrial action over pay, says UNISON

Thousands of Environment Agency workers in England will stop attending incidents such as floods, water pollution, spills, waste fires and fly-tipping in December and over Christmas, as they begin industrial action from today (Monday), says UNISON. From this morning, staff will start a work to rule for an indefinite period. This means they will do only their contracted hours, taking all scheduled breaks and rest in full between shifts, and will not accept any unpaid work at this busy time of year for the Agency. In addition, employees will refuse to volunteer for ‘on call’ cover for several days. The Environment Agency is dependent on the goodwill of workers to step forward to handle unexpected incidents, says UNISON. This is especially crucial during the winter months, when heavy rainfall and colder temperatures tend to sweep the country. Employees will not agree to provide this cover today, or on Wednesday or Friday of this week. This will also be the case next Tuesday and Thursday (20 and 22 December). Nor will staff agree to volunteer to attend incidents for two 48-hour periods, the first beginning at 9am on Christmas Eve and continuing until 9am on Boxing Day, and the second from 9am on New Year’s Eve, ending on 2 January at 9am. High vacancy levels at the Agency are already piling extra pressure on the staff who deliver vital services to protect communities and the environment from floods and pollution incidents, says the union. Employees have been driven to action...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News Press release Donna Rowe-Merriman Environment Agency ballot 2022 Source Type: news