November CPI inflation at 0.1% following October at -0.1% was in line exactly with the Bank of England forecast in their November Inflation Report. But it seems highly likely that their projected December figure of +0.4% will be wrong. Global deflation…Read more…
Historic UN deal – union resolve is “stronger than ever” – ITUC
The UN has reached an important, maybe even historic, Agreement after an unprecedented diplomatic effort in Paris. Yet it’s ambition is clearly not enough to avoid dangerous climate change. This can only be seen as the end of the beginning of climate change action, nationally and globally….Read more…
#COP21: Call to Action to Defend Humanity and the Planet
Global human rights, trade union and civil society organisations final appeal to French Presidency and all governments at COP21 to show true leadership, by ensuring that the protection of rights, equality and ecosystems are restored at the core of the …Read more…
“Robin’s alive!” European Financial Transactions Tax almost complete
On Tuesday, Finance Ministers from 10 countries around Europe negotiating the introduction of a Robin Hood Tax reached a landmark decision. It’s not the end of the process, but it is at least the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end: agreement to implement a broad-based tax, using…Read more…
East European Migrants and the Welfare State
A new report was published today that ought to have a massive impact on what the politicians say about migration. It’s called Social dimension of intra-EU mobility: Impact on public services and it looks at the impact in West European countries of migration from the ten new member states in…Read more…
#COP21: Giving meaning to the four strands of climate justice
None of the four strands of climate justice – research, education, training and public awareness – have made the headlines at COP21, yet the conference “fringe” has been full of such debates. Whatever the final UN Agreement looks like, there will need to be an operational strategy that shifts…Read more…
Don’t let young people be scrooged by bad bosses
The story of 15-year-old Jay El-Leboudy is a touching tale of a young man juggling part-time work alongside his school studies in order to buy his family Christmas presents. Except that’s not how the story ends. Because whilst Jay thought his ten weeks of work would be appropriately rewarded, his…Read more…
A double-whammy of imbalance: London drives faster growth; finance and real estate drives London
The first regional GVA figures for 2014 show the usual story of growth shared across the country but disproportionately skewed toward London, which continues to account for an ever greater share of UK GDP. Ominously though, in London, the acceleration …Read more…
The rollercoaster path of government spending on flood defence
In the media coverage of the flooding in Cumbria and Lancashire there has been some scrutiny of government spending on flood defence, with a claimed cut this year of around of 15% (eg). This is basically true (capital spending is likely to fall by 17% and total spending provision is down 14%, both…Read more…
Government lands NHS students with massive new debts
England is short of 2,600 midwives and has been thousands short for at least a generation. The national midwife shortage has proved a really hard nut to crack. The NHS continues to need every midwife it can get. Successive governments have tried to dri…Read more…
#COP21: Unions call for ‘fair and ambitious Paris agreement’
Trade union delegates at the Paris COP21 joined with others today to protest about the threat to human rights. This includes the rights of indigenous peoples, gender equality, intergenerational equity, a just transition, food security and the integrity…Read more…
#COP21: UK austerity out of step with Paris climate talks
The French Presidency has finally got to grips with the UN climate negotiations, setting up a Paris Committee aiming to conclude all outstanding matters by 6pm on Thursday. All further negotiations will be closed and focused on brokering deals, includi…Read more…
Make or break time for the voluntary sector: NCIA goes out with a challenge
When do you know it’s time to call it a day? For the past decade the National Coalition of Independent Action (NCIA) has been sounding an alarm bell: voluntary groups are failing in their democratic job as an independent force for positive change, and must fight back. Now, after 10 years, we have…Read more…
#COP21: Put just transition back into UN climate treaty
This morning at the Paris climate change conference the UN has released a further draft text, which as we had feared places references to Just Transition of the workforce and the ILO principle of decent work in the relegation zone. It seems clear from …Read more…
#COP21: UN accused of washing its hands of labour and human rights in Paris Treaty
The ITUC joined a block of five leading human rights bodies here at a press conference at COP21, in a call to the UN to put peoples’ rights back into the draft Paris Treaty on climate change. The rights organisations have brought together their networks from around the world to support the…Read more…
EU must back Just Transition in Paris Treaty, not drop it
As trade unionist from across the world gather together at the COP21 climate change talks in Paris, we are all too aware of the various attempts being made to downplay the rights of workers in any prospective agreement. It is clear from the outset that…Read more…
“You don’t look disabled”
To mark international day of disabled people on 3 December, the TUC has published guidance for trade union representatives and disabled workers under the title “You don’t look disabled”. The individual case studies it presents show why it is needed. Much of the population assumes that disabled…Read more…
#COP21: Cameron divests from our future
Here in Paris there is a sense of disbelief that David Cameron has scrapped a £1 billion green infrastructure investment in the shape of the UK’s programme for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Projects at White Rose, Yorkshire, and Peterhead, Scotland, were set to be the star turn at a major event…Read more…
#COP21: what the climate talks could mean for UK workers
This is it – 20 years of negotiations, millions of marchers across the globe*, and hundreds of thousands of campaigns, petitions, and protests have culminated in a deafening message at the 21st UN Climate Summit: there is no planet B. All of mankind has a stake in these negotiations – and in…Read more…
MEPs vote in favour of strategic framework on health and safety at work
The health and well-being of employees is a fundamental right for all European citizens. While there has been considerable progress in terms of protection of workers in difficult and hazardous roles, occupational safety risks are still in existence. A …Read more…