On Tuesday 7 March 2017, on the eve of International Women’s Day, the Mary Macarthur Plaque was unveiled on the site of her Golders Green home. Mary Macarthur was a Scottish woman, trade…Read more…
#Budget2017: Zero out of four
Yesterday we set the Chancellor four tests for whether his Budget would deliver for working people. Today we have no good news to report. This wasn’t a budget for living standards, it didn’t give the British economy the investment it needs to see us through the uncertainty of Brexit, and public…Read more…
Public service workers are “the forgotten part of the ‘jam’ generation”, says UNISON
Commenting on the Spring Budget today (Wednesday) UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: On pay “For almost a decade nurses, teaching assistants, town hall staff and others in the public sector…Read more…
An ‘extraordinary Budget’
The budget lacked the ambition and action to equip the nation for the challenges of Brexit, Unite said today (Wednesday March 8). Responding to Chancellor Philip Hammond’s budget, Unite…Read more…
#Budget2017: Pensions freedom liberates cash straight into the Treasury
Paperwork released with the Budget has revealed what an astonishing short-term money spinner so-called “pensions freedom” has been for the Treasury – and hinted at what a disaster it might prove for our ability to provide for old age. Originally announced in Budget 2014, pensions…Read more…
We won’t be silenced
On October 31 2016 Amber Rudd, home secretary, made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the mining community – there was to be no enquiry into the violent policing at the Battle of Orgreave….Read more…
Do you know an outstanding healthcare assistant?
Nominations are open for the UNISON-sponsored Jean Atkinson award for outstanding healthcare assistant (closing date 31 March)
The article Do you know an outstanding healthcare assistant? first…Read more…
Culture change call
As people in the UK and the world over celebrate International Women’s Day today (March 8), Unite, the country’s largest construction union, will launch its Women in Construction Network on the first…Read more…
Wake up to what women need
As the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, gets ready to deliver his Budget today, he would do well to remember the 47 per cent. That’s the proportion of women in the UK workforce. With this year’s…Read more…
New institutions needed to address concerns about migration
The Government has decided that ‘taking back control’ of the UK’s borders is more important than anything else, more important in particular than working people’s jobs and living standards. Even if immigration numbers don’t actually come down as a result, the…Read more…
Unite urges members to sound the alarm if jobs threatened by #Brexit
Unite has launched a new website to make sure its members are kept informed about what’s happening about Brexit, an online resource dedicated to bringing the news, views, facts and analysis on…Read more…
Women pension losers to lobby MPs on International Women’s Day, says UNISON
Women born in the 1950s who lost out on their state pension when the government made retirement age 65 for both men and women are lobbying MPs later today (Wednesday). The changes introduced in 1995…Read more…
OPINION: Community Links life-president Kevin Jenkins wonders how Newham can maintain services on a council tax freeze
This article was in last weeks local Newspaper, the “Newham Recorder”. I have had no contact with Kevin about this but it would appear that this highly respected former senior Councillor shares some of my my concerns about the recent budget.
“On…Read more…
International Women’s Day 2017
Joining a trade union … is the best way to achieve decent pay rises and pay transparencyRead more…
International Women’s Day: 50-50 by 2030
Today (8 March) is International Women’s Day (#IWD2017) and the UN’s chosen theme for this year focusses on ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’. This theme chimes well with the values of the TUC and our sister trade unions around the world who will be joining the global…Read more…
Positive about the future
When 20-year-old Liam McBerney catches up with his old school friends the talk inevitably turns to the future. What becomes apparent, says Liam, is that today’s uncertain and changeable economy is a…Read more…
Blog: A rapid rise in the number of apprentices is on the way
With significant changes on the way, this week is a great opportunity to speak to UNISON members, employers and apprentices and recruit apprentices into UNISON. A rapid rise in the number of…Read more…
Unite boosting pay
Unite, the foremost experts on negotiating pay in London and the East of England, have launched a blueprint for boosting workers’ pay amid rising inflation and slow pay growth in 2017. Unite…Read more…
‘Shocking’ failings
Unite has instructed its lawyers to investigate and look into legal actions against Bromley council and individual Bromley councillors for failings in their statutory duties to protect the people of…Read more…
Interpreters’ ‘race to the bottom’
Justice secretary Liz Truss has been urged to review how vital interpreter contracts are awarded and how they operate, following reports that Pearl Linguistics has gone into liquidation. Unite…Read more…