Over the last few months, we've been raising concerns about worker surveillance technology and how it is on the rise – often without workers being aware. This week, we got the clearest indication yet that it is going mainstream. We learned that the Productivity Score feature in Microsoft’s Office 365 allows employers to monitor their staff: looking at how many emails you have sent, how many meetings you've attended and how often you interact with colleagues on instant messaging. This kind of surveillance is an intrusion on our privacy and is deeply troubling for productivity, with workers feeling they are being watched, and others able to game the system. With many people working from home, at least some of the time, this is putting monitoring into our homes, blurring the line between our work and private lives. Workers need to be consulted when new technology is used. We need guarantees about what monitoring is going on, and how. We are calling on employers to consult workers before any monitoring software is used (this is the law in our view) and for Microsoft to disable this feature by default – and we need your help

In July 2020 QUB Management took the decision to remove dozens of workers in the Students' Union from the income supports provided by the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS). This decision was taken with next to no consultation and has left hardworking employees with no income. The decision from the university to end payments appears to us on the surface, to be premature and based solely on saving costs as the government required further employer contributions from the beginning of August. For many of us, this loss of income has had a substantial financial impact, leaving us unable to afford essentials such as food, housing, electricity and gas. Not all workers are students and are ineligible for student supports or for state benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance whilst still formally employed. Those who are full-time students are ineligible for any state support at present. Recently, the government has announced further plans to aid employers and workers in this time of economic uncertainty, particularly those affected by necessary closures and restrictions on operations to control the spread of COVID. The government has announced that there is no shortage to the funds available in order to secure ongoing employment for workers during the pandemic. Further, Queen's University has no shortage of funds to support their hardworking staff throughout a crisis. Without our efforts, the Speakeasy and other SU facilities would not run. We contribute so much to the student experience and in return, we are asking for the university to provide us with a basic income, give us some job & financial security and afford us the respect that we deserve.

An estimated 400,000 seafarers from across the globe are stranded on ships, continuing to work but unable to be relieved, in a crew change crisis which threatens trade and maritime safety. Some seafarers have now been at sea for 17 months without a break. An equivalent number have been unable to join their ships to work, and many have not been able to claim any government financial support.

The British aviation industry is in crisis. The dramatic decline in the numbers of people travelling because of Covid-19 has been devastating for the industry. Airports and airlines continue to haemorrhage the costs of maintaining and operating their runways and fleets, with no income in sight. Aviation workers deserve a government lifeline. They are a highly skilled, highly trained workforce that will be vital to the nation’s Covid response and recovery. Urgent Government support is needed for nearly one million people who are employed in this sector, from pilots, to cabin crew to ground staff, air traffic controllers, engineers, fire crew, security, caterers and cleaners. Aviation workers urgently need a dedicated package of support to protect their livelihoods before it’s too late. We also need a clear, coordinated Government policy for a greener recovery that involves the views of both workers and trades unions. At a time of continuing uncertainty about the regulation of the industry, post-Brexit, it is essential that the response to the pandemic does not leave aviation businesses in a worse position to compete in a new trading environment. Only a coordinated, clear plan based on a dedicated relief package to protect livelihoods will give aviation workers the stability they need through this crisis.

Taxi drivers differ from the wider self-employed workforce, in that there has been no real reprieve even when local and national lockdowns are ceased. The trade heavily relies on other sectors, in particular the hospitality industry. Any lingering restrictions on these sectors leaves a devastating impact on earning opportunities for taxi drivers. While other sectors have been able to view the ceasing of lockdowns and easing of restrictions as an opportunity to regroup, this has not been the case for the taxi trade. For those that work in the trade the downturn has been consistent since March. A greater acknowledgement of the unique impact on the taxi trade is required from government, to ensure that these people are not forgotten about. Please sign the petition and join our call for the Welsh Government to step up and provide the additional financial support that our taxi drivers desperately require during these difficult times.

The overnight Caledonian Sleeper services run between London and Scotland with staff working 15 hour shifts on average. Work related fatigue is widespread amongst Caledonian Sleeper staff. Fatigue is a serious issue which can cause long-term health effects, including depression and anxiety, headaches and digestive problems and risks passenger and staff safety. Even a risk assessment commissioned by Serco found that staff fatigue was a significant problem that the employer needed to address. RMT believes that a key cause of staff fatigue is a lack of berths (cabins) for staff rest periods. For months, RMT has been seeking to engage with Serco to agree a resolution to these issues. Yet, Serco has shown a complete lack of willingness to act on this issue. RMT also believes that the staff fatigue has been compounded by the additional pressures of Covid-19. In an attempt to negotiate a safe and fair resolution to this dispute, RMT has suggested that Serco temporarily make an additional two berths available for staff rest periods, which would bring the total number of berths available for this purpose to three, with the aim of reducing staff fatigue, and suggests that this arrangement would be reviewed every twelve weeks or sooner, in light of Covid-19. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the Serco Caledonian Sleeper franchise is being funded with public money, in the form of an Emergency Measures Agreement. Yet, Transport Scotland has, so far, refused to intervene on this matter, even though millions of pounds of public money is being used to prop up Serco Caledonian Sleeper. RMT members took part in industrial action in October 2020 in defense of staff and passenger safety and further industrial action is scheduled for December 2020. Unfortunately, RMT believes that there is no willingness on the part of either Serco or Transport Scotland to resolve this dispute. Yet, RMT is demanding nothing more than a safe working environment for all of Serco Caledonian Sleeper’s hardworking employees and a safe environment for passengers. Therefore, RMT is calling on Transport Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson MSP to immediately intervene and instruct Serco to settle this dispute. Please show your support by signing this petition and supporting staff safety on the Caledonian Sleeper.

The future of the creative industries relies on immediate government action to support all of it’s workers. But current government schemes mean creative workers 60 and over can not get the insurance they need to safely return to work. If older workers in creative industries cannot return to, they will not only be excluded from work - but the entire sector will suffer. The experience and talent of older workers cannot be replaced, and is central to the recovery of the industry.

For those who do qualify, the current payment of £95.85 a week is not enough to pay the bills. 4 in 10 workers would be forced into financial hardship. At a time of skyrocketing cases, fixing statutory sick pay can prevent the spread of the virus and ensure millions can get paid to quarantine safely at home. No one who self-isolates should worry about putting food on the table. No one should feel forced to go to work instead of recovering from the virus. Everyone has the right to decent sick pay.

With the Job Retention Scheme coming to an end in a matter of days alongside another closure of our industry, we are demanding that Stormont, Westminster and unscrupulous employers own up to their criminal mismanagement of this pandemic and stop throwing hospitality workers under the bus to cover for their mistakes. Public health should come before all else. Any restrictions should be clear, consistent and evidence-based - rather than half-baked. When closures are announced, supports must be put in place for workers before they are implemented. Our livelihoods are at risk not only as a result of restrictions but because widespread use of precarious and zero-hour contracts and the limited employment rights they bestow upon us. Hospitality workers were laid off in our thousands at the first sign of crisis. We were then rehired on 80% of our wage, just to now be kicked on the dump heap once more. More and more employers are engaging in knee-jerk redundancies and plans to fire and rehire workers to degrade their employment rights and entitlements. Reports from our Trade Unions and the Low Pay Commission already demonstrated how the current minimum wage amounts to an inescapable cycle of poverty. Even before Covid, hospitality workers were speaking out about their struggles to make ends meet. Then, we were expected to get by on only 80% of that measly amount. Now, we are somehow expected to survive on only 67% or 73%. For some, that is as low as £4.30 per hour. This is not good enough - our landlords won't accept two-thirds of our rent, and our electricity providers accept us only paying 67% of our bills. With the winter coming in many of us may now have to make the call; do I pay the bills, heat the house, or have a Christmas? Let’s face the facts: workers in the industry can't survive without being guaranteed 100% of our wages. Without such a guarantee, the industry will rapidly haemorrhage incredibly talented and highly skilled workers who will be forced to look for work in other industries. Unite the Union estimates that while one in eight jobs in the sector have already been lost; one in six of those who remain could lose their jobs in the next six months as businesses warn of up to 40,000 job losses as they are set to fail given lockdown measures and further restrictions on the hospitality sector. Whilst hospitality workers understand that this pandemic needs urgent action to prevent transmission spiralling out of control, our jobs and livelihoods should not be sacrificed in order to do so. Politicians at Stormont have frequently expressed how important the hospitality and tourism sector is to the Northern Irish Economy. Now it is time for them to put their money where their mouth is and provide support for us after we have been providing for everyone else for so long. We have kept key workers fed and watered throughout these tough months - we put ourselves on the line so others could enjoy moments of respite in our bars, cafes and restaurants - and we have time and time again given up our own holidays to make yours special. All we are asking for in return is an income we can survive on, and working conditions that ensure our future stability. Please sign this petition and support workers in hospitality & tourism.

The staff at the Avanti Customer Resolution Centre in Birmingham deal with all levels of customer queries and complaints, and play a vital role in providing a high level of service for passengers. Avanti West Coast is proposing to remove the customer resolution team from Birmingham and relocate it to a contact centre in Sheffield, overseen by the parent company First Group, a distance of around 90 miles. The large distance between the two venues makes it unlikely that staff will be able to transfer to the new location, and 60 posts are at risk of redundancy. These job losses will be damaging to the local economy in Birmingham, particularly at the current time of economic uncertainty. RMT firmly believes that the jobs should continue to be carried out from Birmingham and the proposals are merely a cost cutting measure by the parent company First Group. Since March 2020, Avanti West Coast has been in receipt of a large amount of public funding, originally via an Emergency Measures Agreement (EMA) for six months, and now via an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA). RMT is demanding that Avanti West Coast withdraw its proposals and instead commit to protecting all existing jobs at the Customer Resolution Centre in Birmingham. RMT is also calling on the Government to ensure that all future funding for Avanti West Coast, via its ERMA, is dependent on retaining all customer resolution jobs in Birmingham, on a permanent basis.

The Sheffield City Region is the ‘low pay capital’ of the UK and has consistently ranked highly on COVID infection-rate charts. Now on the brink of a local lockdown, the lives of low wage workers in the city are in turmoil. This pandemic has shone a light on the people who really keep Sheffield going. It isn’t the billionaires, the bankers or the CEOs. It’s the healthcare workers, the carers, the cleaners, the transport workers, the refuse collectors and the fast food workers who feed people. The working class people struggling to get by. Working conditions in these industries are deteriorating quickly - adequate PPE is not available and social distancing is impossible. Fast food restaurants, shops and distribution warehouses are becoming epicentres for continuing the spread of the virus, resulting in multiple serious workplace outbreaks. If low wage workers have to self-isolate, most are forced to rely on Statutory Sick Pay, which is only £95.85 a week. Some won’t even receive that. Employers are risking the health of our communities by putting workers in the impossible position of choosing between health and paying the bills. Global corporations like McDonald’s and Amazon have the money to protect workers - but they choose to pay billions in dividends to shareholders instead.

I saw first-hand the difference union learning made for hundreds of my workmates and friends. So when I heard the news that the government planned to cut the Union Learning Fund, I was devastated. I thought of everyone I’d supported as a union learning rep and what they would have missed out on without this programme. I thought of the workers getting our country through this crisis, who deserve an opportunity to access education and learn new skills in the workplace. It’s impossible to list all of the benefits of union learning I’ve seen, but I can honestly say it’s changed lives. Our training around mental health helped normalise talking about it at work. People who missed out at school learned English and maths in union learning courses, skills they’ll have for life. And those who came to learning centres and engaged in courses came back over and over again, earning apprenticeships and higher qualifications. And independent reviews have consistently found union learning to be effective and transformational for the workers who take part, their families, and communities. The government must reverse its decision immediately.