All the union news that's fit to blog...
A damning new report by the Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) published on Friday (March 27), found that construction companies involved in the blacklisting scandal have hardly atoned for their sins. It’s been six years since the Information Commissioner’s Office first discovered a database containing the names of more than 3,000 construction workers. Those […]
The post Blacklisting – still going on? appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Rolls-Royce is set to deliver a blow to the Scottish economy as it announced plans on Friday (March 27) to further axe over 200 jobs at two aircraft engine plants in Inchinnan and East Kilbride. An estimated 180 jobs will be cut at the Inchinnan site, which manufactures aircraft engines, and will entail slashing […]
The post Blow to Scottish economy appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Food banks are gearing up to address growing demand during the Easter school holidays. Hard-pressed parents have to step in with lunches normally provided free at a school and may rely on charitable food banks for the kids meals. As well as three-day food parcels, charity the Trussell Trust will provide Easter eggs as […]
The post Charities bring Easter cheer appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Most of us eat a meal without ever even really thinking about whether or not the food is safe – we simply assume it is. And most of the time, this is true. But the reason most of the food we consume is indeed safe is thanks to the thousands of men and women […]
The post Food safety at risk appeared first on UNITElive.org.
As Unite announces a further £1m donation to the Labour Party, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey explains why this is the right thing to do. Unite said that it would not stand by and see a one-side election fight against a Tory party made fat on the gifts from the shady and the […]
The post The fight of our lives appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Unite closed its consultative ballot of North Sea offshore members today (March 27), and the results were resoundingly clear. An almost unanimous 94 per cent voted in favour of proceeding to an industrial action ballot to stop the vicious attacks on jobs, pay and working time that North Sea offshore workers have suffered. […]
The post ‘Race to the bottom’ disease must stop appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Banks – who needs them? Well, actually, we all do. And news that thousands of local branches up and down the land could be set to close will not be taken lying down by campaigners and trade unions. “We need a civic fightback on this; it’s in all our interests,” said Unite national officer […]
The post Civic fightback call appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Are self-driving cars the future? Will connectivity and autonomous vehicles revolutionise the UK automotive industry? After attending the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders conference on connectivity and autonomous vehicles this week, I believe the answer is yes to both questions. A new report by KPMG for the SMMT says connectivity and autonomous […]
The post Self-driving cars — the way of the future appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Activists dressed as tax collectors and doctors, accompanied by a giant piggy bank, presented a tax bill to Virgin Care on Wednesday (March 25), following the revelation that the firm continues to bid for NHS contracts despite extensive use of tax havens. Protesters from The Peoples NHS have joined forces with UKUncut following […]
The post Pay your tax appeared first on UNITElive.org.
How many column inches, hours of air time and rage in one hundred and forty five characters have we had this last week over a kitchenette? Too many to mention, and I know I’m adding to it all. I do so because the kitchenette saga is symptomatic of what passes for political discussion. Tune […]
The post Kitchen sink soap opera appeared first on UNITElive.org.
The first live TV action of this general election was a bruising encounter. But Ed Miliband boosted Labour’s hopes and morale with a focused and passionate performance. Hell, yes, he has truly arrived on the political stage. And hell yes, he’s shown he is capable of winning this election. Miliband looked as if he is […]
The post HELL, YES appeared first on UNITElive.org.
That the Tory donor list is dominated by hedge funds may come as no surprise, but did you know that many of the businesses bankrolling the Conservative party sell items you might yourself have at home? As the Mirror reported yesterday (March 25), some of the most everyday products fuel an ideology that’s determined […]
The post Hidden cash appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A report launched today (Thursday 26 March) reveals that London NHS’s crisis has moved into intensive care. London’s NHS – into the unknown outlines a further unravelling of services as the NHS becomes more fragmented and financially squeezed. Roy Lilley is the chair of the inquiries that formed the basis for the reports. […]
The post London’s NHS in crisis appeared first on UNITElive.org.
The growing connection between Unite’s community and industrial members saw the unveiling of the world’s first dual-purpose trade union banner by the Derby Unite Community branch last week (March 19). Historical images of a Derby strike pre-dating the Tolpuddle Martyrs have been combined with a 21st century communication Quick Response (QR) code. When scanned […]
The post Keeping the fight alive appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Reassurances about future UK job security are being sought by Unite, following today’s (March 25) announcement that US food giant Heinz is to merge with Kraft Foods Group. Unite national officer for the food sector Julia Long said that in addition to discussing job security, the union also wants to know the combined […]
The post Merger is a bolt from the blue appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A group of MPs have raised serious concerns about the risks of TTIP—the EU-US trade deal currently being negotiated in secret. The Business, Innovations and Skills committee issued a sharply critical report of the trade deal, saying that the government needed more evidence to substantiate claims that TTIP will boost the economy by £100bn a year. […]
The post Growing opposition appeared first on UNITElive.org.
As part of a national day of action against benefit sanctions (March 19) Unite Community members in Southampton paraded ‘Iain Duncan Smith’ through the streets of the city before ‘jailing’ the work and pensions secretary for ‘crimes against humanity.’ Pretty strong stuff and with good reason. Unite believes the sanctions – which have seen […]
The post Guilty: ‘verdict’ on IDS appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A huge corporate power grab of health care and public services would have a devastating impact on UK citizens. But that’s just what could happen if the “Trojan Horse” – an EU-US trade deal known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)–now being drawn up behind closed doors, goes ahead. By removing “regulatory […]
The post TTIP must be opposed appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A community and 270 people’s livelihoods have been put on 12 months’ notice as Scottish Power announced yesterday (Monday 23 March) that it will be forced to bring Longannet’s closure forward to March 2016. Unite had previously called for both Scottish and UK government interventions to resolve a dispute between the company and the […]
The post The struggle for power appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Two years ago, the coalition government, vowing to tackle tax avoidance, introduced new legislation that would bar tax-shy companies from procuring government contracts. Not one company has been stopped from bidding on a contract for this reason since. Now, Unite research published on Sunday (March 23) shows that the one state service most in […]
The post NHS – national health scandal appeared first on UNITElive.org.