SUPPORT STAFF AT AIREDALE HOSPITAL DEMAND EQUAL TERMS FOR EQUAL WORK Porters, domestics, catering and security staff who work for AGH Solutions (AGHS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, are calling for parity across the workforce. AGHS uses its subsidiary status to not honour the NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions, despite using the same status to avoid VAT on procurement and other purchasing rules. Frontline workers are missing out on NHS pensions, sick pay rates, annual leave and Sunday working enhancements. GMB are calling for NHS terms for everyone working across AGH Solutions. Joe Wheatley GMB Organiser said: 'These workers are essential to the smooth running of the Airedale hospital. Without them patients would not be safe or seen. It cannot be right that they are being treated as second class workers.  'The last thing our members want to do is strike and disrupt patients lives, but we've been left with no choice' 'Its time Airedale and AGHS recognise the skills of these vital staff and get back to serious pay negotiations.'

The Skills Academy provides a life-changing educational experience for young people in the Tees Valley who cannot thrive in mainstream education. For these learners, the Academy offers a safe, supportive environment with smaller class sizes and specialist staff who understand their needs. ETC’s proposal to close the site would: • Leave vulnerable students without appropriate education and support • Cut the number of specialist teaching roles from eight to just two • Place all eight current staff at risk of redundancy This is not just about jobs – it is about protecting the futures of young people who rely on the Skills Academy. The planned cuts will remove a vital pathway for learners who may otherwise disengage from education entirely. There has been a lack of transparency throughout this process. We are calling on ETC to listen to staff, students, and the wider community and urgently rethink this damaging decision. We must stand together to protect the Skills Academy, safeguard jobs, and ensure vulnerable young people in our region continue to have access to the specialist education they deserve.

In spring 2025, City of London Magistrates Court ruled that busking in Leicester Square was a “statutory nuisance” and compared it to “psychological torture techniques.” The ruling effectively banned busking in the area – and sets a dangerous precedent in London and across the UK. Busking in Leicester Square is not a “nuisance” and not “torture.” It’s a form of creative work and should be respected. Buskers are part of the cultural fabric of our cities and towns. Leicester Square is one of the capital’s most iconic cultural spaces. Buskers help to bring and keep people who then shop in local businesses and spend time in local restaurants and cafes. In fact, businesses in Leicester Square have reported a drop in footfall since the court ruling effectively banned busking in the area. Busking is also regulated by Westminster Council. People who busk are licensed and have to adhere to strict noise limits. Buskers working within the law should not be punished for simply doing their job. To replace lost income and support local businesses, it is important that new pitches provided are viable and accessible. They need to have good footfall, with space for people to safely engage or pass by. They need to be safe and easy to reach for buskers with instruments and equipment permitted by the regulations. They must also be safe and accessible for disabled buskers, ensuring that every musician and performer can take on busking work.     What do buskers say?  “"Busking opened doors for me as a working-class musician, when the music industry barely opens any. At the same time, it brings life to streets that would otherwise entice no-one to stop by and enjoy themselves, basically for free" - Serena, busker” “"Ever since I started busking, it has given me so much - from building confidence and learning from experienced performers to receiving support from kind people from all over the world. It has allowed me to balance studying music, writing my album, and pursuing my dream of becoming a full time musician” - L.S., busker” “"Without any venues or record deals or popularity, busking in London has offered me a place to make big shows out of nothing for people from all around the world, it has offered me to unite strangers with songs and have them sing together without knowing each other. I’m scared for any new young person who wants to come to London with the same dream and who will be refused the opportunity to perform because of Westminster Council rules" - Roman, busker ” This campaign is backed by Equity and the Westminster Street Performers Association (WSPA). Full image description: photo of buskers and street performers in Leicester Square on the last day of legal busking there. They are holding a range of union flags and signs and homemade signs that say, clockwise from top left, "Profiting off musicians while silencing them," "Keep music live," "Street performance is not a crime," "Musicians' Union says keep music live," "Keep music live," "Opportunities banned for musicians," "Global Radio is killing music culture," "Global Radio calls music psychological torture," "Street music is not a crime!" and "Equity" 

We are concerned this is going to increase waiting lists; increase outsourcing, stopping "things getting done"; stretch clinical staff further by doing tasks they previously would have relied on colleagues to do, as well as stretching their attention.  This affects our whole community - not only on quality and timeliness of patient care, but also on the financial impact of a reduction in hundreds of jobs in our communities. 

Hospitality workers often get a raw deal at work. Fear, intimidation and poor conditions plague the sector. Bullying, sexual harassment and low pay should not be accepted practice. It doesn't have to be this way. Rock City workers have come together to demand their voice is heard. They want Unite to represent them and meaningful negotiations to begin to resolve a number of their workplace concerns. Rock City is a world famous and established venue. It's only fair that the workforce are treated in a manner that befits Rock City's status.

If implemented, these cuts will: • Increase response times across the service. • Increase already unachievable workloads for members within our Officer section. Our Officer members are already working above their capacities, and this will only get worse with fewer numbers. • Reduce resilience to incidents across the service with fewer fire engines to call upon. • Undermine public safety and endanger firefighters' lives by forcing them to operate with fewer or delayed resources. Firefighters are proud of the work we do within our communites. But we cannot protect the public properly if we are not given the tools and support to do so. Fewer firefighters and fewer fire engines mean slower responses—and in our line of work, seconds cost lives. These cuts are so broad reaching that they will impact all communities across Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

Equity is currently negotiating with Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) to revise and improve the collective agreements across film and TV. PACT is the UK screen sector trade body for independent production and distribution companies. This will set the minimum terms for job contracts used by the big streamers such as Apple, Netflix, and Disney plus. In our negotiations with PACT, we are demanding better on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has grown rapidly across the entertainment industry in recent years, but UK law has failed to keep pace and this is leading to performers being exploited. Equity is demanding comprehensive AI protections to regulate the use of AI and protect performers’ image, voice and likeness, specifically: • Informed consent and fair compensation for use of performance data to train AI models  • Informed consent and fair compensation for creating AI-generated performances  • Control of your likeness during lifetime and post-mortem  • Prohibiting the use of AI for ‘dubbing’ content in foreign languages  Equity submitted proposals for new protections on AI over a year ago, but so far Pact has not presented a counterproposal. What is AI training and what is Equity fighting for?   In order for AI systems, or machine learning models, to generate digital assets such as images, sound, audiovisual media, and digital human-like digital performances, they must be trained on large volumes of data files. This data could include recordings from existing content or data from Artists that are being scanned on set. As part of our claim, we have seeking to establish clear rules for this type of use and we’ve made clear that training on TV programmes or films featuring performers’ contribution is not allowed without an explicit  agreement between Equity and PACT

Square Chapel has a strong history of supporting community events and professional performances and is a popular venue in the local community.  Square Chapel was a popular arts centre with good community outreach prior to becoming insolvent during the covid pandemic. In September 2020, the venue was reopened when it was taken over by Wigan based Arts at the Mill. Square Chapel CIC was subsequently established.  In early February 2025, Square Chapel CIC announced the arts centre was closing and all future events were cancelled. Five months later, this valuable community asset remains closed and not serving the people of Halifax. Arts Council England (ACE) has now withdrawn its funding from Square Chapel. It has recently been announced that the Square Chapel building will be rented out to provide dressing rooms during the Piece Hall concert season. Square Chapel should provide good art, good work and be an artistic hub for the community. Halifax MP Kate Dearden has written to ACE supporting the reopening of Square Chapel and calling for the Halifax community to be involved in discussions about the future of the centre. We need this popular arts centre back! We need answers and we need the building to be back open and operating for the people of Halifax. Equity, TUC Yorkshire & Humber Creative and Leisure Industries Committee and Calderdale Trades Union Council are jointly calling for the public to have their say on the future of Square Chapel Arts Centre. Make your voice heard by joining the petition to Save Square Chapel for the people.

💸 What does that mean for you?  • A worker earning just over £15,000 in 2012 lost around £300 per year from the cut.  • Even with NJC pay rises, they’re still earning less than they would have — because they started from a lower point.  • Over 12 years, that adds up to thousands of pounds in lost earnings.    ⚖️ This is about fairness.  Doncaster workers have been treated differently — and worse — than council workers in other areas.    We believe that’s unacceptable.  We believe that needs to change.  We’re calling on Doncaster Council to:  • Review the long-term impact of the 2012 cuts  • Begin a process to restore pay for affected staff  ✊ What can you do?  🖊️ Sign the petition today and show that Doncaster Council workers demand fair pay. 

Everyone deserves security, dignity and a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.  At a time when bosses are raking in record pay while working people face a cost-of-living crisis, the Employment Rights Bill will help tip the balance back toward workers - and make sure they get a fairer share. The Bill also includes vital rights that make it easier for workers to organise and build strong unions. It will: • Make it harder for anti-union giants like Amazon to block union organising • Support union reps with better rights and time off to do their job • Strengthen the process for workers to win union recognition and build power together • Make it easier for reps and organisers to access workplaces and talk to workers about their rights But all of this is at risk. The Bill is now in the House of Lords, and Tory peers are preparing to water it down. Add your name now to demand the Employment Rights Bill is passed - in full, and without delay.

The Pallion Centre is already understaffed. Introducing this policy not only puts workers at risk but is also an invasion of user privacy.   We call on SUEZ to think again and put its people before profit.

🛡️ Why It Matters This campaign is about more than just equipment—it's about protecting our members in the workplace. Everyone deserves to come to work and return home safely. No one should be injured due to poor-quality, unsafe tools of the trade. 💬 Our Message to Asda We stand united in saying: Wellbeing must come before profit. Our warehouse and store members deserve better. 📢 Support the Petition Join us in demanding action, and sign our petition to show your support. Together, we can make our workplaces safer.