I spoke today at #LatinAmerica15, the annual conference devoted to solidarity with our colleagues in South and Central America and the Caribbean. I was talking about Guatemala, in the company of Noé…Read more…
West Ham Labour at Palace of Westminister
Picture collage from last Thursday’s meeting of the West Ham Labour Party General Committee, which courtesy of our MP, Lyn Brown, took place at the Jubilee Room in the Palace of Westminster. Beforehand we went on a guided tour of Parliament, led by our…Read more…
Broad alliance must raise the alarm on new Immigration Bill
The Immigration Bill is due to go through the Report stage and Third Reading in the House of Commons this Tuesday on 1st December. The Bill has emerged from the Public Bill Committee – to which the…Read more…
The UNISON General Secretary Election and the Single Transferable Vote…
I realise that I am in a tiny minority in UNISON, on the left on UNISON and generally in believing that we should use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) to elect our General Secretary.Happily I don’t mind being the one person who is right when all the rest of you are wrong. (I can even be generous…Read more…
Credit to Dave Prentis
This blog always give credit where it’s due.It’s a good thing that UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, has today spoken out against a “snap decision” to bomb Syria. That is right of course.If the answer is ever a UK military intervention you must know that you have asked the wrong question.UK…Read more…
Rally to save our steel
On Saturday November 21 hundreds of steelworkers and their families from across the UK, joined trade union leaders and politicians in a rally to Save our Steel in Sheffield. Coming amid a…Read more…
Energy strike suspended
A week-long strike by EDF Energy workers carrying out Smart meter installations, due to start on Monday (November 30), has been suspended for talks to take place with the conciliation service, Acas….Read more…
War on the poorest
Media rumours about the death of austerity are premature says the Institute of Fiscal Studies as it and the Resolution Foundation highlight Osborne’s new attack on the poorest. George…Read more…
MEPs vote in favour of strategic framework on health and safety at work
The health and well-being of employees is a fundamental right for all European citizens. While there has been considerable progress in terms of protection of workers in difficult and hazardous roles, occupational safety risks are still in existence. A …Read more…
UNISON condemns cuts to pay for teaching assistants
Threatened cuts to pay for teaching assistants in the North East have been condemned by UNISON. Staff in Durham schools could lose up to £5,000 a year under council proposals to introduce term-time…Read more…
There must be no snap decision over bombing Syria, says UNISON
UNISON has today (Friday) urged MPs not to make any snap decisions involving the UK in action over Syria.
The article There must be no snap decision over bombing Syria, says UNISON first appeared on…Read more…
Whatever happens, this cannot be the end for carbon capture in the UK
This week saw the UK’s darkest day so far for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). At the CCSA, we and our members in the industry are still in shock. The same words keep repeating themselves; devastated, sad, bewildered. The question; Why? And why now? Amazingly, two days on the silence from…Read more…
One week left to Vote for Dave Prentis as UNISON General Secretary
Picture of long standing East End Housing Caretaker and UNISON Steward, Peter Sambrook (middle) with 2 colleagues reminding members that only a week left to vote for Dave Prentis as General Secretary.
The ballot closes next Friday 4 December 2015. “Da…Read more…
UNISON survey shows scrapping of student nurse bursaries will lead to major shortages
A UNISON survey shows that nine in ten (91 per cent) student nurses would not have applied for the nursing degree without access to the bursary which the government intends to scrap in 2017.
The…Read more…
UNISON reacts to London Ambulance Service being placed into special measures
UNISON has reacted to London Ambulance Service being placed into special measures.
The article UNISON reacts to London Ambulance Service being placed into special measures first appeared on the…Read more…
How legal challenges and green workplaces can tackle climate change
Canada is tapping the expertise of UK unions in a project that will put unions at the heart of efforts to green workplaces. Earlier this month, I was invited to spend a weekend in Toronto to share my UK experiences with a Canadian green workplace proje…Read more…
Why no fanfare to the end of workfare?
Compulsory unpaid work experience (‘workfare’) has long and rightly been criticised by by the TUC and others. Yet it now looks like the government may be planning to quietly end it. Buried in the Comprehensive Spending Review document, on page 89 to be precise, is this little nugget:…Read more…
Defending manufacturing from Chinese dumping: #SaveOurSteel
Today, Trade Ministers from across the EU will gather in Brussels to discuss the threat posed to manufacturing by the dumping of products like steel and tyres on Europe by the Chinese. As part of the #SaveOurSteel campaign, the TUC has urged UK Trade Minister Lord Maude to reverse the…Read more…
West Ham Labour Party Christmas Quiz & Social
The highlight of the West Ham Labour movement family year. Read more…
Report from UNITE sector conference, November 2015
The conferences were organised over three days, with services sectors on Monday, manufacturing sectors on Tuesday, and transport sectors on Wednesday. The Graphical, Paper, Media & IT (GPM&IT) conference was on Tuesday. This report covers the p…Read more…