There was something in the air that day
It had been coming for weeks
As Jack went out that morning
Like every morning
Looking for work, looking for hope
The atmosphere felt heavy
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Steelworkers head to Parliament
Unite members from Port Talbot steelworks descended on Parliament earlier this week (January 23) ahead of an opposition day debate on protecting the UK’s steel industry. The debate was called following an announcement last week that Tata Steel is planning to close its blast furnaces with the potential loss of more than 2,800 jobs. Below […]
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‘Angry but determined’
Thousands of Unite members joined an historic strike in Northern Ireland on Thursday (January 18) that brought all public services to an unprecedented standstill. The strike, which has been called the biggest in Northern Ireland in half a century, brought together an astonishing 150,000 public sector workers to demand better pay and conditions and adequate […]
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‘Dark day for steel’
Tata Steel on Friday (January 19) confirmed plans to close the Port Talbot steelworks’ two blast furnaces, with the proposed loss of more than 2,500 direct jobs. The announcement comes despite the government providing £500m in funding to the company to make the transition to green steel by building electric arc furnaces, which make steel […]
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Tata Steel job losses latest
Unite has responded to reports that Tata Steel in Port Talbot has rejected plans put forward by trade unions to keep the plant’s blast furnaces operational, which could put more than 3,000 jobs at risk. It was reported on Thursday (January 18) that Tata Steel told of its intentions at a summit in London and […]
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Workers ‘fighting hard to stand still’
Wage growth slowed according to the latest figures published today (January 16) but pay is still outpacing inflation. Average weekly wage growth, which excludes bonuses, slid to 6.6 per cent in three months to November from 7.3 per cent in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported. But with inflation falling more […]
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Tesco profit forecast soars
Supermarket giant Tesco’s latest trading update was further proof of rampant profiteering in the sector, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said. Tesco announced on Thursday (January 11) that its Christmas sales were higher than expected. It also revised upwards its profit forecast for the full year to £2.75bn, up from the previously forecast of the […]
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Translink strike latest
Three public transport trade unions — Unite, GMB and SIPTU — have notified Translink in Northern Ireland that their members will participate in the wider public sector pay strike on Thursday 18 January. The strike will commence at staggered times from midnight on that day. The strike will involve all bus and rail drivers, engineers, […]
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‘This year will be defined by political choices’
This year will be another defined by the political choices we make. With the severity of our predicament becoming ever clearer, the only difference will be the importance of the decisions being taken. If Britain were a hospital patient most doctors would mark us down as being in a “bad way”, our recovery touch and […]
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Protect the right to strike
Trade unions are once again under Tory attack from this government. One in five workers is losing their right to strike. Repressive minimum service levels (MSLs) are being imposed to force unions to ‘police’ their own strikes and even cross picket lines.
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Health workers in Grinch protest
A Grinch delivered a signed Christmas card to Victoria Atkins MP, Secretary of State for Health, earlier this week (December 18) to highlight the issues NHS staff are facing. Unite members from the Barts Health NHS Trust in East London, members working for Together Support Solutions (2SS) a wholly owned subsidiary of East Kent Hospitals […]
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‘Serious industrial matter’
A shock new survey of Unite women members has revealed an overwhelming majority are failing to get menopause support at work. The survey, which polled 11,000 members, found that more than 80 per cent who are experiencing menopause symptoms have had no access to support in their workplaces. A number of the women polled reported […]
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Take your thermal break
When people think of frostbite they picture arctic explorers – but for many workers in the frozen food industry this is a very real hazard that can cause permanent damage.
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End rural mental health
The government is showing a “worrying degree of complacency” when it comes to the issue of rural mental health according to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee in a statement this November.
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Fighting the flood
Flooding unleashed by Storm Ciarán in October devastated villages and towns up and down Northern Ireland. Newry and Downpatrick were among the worst hit, with hundreds of homes and businesses severely damaged.
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Oxfam strike suspended
News just in – strike action being taken by Unite Oxfam members has been suspended after talks resulted in an improved pay offer being made.
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Oxfam staff strike
Set up in 1941, the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief as it was originally known is now a global anti-poverty movement. Over 81 years later it has shops and offices throughout the UK, with a dedicated staff committed to relieving poverty. Unfortunately many of these workers are also low paid themselves.
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‘Don’t back down’
As the TUC meets to plan its response tomorrow (December 8) my message is clear: don’t back down, strikes are a vital part of how we improve pay and conditions.
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Food down a snip, but profits still up
Although news just in may be whispering of a wafer-thin helping of food inflation slowdown – for most of us in the real world your tasty turkey dinner is still going to be a bit of a Scrooge-like stretch.
Yesterday (December 5), news agency Reuters reported that food inflation was down slightly, slowing to 9.1 per cent in November according to Kantar; that the cost of the Christmas dinner up was up 1.3 per cent year-on-year; and that Sainsbury’s has the largest market share gain in over a decade.
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Unite secures major pay win
After a long dispute involving lengthy industrial action it was cheers all round for Unite Go North East bus members when the union secured a significant pay award on December 1.
Unite secured an 11.2 per cent pay increase for drivers, engineers and administrators at Go North East. Members were balloted on the deal and accepted the offer.
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