Members of Unison are set to walk out on Thursday

A group of workers at the University of Gloucestershire are going on strike in a dispute over pay. Library assistants, administrators, IT workers and other support staff who are part of trade union Unison will walk out on Thursday (April 16).

The industrial action comes after employees rejected a pay offer from the university of 1.4 per cent, according to Unison, who said more than nine in ten (92 per cent) of staff voted in favour of the strikes.

Unison South West regional secretary Tim Roberts said: “Staff at the University of Gloucestershire don’t want to be on strike, but they feel they’ve been left with no choice.

“This offer is far below what workers need to keep up with the cost of living. It’s even harder to accept when significant sums are being invested elsewhere, while the workforce is expected to take another real-terms pay cut.

“Universities can’t hide behind national bargaining when staff are struggling. They should be using their voice to push for a fair deal.”

Unison said the proposed increase “fails to reflect” the rising cost of living and “follows years of pay deals that have lagged behind inflation”.

“The offer is the lowest pay uplift for university staff in several years and comes after sustained pressure on household budgets due to rising prices for essentials such as food, housing and energy,” the union added.

Further strike action is planned for Tuesday (April 21) and Wednesday (April 22).

It is understood that the national university employers’ body UCEA made the 1.4 per cent offer in May to cover the 2025-26 academic year. According to Unison, it is the lowest pay offer from UCEA since 2020.

A University of Gloucestershire spokesperson said: “The higher education sector is going through a period of unprecedented financial pressure, and this is reflected in the nationally negotiated pay award offered via the Universities and Colleges Employers Association.

“While we do not yet know how many staff will take part in the strike action because staff are not required to advise us in advance, we believe that most of our staff understand the need to balance pay increases with ensuring the continued financial sustainability of the institution. As such, we expect any disruption to students will be minimal. However, we will keep students informed if anything changes.”

Chili’s is escalating its fight for value-focused diners, taking direct aim at McDonald’s with a new lineup of chicken sandwiches.

The restaurant chain announced Tuesday it is expanding its lineup of Big Crispy chicken sandwiches, which are now included in its $10.99 “3 For Me” bundle — a combo that features an entrée, fries, bottomless chips and salsa, and an unlimited fountain drink.

“With an expanded, full lineup of six Big Crispy chicken sandwiches – all hand-battered and WAY bigger than McDonald’s McCrispy – Chili’s is giving guests the abundance and quality they actually deserve,” the company said in a statement.

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The restaurant chain announced Tuesday that its Big Crispy chicken sandwich is now included in its $10.99 “3 For Me” bundle. (Chili’s Grill & Bar)

Chili’s is leaning heavily into size and value comparisons as part of its marketing push. 

The company says internal research found its chicken filet is, on average, more than 80% larger than McDonald’s McCrispy filet — underscoring its critique of what it calls “shrinkflation” across the fast-food industry.

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The company says internal research found its chicken filet is, on average, more than 80% larger than McDonald’s McCrispy. (Chili’s Grill & Bar)

“Over the past few years, we’ve exposed the fast food shrinkflation by serving our massive burgers in the industry-leading $10.99 ‘3 For Me’ meal for a value that can’t be found in the drive-thru,” Chili’s Chief Marketing Officer George Felix said in a statement. “… This is a shakeup to the chicken sandwich category that is long overdue, and one that our guests are going to love.”

The new lineup features six variations, including classic and spicy options, as well as flavors like honey chipotle, Nashville hot, buffalo, and a deluxe version topped with bacon and Swiss cheese.

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The new lineup features six variations, including classic and spicy options, as well as flavors like honey-chipotle, Nashville hot, buffalo, and a deluxe version topped with bacon and Swiss cheese. (Chili’s Grill & Bar)

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Meanwhile, McDonald’s is making its own push to win back budget-conscious customers.

The company recently unveiled a revamped McValue menu, set to launch April 21, featuring 10 items priced under $3 and a new $4 breakfast bundle.

Chili’s and McDonald’s did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

The scheme is designed to support firms that are high energy users in sectors such as automotive and aerospace, steel producers, metal fabricators, pharmaceutical and medical supplies companies, recycling businesses, plastic producers, nuclear fuel processors, and cooling and ventilation equipment manufacturers, the government said.

Today is April 15, tax day, and it should be a day of celebration for nearly all taxpayers because of President Trump’s one, big, beautiful bill that was signed last July 4. It not only avoided a $4.5 trillion tax hike proposed by Democrats, but it also provided substantial pro-growth tax cuts for the vast majority of American taxpayers. And 53 million people claimed one of Mr. Trump’s new deductions. And some 51 million seniors will pay no tax on their Social Security under the law. No taxes on tips and overtime will boost take-home pay by about $1,400 per person.

And here are some more factoids: more than 6 million people have filed for no tax on tips. The average deduction is higher than $7,100. More than 25 million people have filed for no tax on overtime. The average deduction is more than $3,100.  And more than 30 million senior citizens have filed for no tax on Social Security. The average deduction there is more than $7,500.

Small business tax deductions remain in place. 100 percent immediate cost expensing for business and factory building is financing millions of new jobs at higher wages to boost kitchen table middle class family incomes. It’s all there. But for some reason, most Americans don’t seem to know about it.

The highly regarded accurate TIPP poll shows that 40 percent of Americans think their taxes are going up, and only about 10 percent think they’re going down. Thirty-seven percent think there’s been no change.

So the Republican party has itself a marketing problem. When I sat down with Mr. Trump last February and raised this issue, he acknowledged that he and his team had to do a better job of getting the message out. The TIPP poll, just completed, shows that the message is still not getting out. And other polls may agree with that one.

I know the president is a busy guy, obliterating Iran and winning the war, which is terribly important, but he and his team and congressional leaders have just got to do a better selling job on tax cuts.  Republicans should put together another economic growth plan. There’s plenty of time to do it through reconciliation which requires 50 votes plus the vice president. And I’m not interested in a small plan. 

I’m not interested in an anorexic plan, I’m advocating a wide-bodied plan with tax cuts, especially inflation-adjusted capital gains.Huge savings from waste, fraud, and abuse, we need funding for real voter ID, and the Pentagon’s wartime supplemental. It should all be in there. And I am hopeful this growth plan can come to pass. I had a colloquy about this with the majority leader, Senator John Thune, yesterday.

“You’re talking about a very skinny anorexic, I love that, anorexic, very skinny, anorexic reconciliation bill,” I said, but  “Mr. Thune, you’re not an anorexic kind of leader.” Mr. Thune replied: “If we want to do a budget resolution and do a more comprehensive approach and use reconciliation in the way that you described, there will be an opportunity to do that.” I asked: “This year?” Mr. Thune replied: “Obviously, it depends.” I repeated: “This year, sir? Big, beautiful.” “Big and beautiful,” Mr. Thune responded. “Big, Beautiful 2.0 bill,” I said. “It depends on getting the votes,” Mr. Thune said. When I asked if he was open to such a measure, Mr. Thune replied: “Yeah, absolutely. I’m for doing more, not less.”

Hopefully Speaker Mike Johnson will be as open to a wide-bodied growth plan as Mr. Thune appears to be. And hopefully the whole Republican Party will just get behind it. Yes, today is tax day. Let’s make it a pro-growth tax cut day. Mr. Trump will win the war in Iran. Yet he and the GOP have to win the domestic economic war, in other words, the midterm elections.

Snap on Wednesday announced plans to lay off roughly 1,000 employees, as the tech company adopts artificial intelligence (AI) and looks to streamline its operations.

The parent company of Snapchat will also close over 300 open roles as part of its workforce restructuring, which comes after Irenic Capital Management pushed Snap to optimize its portfolio and performance. The firm is an activist investor with an economic interest of roughly 2.5% in the company.

Snap explained that advancements in AI are helping it streamline operations and function with smaller teams as AI generates over 65% of new code, while the company assigns more critical work to focused teams and AI agents.

The tech company had about 5,261 full-time employees as of December, and the layoffs will impact about 16% of the company’s full-time staff.

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Snapchat is laying off about 16% of its full-time employees as it restructures its workforce. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Snap’s stock rose nearly 8% on Wednesday amid the news, leaving shares down about 25.7% year to date despite a 29% increase over the last month.

The company expects to cut more than $500 million in annualized expenses by the second half of the year, driven significantly by the recently announced layoffs, as well as broader efforts to reduce operating costs and stock-based compensation, CEO Evan Spiegel said. He asked employees in North America to work from home on Wednesday.

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Snap anticipates $95 million to $130 million in layoff-related charges, most of which will fall in the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing.

Snap’s layoffs come after the company invested heavily in its augmented reality glasses unit, known as Specs, and is planning to launch the product this year.

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Snapchat has invested heavily in augmented reality glasses. (Alisha Jucevic/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Irenic Capital has urged Snap to either spin off or shut down the business unit, which has received $3.5 billion in investment, as a means of conserving cash while the company pursues broader cost cuts.

“Cutting costs may appease an activist in the near term, and give long-suffering shareholders some relief, but whether it really leaves the company with a defensible business model and competitive position that it can defend, develop and turn into profits and cash flow is still unclear,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

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Reuters contributed to this report.