The Reading Trades Union Council

The RTUC is the focal point of the trade union movement in Reading – and so much more. As well as local trade unions, the RTUC meets and organises with groups and individuals from the Reading area who are committed to supporting and improving the social, political and working conditions in the local community and workplaces. We also celebrate important local events – contemporary and historical – related to the Reading area which promote trade unionism, workers’ rights and community causes.

Monday 25 April 2022

Kingdom Security Guards - victory at the Royal Berkshire Hospital

Reading Trades Union Council is honored to have supported the Kingdom Security Guards in their dispute over pay terms and conditions at Royal Berkshire Hospital. Our solidarity - alongside members of Reading Socialist Club and comrades from the Oxford labour movement (mobilised by Unite the Union) as well as many individuals and, not least, the Security Guards working on behalf of the NHS - kept the dispute aliver for many months and we hope we contributed to the striking workers' morale as they lost pay on strike days to fight this important fight. The security staff have been on the frontline during the COVID19 pandemic and sacrificing pay to strike is especially felt poorly paid employees in this sector. They secured victory in the dispute with Kingdom Services Group: winning a 7.5% pay rise, back paid to December 2021. Solidarity spearheaded by the trade unions carried the day! Details of the dispute as reported by Unite the Union can be found here.