All the union news that's fit to blog...
As the #NoVoteNoVoice bus pulled up outside the Wirral factory this week, workers left the tea-making production line to climb on board and ensure they’ll have their say in May’s General Election. They need to. We all do. There is a wave of apathy verging on resentment towards the political classes right now. Scandals […]
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UKIP leader Nigel Farage has stoked up a firestorm after saying he would scrap laws that protect workers from discrimination. Laws which protect workers from a range of discrimination by employers should be scrapped, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said. His comments have been condemned by Unite as “dangerous and crude”. […]
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‘Quality and equality’ were the recurring themes during the launch of Thinking about an apprenticeship, Unite’s guide for young women considering a career in engineering and science. The booklet sparked a debate around gender, jobs and education when it was unveiled this week (March 10) at Solihull College. Currently just seven per cent of […]
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In a sincere plea for a reformed, inclusive democracy, author and commentator Owen Jones implored a Festival of Debate audience (March 9) to commit to actively taking part in uniting against the Establishment. Speaking at a packed University of Sheffield meeting, he said, “I want to address this culture of redirecting our anger to our […]
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Julia Varley is the subject of the second in a series of short books on great men and women who feature prominently in the history of Unite and its predecessor unions. Born in Bradford 1871, Julia was influenced by her great grandfather. Joseph B Alderson had supported the 1830s Chartist working-class movement that agitated […]
The post A true union daughter appeared first on UNITElive.org.
The wealth of top earners has risen sharply while the wealth of the poorest has slumped dramatically, according to a new report. The wealth of top earners rose by two-thirds at the same time the wealth of the lowest paid dropped by nearly the same amount. Debts owed by the highest earners have […]
The post Poor still paying price appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Anti-austerity campaigner and war veteran Harry Smith urges students at Manchester University (March 11) to register and use their votes as part of the No Vote, No Voice campaign For me politics is personal because in my lifetime the defining moments in our country’s history have been decided by elections. I have always seen free […]
The post Seize your destiny appeared first on UNITElive.org.
It’s the government’s own National Apprenticeship Week – a week celebrating the positive impact training schemes can have for those seeking a way into skilled, well-paying work. While many apprenticeships are little more than exploitative work arrangements, there are some on offer that truly change lives. Building Lives, a construction apprenticeship sponsored by the Construction […]
The post Apprentices locked out appeared first on UNITElive.org.
You may have thought the pantomime season was over. Oh no it isn’t. Panto dames Scam and Ossie have been hard at work. It’s election budget flash the cash time. Like magic, money which has been scarce will suddenly start appearing. The next budget on 18 March will be the last show of […]
The post Panto dames don’t fool us appeared first on UNITElive.org.
On the #NoVoteNoVoice bus we’re asking those to vote who usually don’t get asked. We paid a visit to Ty-Phoo tea in Moreton, Chester, to register the people behind 120 million cups of tea per week. Speaking to this well organised workforce it’s clear that there is a lot of interest in the upcoming general […]
The post Brewing up for change appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Despite the enormous strides women have made in gaining gender equality, the dream of equal pay for equal work is still far from becoming a reality. The pay gap between men and women remains stubbornly high at almost 20 per cent. And this average figure obscures more alarming gender pay gap trends among different […]
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On International Women’s Day (March 8) women took to the streets around London Bridge, many in suffragette costume, to highlight the importance of women registering to vote. Participants and speakers include Emmeline Pankhurst’s granddaughter Helen and great granddaughter Laura, who at 19 is a first time voter; Made in Dagenham star Gemma Arterton, […]
The post Deeds not words appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A new Unite guide aimed at encouraging women into engineering and science apprenticeships, Women apprentices, has been launched today (March 10) with the help of Labour MP, Gloria de Piero. As part of the pink bus ‘woman to woman’ tour of 70 key constituencies Labour’s shadow minister for women and equalities took time to speak […]
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Unite supported NoVoteNoVoice bus tour on film. Bus tour day 2 – Wembley Bus tour day 3 –Hastings Stagecoach Bus tour day 4 – Sussex Uni Bus tour day 5 – Southampton Find out more about #NoVoteNoVoice, Unite’s coalition campaign aiming to get everyone registered to vote, here.
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To find out more about #NoVoteNoVoice, Unite’s coalition campaign with the Mirror and other campaign groups, visit our website here.
The post Remember the playground? appeared first on UNITElive.org.
I left home aged 18 to go to polytechnic in London and never moved back to live at home with my parents yet every general election time my mum would always call me and remind me to vote and rightly castigate me if I ever tried to say it’s not worth it. I grew […]
The post Songs of power appeared first on UNITElive.org.
The so-called “record numbers” in which women are in work obscures an inconvenient truth – that women are hurting now more than ever. A new TUC report published today (March 9) has found that women have been overwhelmingly funnelled into part-time, low-paid jobs over the past year, with less than half of women’s net […]
The post Struggling to survive appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Northern Ireland, where public sector spending represents almost three-quarters of the region’s GDP, faces the worst cuts in 80 years. The 2015-2016 budget, which follows four straight years of austerity, entails slashing £1.3bn in funding in the next four years – a budget which public sector workers have unequivocally rejected. Unite members working […]
The post No to austerity appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Crossing the border to Wales late on Friday night with an air of excitement for what we all knew was going to be a big day, the bus crew were laying out voter registration forms, with pens on clipboards, so we’d be ready bright and early the next day. Reflecting now, we’re glad […]
The post ‘Sorry, I’m not political’ appeared first on UNITElive.org.
David Cameron won the leadership of his party telling activists to “let sunshine win the day”. Into the 2010 General Election he went, promising to clean up a political system discredited by MPs’ expenses. Here was the man to bring about transparency in the lobbying industry and even end “crony capitalism”, to heal Britain’s sickly politics. […]
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