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1.Increasing minimum wage to £10 an hour would give over 170,000 childcare workers a pay rise, says TUC

Increasing the national minimum wage to £10 an hour would give around 173,000 childcare workers a pay rise, according to new analysis published by the TUC today.

The research shows that women and younger childcare workers across the UK would gain the most from an increase in the minimum wage.

Around 160,000 (93 per cent) of those who would benefit are women. And almost half (46 per cent) are aged between 18 and 24 years old.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Every worker should be paid a living wage – not least when they are looking after our precious children and grandchildren.

“Poverty pay in childcare is a disgrace – especially when parents are struggling to pay huge costs.

“Good quality, affordable childcare is vital for our economic recovery after the pandemic. Ministers need to fund childcare properly to lift wages and support working parents.

2. GMB demand that outsourced hospital workers be brought back into NHS at Croydon Hospital

GMB, the union for NHS workers are demanding that their members working as cleaners and porters at Croydon Hospital be brought back in-house to be once again directly employed by the NHS Trust.

Union members at the hospital are furious at their treatment by their outsourced employer G4S, which includes not being paid the London Living Wage or full occupational sick pay, which are contract terms and conditions enjoyed by NHS workers at the hospital site.

Following on from a successful demonstration outside the hospital on 31st January, the members have asked to be balloted for strike action to improve their pay and contract terms.

Helen O’Connor, GMB Organiser said: “Our portering and cleaning members working at Croydon University Hospital have experienced the harsh reality of being outsourced first-hand. These private contracts in the NHS are run like the Wild West with few rules or structures and our members have had enough.

“The members are simply sick and tired of being bullied and denied the most basic entitlements to occupational sick pay and decent wages. They have had enough of the intimidation they experience from G4S managers who remove overtime if they raise legitimate concerns.”

3. Migrant Cleaners at London Bridge Hospital Whistleblow on Covid Safety Violations

Outsourced migrant workers from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) who clean at London Bridge Hospital have launchd a campaign for fair pay and equality. They also report endemic bullying, harassment and a slew of serious health and safety violations over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign targets their employers, Compass Group and London Bridge Hospital, a private hospital owned by the world’s largest healthcare multinational Health Corporation of America (HCA) Healthcare. During the pandemic, HCA Healthcare generated $51.5 billion in 2020 alone and claimed £3 million under the furlough scheme but was also paid an additional £190 million by the NHS which it is now being asked to repay. Meanwhile, profit margins for its US parent company soared nearly 40 per cent to £7 billion. Outsourced cleaners at London Bridge Hospital are paid £9.36 per hour.

Cleaners say that they are instructed to clean Covid wards without adequate training, prior warning of contamination risk, PPE, or uniforms. They are given no time to wash before going on to cleaning wards with other patients. Several workers contracted covid during the pandemic and were forced to isolate without pay.

Cleaners are demanding that London Bridge Hospital immediately address health and safety concerns, end the culture of bullying and overwork, pay £12.50/hr with the same terms and conditions as directly-employed staff.

4. Unite secures bumper pay deal for BMW Mini workers in Oxford

Unite has secured a multi-year pay deal for 3,500 workers based at BMW’s Mini production plant in Cowley, Oxford.

The three year pay deal is worth at least 26.1 per cent to the workers when all its elements are factored in.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a great deal, which Unite members at BMW in Oxford have won to provide stability and assurance for the workforce over the next three years.

“Unite is dedicated to defending and improving the jobs, pay and conditions of its members. I hope this deal will help lead to further substantial pay increases throughout the automotive sector.”

5. Scottish Tory MPs challenged over deafening silence on Boris Johnson

The SNP has accused Scottish Tory MPs of “putting their own career prospects ahead of the interests of their constituents”, as pressure mounts on them to end their deafening silence over the misconduct of Boris Johnson.

It comes after the five Scottish Tory MPs have still refused to publicly back their Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and have failed to publicly state if they have submitted no confidence letters in the Prime Minister.

Commenting, SNP MP Pete Wishart said: “The silence from the feeble five Scottish Tory MPs over the misconduct from Boris Johnson is deafening.

“Instead of backing their Scottish Tory leader and calling for Johnson to resign over his boozy rule-breaking, the Scottish Tory MPs are in hiding in the desperate hope that their Westminster bosses might give them a promotion if they remain loyal.”

6. Pensions hike could be ‘a step too far’ for many NHS staff, says UNISON

UNISON has warned that government that changes to NHS pensions, which will result in many health workers paying more towards their retirement, is a step too far.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “Asking ​many ​demoralised NHS staff to shell out more ​for their pensions could prove a step too far.

“Even though the changes won’t kick in until later in the year, the cost of living crisis will be far from over by the autumn. ​

“Top earners in the NHS will be quids in under the changes. Part-time staff will end up paying less too, but the majority of full-time employees will be worse off. Some significantly so.

“The government must get behind an inflation-busting wage rise for NHS workers to soften the blow, or many will walk.

“With many health workers close to the age they can start claiming their pensions, this is a real possibility. Then the NHS, which is already thousands of staff short, really could be in trouble.”

7. Gordon Brown warns of unjustified “Covid complacency” and $16bn gap in vaccine and treatment regime

“People have become complacent about Covid. Our global (health) funds are fast running out of money. Vaccine inequity is getting worse,” former prime minister Gordon Brown has warned.

Appearing on Oxfam’s EQUALS podcast, Brown said that “we must alert the conscience of the world” to act given the high possibility of more lethal variants “coming back to haunt even those who are fully vaccinated. We may feel safe, but we are not safe, as long as the disease can spread and mutate”.

Brown, who was appointed in 2021 as World Health Organization (WHO) Ambassador for Global Health Financing and is a member of the Club de Madrid forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers, spoke of rich countries approach to tackling Covid so far as being an ethical, economic and epidemiological failure. He warned that the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) – the WHO’s initiative to coordinate the fastest health response out of the crisis – currently has a $16 billion funding hole. Brown spoke of only “weeks” left to resolve this.

Brown said it was “short-sighted to take such a narrow view of national self-interest” for rich countries to vaccinate only their own citizens in prolonging a mutating crisis that could cost them $5 trillion in loss of trade, economic activities, companies going bust and jobs lost.

8. Hospital workers protest after being offered loans instead of wages owed

Workers at St George’s Hospital are to stage a protest after bosses offered to loan them money rather than pay them the wages they are owed.

GMB members employed by Mitie as hostesses and cleaners are angry the outsourcing giant are changing their pay cycles, meaning they will miss two pay dates in April as they move from weekly or two-weekly pay to monthly pay.  

Since the workers will now be forced to wait until 11th May for their wages, managers have offered bridging loans to cover the changes. 

Helen O’Connor, GMB Regional Organiser, said: “Mitie already changed the pay cycle at this site three years ago and workers are angry they are messing around with their pay yet again. They know this will create even more chaos and hardship for themselves and their families.  

“The workers are due two pay cheques in April which are now being scrapped – Mitie is offering bridging loans instead.  

“These are low paid workers, often living hand to mouth, who kept the hospital running during the pandemic.”

9.  Union members can earn up to £60k more than non-union workers over their working life

New analysis published by the TUC shows that union members could earn up to £60,000 more than non-union members over their working lives.

Unionised workers are paid on average five per cent more than other similar workers. The TUC says that this is down to the better bargaining power that working people have when they organise  together in a union – which means they can win higher pay.

Based on average pay, the typical union pay premium is to £12,800 over a decade.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Gradysaid: “Union members get paid more than similar workers who aren’t in a union. With fuel bills rocketing, the cost of living going up every month but pay at a standstill, Britain needs a pay rise. 

“That’s why we’re saying to every worker: get together with your workmates and join a union.”

10. Ban polluting single-use plastics now, public tells government

More than 100,000 people have called on the government to ban the most polluting single-use plastic items, such as plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene food packaging. The call comes as public pressure builds on Environment Secretary George Eustice to be quicker and more ambitious in tackling plastic pollution once and for all.

A petition with 117,000 signatures was handed into Downing Street last week, ahead of the government closing its consultation on banning common single-use items. The campaigners carried eye-catching placards and giant cutlery props with the wording ‘For Fork’s Sake’ and ‘Cut the Cutlery’.

A staggering 51,000 members of the public have participated in the consultation, with the help of plastic pollution campaigners City to Sea and campaign group 38 Degrees.

The vast majority of respondents back a ban on all the items being considered – such as cutlery, plates and polystyrene food containers – with support at 96% or above across the board.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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