Latest ONS figures show construction falling by -1.3 per cent into May; this follows a Q1 growth figure that was the slowest for two years. The chart below shows the longer view. Construction output caved-in in the early years of the coalition; from ar…Read more…
George Osborne: British Conservative or German-style Christian Democrat?
My former TUC colleague Duncan Weldon, who is now the Newsnight economics correspondent, has written an interesting post for his BBC web page today under the headline ‘Osborne’s “Christian Democrat Budget”? Duncan knows that I’ve long taken an interest in the German economic model and, accordingly,…Read more…
UNISON care workers recieve compensation after violent incident at work
Most people join a union for personal advice and support at work or the benefits of having collective bargaining over your terms and conditions.
Free legal advice and representation by trusted and expert union lawyers is also something to bear …Read more…
Balfour Beatty heading for the rocks:
Balfour Beatty issues another profit warning UK engineering group Balfour Beatty has issued another profit warning, saying its 2015 results will be hit by a “shortfall” of £120m-£150m….Read more…
Common priorities for Europe in Britain & Ireland
Yesterday I had the honour of addressing the Congress of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), and a large part of my speech focused on the challenges facing the European Union. Including, of…Read more…
Grimsby seafood factory safe
Unite welcomed today’s (July 9) decision by Young’s Seaford to focus production at its Grimsby sites in a move that secures 500 jobs and the future of the threatened Marsden Road factory in the town….Read more…
Budget pay freeze woe
There’s no doubt public sector workers form the backbone of society and keep the essential services we often take for granted ticking over. Despite the value they deliver to every single…Read more…
Solid support
There was solid support for the London Underground stoppage today (July 9) among members of Unite, who were on strike in a dispute over the introduction of all-night Tube services from September….Read more…
The Budget of deception and despair
It is an austerity budget full of deception – thousands taken from the poorest, tens of thousands given to the richest, more tax cuts for businesses and a savage battering of the young. The…Read more…
RMT STRIKE: First of Workers’ Actions against Government’s “Productivity” Offensive.
Tube strike begins across London Underground network Tube staff have gone on strike across the entire London Underground network in a row over pay and conditions. The strike, which officially began…Read more…
Solidarity in action
In 1973, John Keenan, Robert Somerville and Bob Fulton, three Unite members took a stand against a coup on the other side of the world. They refused to help Pinochet bomb the people of Chile. …Read more…
Speeches from the, “Greece Says No” Victory Rally:
The Greece-tuc-meeting, TUC Congress House was packed on Monday night to celebrate the remarkable victory for OXI/NO in Sunday’s referendum in Greece. The Greece Solidarity Campaign’s rally was…Read more…
Budget aftershock: Osborne’s £3.9 billion tax on green power
The Chancellor’s £3.9 billion tax on renewable energy generators “is a punitive measure for the clean energy sector…another example of this Government’s unfair, illogical and obsessive attacks on renewables.” Renewable electricity will no longer be exempt from the Climate Change Levy…Read more…
Budget: Insult to NHS staff
Today George Osborne announced that I and my NHS colleagues will face another four years of restricted pay. It is an absolute insult to the passionate healthcare staff who work in the NHS….Read more…
Banks back to ‘dark ages’?
Following yesterday’s Budget (July 8), Unite warned George Osborne that his plan to scrap the bank levy shows the Tory government are ditching their responsibility to bring order to the…Read more…
We won’t let them destroy us
Young members in Unite have condemned yesterday’s Tory Budget following what we believe to be an assault on young people by the Chancellor. George Osbourne has committed to ending university…Read more…
European Parliament votes on TTIP: What next?
MEPs voted yesterday on an important report concerning the TTIP EU-US trade deal.Read more…
Unite Rules Conference – day three
The main excitement on Wednesday was motion 2/1 from the Executive Council, which removed “so far as may be lawful from rule “2.1 The objects of the Union shall, as far as may be lawful, be:”. Len McCluskey gave a great speech arguing why it was …Read more…
Pensions Board (not bored)
http://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=9423
With apologies for parochialism, I didn’t want to let pass blogging my attendance (though not as a member) at the inaugural meeting of the local Pensions Board last night (toppin…Read more…
European Parliament view on EU-US trade deal
The European Parliament has finally voted on its resolution about the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership, or TTIP, the EU-US trade deal being negotiated by Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and US Trade Representative Mike Froman. Most of the news yesterday was about a compromise over…Read more…