Derby teaching assistants are to take six days of strike action in the long-running dispute over cuts to their pay, UNISON has announced today (Wednesday). School support staff will take action next…Read more…
A bargaining win for disabled workers is what unions continue to fight for
To mark Disability History Month I thought this would be a good time to share the great progress unions have made on disability issues. Community have negotiated an adult apprenticeship agreement and…Read more…
NEC pays tribute to Eric Roberts
‘We should make Eric proud by continuing on in the union – let’s make and keep this the best union’
The article NEC pays tribute to Eric Roberts first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
Reserved (low pay) seat threshold for 2016/17
UNISON’s principles of proportionality and fair representation means that some seats on elected bodies are reserved for low-paid members
The article Reserved (low pay) seat threshold for 2016/17…Read more…
Synopsis of appraisal of Sustainable Transition Plans, (STP’s)
STPs five-year plan? Is the IOW within one of 44 areas identified as the geographical ‘footprints’? , No; (the smallest area covers a population size of 300,000 and the largest 2.8 million)….Read more…
Newham Mayor Candidate – Why we need a leader to make a hard decision
I must admit that I agree with much (but not all) of the rant below by Newham @triggerdemocracy. I to have been overwhelmed by complaints by local Party members about what has gone on and will support the call for a proper and independent enquiry into …Read more…
Snap General Secretary election called
Once again Len McCluskey has decided to force a snap General Secretary election, in which he intends to stand for re-election. The announcement is here and the official Unite information is here.
Calling the election now, a year early, with nomination…Read more…
‘Don’t mess with our pensions’
Workers at AWE plc – the Atomic Weapons Establishment – who staged a successful lobby of MPs today (December 6) over their pensions’ ‘betrayal’, have pledged to continue the fight into…Read more…
‘In the hands of the membership’
The Executive Council of Unite has today (December 6) agreed that the timetable for the election of the union’s general secretary will be brought forward to the first months of 2017. This will…Read more…
IMF in radical challenge to “accepted truths” on globalization
The IMF has published a new feature on globalisation. It promotes a radical debate, with contributions from leading economists and public figures – not least TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady – and no-one defends the status quo. This blog summaries the contributions, with a few observations of…Read more…
Haud the bus!
People across Scotland are backing Unite’s Haud the Bus campaign to bring buses back under public ownership. Unite’s Community section set up the ‘Haud the Bus’ campaign to protest against…Read more…
Rethink bank branch closures
Unite the union has urged MSPs to back a motion calling on RBS and other banks to think again about ‘slash and burn’ branch closures. Last week, RBS announced plans to close a further 86…Read more…
Passenger safety threat
Plans to strip Network Rail of complete control of England’s railway tracks are a retrograde step that raises the spectre of the Hatfield train crash in 2000 which happened under the watch of…Read more…
Our social care services are facing a daily crisis – the government must fund them properly
As long as social care is so cruelly underfunded, problems will persist and will only be exacerbated by an ageing population. That means real and lasting impacts for the care worker and the cared…Read more…
Foodbank comes to parliament
Unite is calling on MPs from across the political divide to take a stand against UK hunger by supporting the Hope not Hunger pop-up foodbank when it comes to parliament on Wednesday (December 7)….Read more…
Fantastic Powers, and Where to Find Them: The Investigatory Powers Act 2016
06 December 2016
By Paul Scholey, Head of Employment Rights Team, Morrish Solicitors
We’ve not had a lot of success, historically, with our Snooping Powers in the UK.
The Regulation of…Read more…
‘Forgotten face’ of insecure work
Unite and the TUC have called for stricter legislation to prevent the exploitation of agency workers, after a study found that 1m people will be working for employment agencies in Britain by 2020….Read more…
Blacklisting: justice fight goes on
While trade unionists spent years being monitored by construction firms in a shocking blacklisting scandal uncovered seven years ago, with many workers not being able to find work for decades, it is…Read more…
Government sets out who will be covered by 40% strike threshold
Threshold for ‘important public services’ takes effect on 1 March; political fund opt-in rules transition period starts on same day
The article Government sets out who will be covered by 40% strike…Read more…
“Housing Associations have lost their soul” Call for new campaign group to make them more democratic and accountable.
At the Labour Housing Group fringe at this year’s Labour Party Conference former UNISON Regional Secretary Frank Hont (and now Liverpool Council Cabinet member for Housing) described Housing Associations as having “lost their soul”. This was in front of Labour Housing shadow minister John Healey…Read more…