Patient safety in north east London could be compromised if the sterilisation of operating theatre instruments are moved nearly 40 miles away to Maidstone in Kent, Unite has warned. About 60…Read more…
AWE win
Workers at AWE plc – the Atomic Weapons Establishment – have accepted ‘the best possible deal available’ to resolve the long-running pensions dispute. Unite said its 800 members had…Read more…
‘Caught red-handed’
Sports Direct is accused of ‘business as usual’ today (September 5) as Unite revealed the controversial sports retailer had broken promises to offer its store staff guaranteed hours instead of…Read more…
UNISON calls on PM to follow Scotland and lift the pay cap
Commenting on confirmation from the First Minister that the Scottish government is to lift the public sector pay cap, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “It’s high time the Prime…Read more…
Blacklisting still happening
The blacklisting scandal first revealed in 2009, when it was discovered that thousands of construction workers were denied jobs, some for decades, because of trade union involvement, is far from…Read more…
MPs call for blacklist firm Sir Robert McAlpine to be stripped of £29m Big Ben contract
MPs lined up to call for a public inquiry into blacklisting and for Sir Robert McAlpine to be stripped of the contract to refurbish Big Ben during a 5 September parliamentary debate. Blacklisting…Read more…
Join the rally for EU citizens living in the UK
A rally to celebrate EU citizens living in the UK, and British citizens living in Europe, is to be held on Wednesday 13 September.
The article Join the rally for EU citizens living in the UK first…Read more…
OK Google, let’s talk unions
One of the latest frontiers in technology is voice controlled smart assistants. Systems like Apple’s Siri, Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana have been bringing voice controlled commands to mobiles,…Read more…
A statue for the socialist suffragette
There is a memorial in Westminster to the brave women who fought for women’s suffrage, but one of the key campaigners doesn’t feature on it.
The article A statue for the socialist suffragette first…Read more…
Pay pressure is beginning to pay off – but there’s so much more to do
We’re not satisfied with ending the pay cap. We want to see public sector workers recover the real terms losses they’ve been subjected to over nearly a decade of austerity. It’s completely unjust…Read more…
Engineering a better society
Single mum Magda Lezama is a senior Leeds council engineer, a rambler, a wine enthusiast and a UNISON activist.
The article Engineering a better society first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
Famous friends of the NHS
“The crisis in the NHS has been caused by political decisions.” Words not from a Labour politician or even a trade unionist, but from (probably) the most intelligent person of our era. Stephen…Read more…
New school year, new materials, new challenges
UNISON in schools has been working hard over the summer to produce new materials and update existing guidance and materials.
The article New school year, new materials, new challenges first appeared…Read more…
McDonald’s workers’ requests are reasonable – they deserve to be met
We are not asking for a lot. We are asking to be treated with respect, have guaranteed hours, and to be paid a decent living wage of £10 that we can afford to live on. It’s all very reasonable when you actually think about it. These are the words of Lewis Baker, one of the…
The post…Read more…
Public sector pay thaw?
After years of protests and falling living standards for public sector workers, the government may finally be reversing its stance on public sector pay. The government today (September 4)…Read more…
Crane strike suspended
A planned strike by Unite members at tower crane company HTC Wolffkran has been suspended following pay negotiations held today (September 4). The pay offer will see workers receive a six per…Read more…
From Alexei to Jeremy, and much in between – Edinburgh Reviews 3 & 4
Both of my final compilation roundups of Edinburgh festival shows have now been published in the Morning Star. The third one – Sayle, Spoiler Alerts and Symphonies – can be found here. And the…Read more…
Brum bins: new ballot
‘Shoddy’ behaviour by Birmingham council has led to a fresh ballot of the city’s refuse workers, Unite announced on Friday (September 1). The union was shocked by the…Read more…
STRIKE WAVE:
Actions by workers started recently, in 2016 and developed in quantity in 2017. Summer wave of strike action. This summer has seen a real wave of strike action, the last two weeks in particular by…Read more…
Enough about highly-paid footballers, let’s focus on the low-paid workers
The transfer window finally came to a close last Thursday. As ever, it was charactertised by a lot of headlines about wages. At the TUC, we’re a fan of wages being in the news – but in Premier League football, it’s not low wages that are making headlines. Real wages have been falling for…Read more…