Apologies, but it’s been very hot and muggy all day, and I find that makes me less active and more thoughtful. So it was a good time to read this blog by Kemal Dervis, former economics minister…Read more…
G7 starts to address workplace safety
Although most of the publicity around the G7 Summit in Germany has been around the relationship with Russia and the problems in the Middle East, there have been a lot of other discussions taking…Read more…
8 honest challenges for trade unions
Yesterday I put together 8 surprising facts about trade union membership. It’s been a really popular post, and it was based on the latest Office of National Statistics trade union report. I…Read more…
8 surprising facts about trade union membership
The Office of National Statistics collects data on trade union membership every year and they’ve just released their report. You can read it yourself here, but for those who don’t have…Read more…
Tartan Army calls on Qatar to Play Fair this Friday
Are you going to be in Edinburgh on Friday evening? Know anyone who will be? We need people who care about the exploitation being suffered by migrant workers in Qatar to help us protest at the…Read more…
Celebrating 30 years of Women in the Fire Service
This year we celebrate 30 years of women in the fire service. It is also time to say farewell to Paddington, London, White Watch manager Sian Griffiths, who is retiring after 30 years. One of the…Read more…
TTIP – European Parliament fight moves on
The international trade committee of the European Parliament (known as INTA) adopted a report yesterday on the controversial EU-US trade deal known as TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Trade & Investment…Read more…
Syriza’s struggle is our struggle
The Greek Syriza government is still locked in crisis negotiations with ‘the group formerly known as the Troika’ (the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission) over releasing…Read more…
The trade agreement that threatens our safety.
Last year I wrote about the dangers to health and safety from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) where the European Commission and US Government want to reduce “barriers” to…Read more…
ACT NOW! The next few days are vital for EU-US trade deal
On Thursday, the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee (known as INTA) will vote on a series of amendments to a draft report on the EU-US trade deal TTIP (the Trans-Atlantic Trade…Read more…
Taking away workers’ rights will make Brexit more likely says TUC poll
As Nigel Stanley reported on Touchstone last week, we had an opinion poll in the field immediately after the election, to find out more about why people voted the way we did. We held a few of the…Read more…
Union members pay the cost of ISIS conquest of Ramadi
When ISIS takes over a city like Ramadi, near Baghdad in Iraq, the news bulletins are full of discussion about the future of Iraq, who’s to blame for the ISIS advance, how to reverse it and the…Read more…
Join the fight against union repression in Swaziland
This week Members of the European Parliament have condemned Africa’s last feudal dictatorship in Swaziland for its repression of trade union and human rights. One of the authors of their…Read more…
Why we need to save FIFA from a Qatar 2022 disaster
FIFA President Sepp Blatter spent a weekend earlier this year with the Emir of Qatar at the Al Bahr palace in Doha. It wasn’t his first visit to the Emir’s Palace.Read more…
Mental Health – more honesty please
Last week was mental health awareness week and it is absolutely right that we need to take the time to think deeply about mental health and what we can do to better support people who are struggling,…Read more…
Mental health and the working life #MHAW15
Being a young teacher has it challenges, four in 10 ‘quit’ within a year. But what happens when you are feeling so low and helpless that you contemplate ending it all?Read more…
Beware the “shy homophobe”: Pledge to support LGBT people everywhere on IDAHOBIT 2015
Beware the “shy homo/bi/transphobe” in thousands of workplaces, where colleagues reject the allegation that they’re prejudiced but continue to treat us through prejudiced stereotypes and routine…Read more…
TUC Migration Messaging Project Showcase April 2015
The TUC held an event in April at Congress House to showcase the work that took place during the TUC Migration Messaging project. Campaign group members from the project’s three pilot areas: Corby,…Read more…
“Do you consider yourself to have a disability?” – a bipolar worker speaks out
“Do you consider yourself to have a disability?”; even if you’re completely open about your mental health disorder, you can’t help but think about it for a moment when you see this question in your…Read more…
Election- what it means to young workers
Last Thursday’s general election saw a Conservative majority government voted into Westminster. After having had the weekend for it all to sink in, it’s time to look at what the election result means…Read more…