Latest news with #GMBunion
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Sellafield contract workers set to strike over pay
Hundreds of contract workers at Sellafield - the UK's largest nuclear site - are set to strike in a dispute over of the GMB union employed by Mitie, including cleaners and security staff at the west Cumbrian site, say they will walk out for two weeks from 1 200 workers overwhelmingly rejected a 3.5% pay offer, with the union's regional organiser Fran Robson saying: "Without these workers, Sellafield cannot operate safely or securely."Mitie said it was committed to reaching a resolution and that "strong contingencies" would be put in place to avoid disruption if a strike were to go ahead. Sellafield manages more radioactive waste than any other nuclear facility in the Robson said: "If Mitie refuses to return to the negotiation table with a meaningful offer, strike action will go ahead, risking significant disruption to this critical nuclear site."We call on Mitie to provide a pay rise that genuinely recognises the essential contribution of these workers."Meanwhile, Mitie said it was in continuous talks with both Sellafield and GMB union to agree an offer."As always, our priority is to ensure continued service delivery and in the unfortunate case of a strike going ahead, we will put strong contingencies in place to avoid disruption to the site."A Sellafield spokesman said it was not involved directly in the dispute but said: "As always, the safety and security of the site, our workforce, and the local community is our priority." Additional reporting by PA Media Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Sizewell C nuclear plant to be built with £14.2bn government funding
Rachel Reeves has agreed to pump billions of pounds into Britain's nuclear energy sector, putting £14.2bn towards construction of the new Sizewell C nuclear power station. The multi-billion pound investment will be confirmed by the chancellor at the GMB union's annual congress on Tuesday, just days before she is expected to make sweeping cuts to unprotected departments at Wednesday's spending review. The Suffolk plant, which ministers said would power the equivalent of six million homes, is expected to take around a decade to complete, with officials hoping it will be operational before the end of the 2030s. It is central to delivering a 'golden age of clean energy abundance', the energy secretary said, arguing it would boost Britain's energy security by reducing reliance on buying power from overseas. The project will be funded via household electricity bills, adding about £1 a month to the cost of power over the plant's 60-year lifespan. But it is hoped that the overall impact of the plant will be lower bills as a result of a cheaper energy supply. Nuclear plants are seen as increasingly important electricity sources as the government tries to decarbonise Britain's grid by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with green power. The investment comes amid concerns that the dash towards clean power could reduce our energy security and leave Britain vulnerable. Nuclear power will be a key winner at the chancellor's spending review this week, amid fears the Home Office will be forced to cut police numbers and growing questions over how the government will fund its £1.25bn decision to U-turn on winter fuel. There have been months of wrangling over departmental budgets as the chancellor seeks to ring fence health spending, increase defence to 2.5 per cent of GDP and possibly water down proposals on benefit cuts. Trade unions welcomed the decision to invest in Sizewell C, which the Treasury said would go towards creating 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships. But campaigners warned the full cost of the development remains unclear and could far exceed the initial investment. The last time Britain completed one was in 1987, which was the Sizewell B plant. Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, is still under construction and is expected to produce enough power for about six million homes when it opens, but that may not be until 2031. But energy secretary Ed Miliband promised that Sizewell C would be 'faster and cheaper' because it will be a replication of the Hinkley plant. 'Hinkley was the first of a kind project in the UK, and there's always challenges you face with that', he told Sky News. 'The important thing about Sizewell is it replicates it, and, if you like, there's some good evidence that it can be cheaper and quicker, because the second unit at Hinkley, the original plant, is being built 25 per cent faster than the first unit.' Mr Miliband added: 'The big picture, I'd say, is that we need nuclear and renewables as part of the clean energy system of the future, and our job in coming into government was to get on and deliver and that's what we're doing today - the biggest investment in nuclear for half a century.' At the peak of construction, Sizewell C is expected to provide 10,000 jobs and the company behind the project has already signed £330 million worth of contracts with local businesses - something Mr Miliband said is part of an attempt to prevent 'continued decline' in Britain. 'Why are we doing this? For energy security, for good jobs - 10,000 jobs from Sizewell alone - to tackle the climate crisis and get off insecure fossil fuels. And it's a big investment in the future of the country, because we don't want to see continued decline. We want to see that investment', he said. The government is also due to confirm one of Europe's first small modular reactor programmes and will invest £2.5bn over five years in fusion energy research as part of plans to boost the UK's nuclear industry. The GMB union said giving Sizewell C the go-ahead was 'momentous'. Regional Secretary Warren Kenny said: 'Nuclear power is essential for clean, affordable, and reliable energy – without new nuclear, there can be no net zero. 'Sizewell C will provide thousands of good, skilled, unionised jobs and we look forward to working closely with the Government and Sizewell C to help secure a greener future for this country's energy sector.' However, Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said ministers had not 'come clean' about the full cost of the project, which the group have previously estimated could be some £40 billion. 'There still appears to be no final investment decision for Sizewell C, but £14.2bn in taxpayers' funding, a decision we condemn and firmly believe the government will come to regret,' she said. 'Where is the benefit for voters in ploughing more money into Sizewell C that could be spent on other priorities, and when the project will add to consumer bills and is guaranteed to be late and overspent just like Hinkley C? 'Ministers have still not come clean about Sizewell C's cost and, given negotiations with private investors are incomplete, they have signed away all leverage and will be forced to offer generous deals that undermine value for money. Starmer and Reeves have just signed up to HS2 mark 2.'
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Reeves backs £14bn Sizewell C build in push for clean energy and jobs
The investment will be confirmed by the chancellor at the GMB union's annual congress on Tuesday, in a move aimed at boosting the UK's energy security and cutting carbon emissions. Energy secretary Ed Miliband said the new plant was central to delivering a 'golden age of clean energy abundance' and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Trade unions welcomed the move, which the Treasury said would go towards creating 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships. But campaigners criticised the move, warning that the full cost of the development remains unclear and could far exceed the initial investment. Nuclear plants are seen as increasingly important electricity sources as the government tries to decarbonise Britain's grid by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with green power. The last time Britain completed one was in 1987, which was the Sizewell B plant. Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, is under construction and is expected to produce enough power for about six million homes when it opens, but that may not be until 2031. The energy secretary said: 'We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis. 'This is the Government's clean energy mission in action – investing in lower bills and good jobs for energy security.' At the peak of construction, Sizewell C is expected to provide 10,000 jobs and the company behind the project has already signed £330 million worth of contracts with local businesses. The plant, which will power the equivalent of six million homes, is planned to be operational in the 2030s. The government is also due to confirm one of Europe's first small modular reactor programmes and will invest £2.5 billion over five years in fusion energy research as part of plans to boost the UK's nuclear industry. The GMB union said giving Sizewell C the go-ahead was 'momentous'. Regional Secretary Warren Kenny said: 'Nuclear power is essential for clean, affordable, and reliable energy – without new nuclear, there can be no net zero. 'Sizewell C will provide thousands of good, skilled, unionised jobs and we look forward to working closely with the Government and Sizewell C to help secure a greener future for this country's energy sector.' However, Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said ministers had not 'come clean' about the full cost of the project, which the group have previously estimated could be some £40 billion. 'There still appears to be no final investment decision for Sizewell C, but £14.2 billion in taxpayers' funding, a decision we condemn and firmly believe the government will come to regret,' she said. 'Where is the benefit for voters in ploughing more money into Sizewell C that could be spent on other priorities, and when the project will add to consumer bills and is guaranteed to be late and overspent just like Hinkley C? 'Ministers have still not come clean about Sizewell C's cost and, given negotiations with private investors are incomplete, they have signed away all leverage and will be forced to offer generous deals that undermine value for money. Starmer and Reeves have just signed up to HS2 mark 2.'
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Death threats and slashed tyres as Brighton's battle of the bins turns toxic
The threat, if not explicit, was thinly veiled. Written in capitals, it had been left on a car parked outside the home of a waste-depot manager. The car's tyres had been slashed. 'Leave the case alone. Brakes next,' it said. 'Nice dogs by the way.' It may sound like a scene from a Sopranos-style mafia drama, but the threat was not made in mob-run New Jersey – the note was left in one of the most liberal, bohemian cities in England, where a battle over who really controls the bins is threatening to spill on to the streets. The threat marks a low point in the decades-long bin saga in Brighton, which flared acrimoniously back into life this week. The story includes death threats, lorry sabotage and slashed tyres, accusations of 'gangsterism' and counter-allegations of union bashing, equal-pay claims and strikes, stashed weapons, police investigations and dropped charges. For Brighton and Hove's 278,000 residents it has also, more mundanely, meant hundreds of missed bin collections. The row between Brighton and Hove council and GMB union, which has a strong presence in the city's main waste depot, resurfaced after a council report revealing a 140% increase in missed collections over the last six months blamed an outdated paper-based system, spending controls and an ageing fleet. But there was something else. The report referred to 'toxic behaviours' by a small coterie at the council's Hollingdean depot, including managers having their tyres slashed, 'ongoing sabotage of council vehicles' and 'intimidatory acts both in the workplace and at managers' homes'. It added: 'A death threat was made as recently as January 2025.' And there were other eye-popping claims made in a letter to staff at the depot this week, seen by the Guardian. 'We have seen video footage of a manager's home being intentionally picked out and stoned by a masked man,' wrote the director of the service. Another employee had been found dealing drugs using council vehicles and phones. A small number of individuals were to blame, said the director, but added: 'It is not isolated. It is coordinated. It must stop.' On Thursday, Sussex police said it was investigating a series of reported offences from 2023 to 2025, including criminal damage, possession of offensive weapons, harassment and arson. Some investigations had concluded other offences were continuing or at an early stage. Ch Supt Rachel Carr said the reports were 'of a very serious and concerning nature'. In a post on X, GMB's Sussex branch condemned 'any action that would harm the health and safety of our members and to the public', adding: 'All our members want to do is to empty bins and keep the streets clean for the residents of the city of Brighton and Hove.' So, what exactly is going on in Brighton? In a small, strip-lit office in the council's unlovely 1970s Brighton and Hove town hall, Bella Sankey, the council leader, has an air of steely pugilism. 'It's fair to say that there has been dysfunction and malpractice in our waste collection service over several decades,' she says. 'What's also clear is it is possible for the service to run really effectively.' Asked if there is a battle happening here on the south coast, she replies: 'I think that's an accurate description. To me, it feels like a mission.' When Sankey became the first Labour majority leader in 2023, she was presented with 18 whistleblower accounts from the Hollingdean depot. Six months later, Aileen McColgan KC, whom she commissioned to investigate, published an explosive report. More than 70 witnesses gave 'appalling accounts' of a 'toxic' workplace where shouting, threats of violence, and sexual and racial harassment were endemic. Managers said they were called, among other things, 'a bunch of wankers' and 'effing cunts' and subject to threats of stabbing. Those accused were either GMB reps or among 'a group of around 10 white men' protected by them. The report sparked a search of GMB's office at the depot, where a stash of weapons, including nunchucks, baseball bats, knives and a samurai sword were found. Managers told McColgan that 'everything' had to be run by the union to avert strike threats and that politicians who had received GMB funding sat on appeal panels and would 'unashamedly just reverse' decisions to dismiss GMB members who had been sacked for misconduct. McColgan found that managers and the council had been 'unable to respond appropriately to the behaviour [because] of the threat of industrial action and a (reasonably) anticipated absence of political support'. Politicians are now barred from dealing with appeals, says Sankey. Council leaders meet regularly with both GMB and Unison, another union with a presence in the depot. On a less significant but perhaps telling note, GMB union reps are no longer entitled to their own office or a parking space at the depot. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion When the McColgan report was published, GMB, whose general secretary, Gary Smith, cut his teeth as an organiser in Brighton, said the behaviours and language described in the report were 'unacceptable' and that the union was investigating and would face down 'discrimination and bad behaviour'. But GMB argued that the report contained unsupported statements, failed 'the basic test of fairness' and lacked the voices of those accused of misconduct. Some of those who worked at Hollingdean say they are still suffering the consequences of that period. 'It was horrific, like working in a minefield,' says Eleanor*, a former waste operative. After making a complaint, she says she was harassed to the point that she felt scared to leave her house and finally left her job and relocated. 'I was suicidal at one point, I wanted to walk into the sea,' she says. Ella*, a former manager at the Hollingdean depot, says part of her is still broken. 'It led me to leave my career utterly burned out and afraid,' she says. Since the publication of the McColgan report more than 40 people have left the service and missed collections were down by 90% in the four months after its publication – before the recent spike. Despite improvements at the depot, a small group are still using 'bully boy' tactics, says Sankey. She says that some instances of vehicle sabotage occurred after a now deleted post by the GMB Brighton Sussex branch in February last year, which warned that 'chaos is set to hit the city of Brighton'. At the time, GMB said the deleted tweets were under investigation, with a spokesperson adding: 'We wish to reassure the people of Brighton that this tweet does not reflect the views of the GMB union.' Sankey says she has had no response to a request for the results of that investigation. 'If by chaos that tweet meant putting staff lives at risk, then that is gangsterism, not trade unionism,' she says. GMB's regional secretary, Gavin Davies, says Sankey's comments are 'inflamatory', 'unhelpful', 'extremely disappointing' and 'very poorly timed'. Refuse workers need unions, he argues: 'They carry out a hard, dirty, dangerous job that we all rely on.' The union wants to 'forge a positive working relationship' with the council, he insists, but it is failing to engage with a multimillion-pound equal pay claim the union lodged last August. 'It's frustrating our attempts to work with the council on issues such as equal pay keep falling on deaf ears,' he says. Sankey is adamant that she is a full-throated trade unionist – she was a member of GMB but left after the McColgan report was published – and says the council will always look at claims and seek to work with recognised unions to resolve them. 'I'm a massive believer in the power of unions to protect the human rights and dignity of people at work,' she says. 'But unions are supposed to provide checks and balances and prevent abuses of power. They have to deal with people who abuse power and undermine the dignity and the safety of workers.' The last 18 months have been bumpy, she says, but she is determined to carry on. 'I will not stop until my staff are safe and our residents can rely on regular collections,' she says. Asked who will win the battle of the bins in Brighton, she doesn't hesitate: 'I will.' * Names have been changed.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Critical failings' at Highland home care service, says watchdog
The Care Inspectorate says vulnerable patients were put at "risk of harm" due to "critical failings" at NHS Highland's Care at Home service in Sutherland. Medication was administered incorrectly, with patients needs often neglected at a Highland care service, according to a new follows concerns raised last month by the watchdog. NHS Highland previously said it had developed an action plan that it is trying to implement as quickly as possible. It has been approached for further comment. The Care Inspectorate has issued the service with an improvement notice, with changes required or it would recommend the cancellation of the service's registration. In its new full report on the service, the watchdog said managers were warned about "unworkable rotas" which led to visits being missed and families not being staffing levels were also described by workers as a "nightmare", and inspectors said the needs of clients were often watchdog judged all elements of the service to be either unsatisfactory or weak. It said there had been "critical failings in leadership". Earlier this month, the GMB union said workers repeatedly warned Sutherland Care at Home Service managers that visits were being missed or cut short due to "understaffing and unrealistic schedules".
