Fact Service March 2023

Issue 13: Union promises 130,000 strong walkout on 28 April Half of theatre staff considering leaving over audience behaviour Outrage over P&O Ferries owner’s freeport role Supermarket inflation at new record high Family incomes ‘knocked for six Bereaved families of health workers must apply right away for compensation Issue 12: Unexpected inflation rise will cause more food price misery Network rail strike is over Education unions call for inspection pause Stagnation has cost UK workers £11,000 a year Energy support drives UK borrowing to record highs Patients ‘skipping medicine because of cost’ Issue 11: ‘Budget of betrayal ignores elephant in room’ Slowing pay growth prolongs cost of living misery Equalities watchdog is latest body to question anti-strike bill ILO: key workers deserve better Union says security pact must lead to British jobs HSE launches campaign to tackle most dangerous sector Issue10: Firefighters call off strikes, ambulance workers pause theirs UK drops five places in women’s employment index Anti-strike bill likely to break human rights law New analysis of UK strikes Issue 9: Unions gather forces for 15 March Health unions slam solo talks Quarter of shoppers struggling as food prices hit new high Cuts of £1,000 per household ‘planned by 2027/28’ Raise pay and end strikes, says senior Tory TUC: employers claimed £26 billion in unpaid labour last year Arrest of union leaders ‘will hinder relief effort’

Issue 13

Union promises 130,000 strong walkout on 28 April (595 words)

The PCS union has announced that over 130,000 of its members in the civil service and public sector will strike on 28 April. ...
Subscribers only

Half of theatre staff considering leaving over audience behaviour (365 words)

Nearly half (45%) of theatre staff are considering quitting their jobs in response to assaults, sexual harassment and abuse by audience members, ...
Subscribers only

Outrage over P&O Ferries owner’s freeport role (104 words)

The TUC has described as “appalling” a decision to allow DP World, the owner of P&O Ferries, to co-run the Thames Freeport in Essex – just ...
Open access

Supermarket inflation at new record high (131 words)

Grocery price inflation in the UK has once again set a record high, adding £837 to annual household bills, according to market analysts Kantar. ...
Open access

Family incomes ‘knocked for six’ (506 words)

Family incomes that were protected by “unprecedented government support” during the Covid pandemic are falling sharply now according to the ...
Subscribers only

Bereaved families of health workers must apply right away for compensation (306 words)

Public services union UNISON is reminding people that millions of pounds of compensation promised to relatives of health and social care workers who ...
Subscribers only

Issue 12

Unexpected inflation rise will cause more food price misery (471 words)

Inflation rose in the 12 months to February, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show, confounding widespread forecasts that it would ...
Subscribers only

Network rail strike is over (781 words)

The RMT transport union has announced that its strike at Network Rail (NR) is over, after 20,000 members voted to accept a new offer covering pay, ...
Subscribers only

Education unions call for inspection pause (388 words)

Education unions are calling for all school inspections by Ofsted to be paused or the organisation itself to be replaced. ...
Subscribers only

Stagnation has cost UK workers £11,000 a year (237 words)

Fifteen years of economic stagnation have cheated British workers out of £11,000 a year according to the Resolution Foundation. ...
Open access

Energy support drives UK borrowing to record highs (144 words)

The cost of the energy support schemes helped drive government borrowing to a record high in February, its highest level for that month since records ...
Open access

Patients ‘skipping medicine because of cost’ (152 words)

Nearly one in 10 people have skipped taking medicine in the last year because they couldn’t afford the prescription charge, according to new ...
Open access

Issue 11

‘Budget of betrayal ignores elephant in room’ (601 words)

The Spring Budget, announced yesterday amid nationwide strikes, has been strongly criticised by unions who noted its failure to address ...
Subscribers only

Slowing pay growth prolongs cost of living misery (792 words)

UK pay growth slowed in the three months to January, once again failing to match the continuing high inflation underpinning the cost of living crisis. ...
Subscribers only

Equalities watchdog is latest body to question anti-strike bill (234 words)

Equalities watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has become the latest official body to question the legality of the proposed ...
Open access

ILO: key workers deserve better (241 words)

Countries need to improve the working conditions and earnings of the key workers who were so essential during the Covid crisis, a new report from ...
Open access

Union says security pact must lead to British jobs (140 words)

The GMB general union has said that the trilateral Aukus security pact between Australia, the US and UK must use British technology and guarantee ...
Open access

HSE launches campaign to tackle most dangerous sector (175 words)

Health and safety regulator the HSE is launching a campaign to reduce the loss of life from vehicle-related injuries in farming – the number one ...
Open access

Issue 10

Firefighters call off strikes, ambulance workers pause theirs (763 words)

Firefighters and control room staff across the UK have “overwhelmingly” accepted a new pay deal, with 96% of FBU members voting to accept an ...
Subscribers only

UK drops five places in women’s employment index (1,144 words)

The UK’s gender pay gap widened from 12% in 2020 to 14.4% in 2021, four times the OECD average increase, and part of an “absolute decline” in ...
Subscribers only

Anti-strike bill likely to break human rights law (231 words)

The government’s planned Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is flawed, needs to be reconsidered and is probably incompatible with the European ...
Open access

New analysis of UK strikes (178 words)

A survey of the impact of strikes in the UK by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found that 2,472 million working days were lost between ...
Open access

Issue 9

Unions gather forces for 15 March (443 words)

Unions are preparing for one of the largest days of coordinated action so far on Budget Day – 15 March. Following the mass strikes on 1 February, ...
Subscribers only

Health unions slam solo talks (404 words)

Thirteen health unions have described the government’s failure to hold pay talks with all organisations representing striking NHS workers in ...
Subscribers only

Quarter of shoppers struggling as food prices hit new high (439 words)

A quarter of British people say they are struggling financially as food price inflation hit 17.1% in the four weeks to 19 February, equivalent to an ...
Subscribers only

Cuts of £1,000 per household ‘planned by 2027/28’ (336 words)

The TUC is alleging that Rishi Sunak’s government has hidden forthcoming cuts to departmental budgets of £28 billion a year by 2027/28 – ...
Subscribers only

Raise pay and end strikes, says senior Tory (187 words)

The government needs to “get real” and raise public sector pay to end strikes, a Conservative peer has said. ...
Open access

TUC: employers claimed £26 billion in unpaid labour last year (289 words)

Vital rights to protect people against working time abuses are “hanging by a thread”, the TUC has said, as it announced that UK employers claimed ...
Subscribers only

Arrest of union leaders ‘will hinder relief effort’ (83 words)

European trade union confederation the ETUC has condemned the arrest of trade union leaders protesting in Turkey over reports that corruption was ...
Open access