Back in November the Trades Union Congress (TUC) hosted a roundtable with reps from three unions representing tech workers and writer and critic Cory Doctorow: “The internet is getting worse by the day, for users and tech workers alike. It’s part of the big tech playbook to degrade user experience, exploit staff, and lock us into broken systems. This webinar with Cory and UK tech union activists from Prospect, Unite and UTAW looked at how enshittification affects everyone who cares about tech – and how we fight back against Big Tech’s worst instincts.”
Unite Executive Council elections: nomination meeting
The ballot to elect a new Executive Council (EC) will be held next year. Those elected will hold office from 1 May 1 2026 to 30 April 2029. The Executive Council is the ‘government’ of Unite, bringing together workers from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to shape our policies and development. We’ll be deciding which … Read more
Unite London Digital & Tech statement to members
The Supreme Court’s decision in the For Women Scotland case
The Supreme Court ruling that people are the sex they were assigned at birth for the purposes of the Equalities Act, and subsequent interim update issued by the Equalities & Human Rights Commission, has had a devastating impact on trans women and men, amongst whom we count many members.
We share the view of the Scottish Trades Union Congress when, at a recent conference, it stated:
We believe that solidarity with trans and non-binary people must be a matter of principle for the trade union movement, just as we oppose racism, sexism and ableism. Trans inclusion is a workplace issue. Our solidarity cannot depend on the law or how courts interpret it; there can be unjust laws and legal decisions.
The law must evolve to reflect understandings of gender and ensure explicit protection for trans, non-binary, gender diverse, and intersex people. Equality for trans and gender-diverse people is a trade union, workers’, and human rights issue.
Furthering organising and democratic transparency in Unite
Here’s the motion that we passed for Policy Conference 2025 at our meeting on 13 February.
Unite Policy Conference 2025
Policy Conference is the supreme policy making body of our union. It’s held every two years. Each branch (and other committees of the union) is able to submit a motion on general items of policy. Deadline for submission is 21 February.
Vote for Monica Taylor for Unite Executive Council Retired Members seat
Our Unite branch is supporting Monica Taylor for Unite Executive
Council Representative – Retired Members section. Your ballot
should have arrived by now, please return it as soon as possible if you
haven’t already done so.
The ballot closes at noon on 15 November and you must leave
enough time for it to arrive via the post.
Monica is the current chair of our National Retired Members’ Committee
and she has a strong record of leading campaigns for retired members –
most recently, the union’s powerful campaign to Defend the Winter Fuel
Allowance.
We are asking you to vote for Monica because she will:
- Continue to lead from the front on retired members’ campaigns
- Ensure retired members have a voice on union campaigns that
affect us – from pensions to social care and the NHS - Work to secure retired member representation in all parts of the
union that affect us, such as equalities committees
Visit Monica’s website for more info.
Campaign for union recognition at Google launched
The Joint Unite & UTAW Google organising committee has formally launched its campaign to secure joint union recognition for Googlers working in the UK.
Both Unite & the CWU UTAW branch have agreed to work together in the interests of Googlers.
Basildon Pride 2024
This year our branch is again sponsoring the Basildon Pride on Saturday 7 September. Unite is an Official Partner of Basildon Pride and is just one of many union and labour movement supporters of the event, and Unite’s London & Eastern LGBT+ Committee will be running a stall. Get in touch if you’d like to … Read more
Summer 2024 events
Here are some events put on by organisations our branch is affiliated with, or which form part of the trade union calendar.
Artificial Intelligence and workers’ rights
By Tony Burke, Campaign for Trade Union Freedom.
This article was originally published in the Morning Star.
The Trade Union Congress’s special task force report on Artificial Intelligence and Employment Rights Bill was launched at the TUC Congress House in London on April 18th. Comprising of the TUC, the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, unions academics and employment rights specialists the task force was set up to try to secure proper regulation of AI and algorithmic management in order to halt the UK’s tech sector from becoming the ‘wild west’ of the economy.
You can read the full report with the draft bill here.
AI: Threats & Opportunities For The Media
Free online event: April 25th 6–7.30pm
The disruptive power of artificial intelligence worries people working in the media. Threats to the media from AI hit the headlines with two long-running strikes in Hollywood last year. Now the New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, two of the most prominent names in the AI industry, accusing them of using its articles without permission to train their artificial intelligence systems.
Video: Resisting the latest anti-strike laws
Unite London Digital & Tech branch meeting, 14 March 2024.
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 is a major attack on workers’ rights. In this video Ian Allinson explains the background to the Act, what it means for unions and how we can beat it.