Top 5 Unite the union wins over the last month
11 November, 2024
The fight for better pay and conditions for workers is continuing, with Unite the Union securing a number of pay deals and actions for its workers over the past month
The fight for better pay and conditions for workers is continuing, with Unite the Union securing a number of pay deals and actions for its workers over the past month. Here are some of Unite’s biggest wins over the last 30 days.
1.Unite delivers pay win for First Bus workers in Aberdeen
Unite has delivered a new pay deal for around 200 First Bus Aberdeen workers.
Drivers, coach drivers and administrative staff at First Bus Aberdeen overwhelmingly backed an enhanced 7.2 per cent pay offer from the company which will take effect over two years.
The successful negotiations resulted in an enhanced 5.2 per cent offer from August 2024. A further two per cent increase from August 2025 will then run until the end of July 2026.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite has successfully negotiated a pay deal at First Bus Aberdeen for around 200 workers. It’s another example of Unite delivering better jobs, pay and conditions across the bus industry.”
Passenger Carrying Vehicle licence holders will receive a driver rate of £14 per hour after one year while administrative staff will receive either a flat-rate increase of £1007, or up to 5.2 per cent in year one and a minimum 2.2 per cent in year two, whichever is greater.
2. Jiffy dispute ends with pay increase for Cheshire workers
Workers at the Jiffy packaging plant in Winsford, Cheshire, are celebrating after securing a four per cent pay increase. Staff also maintained all existing terms and conditions that had been under threat.
Over 50 members of Unite, Britain’s leading trade union, had taken 36 days of industrial action in their dispute with their employer.
Workers had originally been offered a one per cent pay increase or a three per cent increase with dramatic reductions in sickness benefits. Following strike action that crippled production at the plant workers won a substantially improved offer, of four per cent backdated to 1 March. They also maintained their sick pay at current levels and got Jiffy management to remove the degrading fob system in place that monitored workers’ toilet breaks. Further assurances over redundancies and retraining have also been guaranteed.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This shows the power of Unite and the power of the union movement. We backed our members at Jiffy in their fight for better pay and to protect their terms and conditions and because they fought hard for what was rightfully theirs they won the dispute.
“They should be applauded for standing firm against this household name who tried so hard to short change them.”
3. Unite takes pay dispute to Iceland in support of striking Spalding food workers
Unite activists and members have taken the fight for fair pay to Reykjavik, Iceland as part of the industrial dispute with food processing company Bakkavor.
Over 700 workers are currently taking part in continuous strike action at the Bakkavor production plant in Spalding, Lincolnshire after years of real terms pay cuts.
Bakkavor’s biggest shareholders are Icelandic “tycoons” Agust and Lydur Gudmundsson. Lydur Gudmundsson was previously convicted for financial fraud against the people of Iceland. Now he and his brother are making millions on the backs of poorly paid workers in the UK.
Together they own half of Bakkavor shares and have huge power over the company. Bakkavor made £94 million in profit last year. In the last five years it has paid out £158 million to shareholders. But most workers in Spalding are only paid £11.54 an hour, just 10 pence above the minimum wage.
The workers have seen their pay decrease by 10.6 per cent in real terms over the last three year. Unite members are demanding a pay rise of 81 pence an hour on average. This amounts to just two per cent of Bakkavor’s profits.
Protests took place across the Icelandic capital last week, including at the homes of the Gudmundsson brothers, at the headquarters of their holding company and at the Icelandic film school owned by Agust.
Unite representatives were joined by comrades from the Efling Icelandic trade union as they made noisy protests, handed out leaflets and projected images onto the sides of buildings.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Bakkavor is an incredibly profitable company and has paid out millions to the Gudmundsson brothers and other shareholders. This is a company that is fully able to make its workers a fair pay rise but is cynically choosing not to.”
4. Unite secures wage win for dock workers on the Clyde
Unite confirmed last week that Clydeport dock workers on the River Clyde have secured an overall pay package worth approximately 9.3 per cent.
Around 100 workers based at the King George V dock in Glasgow and at Greenock Ocean terminal, overwhelmingly backed the wage offer.
The deal covers crane and terminal operators, pilots who move vessels around the Clyde along with engineers, estuary and vessel deck hands. The accepted offer amounts to a three per cent basic pay rise, two days extra holidays, bonuses worth up to £1000 if absence and profit targets are reached along with a 50 pence an hour rise for crane operators.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, said: “Unite has successfully negotiated a good pay package for our Clydeport members on the Clyde. It’s another important win and demonstrates how Unite is delivering better jobs, pay and conditions for dock workers across Scotland.”
5. Million pound plus legal claim for Oscar Mayer Wrexham workers launched
Unite is launching a multi-million pound legal case on behalf of its members affected by the disgraceful decision by ready meal maker Oscar Mayer to fire and rehire them.
More than 500 Oscar Mayer workers in Wrexham initially began four weeks of strikes in September over the company’s plans to fire and rehire them to reduce wages by up to £3,000 a year.
The strikes were due to conclude this week, but the union has extended industrial action for a further two weeks due to the company’s refusal to enter into negotiations to resolve the dispute.
The workers, many of whom speak English as a second language, are being threatened with dismissal without compensation if they refuse to agree to the detrimental terms by signing new contracts.
In response, Unite has now written to the company informing it that it is now pursuing Oscar Mayer for legal action on behalf of its members. Unite will mount a series of unfair dismissal cases (where workers have been dismissed) and protective awards cases on behalf of all its members for a failure to correctly consult with the workforce, prior to fire and rehiring them. The protective awards claim alone could be worth in excess of £3 million.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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