Unite the Union London Digital & Tech branch

07/05/2026

At our GPM&IT sector May Day party last Saturday in the historic Ruskin House, Croydon, we heard a talk by historian Dan Frost about the General Strike, as part of the centenary of that momentous event. It's now been published by Labour Hub.

This is an amended version of a talk by Daniel Frost, which was given to a Unite the Union GPM&IT Sector event celebrating the centenary of the General Strike, held at Ruskin House in Croydon o…

05/04/2026

At our last meeting we discussed changes being introduced with the Employment Rights Act, and we wondered whether the Fair Work Agency, which consolidates multiple existing bodies, would be more than the sum of its parts. It looks like it might be less!

Cornerstone of the UK’s Employment Rights Act ‘in danger of becoming a dead duck’, says Unite boss

12/03/2026

AI at Work is the new guide from LRD Publications. It's a must for all of us working and organising in the digital and technology industries, with chapters on AI in the workplace; collective bargaining on AI; job security; workload and work skills, privacy, monitoring and surveillance; workers' data rights; equalities and discrimination; and AI risks to health and safety.

One of our tasks is to demystify the subject by explaining what human labour processes and technologies (the high-level distinction made between logical and probabilistic methods is a useful one) are involved. The introductory chapter Artificial Intelligent: what is it? does a good job of this.

For a deeper look at how AI is built see our video https://www.unitedigitaltech.org/2024/01/what-should-we-build-ai-for-an-insiders-view

22/02/2026

This motion was passed by our branch meeting on 12 February 2026. In many of the workplaces where we organise 25-50% of workers are on Skilled Worker sponsorship visas. These visas tied to a specific employer place workers in an extremely vulnerable position. They can discourage workers from taking part in trade union activities and cause division between such workers and colleagues whose residency isn’t dependent on their employer. We believe a further Employment Rights Act needs to address this situation.

This motion was passed by our branch meeting on 12 February 2026. In many of the workplaces where we organise 25-50% of workers are on Skilled Worker sponsorship visas. These visas tied to a specific employer place workers in an extremely vulnerable situation. They can discourage workers from taking...

19/02/2026

The new Case Law at Work book from LRD Publications has arrived. It contains summaries of significant employment law cases, an important source of information for our reps.

18/02/2026

Taking effect today

The Employment Rights Act 2025 repeals major parts of the Trade Union Act 2016. These changes take effect from 18 February 2026. Strong collective bargaining rights and unions are key to tackling problems of insecurity, inequality, discrimination, enforcement and low pay. The Trade Union Act 2016 un...

12/02/2026

Three former video game workers at the firm behind Grand Theft Auto (GTA) have spoken out about the brutal way they were dismissed, arguing that it was a form of illegal ‘union-busting’.

US games giant Rockstar Games sacked 34 of its workers on 30 and 31 October last year, 31 in the UK at sites in Edinburgh, Dundee and Lincoln and three in Canada, just days before the firm announced that the much-anticipated GTA 6 would be delayed until November 2026.

Grand Theft Auto workers sacked by Rockstar Games in 'union-busting' move speak out about how being fired has affected their lives

07/02/2026

NEW|🎧Podcast from The Institute of Employment Rights describes what is missing from and why we need .

What’s missing
📌nationally sectorial bargaining
📌single worker status
📌positive right to strike
+ more

Available via the comments 👇

07/02/2026

This shows just how far The Labour Party Birmingham Labour has fallen. They’ve picked up the baton from the Tories on anti-protest laws and now seem determined to restrict our civil liberties and right to protest.

Keir Starmer

05/02/2026

Ballot opens 23 March!

At last month’s meeting we heard from the two union members seeking our nomination for the GPM&IT sector seat on Unite’s Executive Council (EC), which is the governing body of the union.

Questions were put to them on these topics:

- Political representation and links to Labour
- Support for Transgender rights
- Accountability of EC members
- What would they do for the IT element of GPM&IT?
- How would they support the leadership of Unite?
- What would they do to prepare the union for changes (introduction of AI etc)?
- What can be done to make it easier for members to get access to legal assistance?

After discussion amongst attendees we voted to nominate the following people:

London & Eastern: David Agbley, Jane McGuire, Len Hockey, Patrick Gough
LGBT+: John Williams
Black and Asian Ethnic Minority Members: Susan Matthews
Disabled Members: Martyn Gwyther
Retired Members: Monica Taylor
Women: Faith Coker-Jarra
Young Members: Oisin Mulholland
Community, Youth Workers & Not for Profit: Tanis Belsham-Wray
Education: Emily Perdue
Engineering, Manufacturing & Steel: Ian Williams
Finance & Legal: Marina Gunn, Simon Crew
Graphical, Paper, Media & Information Technology: Lee Clowes
Health: Mark Boothroyd, Janine Lee, Suzanne Abachor
Service Industries: Gabriela Peczek, Mark Barnes

Members who receive at least three nominations from branches will go forward on to the ballot paper as candidates.

At our meeting on 15 January we voted to nominate the following members. London & Eastern: David Agbley, Jane McGuire, Len Hockey, Patrick Gough; LGBT+: John Williams; Black and Asian Ethnic Minority Members: Susan Matthews Disabled Members: Martyn Gwyther; Retired Members: Monica Taylor Women: Fait...

31/01/2026