Industry overview: Jobs deal at Goldsmiths University

Goldsmiths UCU union members fought for their jobs. They stand in solidarity with Unite union strikers (Photo: GoldsmithsUCU/ Twitter)

Workers at Goldsmiths University in south London are proud of their fight after the end of compulsory redundancies. They struck against bosses’ plans to cut around 133 jobs, and had planned an indefinite strike from 23 September. Marc Peacock, a Goldsmiths UCU union member, told Socialist Worker the result was “a victory”.

“Our department went on indefinite strike,” he said. “This was all about increasing leverage and putting real pressure on the university management and bringing them back to the negotiating table.” They managed to save a number of jobs from redundancies.

Around 65 workers accepted a comprehensive redundancy package and a number of others were re-employed. Union activists at Goldsmiths have long been under attack from college bosses seeking to cut jobs and threaten courses. But, says Marc, one key concession workers have won is a guarantee from bosses that they will not make any more redundancies next year.

“This gives us the opportunity to build the union and get the message out that we are capable of protecting some jobs,” he said. “So the next round we will be in a better position.” Goldsmiths is an institution with a long tradition of delivering specialist courses on oppressed groups.

And while the dispute is over (for now), the boycott of the markers is still having an impact. Workers who accepted redundancies “took their markers with them,” Marc says, giving the union room to negotiate terms to address the marker backlog.

Backroom fights over sick pay and recognition

Waste workers for Redbridge Civic Services (RCS) in east London were due to strike for two weeks, from Thursday this week until 5 September. After the strike was called, RCS offered workers a new deal, which included an increase in sick pay from the current ten days to two months.

It is still less than the six months sick pay that other Redbridge Council workers get. The deal also includes reduced hours without loss of pay, and workers will also be paid overtime after 37.5 hours. Workers are currently voting on the deal. If they reject it, workers will still strike.

Workers previously went on strike for a week in early July during the election period. They face worse conditions than other council workers because RCS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the council. This means that waste workers working for RCS do not technically work for the council.

Workers consistently start and finish late because vehicles break down and are not repaired, and are forced to work extra hours without overtime pay. Some workers have died during the Covid pandemic, yet the workforce is still not receiving proper sick pay.

• Waste workers in Sheffield began an indefinite strike on Tuesday this week over union recognition. Nearly 100 waste workers at the Lumley Street depot are members of the Unite union.

Veolia refuses to recognise the union, even though Unite represents around 80 per cent of the depot’s workforce. Workers also walked out from 29 July to 2 August. Veolia claims the GMB union is the only recognised union at the workplace.

Unite is angry because it already has a national bargaining agreement with Veolia covering several depots. Without a recognition deal, Unite says it cannot properly negotiate on behalf of workers.

Healthcare workers on strike over wages

Around 200 social care support workers in Lancashire have been on strike for five days, ending last Tuesday. They are employed by Lancashire Council and also went on strike for four days at the end of July over pay scales. The workers, who are members of the Unison union, carry out adult social care assessments and arrange care packages for people with additional needs.

But they are being deployed in place of social workers without any higher pay. Staff shortages mean that the support workers are now regularly carrying out complex tasks, including supporting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual exploitation, and those suffering from self-neglect. The staff are on grade 6 of the council’s pay scale, but are keen to move up.

Welsh veterans suffer from low wages

Workers at private veterinary practice Valley Vets in South Wales are stepping up their strike action. They plan to strike from Friday this week until Saturday next week. Workers, including nurses, support staff and vets, have already been on strike from 16 July until 30 July.

The pay is so low that 80 percent of Unite union members regularly borrow money and five percent use food banks. The company only offers a pay rise of between one and 1.5 percent. Valley Vets is owned by VetPartners.

It posted a gross profit of £553m in 2023, up £120m on the previous year. It is also under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority for uncompetitive practices

Fight hard for equal pay

The GMB union has filed around 400 equal pay claims against Brighton and Hove City Council, alleging that workers in predominantly female roles have been “historically underpaid and are owed millions” in councils and schools. Women are paid an average of 7.2 per cent less than men.

Last year, the union Unison won an improved pay deal plus a settlement of up to £2,000 for around 800 mainly female workers at Brighton and Hove. The first tranche of claims has now been filed, with more to follow. The GMB should not shy away from fighting for equal pay