After failing miserably on Monday to reassure millions of workers that their basic rights at work won’t be scrapped, Theresa May has another opportunity when she stands up at the last PMQs of the…Read more…
Respect
There’s an unmistakable look that night workers have after a long shift – pink-eyed and delirious. As the rest of the world starts their day, they carry on just a bit longer, maybe to grab a…Read more…
‘Let’s stick together’
When we think of workers who must give up time with their families over Christmas, we often think of public sector workers such as ambulance crew, nurses and police. But there are many other…Read more…
Kind-hearted cabbies shell out for kids
‘Tis the season for giving – and Nottingham’s big-hearted hackney cab drivers are donating £2,750 to the children’s ward at the city’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) tomorrow (Wednesday December 20)….Read more…
Shaming of the fat cats?
Britain’s fat cat bosses have been named and shamed on a government-ordered list representing the “unacceptable face of capitalism”. However Unite warned the list will have little effect on…Read more…
Just not taking it
Paramedic Debbie Wilkinson (pictured) is facing a heart-breaking decision. After dedicating 26 years of her life to responding to accidents and emergencies in Leeds, she can barely afford to get by…Read more…
‘Accidents don’t stop for Christmas’
More than a million workers in the UK each year must forgo time with their families over the holiday season because of work. In our series on working over Christmas, UNITElive pays tribute to…Read more…
Then and now
Preparing a speech to mark the 45 years since the release of the Pentonville Five, I was struck by what the case of the dockers imprisoned in the cause of trade union freedom then tells us about…Read more…
Turning it round
Nothing remains of the old Shirebrook colliery in north-east Derbyshire. The coal mine closed in 1993 and 12 years later the site became the central hub of leisurewear retailer Sports Direct. …Read more…
When not even dignity remains
Bob Evans* wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated with the staff at his local Jobcentre. A fellow claimant wrenched a computer screen off a desk, hurled it across the office smashing a window….Read more…
Manchester Mears breakthrough?
There are cautious hopes that the long-running strike action involving housing maintenance workers employed by Mears in Manchester could be moving towards a conclusion. The 180 members of…Read more…
Pay deal win
Rolls-Royce workers at Goodwood, West Sussex have overwhelmingly voted to accept a two-year pay deal that will mean an extra seven per cent in their pay packets. Unite, which represents the…Read more…
More Fujitsu strikes?
Up to 300 Unite members in Manchester are to vote on further strike action at IT giant Fujitsu in one of the longest running industrial disputes in the UK. The ballot comes after the failure…Read more…
‘Betrayed’
The ‘betrayed’ workers at Cummins Generator Technologies in Stamford are holding an industrial action ballot, as their bosses continue to refuse to enter into constructive talks. The ballot…Read more…
Blacklisting is the new blacklisting
The blacklisting scandal was first revealed in 2009, when it was discovered that thousands of construction workers were denied jobs, some for decades, because of trade union involvement, is far from…Read more…
We are not robots
The final straw came when they tried to turn a Rocket into a robot. Rebecca Rocket had put up with the rock bottom wages, authoritarian management and the minimal employment rights. But…Read more…
When the parcel’s worth more than you
Imagine a worker having his contract terminated for taking time off because his child was born prematurely, or a courier struggling in while sick, being told “the parcel is more important then you.”…Read more…
‘Spare a thought’
It’s Christmastime and with it comes presents, time with family and friends, work parties and very often having a meal out. In fact, this evening (Friday December 15) marks the night that is…Read more…
Sellafield ‘standstill’
Unite has begun balloting workers employed by civil engineering company DSD Construction, at Sellafield, for strike action, after the company sacked the union’s shop steward. DSD Construction,…Read more…
Celebrating migrant workers
More than 7,000 workers have benefited from bespoke educational programmes over the last 10 years that have helped them to improve their language skills and gain employment. The programme,…Read more…