Until recently all of us assumed that when we are off sick we would still be paid, whether through a sick pay scheme negotiated by a trade union, through a company sick pay policy or, in the absence of these, through statutory sick pay (SSP). This seem…Read more…
Women who flee sexual violence abroad need rights in the UK
This week sees the start of a campaign by the Women’s Asylum Charter whose 350 supporters include the TUC, ASLEF Women’s Committee, GMB, NAPO, NASUWT, NUT, PCS Women’s Forum and Unison. In supporting this Charter, the TUC and its member unions are standing up for the rights of women who come to…Read more…
Police Chief disregards compelling evidence
Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, writes in today’s Guardian and calls for ‘radical structural reform’ to deal with the impact of Government funding cuts. His solution…Read more…
UNION BUSTING BY UK PUBLIC SERVICES PROVIDERS
The motion below on Union Busting has been sent to by UNISON Housing Association branch to next year’s Greater London Regional Council AGM in February 2014. If it is passed it will also be considered as a regional motion for the National Delegate Confe…Read more…
Class Action and stopping the endless drip, drip of corporate fraud
A very good article by lawyer Katherine Dandy on Class Actions in Pension Insight. I have added this comment to the on-line site.
“You make a lot of sense Katherine. There is also a wider governance point that Trustees should consider.
It is n…Read more…
Italian unions strike: #stopjobsact
Italian unions, led by the TUC’s sister organisation the CGIL, have been taking to the streets – including a general strike on Friday – to oppose reforms of the labour market being proposed by the centre-left government of Matteo Renzi. They say they are defending workers’…Read more…
Overseas aid bill clears Commons – now heads for Lords
Michael Moore MP’s private members’ bill – aiming to bind future UK governments to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on official development assistance (overseas aid) cleared the…Read more…
Amazon: Decent Jobs needed!
15-21 December is Decent Jobs Week, when we try to shine a light on the UK’s growing jobs crisis.Read more…
Newsletters and Christmas Cards for Ilford North
This afternoon West Hammers went to Ilford North to help deliver a Labour newsletter and Christmas cards from local candidate Wes Streeting.
In the newsletter there is a picture of Wes from 2010 when he was President of the National Union of Stu…Read more…
the poorest pay 47% of their income in tax (the richest pay 34%)
Check out post at TUC Touchstone: “Saving Our Safety Net Fact of the Week: the poorest pay 47% of their income in tax (the richest pay 34%).
Why should the poorest pay the most and don’t let the Daily Mail continue to confuse income tax with all taxes…Read more…
New Scotland in UNISON now online
December’s Scotland in UNISON is now online: Stories on engaging people in devo plans; Bhopal reports; GAMH campaign; SNP conference lobby and police cuts; OTs under stress; Lanarkshire Health PFI fight; Homelessness costs; FE colleges; Holiday pay and much more in this edition. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/siu/index.html
Italian unions stage General Strike in defence of workplace rights
Yesterday Italian unions staged a General Strike in protest at the Jobs Act which seeks to deregulate employment rights by weakening national bargaining and removing protections against unfair…Read more…
An Account of Despair by Volker Braun
When she entered
And set down her empty bags on my tabletops
I felt caught out in my
Missed deeds.
The evening news dripped bloodily from the screen
And the bed stood encircled
Aside in the…Read more…
UNISON LGPS Seminar 2014 – Time to govern YOUR money!
This was my welcome speech to the 120 UNISON reperesentatives who attended our National Local Government Pension Scheme seminar.
I chaired the meeting but stole most of this intro from the speech that our President, Lucia McKeever, was due to deliver….Read more…
Forget Farage, Support Unions And Fight Back: Russell Brand The Trews (E210)
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Workers in Queensferry and East Kilbride face uncertain Christmas
IBM workers who deliver ScottishPower’s outsourced £20m IT services, face an uncertain Christmas after being told that they face further restructuring. Staff are worried that this may mean further job losses.
IT staff maintain customer services systems and infrastructure which engineers rely on when tackling power cuts.
Staff say more restructuring will further disrupt customer serviceRead more…
Misleading claims of four per cent earnings growth
It is of limited relevance to the population as a whole that some people are lucky enough to be enjoying stable employment with rises in earnings of four per cent. The figure on earnings growth for employees in full-time work for over a year issued by …Read more…
Time to take action on pensions
There are some big changes to our pensions next year. The Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme changes next April and the UK government is allowing transfers out as a lump sum. In addition, new…Read more…
We need an open dialogue about what ‘evidence’ is
Tucked away in the ‘evidence check’ documents in the Select Committee webforum is something I have always suspected might be the case. The evidence government uses to develop policies is sometimes no…Read more…
Today is #flexiworkday. Here’s why we should support flexible working
It isn’t always possible to stick to traditional 9-to-5 working hours – childcare, caring for friends and family, and looking after your own personal health can clash with rigid, fixed hours. In these circumstances, having a bit of flexibility in how, when and where you work can make a big…Read more…