At our last Delegate Meeting Thomas Chigbo from Leeds Citizens was our guest speaker.
Thomas spoke to us about how Leeds Citizens was a new organisation in Leeds working to bring together different…Read more…
The Ross Pritchard Annual Essay Competition
The Ross Pritchard Annual Essay Competition, is open to all trade unionists. First prize £750, closing date Saturday 26th September. The RPMF was established to commemorate the life of one of the…Read more…
Bloggers anonymous…?
I blog in order to share my views and to let people know what I am doing. It’s part of accountability.I have little admiration for those who cloak the expression of their views in anonymity.Since the last General Secretary election we have been blessed with the online presence of a normally…Read more…
Hundreds expected to join today’s Plymouth #loveFE demo
Unions say adult learning has tangible social and economic benefits both for individuals and the taxpayerRead more…
NEST sings a sweeter song than Osborne’s Destination Anywhere
With the honourable exception of The Marvelettes, those embarking on a journey typically have an end point in mind. Yet, Destination Anywhere has been the soundtrack to the recent pension liberalisation changes. The publication by NEST, the state-backed pension provider, of a blueprint for…Read more…
Red Line Voting gets Green light to Save Planet, Respect Human Rights and Stop Fat Cats
I was really pleased to take part in the debate and vote in favour of the AMNT’s Red Lines initiative which was approved at our summer conference on Wednesday this week. They cover a wide range of environmental, social and corporate governance iss…Read more…
Government delivers triple blow to green economy… in just one week
The new government has been in office for just 6 weeks and in the last 7 days has already set alarm bells ringing on the UK’s energy policy. The Conservatives have followed through on their promise to withdraw state subsidies for on-shore wind farms, though a year early – and whilst Energy…Read more…
Secrets and Spies linked with blacklisting
WITH government ministers like Ian Duncan Smith anxiously insisting the results of their policies should be hidden behind secrecy, two stories illustrate the way police are guarding their right to…Read more…
Trucast Pay Deal?
June 26th, 2015. A pay dispute has caused unrest at Docasters Trucast in Ryde. Workers might have to take strike action if a resolution is not found. According to Unite union rep, Gerry Rawlinson,…Read more…
Austerity is not an isolated thing in itself.
The neo-liberal offensive includes Austerity but it is part of a capitalist offensive, ant-austerity is one means to block the offensive and turn things around to develop the counter-offensive, but…Read more…
Pride of Unite
As the summer kicks off, Pride events will be hosted throughout the nation, with Unite playing a decisive part as it continues in its critical work in supporting the LGBT community – both in and out…Read more…
You shall go to the ball!
Although school balls and discos have long been part of the UK’s cultural landscape, since the noughties, the much more extravagant US-style prom has captured the nation’s imagination. “More…Read more…
Challenging the Establishment
May’s general election result was a shock, not just to those in our movement but to pollsters, political commentators and even to the Tory beneficiaries now sitting smugly in their grand offices of…Read more…
Pensions: one of the last legal hurdles for same-sex couples
Peter Armstrong-Luckhurst met his husband Kristofer in 1990. They entered a civil partnership in 2009 and converted to marriage on 19 December 2014. He worked as a doctor and contributed to the NHS pension scheme from 1978 until 1994. He also bought another four years worth of ‘pension…Read more…
Solidarity forever (just not today) – SNP sails into choppy waters after ferry strike statement
RMT calls on SNP members to reject party’s “defeatist” line over austerity actionRead more…
TUC urges ministers to remove pension hurdle for same-sex couples
O’Grady says pensions law is discriminating against same-sex couples and those in civil partnerships, purely on the basis of their sexual orientationRead more…
It’s still about pay
The news that the Association of Colleges (AoC) (the national employers’ organisation for the Further Education sector) has made a 0% pay offer doesn’t simply challenge our use of the English language.
(In what sense is an offer of nothing “an offer”?)…Read more…
All roads lead to Manchester on 4 October
Building on last Saturday’s larger than expected anti austerity protests in Glasgow, London and other cities, the TUC is calling a national demonstration in Manchester on Sunday 4 October to coincide…Read more…
Afren’s remuneration: a long-term problem
A few years back, when I was blogging more regularly, Afren was one of the companies I always used to keep an eye on. This was because it clearly had some governance challenges, not least in respect of directors’ pay.
As far as I am aware it remains t…Read more…
Voting Systems: Newham Compass debate 1 July 2015
A topical subject again after May 7. I suspect that those of us who support a change in “first past the post” missed the boat during the AV referendum and we are now stuck with the current system for at least the next 5 years.
Yet it is important that…Read more…