It’s time for unions to put the fight against racism at the heart of organising, bargaining and campaigning work. We must build solidarity among working people and show that the debates about class and race in modern Britain are fundamentally linked.
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Table Mountain walk (South Wales)
I have had a busy summer walking wise but have not posted on many of the great walks that Gill and I have been on recently. This 5 mile circular Pathfinder walk from Crickhowell, South Wales was marvellous. Quite tough on a hot summer day but the views…Read more…
New workplace guidance on monkeypox
As more is discovered about the monkeypox virus, it is important that workplace reps and branches keep informed in order to support members and keep workplaces safe.
The article New workplace guidance on monkeypox first appeared on the UNISON National site.
Venator workers to strike
Members of Unite employed at chemical company Venator Materials Ltd, will begin strike action this week in a dispute over pay. The company, which produces pigments and additives, has only offered the workers a five per cent pay increase – far below the rate of inflation. The 100 plus members of Unite at the company […]
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VFS auto workers celebrate pay win
Strike action at automotive assembly contractor VFS Southampton Ltd has ended after Unite secured a pay deal worth up to 14 per cent for the lowest paid. The workers assemble large vehicles for Ford and Mercedes and took seven days of strike action in July and August. After an improved offer was put forward, they […]
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Red Funnel pay win
Strikes on all Southampton to Cowes Red Funnel ferries have ended after workers voted to accept a two-year deal pay deal worth 18.3 per cent for the lowest paid and 13.4 per cent for all other staff. More than 120 workers, members of Unite who work as customer service staff, shunters and ratings, will benefit […]
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Haunted by Andrey Vyshinsky’s Ghost
Last week I sent out a message to tens of thousands of trade unionists alerting them to two bits of news. The good news, I reported, was that some workers in Poland had won a…Read more…
Review: Cop Hater, by Ed McBain
I began reading the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain nearly 40 years ago, having stumbled upon them entirely by accident in a library. McBain (real name Evan Hunter) is widely seen as the inventor…Read more…
Help There for You raise £1m to fight energy bills
There for You plans to publish a comprehensive package of help to support members with energy bills over the winter months
The article Help There for You raise £1m to fight energy bills first appeared on the UNISON National site.
What is going on beneath the surface?
As our movement experiences a strike wave unprecedented in recent times, because our class faces a cost of living crisis which will echo in misery and death throughout the winter unless we fight back, there is (of course) another struggle going on, hid…Read more…
Review: Kindred, by Octavia Butler
This book is a cross between Jack Finney’s time travel classic Time and Again and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Written in 1979 and set three years earlier, it tells the story of a young African…Read more…
AQA strikers take their fight to company HQ
Company refuses to negotiate with the union over a 3% pay offer
The article AQA strikers take their fight to company HQ first appeared on the UNISON National site.
Ministers must take immediate action on sickening energy prices
Freezing price cap would give immediate help
The article Ministers must take immediate action on sickening energy prices first appeared on the UNISON National site.
Review: Journey to Karabakh, by Aka Morchiladze
This is a very strange — and to me, sad — book. It was Morchiladze’s first novel, published in 1992, and describes the journey of two young men from Tbilisi to Armenia. As Georgia began…Read more…
West Ham Labour informal social – good to meet up again
Picture from an informal social of West Ham CLP members that I happened to have in my phone’s contact list. Apologies for those I missed out on the invitation. Let me know for next time. There was about 25 members who came and went. As you w…Read more…
Public sector staff forced to skip meals as cost-of-living crisis deepens
Fair pay is essential to tackle spiralling bills
The article Public sector staff forced to skip meals as cost-of-living crisis deepens first appeared on the UNISON National site.
‘Corporate greed’
Speaking at the picket line today (Wednesday 24 August), on the fourth day of the Felixstowe dock strike, Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, pledged to turn the union’s force on exposing CK Hutchison, the global company based in Hong Kong, which is the ultimate owner of Felixstowe Ports.
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Testing withdrawal will cause safety worries
Decision must be kept under review
The article Testing withdrawal will cause safety worries first appeared on the UNISON National site.
Felixstowe: Unite GS urges company to ‘come clean’
She said, “The company [Felixstowe Ports] is making an absolute fortune. it could pay 50 per cent more on your wages and still be in profit. We are asking for 10 per cent. What is the problem?
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Review: Karl Kautsky, by Dick Geary
British historian Dick Geary, who passed away last year, apologised several times in the course of this short book for not being able to go into any detail. That’s because the book was a part…Read more…