Read to the end for the bitter-sweet NHS pay deal, the strike shaking Hollywood and Met Gala-inspired chickens.
Morning team,
It’s Evie Breese here, the Big Issue's employment reporter bringing you the roundup of a mega week for industrial relations. Kicked off with Monday’s May Day, also International Workers’ Day, saw workers and socialists around the world join picket lines and demonstrations calling for higher pay, more respect and greater workplace protections.
Nurses stood on pickets outside hospitals after rejecting the government’s recent pay offer, but were forced to end the action a day early. The High Court found the action would be unlawful because it fell outside the six-month window initially agreed. Following the legal defeat, RCN leader Pat Cullen attacked the government, saying: "They've taken the most trusted profession through the courts, by the least trusted people.”
But it's been a week of swings and roundabouts for the trade union movement, as the anti-strikes bill faced a major set-back in the Lords. Peers passed an amendment tabled by former chief nursing officer, Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, that protects workers who refuse to break strike action from being fired. This’ll come as a relief to many, who have said the bill would only stoke the flames of anger from striking workers and could lead to many being sacked — further exacerbating the recruitment crises in the healthcare sector.
And it looks like Britain is set to face a second hot strike summer, as transport unions the RMT and Aslef announce further strikes. More court cases and backtracking is entrenching the bitterness and resentment on both sides, making it unlikely that we’ll see a cooling off period any time soon.
Got a work-related story I should know about? Drop me an email at evie.breese@bigissue.com or tweet at @Evie_Breese
What you need to know about work this week:
Fair work? Uber Eats and Bolt have been ranked among the worst gig economy platforms to work for by University of Oxford researchers, who are calling for stronger protections for those in the gig economy. The researchers also accused some platforms of cutting existing protections for workers in order to increase profitability. I’ve got the story here.
Access denied: Disabled job seekers across Britain are struggling to find and apply for work at government-run job centres computers because of a complete lack of assistive technology. This is despite the government’s stated goal to get more disabled people into work.
Salty staff:Salt Bae, the Instagram famous chef known for his unique salting technique, has been accused by former employees of tip theft, discrimination, and nasty polyester uniforms within his “memeable meat empire”. This is a great read from Sophia Ankel for Insider.
Work smarter: The first UK council to switch to a four-day week in a bid to attract more staff and save on costs has called the trial an “undeniable success”. South Cambridgeshire council plans to extend the change by a further 12 months, while also trialling the shorter week for refuse workers. With such positive news, it’ll come as little surprise to those involved that most people believe a four day work-week will be the norm for British workers by 2030.
A union victory:Amazon may soon be forced to recognise a trade union for the first time in the UK. GMB claims to have a majority membership at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse, which means the company is required by law to recognise the union.
Passing the buck: Unions and small businesses have hit back at the Bank of England's chief economist Huw Pill’s suggestion that people should accept they are poorer, rather than seek pay rises which he claims could worsen inflation. Part of the job of the Bank of England is to keep inflation at its target rate of 2 per cent.
Strike watch
On the mend: Healthcare unions have voted to accepted the government’s pay deal, ending months of strikes from health workers. However, the threat of strike action remains with RCN nurses and Unite members rejecting the offer of a 5 per cent pay rise plus two cash sums.
No end in sight: New train strike dates have been announced after unions the RMT and Aslef rejected the most recent pay deal offered by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). With strikes set to coincide with Eurovision and the FA cup final, you’ll want these dates in your diary.
Not a write-off: Thousands of US-based film and television writers went on strike yesterday, disrupting TV production and shaking up Hollywood. The industry is wrestling with the shift to streaming which has led to declining television ad revenue.
Seeking to overhaul what the government has described as its broken migration system, Australia will end a decade-long freeze on the minimum wage for skilled migrant workers. While our pals down-under have been successful in attracting low-paid workers, the system has been criticised for failing to attract staff to fill critical skill shortages.
“What has emerged is a system where it is increasingly easy for migrants to come to Australia in search of a low-paid job, but increasingly difficult for migrants with the skills that we desperately need,” said Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil. Rob McGuirk has the story in the Independent.
Working culture
BREAKING BAD SPOILER ALERT (although if you haven't seen it yet, where have you been?).
With Hollywood writers taking to picket lines, who knows which of your favourite shows could be impacted by the industrial action. According to Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad, the show’s writers were seriously leaning toward killing off Hank Schrader, Walter White’s cop brother-in-law, much earlier in the show but the 2008 writers' strike prevented the episode from being written. You can read the 2015 interview with Gilligan from E Alex Jung in Vulture here.
If this little tid-bit of knowledge has got you feeling nostalgic for Breaking Bad, seasons one to five are on Netflix, sans the unwritten final two episodes of season one.
Know someone who will love this newsletter? Share our sign-up article with your social networks. And why not check out Survival Guide, our newsletter on the cost of living crisis from my colleague Isabella McRae.
In the diary
May 3. Three cases brought by Unison, the NASUWT and the TUC will be heard at the High Court on 3-4 May. The unions argue that the government’s decision to allow employers to use agency workers during industrial action is unlawful.
Friday May 5. Paused: Journalists at the BBC’s local networks will strike with the National Union of Journalists over job cuts.
Friday May 12. Train drivers go on strike with Aslef, causing widespread disruption to services run by 15 rail companies.
Saturday May 13. RMT members working on the railways will strike for 24 hours, coinciding with the Eurovision final in Liverpool. This is likely to force a majority of train services to stop running.
Aslef train drivers at 15 rail companies will refuse to work over time for the day leading to many cancelled services. This is likely to cause significant disruption to train operators, many of which rely on drivers volunteering to work on their days off to run a full service.
Monday May 15. Aslef train drivers start six days of action short of strike by refusing to work overtime until May 20.
Wednesday May 31. Train drivers strike with Aslef go on strike again, affecting rail services at 15 companies.
Thursday June 1. Aslef train drivers resume an overtime ban for 24 hours.
Saturday June 3. Train drivers with Aslef go on strike, coinciding with the FA Cup final when many football fans will be travelling to London to see two Manchester teams play at Wembley.
I’m trying to expand my repertoire of working animals, so, here are some chickens doing their best to imitate dressed-up celebrities on the red carpet at this year’s Met Gala.
Does your cat/dog/garden fox/animal you saw on holiday participate in the daily grind? Nominate them today by sending me a photo to: evie.breese@bigissue.com
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