Latest news with #trade union
Sky News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike
Labour's largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row. Members of the trade union, one of the UK's largest, also "overwhelmingly" voted to "re-examine its relationship" with Labour over the issue. They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council's leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for "bringing the union into disrepute". There was confusion over Ms Rayner's membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended. But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament's latest register of interests had her down as a member in May. The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday. Unite is one of the Labour Party's largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 - the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual. The union condemned Birmingham's Labour council and the government for "attacking the bin workers". Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made. 2:58 Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for "effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000", the union added. 'Missing in action' General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: "Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table." She had earlier said: "Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette. "Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts. "The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises. "People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers." Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said the government's "priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham". He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had "caused disruption" to the city. "We've worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council [...] as we support its recovery," he added. A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ministers ‘have their fingers in their ears' over bin strikes, says Sharon Graham
Ministers 'have their fingers in their ears' over the ongoing Birmingham bin strikes, the boss of one of Britain's biggest unions has said. The prime minister and Angela Rayner must 'get in the room, sort it out and stop letting this continue for no reason,' Sharon Graham warned. The outspoken Unite chief said she is not the prime minister's ' favourite trade union leader … probably because I call things out'. But, with the bin strikes running since January, Ms Graham called for the prime minister and his deputy to resolve the dispute. The strikes have resulted in huge piles of rubbish across Birmingham as well as rat infestations and unsanitary conditions. The left-winger has been increasingly critical of Labour 's time in government in recent weeks, and Unite is reexamining its relationship with the Labour party, with disaffiliation a real prospect. The union also took the incendiary step this month of voting to suspend Ms Rayner's membership over the strikes, with Ms Graham accusing her of failing to back workers. Ms Rayner had resigned her membership some months earlier. 'Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute, but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts,' Ms Graham said this month. And, doubling down in an interview with The Times, she called for a major change of course from Labour. 'People were voting for hope,' she said after Labour's first year in power. 'They are not voting for despair, are they?' Ms Graham said she has been 'in more government rooms than I've had hot dinners in the last year', but that 'getting a hearing and being listened to are two very different things'. She warned that if Sir Keir and Ms Rayner keep 'attacking workers' then she would be happy to pull the union's backing of Labour - which would deal a major financial blow to the party. 'Is there something to be said for an authentic voice for workers, independent, strong unions, where your first, second and third priority is the workers?' she told The Times. She added that, if Unite had voted on whether to abandon its link to Labour, it would have passed 'without a shadow of a doubt'. But, with hopes her pressure on the party will force a rethink in Downing Street, she said 'we've got time to recoup this'. 'They've been in for a year. They've made some errors but there's no point going further and faster when you're heading for a cliff. They have time to address some of this stuff, but they're going to have to move fast,' Ms Graham said. She added: 'I think if we're here at the end of next year in the same position, I think there's a real problem.' Ms Graham was also a vocal critic of the government's decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. Despite the U-turn, she said there are older people who will now never vote Labour again. A Labour Party Spokesperson said: "The Labour Government has introduced the biggest upgrade in workers' rights in a generation to address low pay, insecure work, and poor working conditions, which will benefit 15 million workers across the country. Only Labour is delivering the change working people voted for and so deserve."
The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Nurse at centre of gender storm takes action against union
A nurse at the centre of a gender dispute has announced she is taking legal action against her trade union. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job in 2024 after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave after a complaint of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation earlier this week. The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, in which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Saturday, the Herald reported that Ms Peggie had taken legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), claiming it failed to support her after her suspension, which the union denies. 'The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment,' Ms Peggie's lawyer Margaret Gribbon said in a statement. 'They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work. 'Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board.' The paper reported that Ms Peggie will be taking action for unlawful discrimination. An RCN spokesperson told the newspaper: 'We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Nurse at centre of gender storm takes action against union
A nurse at the centre of a gender dispute has announced she is taking legal action against her trade union. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job in 2024 after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave after a complaint of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation earlier this week. The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, in which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Saturday, the Herald reported that Ms Peggie had taken legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), claiming it failed to support her after her suspension, which the union denies. 'The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment,' Ms Peggie's lawyer Margaret Gribbon said in a statement. 'They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work. 'Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board.' The paper reported that Ms Peggie will be taking action for unlawful discrimination. An RCN spokesperson told the newspaper: 'We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie.'
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Huge crisis-hit car brand to shut its flagship factory with 2,400 workers in ‘tough but necessary decision'
A STRUGGLING car manufacturer is to shut its flagship factory which employs 2,400 workers, with its boss calling it a 'tough but necessary decision'. Vehicle production at Nissan's Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo, will end at the end of the 2027 fiscal year, in March 2028, the Japanese automaker said today. 2 After that, all models that had been made or scheduled for production at Oppama will be made at Nissan Motor Kyushu, in Fukuoka Prefecture. The Oppama plant has been a prized symbol for Nissan Motor Corp., which rolled out its Leaf electric car there in 2010, ahead of key rivals. Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa, who took on the job in April, said the decision was extremely difficult, calling the Oppama plant an icon for Nissan. He promised employees will be treated fairly and responsibly, with transfer offers to other locations, or other work in the area in consultation with the trade union. The plant now employs 2,400 people. 'I believe it's a vital step toward overcoming our current challenges and building a sustainable future,' he said. 'The world is changing by the minute,' he told reporters at a news conference at Nissan's Yokohama headquarters. Espinosa said the company was in talks on possibly selling the factory land, or using it for another purpose. He declined to give details. Even if a buyer is not found, the decision on ending production will not change, he added. The plant's closure was expected, as the maker of the Infiniti luxury models and March subcompact has said repeatedly that it is restructuring its operations to boost its profitability, including by consolidating production sites. Nissan says the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump have hurt its bottom line. Earlier this year, Nissan said it was slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, which would include a 9,000 head count reduction announced late last year, including in China. The company has been racking up losses, hurt by slipping vehicle sales in China and elsewhere, huge restructuring costs and ballooning inventories. Earlier this year, Nissan said it's reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17 to create a leaner, more resilient business. At that time, it didn't say which plants were being closed but confirmed the closures will include factories in Japan. It's also reducing production capacity to 2.5 million units from 3.5 million. The latest announcement concludes the production closures in Japan, according to Espinosa. Nissan racked up a loss of 670.9 billion yen (£3.36 billion) for the fiscal year through March, down from a 426.6 billion yen (£2.14 billion) profit recorded in the previous fiscal year. Espinosa replaced Makoto Uchida, who stepped down to take responsibility for the faltering results. 2
