Industrial relations | LocalGov


Brum council declares ‘major incident’ amid bin strikes 01/04/2025 Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident to address the impact of the bin strikes in a move branded by Unite as ‘disgraceful strike breaking’.
Unite warns of strike action in escalating pay dispute 29/05/2024 Unite has served industrial action notices to 29 councils in the escalating pay dispute between local government employers and employees in Scotland.
Unison members accept ‘long overdue’ pay offer 27/11/2023 Council chiefs in Scotland have welcomed a decision by Unison members to accept the latest offer in a long running pay dispute.
New offer in pay dispute 03/11/2023 More money has been offered in the hope of averting strike action by Scottish Unison members.
Council chiefs to receive 3.5% pay increase 02/11/2023 Local authority chief executives will receive a 3.5% salary increase backdated to the beginning of April after agreement was reached on this year’s pay award.
EXCLUSIVE: Unions delay next steps discussion 27/09/2023 Trade unions have agreed to reconvene to discuss their next steps on the ongoing pay dispute within days of GMB’s strike ballots closing, The MJ understands.
School staff at 10 Scottish councils to strike 18/08/2023 Local authority employees in schools and early years provisions across Scotland will strike for two days next month, GMB Scotland has announced.
Thousands of education workers vote to strike in Scotland 07/08/2023 Thousands of workers in education and early years services across 10 local authority areas in Scotland have voted to go on strike.
Pay dispute to stretch into autumn 07/08/2023 The local government pay dispute is destined to stretch into the autumn as trade union Unite warned ‘coordinated industrial action’ was ‘inevitable’.
Council staff at Newry, Mourne and Down commence industrial action 17/07/2023 Staff at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, one of Northern Ireland’s largest local authorities, commenced industrial action today (17 July).
Surrey County Council staff to be balloted for strike action 23/06/2023 Thousands of staff at Surrey County Council are to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay, their union has announced.
Unite in summer strike warning 02/06/2023 Trade union Unite has warned summer strike action will hit key events after talks with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) collapsed.
Chiefs reject pay offer 31/05/2023 Senior officers have formally rejected the ‘full and final’ pay offer tabled by employers.
More than 360,000 frontline workers vote on pay strike 23/05/2023 More than a third of a million council and school support staff in England and Wales have started voting on a possible strike over pay.
'Widespread industrial action' warning 10/05/2023 Unite has warned the Scottish Government and employers there ‘could be widespread industrial action’ without a ‘significant increase’ to the current pay offer.
Council accused of ‘ripping workers off’ 21/04/2023 Strikes by more than 300 low paid staff at Harlow council will continue into next month because the council is ‘ripping workers off’, union says.
Watchdog staff start work to rule in pay dispute 17/04/2023 Hundreds of staff at the Care Quality Commission were starting a work to rule today in a dispute over pay.
More than 300 Dundee council workers begin strike 04/04/2023 A strike by more than 300 construction workers at Dundee City Council is going ahead.
Liverpool refuse collection workers prepare to strike 11/01/2023 Members of the union Unite are set to undertake industrial action in a dispute with Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Streetscene Services Ltd over pay.
'Fierce resistance' to threatened strike clampdown 06/09/2022 Any attempt by new Prime Minister Liz Truss to outlaw strikes will be met with ‘fierce resistance,’ trade union Unite has warned.
Coventry bin lorry drivers win 13% pay boost 01/08/2022 The long-running dispute between Coventry council and local bin lorry drivers has now ended with a pay rise for the drivers worth up to 12.9%.
Fresh strike warning for local government sector 13/06/2022 Unions have warned of more local government strikes.
Unions demand 'substantial' pay increase 06/06/2022 Councils will be consulted this month after local government trade unions demanded a ‘substantial’ pay increase amid rising costs of food, fuel and household bills.
Rugby waste and street cleaning strikes end with new pay deal 30/05/2022 Industrial action affecting Rugby Borough Council’s waste and street cleaning services is set to end today as the council and Unite reach an agreement.
Glasgow strikes suspended as equal pay deal reached 14/04/2022 Public sector unions yesterday suspended all equal pay strikes after a deal was struck with Glasgow City Council to settle the long-running dispute.
Week-long strike over pay to hit local government sector 08/03/2022 Council workers are expected to strike for a week this month in the first coordinated industrial action to hit the sector in a decade.
Bin strike hitting 220,000 homes begins in Wiltshire 08/03/2022 A two-week bin strike in Wiltshire affecting 220,000 homes began yesterday after GMB members turned down a new pay offer.
Unite announces industrial action over pay 28/02/2022 Unite’s local government members will next month stage targetted industrial action at councils where enough members rejected the employers’ 1.75% pay offer for 2021-22.
National industrial action prospects over pay fade 07/02/2022 A nationally-coordinated wave of industrial action over this year’s pay claim looks increasingly unlikely as the outcome of trade union ballots emerged.
Coventry bin lorry drivers strike proposal ‘impractical’ 15/12/2021 Coventry City Council has rejected a union proposal that bin lorry drivers work for one hour and then go on strike for another hour.
No deal from last-ditch pay talks 16/11/2021 Last-ditch talks between local government employers and trade unions over this year’s 1.75% pay offer have broken up without agreement, The MJ understands.
EXCLUSIVE: Employers dig in as they refuse to reopen pay talks 19/10/2021 Council employers have dug in to defend their ‘full and final’ pay offer despite warnings that months of disruption could lie ahead.
More unions announce strike ballots 06/10/2021 Two more trade unions have moved a step closer to industrial action after members rejected the latest pay offer.
Scottish union to hold nationwide strike ballot 24/08/2021 Councils in Scotland have been put on notice as Unison ballots members over industrial action.
Strike action at Ealing ends 05/08/2021 There will be no return to the picket lines after an agreement has been reached between the Unite trade union and outsourcer Serco.
Unions reject councils’ pay offer 26/04/2021 Scottish members of two trade unions have voted to reject a pay offer from councils, raising the prospect of strike action.
Union in industrial action threat over large-scale council job losses 09/07/2020 Trade union Unite has warned it could launch industrial action unless Nottingham City Council removes its threat of large-scale redundancies.
Local government pay summit to go ahead 30/03/2020 Negotiators hope to keep local government pay discussions on track despite the difficulties posed by the coronavirus crisis.
Union and council end dispute amid coronavirus crisis 24/03/2020 Trade union Unite has said its dispute with Veolia over holiday pay for refuse staff working at Tower Hamlets LBC has been resolved.
Lincolnshire health visitors to strike amid pay dispute with council 19/11/2019 A number of health visitors in Lincolnshire started a month-long strike yesterday over what they describe as the council’s ‘divide and rule’ policy.
Birmingham council and union ‘welcome’ end to refuse dispute 18/03/2019 Refuse collectors who took part in strikes in Birmingham are to be given £3,500 each in a settlement which both sides say has ended the long-running dispute.
Birmingham refuse strike called off 04/03/2019 Unions called off a planned strike by refuse collectors in Birmingham today after the city council lost a bid to have the action declared illegal.
Hundreds of Birmingham refuse workers to strike ‘weekly’ 05/02/2019 Over 300 refuse workers have announced they will begin two days of strike action a week in an escalation of the ongoing industrial dispute with the council.
Union rejects Scottish councils' pay offer 20/06/2018 Members of the GMB Scotland trade union have rejected the Scottish local government pay offer, potentially sparking industrial action.