When Berlin announced last month that it will introduce rent control because “we don’t want a situation like in London,” there wasn’t a renter in the UK who didn’t cry out in frustration: it’s the Germans, rather than our government, who are trying to avoid what’s going on in the capital, and all…Read more…
What can we do about shift work?
There has been a lot of research published in the past few years around the effect of shift work and our health since the World Health Organisation classified night shift work as a probable…Read more…
A New Message to RMT members from the campaign for Jeremy Corbyn to be Leader of the Labour Party
17th July 2015
Dear Colleagues
A New Message to RMT members from the campaign for Jeremy Corbyn to be Leader of the Labour Party
Please find enclosed a message from Jeremy…Read more…
‘March of the Makers’ goes into reverse
By David Bailey Whatever happened to the ‘March of the Makers’ and the much heralded rebalancing the British economy? This year has so far been pretty dire for UK manufacturing. The…Read more…
Behind the infant Queen’s gesture lies a dark history of aristocratic Nazi links
Karina Urbach It is no surprise that the royal archive is closed to historians: a wealth of embarrassment lies within The Duke and Duchess of Windsor meet Adolf Hitler in Munich on 23 October 1937…Read more…
UK government echoes Pinochet in trade union crackdown
The UK government crackdown on trade union rights is reminiscent of former Chilean dictator Augustus Pinochet and an attack on democracy itself, UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings has…Read more…
Isle of Wight’s debt problems revealed by new insolvency figures
INSOLVENCY rates on the Isle of Wight are among the highest in the country according to latest figures. CP They paint a bleak picture for the Island which has been ranked joint 18th in a league table…Read more…
Glasgow Homeless workers strike ends victoriously after 17-week battle
An agreement has been reached between Glasgow City Council and its homelessness staff workers in Unison after almost four months on strike.Read more…
‘Green crap’ Tories ban solar and wind energy subsidies
That massive solar power subsidy the Tories want to cut? It costs the average consumer £10 per year on annual electricity and gas bills of £1,338 per year. There is no pledge in the Conservative manifesto to cut support for solar power – but they must have known this was coming. The Energy…Read more…
Counting the cost of the tax credit changes
In his speech the Chancellor said that “It’s because we’ve taken…difficult decisions….that Britain is able to afford a pay rise. Because let me be clear: Britain deserves a pay rise and Britain is getting a pay rise.” It sounds great but when you look at his plans it turns out that…Read more…
The impossible dream?
Find a job, marry, start a family, buy a home – even after rapid social and technological changes of the past century, traditional rites of passage have largely persisted to this day. But if…Read more…
Gabriel Resources takes Romania to World Bank ISDS Court over Rosia Montana
Gabriel Resources is suing Romania through an ISDS mechanism for gold it was not allowed to mine. What does this say about national sovereignty?Read more…
Just not taking it
Residents on the Cressingham Gardens estate in Lambeth are celebrating a small victory in their three year-long campaign to save their homes from demolition after being granted a judicial review….Read more…
Migrants and benefits report: more hot air
A new report by MigrationWatch, a lobby group that seeks tighter immigration controls, has received much coverage in the press this week as it purports to show that some migrants claim more benefits than residents, or as the Express delicately put it yesterday: ‘foreigners more likely to claim…Read more…
Submission on “Call in” over Pension Provision for Members 22 July 2015
This is a report I submitted today as a Councillor to Newham Overview and Scrunity Committee.
“Recommendation
1. Firstly, I would like to thank members of Overview and Scrutiny for supporting my request that this decision is “called in” and reviewed.
2. The decision by the Executive Mayor to…Read more…
RESTRUCTURING, STATION STAFF – SOUTH WEST TRAINS
Our Ref: BR2/150021st July 2015 Dear Colleague RESTRUCTURING, STATION STAFF – SOUTH WEST TRAINS For some considerable time your Senior Union Representatives have been…Read more…
The Trade Union Bill: The Government should be careful what it wishes for
Let’s give credit where it is due. And the hype is true. The government’s new Trade Union Bill is the most significant piece of trade union legislation in a generation; perhaps even longer than…Read more…
Buy British-made cars call
Two MPs launched a debate in the House of Commons last week (July 16), calling on police forces to support the UK automotive industry by buying British-made cars – a policy that Unite has long…Read more…
‘Curtain of secrecy and fear’
Tory-led Bromley council has suspended a Unite rep in a bid to silence critics of its privatisation programme. The council suspended Unite rep Alan Brown on Friday (July 17). Details of the…Read more…
Not to be ignored
The workplace at present is full of uncertainties and insecurity. But one thing is certain. The workforce is getting older and workers, by choice or necessity, are working longer. So what are…Read more…