This November, Rachel Reeves has the chance to act in the Budget. Our factories and plants are struggling with the highest industrial electricity bills in Europe. Why are our bills so high? • Wholesale privatisation of our energy system under the Tories means millions are extracted in profit each year. • Other European countries have safeguards to shield their critical manufacturing sectors from soaring prices. • The UK's electricity prices are currently set by the price of gas – a fuel that Putin can set the price of. When Putin invaded Ukraine and drove up gas prices, our electricity prices followed. • Our industries were starved of investment and upgrades under the Tories, while bosses and investors extracted profits and dividends.  We’re not against climate action. It’s not even climate action that’s the problem!  But British industry can’t compete with imports – and workers carry the costs. That has to change. What needs to happen now We need bolder, faster action from Rachel Reeves and the Treasury. The government recognised the problem and took first steps back in June as part of the Industrial Strategy and committed money to support industrial electricity prices.  But this mostly won’t kick in until 2027.  Our industry needs lower bills now. The support should be funded through general taxation. We need to delink our wholesale electricity prices from gas, so they’re not set by Putin or multinational oil & gas companies. And we need investment to upgrade and futureproof our industries. If you work in industry — cars, steel, ceramics, logistics, construction, energy, or other manufacturing — and want to see long-term investment that protects our jobs, powers clean growth, and secures British industry for the future: sign this petition. We’re industrial workers. We build, power, and make Britain.  We deserve a future — but we won’t get there without action now.

As the screen sector in Ireland continues to grow in size, talent, and global recognition, it is more vital than ever that we uphold the standards, protections, and rights that underpin fair and sustainable working conditions for performers. One key pillar of that protection is the use of properly registered union agreements, specifically the PACT/Equity agreement in Film and TV. We wish to remind the industry that: • For productions based in Northern Ireland, PACT/Equity is the appropriate agreement under which professional performers should be engaged. • For productions in the Republic of Ireland, Irish Equity recognises the PACT/Equity agreement as its preferred agreement for co-productions. We have witnessed an increasing trend of productions marketing themselves as “PACT/Equity equivalent”, or claiming to be “in line with Equity rates”, without providing the appropriate contracts. This is not the same as operating under an actual registered collective agreement — and the distinction matters. In NI, without proper appropriate registration, there is no legal mechanism to ensure that productions honour Equity agreed-upon rates or conditions, and no enforceability if those promises are broken. These productions also lack the financial safety net that a registered agreement provides, such as an escrow deposit to protect wages if funding collapses.  Even if a NI production (or co-pro in ROI) claims to pay Equity “equivalent,” it often omits crucial terms meaning the total compensation frequently falls below union standards, often excluding ongoing payments like royalties or profit shares.  These may contain exploitative clauses around AI use, usage rights, or future exploitation — without proper remuneration or consent. Such contracts can create confusion among performers and agents, who may mistakenly believe they are protected under Equity terms.  Ultimately, accepting or promoting these “equivalent” agreements undermines the union’s ability to secure fair, enforceable collective terms and weakens the long-term health of our industry.

Treatment of striking NHS staff This helps to explain the treatment of NHS workers on strike in Gloucestershire in recent months.  A small but mighty group of workers have been on strike since March, fighting for fair pay. Phlebotomists, specialists in collecting blood samples, are currently paid at the lowest band in the NHS: just 30p over minimum wage. The all-female group are asking for a correction to their pay band to help them weather the cost of living crisis. The phlebotomists have now hit the highest number of days of any NHS strike in history. After 200 days on strike, Kevin McNamara is still refusing to resolve this fairly and pay the phlebotomists what they deserve. Why have over £100,000 of NHS funds been wasted on defending bullying instead of paying frontline staff fairly?

Without a commitment to backpay, we will be forced to take action. We do not take strike action lightly. But after years of being ignored, we have been left with no choice.

We've seen across the region what happens when these services are outsourced. • Unions not Recognised • NJC Pay Scrapped • Workers left behind Sign our petition to demand the council... • Keeps remaining services in house • Looks at bringing already outsourced services back under council control. We are proud to serve Middlesbrough, but we are not for sale!

PCS members in MyCSP have been on strike for six weeks; and have just agreed to extend their strike for a further six weeks. This is not a strike for more money; they just want their union recognised by MyCSP, and to be able to represent them at the transfer meetings. Nobody wants to take strike action, but MyCSP is unwilling to get around the table and resolve this dispute. In the meantime, huge backlogs of work and unacceptable call waiting times are having a detrimental impact on scheme members who are facing severe delays in receiving their pensions forecasts, their lump sums and statements; as well as pension queries not getting dealt in a reasonable time. Please show your support for the hard-working staff by writing to Duncan Watson, Chief Executive Officer of MYCSP.

By signing the petition we can show  South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust that they should be re-banding our lone working community staff 

Libraries do so much more than lend books! We are one of the last vestiges of public civic life, accessible to all, located at the heart of your community. We provide: • A safe space, open to everyone, cool in summer and warm in winter • A wealth of information, free at the point of delivery • Services such as printing and room hire are far below the commercial rate • IT assistance for the digitally excluded • Free community groups, clubs and societies for you to join • Free crafts, activities and workshops for your children • Partnership programmes with local schools to reinforce learning • Learning and development programmes and classes • A public platform for organisations to liaise with the community in person … and a lot more besides.

Tees Valley Combined Authority has invested £138 million into the airport since purchasing it in 2019 including acquisition costs, equity investment, loans and grants.  Tees Valley Combined Authority owns 75% of the Airport.   Public investment should lead to public benefit for the people of Teesside, starting with their pay! GMB has negotiated in good faith. Management has stalled, dismissed, and disrespected the very people who keep Teesside Airport alive. Stand with Teesside Airport Workers and Sign Our Petition. Let’s send a message: Fair pay is not optional. It’s a right. Our Airport Our Pay

Buses matter to people and their communities.  Their experiences and ideas should help shape the future of our services. The call for a public voice in decision making is backed by the following organisations: 1. Better Buses for South Yorkshire 2. Barnsley Trades Council 3. Doncaster Trades Council 4. Sheffield Trades Council 5. Rotherham Trades Council 6. Sprotborough & Cusworth Parish Council 7. Barnsley Methodist Circuit 8. Sheffield Methodist Circuit 9. Extinction Rebellion Sheffield                                                                                            10. South Yorkshire Climate Alliance 11. Sheffield Green Party 12. Doncaster Green Party 13. Greenpeace Sheffield 14. Unite Community South Yorkshire 15. Sheffield People’s Assembly 16. South Yorkshire Fossil Free 17. Sheffield for Democracy 18. A Fleet for Change (Sheffield) 19. SADACCA  (Sheffield & District African Caribbean Community Association) 20. Burngreave Clean Air Campaign 21. Gleadless Valley Climate Action Network 22. Tell the Truth Sheffield 23. We Own It

I’ve had enough of Nigel Farage pretending he speaks for industrial workers like me. He doesn’t speak for me. And I know he doesn’t speak for you either. If you work in industry—cars, steel, ceramics, logistics, construction, energy, whatever—add your name. If we hit our signature target, we’ll publish an open letter in the media with one clear message: “Farage doesn’t speak for us. We’re industrial workers. We’re proud of Britain and we’re proud of our industries. We don’t need culture wars—we need investment. We need modern car plants, world-class potteries, and future-proofed steelworks. Reform UK isn’t offering that. They want to drag us backwards. Farage’s friendship with Trump and the corporate elite says it all: He’s not on our side. He’s an enemy of the working class.” Stand up for real workers. Sign the petition.

Without Contact Centre Educators there would be no people trained and ready to take our emergency calls.  North West Ambulance Service recognised that there was a recruitment and retention issue by introducing the additional payment to the educators role; the recruitment and retention issues haven't gone away and neither should the payment.