Companies, especially those owned by unscrupulous foreign holding companies, cannot and must not be allowed to show such a flagrant disregard for UK employment law and has no place in the economy of a country that still attempts to hold some semblence of workers rights. In addition, I call upon all British citizens to boycott all P&O services until these staff are reinstated.

Engineers at Brush Electrical Machine have committed to the company throughout their tenure ranging from 2 years service to over 50 years. They have worked throughout the pandemic, as 'key workers', and given continued support to the business and its customers. They have worked away from family and even been told to travel to different countries during the pandemic - unvaccinated and with little contingency in place - resulting in some engineers contracting COVID and passing it to their infant children. Brush’s stance during the pandemic has been driven by a want to save money. Not a need to save money due to sustainability. There had been no evidence given thus far that these cuts are necessary or reflect industry average pay; instead, they represent a comprehensive massacre of terms and conditions, from basic salary, pension contributions and overtime, to holidays and offshore conditions. All of which resulting in an annual loss of 10-15% per engineer. During this time the company have repaid furlough payments to the government (they cannot pay dividends and bonuses if the company has accepted furlough), and given out pay rises to all but the service engineers - including themselves - along with bonuses. This behaviour should be made illegal as, without any evidence or morality the company – or ANY company – has the ability to force these conditions upon us all. We are fighting to stop it,  but - it could be you next.

For generations and generations, the number of options around the way we work have been few and far between. But one of the few things the pandemic did, was to prove that lots of jobs can be done from home. Some people might love working from home, while others might work best in a busy office environment. But what's important is the right to choose and decide what is best for you. A Government task force has been put together and they are calling for all businesses regardless of the pandemic, to grant workers the flexibility to choose where and how they work. Right now, the Government is weighing up their options and deciding what to do next, and they’re due to make an announcement in just a few weeks. A huge petition could push the Government to give people the flexibility they need.

Thousands of workers across the UK are at risk of being held to ransom by their employers through a practice known as ‘fire and rehire’. Companies can force their staff to accept pay cuts and poorer conditions, or face the sack. And the worst thing? At the moment it’s legal, so soon many others could follow suit. Countries like Ireland and Spain have already taken decisive action to outlaw fire and rehire, but our government hasn’t. The longer we wait, the longer people’s livelihoods remain at serious risk.

Recognition is the situation where employers and unions agree on a joint framework, under which unions have the right to be consulted and to negotiate over working conditions and policy. This greatly benefits the University - drawing on the expertise of its staff. It is a normal expectation in our sector, and is internationally recognised within several International Labour Organization conventions (C87 and C98). Without recognition, staff are denied the right for their representatives to sit on important decision-making committees, to collectively bargain with the university, and to have access to important documents that underpin policy changes that materially impact the working lives of staff. It is no accident that Cambridge lags behind many other universities in the sector, offering lower than average rates of pay and subjecting staff to increased precarity through the use of casualised contracts, fixed-term contracts, and open-ended contracts that have insecurity built into them. Many of these issues are felt most strongly by the very sections of staff to which the University is refusing union recognition. Whether we know it or not, we have all felt the impact of union non-recognition over the past year. The pandemic and the university’s response to it has ushered in dramatic changes to our working lives, from sudden unemployment, to working through the night or struggling to balance work with care responsibilities. Union recognition could have significantly improved this experience, granting union representatives the right to be included in important health and safety decisions that were made throughout the year. It is time for all of this to change. It is time for the University of Cambridge to respect its workforce and recognise all staff unions. Whether you are a union member or not, we all have a right to join a union and we all deserve those unions to be recognised by our employer.

Traders at Piccadilly Market were given a letter from Revd Lucy Winkett on 17th December 2020 advising them they can no longer trade after 23rd December 2020 - just one weeks notice!!! This was a bombshell for all the people whose livelihoods depend on trading in this market These people are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts etc who have been employed there for many, many years. There was no consultation, no communication and it is grossly unfair and immoral of the Church to do this - it could have closed for a short period until things picked up and included the views of the traders in the process, respecting their position. This market is well known and well established for decades. Peoples lives have been shattered. I myself worked in this Market for 26 years and I am devastated at this closure. My wife was made redundant in July 2020 as the organisation she had worked for was put into liquidation at very short notice too after 28 years working there We could never have imagined we would both be out of long term jobs within 6 months of each other and in such a way. The other traders are understandably extremely upset and angry at what has happened and the huge impact this has on them and their families. No one should be treated in this way by anyone, least of all by the Church!

Care workers alongside the NHS have been a vital support network for people in their homes. We’ve supported the NHS when service users have needed to leave hospital but still needed care in their own homes. It’s been tough on us working and maintaining a safe and Covid free working environment for all. We deserve recognition as much as the wonderful care workers in Wales and Scotland.

Catering staff may be outsourced, but the decision to outsource services such as catering, cleaning, security and reception has been entirely at the discretion of LSBU, as has the decision to outsource on conditions that provide inferior sick pay, holiday and remuneration when compared to directly employed staff. LSBU has already intervened to place staff at risk, it is now time to intervene to save jobs before Christmas.

To support us through this financial hardship. To show our value. So we can maintain high care.

We need to retain and recruit healthcare staff. There are estimated to be well over a 100,000 vanccancies within the NHS. To put this into context, £6.2bn was spent on agency and bank staff last year to cover staff shortages and keep the NHS afloat! We are now dependent on bank or agency staff to help plug the gaps, mainly to fill nursing roles. Staff state that the quality of care is “compromised” and one in six said “patient safety was put at risk. NHS staff have been forced to work outside of their skill remit and contracted hours of work to meet the demands of a failing workforce. There have been initiatives to recruit overseas nurses to bridge these gaps however this is not feasible due to the travel restriction at this time. In order to recruit and retain staff the NHS needs to be a safe working environment that puts patient safety and the health and wellbeing of its staff first. It is astonishing that NHS professionals cannot afford to live and are using food banks or exhausting themselves with second jobs to make ends meet. NHS staff need to be paid in line with other healthcares workers and pay inequality needs to be addressed by the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). This petition is very important, the only report covering pay satisfaction was conducted in England and from the data collected it is clear that only a small proportion of staff were satisfied with pay the they received on AFC. The evidence states that staff satisfaction increased from 29% in 2017, before the pay agreement, to 36% in 2019. Therefore every signature counts towards evidence. Please sign this petition.

On 5th October, National Museums Liverpool issued a press release announcing that they were considering redundancies across its organisation due to the Covid pandemic. They explained that they would allow employees within the charity arm of the organisation to apply for voluntary redundancy as an initial stage, but compulsory redundancies might take place later, but not before March 2021. What was not disclosed is that within the commercial arm of the museums (National Museums Liverpool Trading), a process started to make staff compulsory redundant by the first week of November, giving just 4 weeks notice to employees working in cafés, shops and events. This is a kick in the teeth for those staff who returned to work back in July and were deemed as ‘essential workers for the reopening of the museum’. Staff who are risking their health and possibly their lives to keep the museums and galleries open during a global pandemic are being rewarded with every chance of losing their jobs with very little notice. The Trading Company does not recognise Trade Unions and despite making more than 20 employees redundant, has refused to engage with a collective consultation. This is unacceptable and morally wrong. In a time when jobs are more scarce than ever, when people on low wages are getting paid less but their bills and rent/mortgages are the same, when there is a backlog of benefit claims as more and more people are laid off, NMLT has chosen to give its staff only 4 weeks to arrange new jobs or other forms of income. Many of the staff will receive little to no redundancy compensation. Staff are also expected to re-apply for their jobs but with less contracted hours and less jobs available.

The company, Europe's leading sandwich maker, supplier to M&S, has put staff who tested positive on statutory sick pay and all other staff on the furlough scheme. So the government is paying 80% of the salary bill. The company has refused to provide the 20% top-up. This despite posting £56.4 million pre-tax profits last year. Employees were furloughed and sent home to self-isolate for 14 days. They're carrying the burden of the Covid-19 outbreak. Hundreds of families will be plunged into poverty as a result of Greencore's actions. The Union estimates that 60% of the workforce will be left below the minimum wage. If they only get 80% of their current wages - which is what the Government's furlough scheme provides - they won't be able to make ends meet. The managers are self-isolating on full sick pay. The workforce should get the same.