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 p...
Source: UNISON Health care news - January 16, 2023 Category: UK Health Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News environment agency Industrial action strikes Source Type: news
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 f...
Source: UNISON Health care news - January 16, 2023 Category: UK Health Authors: Janey Starling Tags: Article News environment agency Industrial action strike Source Type: news
Russia moves to block UN environment agency reappointment
Lobbying against Danish chief of UNEP follows a critical report on the impact of war on Ukraine#danish #ukraine #unep (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - January 7, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Environment Agency workers to strike for the first time over pay, says UNISON
Thousands of Environment Agency workers in England will strike for the first time later this month in a significant escalation of their dispute over pay, says UNISON today (Thursday).
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. The strike comes at a time of year when extreme weather is more likely to hit the country, warns UNISON.
Last month, thousands of workers started working to rule for an indefinite period. This m...
Source: UNISON Health care news - January 5, 2023 Category: UK Health Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release Donna Rowe-Merriman environment agency Source Type: news
Environment Agency workers to strike for the first time, says UNISON
Thousands of Environment Agency workers in England will strike for the first time later this month in a significant escalation of their dispute over pay, says UNISON today (Thursday).
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. The strike comes at a time of year when extreme weather is more likely to hit the country, warns UNISON.
Last month, thousands of workers started working to rule for an indefinite period. This m...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - January 5, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release Donna Rowe-Merriman environment agency Source Type: news
UNISON seeks urgent meeting with environment secretary
UNISON is seeking an urgent meeting with environment secretary Thérèse Coffey, to discuss the “insulting” pay offer to its members working in the Environment Agency (EA).
A letter from general secretary Christina McAnea describes the current offer as “poor compared to much of the public sector”. EA workers are in a worse position than some other public sector workers as pay was frozen the previous year for the majority of staff.
“The response from our members in our industrial action ballot clearly shows the level of frustration they feel and the financial strain they are under,” the letter states. “This is...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - December 15, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News environment agency Source Type: news
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 ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - December 12, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release Donna Rowe-Merriman Environment Agency ballot 2022 Source Type: news
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...
Source: UNISON Health care news - December 7, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News environment agency higher education Industrial action NHS nhs pay Source Type: news
Young members ’ conference opens with debates about cost of living
UNISON’s second annual young members’ conference opened this morning in Bournemouth with a speech from assistant general secretary, Jon Richards.
Welcoming delegates, he began by talking about the political state of the country, highlighting the importance of young people getting involved in democracy early on in their lives and noting that: “Since the Second World War, 13 out of 17 prime ministers of the UK went to Oxford.”
To that he added: “Five out of the last five Tory prime ministers went there.
“These people do not understand what it’s like to be poor, what it’s like to scrape by. None of them know w...
Source: UNISON Health care news - December 3, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News 2022 National Young Member Conference cost of living young members Source Type: news
Environment Agency workers announce industrial action dates
UNISON members who protect communities during severe weather conditions will be taking part in industrial action from 12 December.
Members in the Environment Agency (EA) will take continuous action, short of strike, from that date.
The action will take the form of work to rule and includes:
only working contracted hours;
taking all scheduled breaks and having appropriate compensatory rest between work;
not doing any unpaid work outside contracted hours; and
disconnecting from work electronics outside contracted hours and during rest breaks.
UNISON is also asking members to consider withdrawing from incident rosters on t...
Source: UNISON Health care news - November 29, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News Environment environment agency water environment and transport Source Type: news
Water chiefs blame UK government for failure to stop sewage pollution
Water company bosses have blamed UK government inaction for a lack of progress in stopping sewage pollution, newly revealed letters show. According to data from the Environment Agency, sewage has been dumped into the seas and rivers around the UK more than 770,000 times over the course of 2020 and…#water #sewage #environment #sewagepollution #stoppingsewage #raniljayawardena #sewagescandal #anglianwater #rivers #ruralaffairs (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - November 26, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Winter warning as Environment Agency staff vote for strike, says UNISON
Environment Agency staff have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay for the first time in the organisation’s 26-year history, says UNISON today (Tuesday).
In the strike vote, 72% of the 2,800 Agency staff balloted by the union across England, including river inspectors, flood forecasting officers, coastal risk management officers and sewage plant attendants, voted to take action.
Earlier in the year staff, who also work on the Thames Barrier, maintain coastal defences, and manage the risk of flooding from rivers, reservoirs and the sea, rejected what they see as an insulting 2% pay offer (plus a £345 one-off payment)...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 15, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release environment agency Source Type: news
Hundreds of workers lobby Parliament for better pay
Hundreds of trade union members from around the UK have descended on Westminster today, to put pressure on MPs to take drastic action to boost workers’ pay – the best possible solution to easing the cost of living crisis.
UNISON members were among those making their voices heard at the ‘We Demand Better’ lobby and rally, organised by the TUC.
A number of individuals set up meetings with their MPs, in order to share their stories, describe how the crisis is affecting the lives of ordinary workers, and impose on their elected representatives the need for better pay deals across the public sector.
The lobby meetings ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - November 2, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: Demetrios Matheou Tags: Article News cost of living together we rise vote yes for the NHS Source Type: news
As Nations Prepare for COP27, Climate Science Is Stronger Than Ever
This article is part of a series on key topics in the climate crisis for time.com and CO2.com, a division of TIME that helps companies reduce their impact on the planet. For more information, go to co2.com (Source: TIME: Science)
Source: TIME: Science - October 28, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Jeremy J. Miller Tags: Uncategorized climate change Evergreen Explainer healthscienceclimate Source Type: news
Help ensure MPs understand the reality of the cost of living crisis
UNISON is urging activists and members to lobby their MPs and call for a general election in Westminster next Wednesday, 2 November.
The lobby takes place during the worst cost-of-living crisis in 50 years. Everything is going up but wages. The Tories crashed the economy with their mini-budget and all the signs are showing that they will try and fill the hole in public finances created by their own mistakes with a fresh wave of austerity.
This will place public services under unbearable strain, as they are still struggling to recover after the pandemic and 12 years of cuts and low investment.
The Institute for Fiscal Studi...
Source: UNISON Health care news - October 25, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News cost of living TUC lobby 2 November Source Type: news
