Latest news with #Unite
Daily Record
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Dumfries and Galloway Scottish Water staff start week-long strike action
Members of three unions downed tools this morning with the walk out set to continue until Sunday. Staff at Scottish Water in Dumfries and Galloway have started seven days of strike action. The walk out comes after the latest pay deal was rejected by staff. The industrial action, which involves workers in the Unite, Unison and GMB Scotland unions, started on Monday and will continue until Sunday. Workers also downed tools in April. Unison Scottish Water branch secretary, Patricia McArthur, said: 'Staff are extremely frustrated. They deserve better than game-playing by senior Scottish Water managers. 'The company seems more interested in spending public money on anti-union tactics than in finding a solution to this pay dispute. 'Its managers proposed a possible pay offer, but then retracting it, only to come up with something much worse.' Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, added: 'Scottish Water executives are short-changing their workers and the Scottish people while they laugh all the way to the bank with their eye-watering pay packages. "Our members will not be forced into accepting a pay offer which has barely moved an inch since October last year." 'Unite continues to stand with our members in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions at Scottish Water.' Scottish Water's chief operating officer Peter Farrer said: 'This week's industrial action is unnecessary. It will mean union members losing valuable wages and add extra costs to the business which are ultimately paid for by customers. 'We invited the joint trade unions to talk over the weekend but unfortunately they refused to meet without preconditions. 'Given how close the vote against our latest pay offer was, we felt a resolution was possible and would be welcomed by all our colleagues. 'It is now time for the joint trade union leadership to return to the table with a sensible solution that ends this dispute. 'In the meantime, we have robust plans in place to maintain essential services should the trade unions press ahead with their strike action.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Vodafone vows to invest more than £1bn in a year as it seals Three UK merger
Vodafone has promised to invest more than £1bn in expanding its network coverage in the next year, as it sealed a £16.5bn merger with its former mobile rival Three UK. The new business, named VodafoneThree, will invest £11bn in its coverage over the next decade, in line with commitments agreed with the UK competition regulator last year. It will invest £1.3bn in capital expenditure projects in its first year, the company said on Monday. The merger between Vodafone's domestic business and Three UK, which was first announced in 2023, represents the biggest shake-up in years in the British telecoms industry. It reduces the four main network operators to just three, alongside BT/EE and Virgin Media 02. The merger of the UK's third and fourth biggest operators will create a network with more than 27 million subscribers. While the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initially warned that millions of customers could face higher bills as a result of the merger, it gave the deal the green light last year, subject to a set of legally binding commitments. The regulator dictated that the new company must spend £11bn on upgrading its combined network and commit to retaining certain existing mobile tariffs and data plans for at least three years, including on sub-brands. It also said the company must promise to upgrade 5G coverage and offer short-term customer protections against price rises. The Unite union had warned that the merger could lead to up to 1,600 job losses. However, Vodafone has rejected the figure, and said that the deal will ultimately lead to more jobs being created. VodafoneThree said the first year of its capital expenditure project will involve bringing in technology to enable 'multi operator core network (MOCN) functionality', which allows customers to access the other operator's network. The Vodafone group owns 51% of the new company, while Three UK's previously sole owner CK Hutchinson owns 49%. Margherita Della Valle, the Vodafone chief executive, said the merger will create a 'new force in UK mobile' and 'transform the country's digital infrastructure'. 'We are now eager to kick off our network build and rapidly bring customers greater coverage and superior network quality. The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition we are now well-positioned for growth ahead,' she added. Della Vale, who became chief executive in 2023, has been tasked with reviving the fortunes of the FTSE 100 company. She has now secured three big deals in the highly regulated industry in less than two years; the VodafoneThree merger follows the sale of two struggling businesses in Spain and Italy.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Scottish Water staff to hold third strike over pay
Scottish Water workers are going on strike again after rejecting the company's latest pay of three unions - the GMB, Unite and Unison - will walk out for seven days until Sunday, following strikes in March and have again been offered a 3.4% pay increase, which unions say falls short of what other public sector workers in Scotland have Water said the offer was "comfortably" above inflation and there was no need for the strike to go ahead. It initially offered workers a basic pay rise of 3.4% or £1,050 for those on the lowest after a 24-hour strike in March and two strike days in April, the offer was changed to 2.8%.A further walk-out was due to be held earlier in May, though this was paused when pay talks resumed to allow workers to consider the latest 51% of Unison workers voted to reject the pay offer and 49% voted to accept. The turnout was 86%.GMB said 60% of its members voted against the offer, and 40% chose to accept, on a turnout of 78%.Unite's statistics were not available. 'Game-playing' claim Unison's Scottish Water branch secretary Patricia McArthur said that staff were "extremely frustrated" and accused management of "game-playing".She said: "The company seems more interested in spending public money on anti-union tactics than in finding a solution to this pay dispute."Its managers proposed a possible pay offer, but then retracting it, only to come up with something much worse."The upcoming strikes are expected to disrupt emergency repairs, testing and maintenance, though Scottish Water said "robust" plans were in place to maintain essential services.A joint union demonstration will take place outside Scottish Water's Shieldhall offices in Glasgow on operating officer Peter Farrer said: "It is now time for the unions to come forward with a proposal that is fair for workers, customers, and the future of the business."He said it was in everyone's interests to avoid the strike, adding that workers would lose wages and the service would be put under "unnecessary pressure".
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bin strike deal offer watered down, says union
A deal offered to striking bin workers in Birmingham has been watered down, their union claims. Unite has called for further negotiations with the city council after a "ball park" proposal discussed at talks with conciliation service Acas had been revised "by government commissioners and the council leader". An all-out strike in the city is now in its third month, after staff walked out on 11 March over plans to downgrade some roles, which the union says could cost workers £8,000 a year. Birmingham City Council has been approached for a response over the current deal it is offering. Talks between the Labour-run council and Unite have been taking place with the conciliation service since the start of May, after previous negotiations to resolve the strike ended without a solution. The union's latest statement accuses the authority of missing deadlines on the proposals which had been tabled on Friday evening. "After weeks and weeks of saying one thing in public and another to workers, the government commissioners finally allow a proposal to be put on the table," said Unite's General Secretary Sharon Graham. She said the offer had been watered down by the council leader and government commissioners "who were not in the negotiating room". Ms Graham said the offer would be discussed with reps over the weekend and a detailed response would be issued ahead of a reconvened Acas meeting. "The actual decision makers now need to be in the room at the further ACAS talks," she said. A court order preventing striking workers from delaying bin lorries leaving depots in the city will continue indefinitely, it was confirmed on Thursday. The union said it was preparing to challenge the injunction, but said it agreed to abide by the law on picketing. On 23 May, when the injunction was granted, the city council said disruption at depots had led to a backlog of up to 12,800 tonnes of waste. Police recently scaled down their presence on picket lines, where they had been helping to ensure bin trucks could get out of the depots, to prevent waste piling up on city streets. The West Midlands force withdrew after stating the issues did "not meet the threshold" to impose powers under Section 14 of the Public Order Act. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Bin strike picket court order to continue indefinitely Council gets court order over bin lorry blocking Union blames council for lack of bin strike deal Why are Birmingham bin workers on strike? Birmingham City Council Unite the Union
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Birmingham bin strike deal offer was watered down, says union
A deal offered to striking bin workers in Birmingham has been watered down, their union has called for further negotiations with the city council after a "ball park" proposal discussed at talks with conciliation service Acas had been revised "by government commissioners and the council leader".An all-out strike in the city is now in its third month, after staff walked out on 11 March over plans to downgrade some roles, which the union says could cost workers £8,000 a City Council has been approached for a response over the current deal it is offering. Talks between the Labour-run council and Unite have been taking place with the conciliation service since the start of May, after previous negotiations to resolve the strike ended without a union's latest statement accuses the authority of missing deadlines on the proposals which had been tabled on Friday evening. "After weeks and weeks of saying one thing in public and another to workers, the government commissioners finally allow a proposal to be put on the table," said Unite's General Secretary Sharon Graham. She said the offer had been watered down by the council leader and government commissioners "who were not in the negotiating room". The union leader said the offer would be discussed with reps over the weekend and a detailed response would be issued ahead of a reconvened Acas meeting. "The actual decision makers now need to be in the room at the further ACAS talks," she said. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
