Threat by Associated Print to shut Portadown site indefensible

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Proposed closure will leave only one newspaper printworks in Northern Ireland

Unite the Union has condemned plans by Associated Print to shut its Portadown facility, warning that the move would result in the loss of over 30 skilled jobs and deals a severe blow to Northern Ireland’s newspaper print capacity.

The union is calling on Associated Print to drop its plans to close the site and instead invest in the business or else sell the site to someone who would take on the business as a going concern.

Unite believes the modern and small-scale print works at the factory are perfect to meet the needs of the industry given the complexities involved in printing large numbers of papers in small quantities.

Sharon Graham general secretary said, “It is totally unacceptable that a viable business and its workers face being thrown on the scrapheap because of mismanagement. This can and should be a fundamentally viable business.”

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Belfast GLL leisure workers vote for industrial action  

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Largest council in Northern Ireland has worst pay for leisure workers

Industrial action to commence Tuesday 15 July with a work to rule at outsourced leisure centres and gyms

Members of Unite and NIPSA employed at Belfast’s municipal leisure centres have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action.

The ballot followed the refusal of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) to agree the workforce’s pay claim. The company is contracted by Belfast City council to manage its outsourced leisure centres and gyms.

As a result of GLLs failure to offer a fair pay offer a continuous work-to-rule will begin on Tuesday 15 July. The unions also contacted GLL to clarify that they stood ready to commence negotiations to resolve the pay dispute at any time.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a disgrace that leisure workers at Belfast leisure centres are earning far less than workers doing the same job in neighbouring councils. The council’s decision to outsource services to GLL has proven disastrous not just for workers who are underpaid and overstretched but for the public who have endured hikes on charges.

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New billboards tell Starmer ‘Don’t sell us Short’

Posted on June 26, 2025 by unitetheunion

Campaign highlights workers’ jobs plan for Northern Ireland aerospace landmark

Government must broker a deal between Airbus and Bombardier to secure NI jobs and skills

New billboards are being rolled out across Northern Ireland this week telling Keir Starmer to back the plan for jobs developed by workers at the iconic Shorts enterprise in Northern Ireland. The plan has been developed to secure jobs and skills and avoid a carve-up of Shorts following Boeing’s acquisition of Shorts parent company Spirit and the decision by Airbus to only take over its own production lines in Belfast.

The workers are clear that Shorts needs to be kept as a single entity to ensure its long-term survival, and they have a plan for jobs to keep Shorts flying into the future.

The workers’ plan for jobs requires the UK government to broker a deal between Airbus and Bombardier to form a new joint venture. Both Airbus and Bombardier currently have production lines at the facility and should thus have an interest in Shorts’ continued successful operation.

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Tata Steel: Strike set to escalate tonight as management cancels scheduled talks

Posted on June 26, 2025 by unitetheunion

Pay freezes have left Tata workers at just over minimum wage

Unite has served Tata Steel with notice of five more days of strike action over the coming weeks following management’s decision to cancel scheduled talks on pay differentials.

The next strike action follows a 48-hour stoppage last week and will take place from 21:59 hours tonight (26 June 2025) until 22.01 on 30th June 2025. There will be another one-day stoppage starting 21.59 hrs on 10 July 2025, with further strike action from 21.59 on 24 July 2025 until 22.01 on 28 July.

The strike action is in addition to the continuous ban on overtime and work to rule and the discontinuous strike action as set out in Notice of Action dated 11 June 2025.

The dispute surrounds the workers’ claim for restoration of pay differentials eroded as a result of pay freezes in recent years.

Tata workers in Northern Ireland are paid at or just above the statutory minimum, earning less than workers in Britain.

Management’s last-minute decision to cancel talks scheduled for Tuesday means that the industrial action will proceed as notified. 

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Strikes at Tata Steel as Northern Ireland workers seek pay decency

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Unite the union NI

HGV drivers, crane operators employed by Tata steel at its Lisburn site only paid minimum wage 

Workers employed by Tata Steel will commence an initial 48-hour strike at 08:00 tomorrow [Wednesday 18 June]. The industrial action follows a 100 per cent ballot for strike action. The majority of the approximately 30 person workforce.

Unite is requiring a pay deal that restores pay differentials which have all but disappeared due to low-pay rates being overtaken by increases to the national minimum wage. Tata workers employed at its Northern Ireland site are among the lowest paid by the company in the UK. HGV drivers and process and machine operators, who can use cranes onsite, are paid at or just above the national minimum.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “It is disgraceful that skilled workers are only paid the minimum wage. Tata is a hugely wealthy company that can fully afford to pay its workers fairly. 

“In taking this strike action for pay decency, the Tata Steel workers in Lisburn can count on the full backing of Unite.”

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