‘Shoddy’ behaviour by Birmingham council has led to a fresh ballot of the city’s refuse workers, Unite announced on Friday (September 1). The union was shocked by the…Read more…
Parents ‘exploited’
There’s nothing tougher than being a young working parent in the UK today. Young people are overrepresented in the lowest paid sectors such as retail, hospitality, and private sector health…Read more…
‘Human catastrophe’
The treatment of disabled people under the Tories is a “human catastrophe” the United Nations has said. In a damning indictment, the UN Committee on the rights of disabled people said that…Read more…
‘Emoji con’
The use of touchpads with happy and sad faces to gauge worker satisfaction at Sport Direct’s warehouse in Shirebrook was branded an ‘emoji con’ by Unite today (September 1). Unite understands…Read more…
Bin strikes set to resume
News that Birmingham city council had cancelled tomorrow’s (September 1) cabinet meeting and would instead start issuing redundancy notices to refuse workers, would provoke the resumption of strike…Read more…
Govt slammed in disabled ‘shame’
The Tories blew £39m over a year in mostly fruitless efforts to block benefits for sick and disabled people, new figures show. The cash was spent contesting appeals from thousands of people…Read more…
NHS: £100m spend for agency GPs
As general practice faces a growing staffing crisis, the NHS has said it will pay up to £100m to agencies to recruit 5,000 new GPs, mostly from abroad. In a contract notice posted by NHS…Read more…
Unveiled
The basic design for the new Mini Electric car, which will be built in the UK, has been unveiled by BMW. Unite hailed the moment as “an exciting development on the road towards the widespread…Read more…
‘Come clean’ call
Royal Mail announced yesterday (August 30) that it would be flogging off property part of its central London Mount Pleasant sorting office to private developers Taylor Wimpey to build luxury flats….Read more…
Offshoring fears
Unite is deeply alarmed that Deeside based Witter Towbars appears intent on closing its manufacturing site in Deeside, north Wales and offshoring the work to Romania. Unite was informed that…Read more…
‘Stand firm’ call
Unite today (August 31) urged members of Birmingham city council’s cabinet to back the deal agreed with the leader of the council, John Clancy at the conciliation service Acas and bring the long…Read more…
Govt to rob from lowest earners
Low-paid self-employed workers face a massive tax increase in April, which threatens to see many of those on the very lowest incomes in the economy fall through the cracks. Even though the…Read more…
‘Pushed into debt’
Nearly a fifth people struggling with debts have had their credit card limit automatically increased, a figure higher than for regular cardholders, new research shows. Citizens Advice found 18…Read more…
Divided Scotland
Picture it if you will. You are at a huge wedding reception and 100 guests are assembled in the hotel gardens sipping the Prosecco on offer. The hotel staff wheel out the wedding cake. It is set out…Read more…
Umbrella company ‘rip-off’
Unite has called on the NHS to outlaw umbrella companies operating throughout the organisation. In April this year, the government introduced new rules which effectively outlawed agency…Read more…
Crane strike
Widespread disruption of construction sites across the UK is anticipated after Unite announced the first strike date at tower crane company HTC Wolffkran, in a dispute over pay. The initial…Read more…
Workers first
Unite has welcomed Labour’s announcement that it supports staying in the EU single market after the Brexit negotiations have finished. The policy would avoid a damaging economic cliff edge once…Read more…
Watered down
In the UK today, it takes a typical chief executive three days to earn what their employees earn in an entire year. Rising pay inequality has become front and centre in an ongoing national…Read more…
Brave new world?
Receiving a parcel on your doorstep from Amazon or any of the number of online retailers often disguises what’s going on behind the scenes where your order is processed. But a quiet revolution…Read more…
Beholden to fat cats
Tory donors gave the Conservative’s £25m – more than double the £9.5m Labour received – before this year’s general election and the party still lost 13 MPs. Donor lists released by the…Read more…