“I want to a build a union that looks after you – I know the pressure you, your families and your colleagues are under. So I will always stand up for you, and ensure that UNISON properly supports our members both inside and outside of the workplace”.
Brexit is too important to be left to Westminster
The UK Supreme Court judgement has finally clarified the key role of parliament in triggering Article 50. That judgement reinforced the centrality of elected politicians to decisions that will shape the future of the UK, as opposed to the Prime Ministe…Read more…
What are robots for?
It would seem digitisation is occurring, at a greater or lesser pace in different countries. There are ever-more sophisticated computers, robots and advances in AI. Whether we are on the tipping point of a fourth industrial revolution, is a pertinent q…Read more…
Tackling fraudulent & abusive recruitment: ILO signs new anti-slavery pledge with UK
This afternoon I was at the Home Office to witness the signing of a ‘letter of intent’ between the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) about collaboration in the fight against fraudulent and abusive recruitment practices, forced…Read more…
Sunday Night Live – Fake News Invasion 29 Jan
SNL is back! Post Truth Politics: 5pm, Sunday 29th Jan 2017 @GerrysKitchenST
View this email in your browserRegister here!Sunday Night Live 2017
Post-Truth politics & ethics in the digital ageWhat is it, does it matter and what…Read more…
Academics back dispute by King’s College cleaners
Academics back dispute by King’s College cleaners
Cleaners at King’s College London are to strike for two days this week (Thursday and Friday) in protest over cutbacks.More than 50 academics at King’s, which is ranked among the top universities in the world, have signed a letter in protest over…Read more…
Building our technical skills – the Industrial Strategy Green Paper
This week the Government has made a great deal of its proposals on skills in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper. A BEIS press release came out last weekend entitled Technical education at heart of modern industrial strategy and this echoed the longstanding refrain that the UK has world…Read more…
Swimming with sharks
By the time this is read Prime Minister Theresa May will be on her way with her begging bowl to Washington. Earlier ending months of speculation, and to acclaim in the right wing press, the Prime…Read more…
At risk
The UK auto sector has surged to a nearly two-decade high, with the latest figures from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showing an 8.5 per cent rise in the number…Read more…
Pregnancy discrimination: Government action is long overdue and misses the point
Today the government published its long overdue response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report on pregnancy and maternity discrimination. Given that the EHRC estimate that some 54,000 women are forced out of their jobs per year due to pre…Read more…
Lost: £200bn of GDP
Today 2016 Q4 GDP figures showed growth of 0.6 %, and the economy continuing to survive the Brexit vote. But we should not lose the wood for the trees. The economy is still bearing serious scars of the financial crisis and the austerity which followed. Today’s figures also give us an annual figure…Read more…
Pregnant womens’ safety – Government gets it half right
Yesterday the Government published their response to a report from the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee into pregnancy and maternity discrimination. Quite a bit of that original report…Read more…
Putting working people first in the Brexit plans: we’re ready to talk
It’s a bit of a risk, writing a blog about where we are in the Brexit negotiations saga. Events often move with astonishing speed: so on top of last week’s Lancaster House speech by the Prime Minister, this week has already seen the Supreme Court’s decision on whether Parliament…Read more…
Remembering Eric – A UNISON celebration of the life of our President Eric Roberts
“The life of Eric Roberts, a lifelong servant of our union and of those in greatest need, will be celebrated at a UNISON event in London in February.
Our President, who passed away at the end of November, worked for the London Ambulance Service for 42 …Read more…
What impact are robots having on jobs?
The debate about technological change, and whether it could lead to widespread unemployment has been revived in recent years in several studies. The seminal 2013 paper by Frey and Osborne sparked much debate about the impact of digitisation. They claim…Read more…
High heel ‘probe’
After being sent home for not wearing high heels on the first day of her new job at accountancy firm PwC, Nicola Thorp started a petition which in days garnered more than 150,000 signatures, as…Read more…
‘Sort this now’
Communities in the Highlands are being left at high risk in emergencies as ambulance services are stretched to breaking point, with staff working long shifts leaving them dangerously exhausted….Read more…
How fast is technological change happening?
This is the first in a series of blogs considering the extent of robotisation and its impact. In a lecture at the TUC in November 2015, Andy Haldane, Chief Economist to the Bank of England said that “we may be on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution”. Clearly, the use of technology is…Read more…
RMT-SWT COMPANY COUNCIL UNION NEWS 2017-01-25 14:28:00
Circular No: IR/012/17
TO ALL BRANCHES, REGIONAL OFFICES & REGIONAL COUNCILS
Our Ref: BR2/14/1
12th January 2017
Dear Colleague
TRAIN DESPATCH OF SOUTHERN (GTR) DOO SERVICES – SOUTH WEST TRAINS
I write with regards to the above matter and in relation to the recent…Read more…
‘Battling Betty’
In a tribute to lifelong Unite member and socialist activist, Betty Tebbs, who passed on Monday (January 23) at the age of 98, Unite relives a passionate speech she gave at last year’s Real…Read more…