Brighton University claims it respects the role of the recognised trade unions to represent and negotiate for its employees. But by attacking UCU reps, the University is declaring war on the union. They are clearly signalling that they no longer want to negotiate with union reps on equal terms. They want to create a climate in which staff are too fearful to stand up for themselves, let alone to stand for a union position. What could follow is the unilateral replacement of all the agreements governing lecturers’ and researchers’ terms and conditions with new arrangements imposed by them. Managers everywhere will be rubbing their hands with glee if they can get away with this here. The future of Brighton UCU is at stake. If we want our union membership to mean something concrete, we all need to defend union branches under attack. Our Vice Chancellor and her crew of lackeys would love nothing more than to decapitate our UCU branch. They want to rule through fear and intimidation with no resistance. We need to stand up in defence of our elected reps. Please sign our petition of support and ask your branch to donate to our hardship fund here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/brightonunistrike

Our buses are in crisis! Services slashed - routes continuously under threat with many communities left isolated, particularly in rural areas. Buses unreliable, poorly maintained and not environmentally friendly – often cancelled or late. Drivers recruitment, training and pay and conditions inadequate. Fares expensive and confusing CO2 emissions from use of private cars worsen climate chaos. Recent cuts in Government funding (which pays for ‘socially necessary’ services) will make the crisis even worse. We need guaranteed, adequate funding to make public transport the most attractive option for people when travelling. Our communities need this – and the climate crisis demands it! We need an end to privatisation where bus companies put profits before people. Franchising (as embraced by Greater Manchester) should be easier to implement as a first step towards a return to full public ownership of bus services.

Strathclyde is by far the most populous part of Scotland – home to 2.2 million people, with the largest number of bus users. Our expensive, unreliable and uncoordinated public transport network is holding us back – it’s a disaster for our economy, society and our environment. Transport is by far the biggest contributor to carbon emissions: mostly from private cars. The Scottish Government has set the target of reducing car miles by 20% by 2030.[5] Glasgow City Council also aims to have net-zero emissions by this date.[6] These pressing climate targets will be impossible to meet without a total transformation of our public transport network so that – no matter where you live in our region – you can get around easily without needing to own a car.[7] As Greater Manchester has clearly shown, this transformation can only be delivered by taking our buses back into public control. Better Buses for Strathclyde is supported by: https://betterbuses.bringbackbritishrail.org/strathclyde/petitionsupporters.png Govan Community Council Maryhill & Summerston Community Council Clydebank Trades Council Irvine Trades Council If you’re part of an organisation, group or Community Council that would like to support the campaign, please get in touch using the ‘Contact Campaign Creator’ link at the top of this petition. References: [1] March 2023, Scottish Transport Statistics, Transport Scotland https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-transport-statistics-2022/chapter-02-bus-and-coach-travel [2] The Bee Network, Transport for Greater Manchester https://tfgm.com/the-bee-network [3] About Us, Lothian Buses https://www.lothianbuses.com/about-us [4] June 2023, Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy & Delivery Plan – Award of Contract, SPT https://www.spt.co.uk/media/gr3hd3gj/sp090623_agenda7.pdf [5] January 2022, 20% reduction in car km by 2030, Transport Scotland https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/environment/20-reduction-in-car-km-by-2030 [6] June 2021, Glasgow’s Climate Plan passed unanimously at committee, Glasgow City Council https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=27218 [7] March 2021, Every Village, Every Hour, CPRE: The Countryside Charity https://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/every-village-every-hour-2021-buses-report-full-report

Until 1986, South Yorkshire was renowned for its cheap and reliable bus services. The result was simple: families didn't need a car. Since deregulation fares have risen, services have been cut, and reliability declined. The result: fewer job opportunities, restricted access to education and training, thousands of missed hospital appointments and reduced opportunities for leisure pursuits especially in the evenings and on Sundays. People with limited mobility are less likely to venture out. Young people are meeting virtually instead of in person and shrinking their horizons. The viability of businesses and communities is threatened. 30% of our population have no access to a private vehicle. If we are serious about levelling up, we must provide a reliable bus service. The climate emergency requires a major shift to public transport. Things must not continue on this downward spiral. Other city regions have received millions of pounds to protect and improve bus services. South Yorkshire received nothing. Westminster leaders have the money and power to make this happen. Please sign up to demand fair funding now.

Hundreds of nursing support staff at Mid Cheshire hospitals have been working above their pay grade for years. We are calling on their trust to pay them the wage they deserve and to award back-pay for years of underpayment.

Local government workers are providing vital public services that our communities rely on every single day. They are the key workers who kept the country going throughout the pandemic. Their value to our communities should be recognised by a pay offer that allows them to feed and clothe their families without having to resort to foodbanks or handouts. It is unacceptable council workers are bearing the brunt of the cuts to local government budgets!

Hundreds of nursing support staff at Warrington and Halton hospitals have been working above their pay grade for years. We are calling on their trust to pay them the wage they deserve and to award back-pay for years of underpayment.

The proposal would see the Zoom Beyond travel pass removed on the 1st November 2023. In just three months, they will take away the ability to afford mobility for thousands of young people in South Yorkshire. Almost 35000 people aged 18-21 use a Zoom Beyond pass in our region. In addition, the Board is planning to raise the concessionary fare from 80p per single journey to £1 per single journey in effect from the start of November. This would reduce the ability for so many children across the region to socialise, go to extracurricular clubs, and would most likely lead to a greater proportion of school students being driven to school in car - increasing congestion, air pollution and further contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. SYMCA is currently looking into a Franchised Bus model - taking power away from the executives of profit-driven private companies like Stagecoach and First and placing more of said power in the hands of the directly elected Mayor. The Trams in Sheffield are already being taken into Public Control (I.e., run directly by SYMCA, and therefore more easily scrutinised) this Autumn, and it is looking like the buses will eventually follow. Due to this, the Combined Authority should instead aim to inherit a bus service with concessionary fares it can be proud of! The budget meeting mentions that if the 80p fare had risen with cumulative inflation from its introduction in 2016, it would be £1.20. That is an exciting thing, though! Even if it draws less profit and costs more as a subsidy, it means that South Yorkshire has one of the lowest fares for those up to the age of 18 in the country, and the lowest fare in the country currently for those up to the age of 21! The neglect of public services in the North of England by the government is a parasite to our progress. Ignorance of the needs of those across South Yorkshire mustn't continue. We deserve a flourishing, integrated transport system - supporting everyone from Thorne to Stocksbridge; one that lends a hand to all young people wanting to study, work, go out, or get about for any reason. We should take pride in the fact we are giving our young people the greatest possible chance to succeed, and we must fight to keep it that way.

On 26 May, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) announced a programme of £11 million worth of cuts required in order for the Service to deliver a balanced budget for the 2023/24 financial year. These cuts impact communities across Scotland and include the ‘mothballing’ of ten wholetime fire appliances, the reduction of high reach appliances from 25 to 14, and the scrapping of the dedicated water rescue response covering the River Clyde. They will also see a further significant reduction in firefighter posts across Scotland. Worse yet, SFRS anticipate a further £25 million worth of savings will be needed to be found over the following three financial years up to 2026/27. SFRS have stated that these cuts are temporary, but without significant investment the FBU believe that these 200 firefighter posts and the removal of front line resources are likely to be permanent. The Fire Brigades Union is clear – these cuts will decimate the fire and rescue service in Scotland, undermining the credibility of SFRS as an effective emergency service protecting Scotland’s communities. Firefighters know that these cuts aren’t sustainable. They see the impact of underinvestment in their Service every day and the increased risk to the public as a result. That’s why the FBU has started the #CutsLeaveScars campaign to highlight to politicians and the public what the real impact of these enforced cuts will be. A DECADE OF UNDERINVESTMENT – A DECADE OF REAL TERMS CUTS Since the creation of SFRS on 1 April 2013 the fire and rescue service in Scotland has suffered tens of millions of pounds of real terms cuts. The plain facts are: • In 2012/13 the combined resource budget for the eight legacy fire and rescue services totalled £290.7 million. • The first year of SFRS saw this budget cut by £13.5 million to £277.2 million in 2013/14. • On 19 June 2023, the Minister for Victims and Community Safety confirmed that had the 2013/14 resource budget risen in line with inflation it would total £340.2 million in 2023/24 • The resource budget set for SFRS in 2023/24 is £308.6 million, a £31.6 million real terms cut over that ten year period. • However, using the 2012/13 resource budget figure of £290.7 million as a starting point the FBU calculate that an overall £56.8 million real terms cut has been inflicted upon SFRS over the last 11 years. • Indeed, using the Scottish Parliaments own SPICe calculator the SFRS 2023/24 resource budget would sit at £374.6 million – a £66 million real terms shortfall since 2012/13. The impact of sustained real terms budget cuts to SFRS over the last decade is clear. The service’s own statistics lay bare the reduction of over 1100 firefighter posts in Scotland since the creation of SFRS. The Service have been clear in their own budget forecasting of the impact of further projected cuts. Last October, in giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament Criminal Justice Committee, the SFRS Chief Fire Officer indicated that the impact of the resource based spending review could see the loss of a further 780 full time firefighter jobs and the removal of a further 30 fire appliances across Scotland by 2027. The impact of reduced firefighter numbers and restricted appliance availability have already impacted upon the viability of SFRS as an effective emergency service. From 2015/16 to 2020/21 response times to incidents increased by a full minute, from 7 to 8 minutes. Budget cuts = less firefighters = delayed response times = increased risk to public safety.

The position of a PFCC should be held by someone with integrity and who can make competent and professional decisions. The current PFCC is not that person. The PFCC is the governance of one of the most trusted and reliable workforces in the public’s time of need. The fire service, firefighters, and the public deserve better.

Add your name to this petition in support of Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Clinical Support Workers in their campaign for fair pay and recognition.

The state pension age is currently 66 years. It is due to rise to 67 from May 2026, and to 68 from May 2044. However, government ministers have been pushing for this timetable to be sped up, according to media reports. New research by Unite the Union has found that many workers feel they cannot continue working in key roles until state pension age. Over 10,000 Unite members across four key sectors took part in the survey: 86 per cent of health workers do not believe they can mentally continue to undertake their current roles beyond the age of 66, while 83 per cent of them could not physically continue in their roles beyond the same age. 75 per cent of construction workers stated they can’t work physically beyond 66, while 64 per cent said the mental demands of the job would become too much by 66 at the latest. 76 per cent of road haulage and warehouse workers said that they will not be able to physically work beyond 66, while 70 per cent said the mental demand of the job will become too great by that age. 67 per cent of bus and tram workers said the mental demands would become too great by 66, while the job would become too physically demanding by then for 57 per cent of them. These findings show that tens of thousands of workers will be forced out of employment due to the physical and mental demands of their work but will be too young to receive the state pension. *** Join Unite in the fight for dignity in retirement. Join here: https://join.unitetheunion.org/ *** *** Join the National Pensioners Convention, the campaigning organisation for older people in the UK here: https://www.npcuk.org/join-the-npc *** *** Join the Scottish Pensioners Forum here: https://scottishpensioners.org.uk/ ***