More workers will be taking strike action, officially, today than on any date since 30th of November 2011.Following the defeat of the defence of public service pensions in the early years of the last decade, many of us felt that it would be years befor…Read more…
Men, the menopause and sex discrimination – Tories plumb new depths of ignorance and reaction
It is now more than 27 years since the House of Lords accepted the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the case of Webb v E.M.O. Air Cargo (UK) Ltd [1995] ICR 1021]. Crucially, the ECJ held that; “there can be no question of com…Read more…
Normal blogging in 2023…
Regular readers of this Blog (Sid and Doris Blogger) may have noticed a dearth of posts over the past month.Rather than promising that “normal service will be resumed as soon as possible”, I think it may be more sensible to say that this could be the “…Read more…
UNISON – an honorary life member writes…
I have today received my certificate and badge as an honorary life member of UNISON. Diligent readers of this blog (Sid and Doris Blogger) may recollect my having been awarded this honour at the close of last year’s National Delegate Conference. There …Read more…
Missing from the strike wave
It’s bad enough being a retired trade union activist, living with advanced cancer, forced to sit and watch the largest strike wave in years played out on our streets and in our workplaces. What is worse is the knowledge that, even had I not retired, I …Read more…
Lambeth’s Living Legend
I am indebted to a recent reader of this blog for kindly reminding me of an event which took place last month at UNISON’s national LGBT+ conference.My old friend, and Lambeth UNISON branch comrade, Jackie Lewis received a well deserved award for lifeti…Read more…
Farewell Roger Lewis (01/06/62-22/11/22)
Roger speaking in 2016Our movement has lost a bright star. Roger Lewis, secretary of Lambeth Council’s joint trade unions has died an untimely death at the age of only 60. Roger’s loss will be felt not only amongst the workforce of Lambeth Council but …Read more…
Labour disciplinarians out of control?
What follows is the text of a post which I wrote for the excellent LabourHub Blog following the alarming news that the Labour Party membership of UNISON President Andrea Egan had been terminated;Just when you think that the unjustified administrative a…Read more…
Rest in Power: Hitesh Patel (16/9/58-11/11/22)
Hitesh with Hassina Malik defending our pensionsOn Friday 11th November, the Lambeth branch of UNISON lost one of our most respected and admired retired members.Hitesh Patel, 64, a true friend and comrade, died unexpectedly whilst receiving treatment f…Read more…
UNISON’s Braveheart
A UNISON NEC member (and past President of the Union), has successfully bought a complaint against UNISON to the Certification Officer.Whether or not one agrees with the action taken in the particular case, it is important to recognise and salute the c…Read more…
UNISON and the NEU – we need unity
On a day when news is breaking about strike action by nurses, civil servants, rail workers and Scottish teachers, if you heard that senior officials of two of the four largest trade unions affiliated to the TUC were meeting together under the auspices …Read more…
Hypocrisy and Emergency Motion Two at UNISON National Disabled Members’ Conference
UNISON’s National Disabled Members Conference is in Brighton this weekend. As you might imagine, the large number of UNISON activists will be debating numerous motions addressing the interests of our many disabled members (among whom I suppose I should…Read more…
Darkness at Steadfast Noon – war games make the case against NATO
In Belgium this week NATO will be testing and exercising its procedures with regard to the dropping of nuclear bombs. Fighter-jets from at least ten NATO nations will carry out flights and exercises from the air force base at Kleine Brogel i…Read more…
The continuing shame of Labour racism
As a Labour movement activist in Lambeth in the late 80s, I remember the controversy around the party’s shameful refusal to permit a Black candidate to contest the Vauxhall by-election in 1989. This condemned the electorate of a safe Labour seat in the…Read more…
Class struggle and the next Labour Government
The Labour Party is enjoying a lead in the opinion polls which is unprecedented this century. Whilst strong supporters of the current leadership will see this as the product of what was, in their terms, a successful Party Conference, it seems more like…Read more…
Sorry? Not sorry? Labour responds to Forde allegation 6…
On the day that Black members of the Labour Party were due to hold a protest outside Conference this afternoon about the failure of the Party to acknowledge the findings of the Forde report in respect of allegations six, the Party finally published onl…Read more…
Democracy and the rights of members in the Party and the trade unions
I can thoroughly recommend Al Jazeera’s “The Labour Files” the first episode of which is now available online.Having lived through what happened in Brighton and Hove Labour Party over recent years, I can vouch for the honesty and integrity of many of t…Read more…
Serfs you are and serfs you shall remain
A little over 40 years ago, to mark the 600th anniversary of the Peasant’s Revolt, the great socialist journalist Paul Foot wrote a very interesting article.Foot explained how it was that a peasant army which had arrived in London and achieved its targ…Read more…
Racism in the Labour Party
The Forde report may have been all but ignored by the hierarchy of our party (try searching the party website for the word Forde), but those of us who are committed to a Labour Party which represents the interests of the people the Party was establishe…Read more…
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…