No matter their postcode, every young person deserves face to face teaching from a qualified and professionally registered teacher. No matter their postcode, every young person deserves the same high standards of teaching as a first choice and a priority. No matter their postcode, every young person deserves to learn in a safe, accessible, and encouraging environment. This is entirely contrary to the position which the EIS believed had been agreed with remote learning platform provider, e-Sgoil, locally. A further statement from the EIS Local Association is https://www.eis.org.uk/Western-Isles/Statement EIS members are asking that: • Further clarity is given on these proposals. E-Sgoil is not a presenting centre, it is not a school. It is a remote learning platform provider and has a national role as such. It should not be used to undermine physical teaching and learning in the Western Isles. • Full consultation be undertaken with parent councils, pupils and staff via their trade unions – as is the recognised mechanism for consultation. • Status quo remains until agreement is reached on these proposals. • The maintenance of face-to-face teaching as a first choice; and a • A fully funded teaching provision on sustainable permanent contracts as a priority. Further EIS priorities for the local election can be found https://www.eis.org.uk/Western-Isles/Manifesto Add your name to the petition and show the Comhairle you support the call for face to face, fully qualified teachers to provide education in Na h-Eileanan an Iair/Western Isles. #ValueEducationValueTeachers #ComhairleMustConsult

Measures announced to tackle the cost of living crisis at last week’s Spring Statement are woefully inadequate. A full-time worker on the minimum wage will see their pay fall by £200 a year – in real terms – if inflation hits 8% as predicted. And the TUC estimates that energy bills will rise ten times faster than wages this year. Britain faces the worst living standards crisis in generations and millions of families are at breaking point. The government must act to bring down energy bills and boost pay, Universal Credit and pensions.

NHS workers (e.g. Porters, Cleaners, Catering, Security) who are employed by ISS, a private company that is contracted by Calderdale & Huddersfield Foundation Trust to run non-clinical services, want an end to their minimum wage rates, terms and conditions. As NHS workers they are demanding alignment with the NHS “Agenda for Change” contract that would see their pay, terms and conditions significantly improved. Every day since March 2020, our members have put themselves at risk; at risk of getting infected and at risk of infecting their family. We clapped for them, we labelled them heroes and yet these local NHS heroes face the indignity of being treated less than; to be employed as NHS workers, but not paid as NHS workers. The Trust outsourced their responsibility to ISS and in return ISS have raced to the bottom to set these workers on minimum pay. We are simply demanding that this be corrected, that the Trust recognise its responsibility to these NHS heroes and take action to end poverty pay at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

It is vital that Scotland's ferry services support communities' recovery from Covid-19 and this is best achieved through public ownership and the full participation of communities, workers and passengers. The current Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service operated by CalMac expires in September 2024, RMT is opposed to privatisation and wants all ferry services to be in the public sector. That's why we have launched the campaign for a People's CalMac. We are calling for: More investment - for more reliable, frequent and additional services. More affordable - with fairer ferry fares, including for commercial drivers. More of a say - with a stronger voice for communities, passengers and workers. More good jobs - already employing 1700 people, CalMac is at the heart of Clyde and Hebrides communities, as well as Scotland's maritime industry. Please sign our petition and write to your MSP and Councillor - you can find a model letter of the RMT website here - https://bit.ly/3JvK2Ip

Yesterday, 800 workers at P&O Ferries were sacked via Zoom call. This shameful act is devastating for these workers, their families and communities. This is a national scandal – it can’t ever be allowed to happen again. This must be turning point for workers’ rights in the UK. The government can stop this, but they will not act unless thousands of us speak up. If callous acts like this are allowed at P&O, they can happen anywhere.

Dundee City Council are trying to force through a disruptive restructure of all secondary schools in the area. If the changes were to go ahead, the council would band subjects together under one faculty. The council would remove principal teachers from secondary schools and replace them with a new position – “faculty heads”. The plans mean there would be fewer teachers in our already under-resourced schools and yet more disruption to students’ learning. The changes would significantly increase workload for teachers – that means less one-to-one time with students. We must show the council leader how many of us support these workers.

We must stand strong against bad bosses unnecessarily attacking workers and using anti-trade union tactics. Coventry City Council and their Labour Leader, George Duggins have failed the people of Coventry and they have failed the workers. Can you help us by writing an email to him, asking him to reinstate Pete, stop union-busting, stop strike breaking and pay the rate?

Pete is one of the 75 refuse workers in Coventry City who have been on an all-out strike since 31st Jan over a pay dispute. • The Council is reported to have spent in the region of 2.8 million of taxpayers’ money trying to break the strike and using contractor Tom White Waste to break the picket. • It would cost less than £300,000 to resolve the dispute, but it seems Coventry City Council is hell-bent on wasting taxpayers’ money. • Just recently, Coventry Council published an important untrue statement, saying the bin lorry drivers earn up to £52,163 a year. The truth is the hourly pay rate is £11.49-£14.37 meaning the lowest-paid earns a basic wage of just £22,183 a year. • This council has a history of wasting taxpayers’ money, including on fat cat salaries and golden handshakes. • Former deputy chief executive, Martin Yardley, was given more money than any other council staff member in the whole country in 2019/20 pocketing £573,660. • In 2018, the retiring finance chief waltzed off with just shy of £450,000. An attack on one is an attack on all! Please sign the petition

Sign our petition to demand fair fares and a properly funded railway that protects rail services, staffing and the climate.

Over the last decade, pay for civil servants and others covered by the pay remit guidance has been under attack and has lagged behind inflation, and pay levels and increases in the private sector. Individual departments have had their hands tied by the Cabinet Office and have been unable to offer fair pay increases for their staff – and it’s gone on for too long. This has been compounded by the absence of pay progression arrangements. Public servants deserve a fair deal – they are always important to our way of life, but their dedication has been crucial in getting us through the pandemic. The least they deserve is for their living standards to be maintained, and their knowledge, skills and experience rewarded. Among staff and employers there is a common recognition that pay systems are broken and in the need of fundamental reform and adequate funding. Please sign this petition for fair pay for those who help defend, protect, support and enhance all of our lives.

The new Waste to Energy plant planned at Skelton Grange could be a chance to bring hundreds of good, skilled jobs to the Leeds area. The £250m build project will have a huge impact when finished, powering 100,000 local homes. We need to ensure that terms and conditions are protected and enhanced, so we can bring everyone with us as we transition to a greener future – sustainability and development at the same time. We want an end to undercutting on pay and conditions, which harms our communities and creates resentment rather than collaboration. The National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) is comprehensive set of terms and conditions of employment for hourly-paid engineering construction workers on major projects across the UK. It’s a nationally agreed standard for good work in construction, and it’s a way to make sure that new projects meet their responsibilities. We think the NAECI agreement should be the baseline for everyone working on the build of the Skelton Grange Waste to Energy plant. It’s a commitment to the community that was proposed early on, but we are worried HZI and Leeds City Council will try to quietly drop this important safeguard if we don’t raise the pressure on it now. Join us and demand HZI and Leeds City Council get round the table with the unions Unite and GMB and agree to establishing NAECI standards across the site.

CHEP UK is a hugely profitable company, yet it is refusing to give its workers a pay rise that reflects the true value of their work & takes into account the UK's soaring living costs. While the Retail Price Index is currently over 7.5%, CHEP UK, which made profits of £60 million last year, has offered its workers a below inflation pay rise. This means a pay cut for CHEP workers in real terms. Rather than look after its workforce, CHEP appears to be more interested in boosting profits and rewarding its shareholders - who received a £50 million pay-out just last year. This has left the company's workers with no choice but to take a stand through strike action. We are asking you to support our campaign and demand that CHEP give their workers a fair pay rise and bring this dispute to an end. Simply put: workers should not be facing an attack on their living standards while company shareholders are raking in millions of pounds. Deliver Fair Pay for CHEP workers NOW!