Bash the unions, slash welfare spending, cut benefits for the young, freeze in-work benefits and add a generous helping of deep austerity cuts. The Queen’s Speech shows the Tories are nasty again….Read more…
Tory ‘toothless’ hours law
A key coalition government measure came into force on Tuesday (May 26) – the banning of exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts. Now, employers cannot block workers who are on the…Read more…
Hanging in the balance
The future of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB) hangs in the balance as the new Scottish government look at the option of scrapping it yet again in a consultation set to close at the end…Read more…
People are not your priority, Mr Cameron
Commenting on today’s Queen’s Speech, Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey said, “Given the profound challenges facing this nation, it is staggering that a priority for this government is…Read more…
Fighting the battle of ideas
Richard Angell recalls the moves a couple of years ago to have Progress, the organisation he directs, excluded from the Labour Party. Ungenerously, he omits to record that Len McCluskey spoke…Read more…
Feeding the meter
More than half a million people struggling with debt have forcibly had prepay gas and electricity meters installed by their energy suppliers, a BBC investigation has found. Figures reveal that…Read more…
Housing sell off: ‘sheer stupidity’
David Cameron has confirmed that his right to buy extension to all housing association homes will now be part of the Queen’s Speech tomorrow (Wednesday May 27). The scheme, in effect, is…Read more…
A room at The View
As Unite’s The View Hotel in Eastbourne completes major renovations—from its state-of-the-art conference facilities to a brand new restaurant and a new online booking service – your next summer…Read more…
If not now, when?
As talks between steel giant Tata and unions broke down over changes to members’ pensions scheme, Tata electrician Charlotte Upton, 25, spoke to UniteLive about the upcoming industrial action ballot…Read more…
Practice what you preach
The Church of Scotland is being urged to think again before ratifying a report which would break official links with Unite at its General Assembly in Edinburgh today (May 22). The Central…Read more…
Austerity doesn’t work
Earlier this week, the internationally renowned political scientist and author on world debt Susan George, addressed, the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) conference. Ahead of the…Read more…
UK poverty hits millions
The stark situation for many millions of Britons facing poverty has been outlined by new data from the office for national statistics (ONS). Staggeringly under the last Tory-led government…Read more…
Live from the Tata talks
Just as the Tata talks ended yesterday (May 22) UNITElive reporter Rae Passfield spoke with Unite national officer for steel Paul Reuter about the latest on the proposed changes to Tata Steel…Read more…
This flagrant disregard
Reps from unions including Unite, the GMB, and Community left a meeting with Tata Steel company representatives yesterday (May 21) bitterly disappointed. In a joint statement, the unions said…Read more…
Worst paid job in UK
Waiting tables is, according to the latest figures, the worst paid job in the UK. The vast majority of waiters are on the minimum wage, barely eking out a living from profit-flush companies,…Read more…
‘Pinchers Express’
On National Waiters’ Day (May 21) Unite hospitality members held a protest outside Pizza Express’ flagship restaurant in Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square. Six years ago…Read more…
NI Water workers wage win
A dispute among NI Water workers, which began over the Christmas season, has come to an end after members officially accepted an increased pay offer on Wednesday (May 20), which was just recently…Read more…
Hammer blow for workers
The proposed closure of the coal-fired power station at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire is ‘a hammer blow for the workforce’, Unite said today (Wednesday 20 May). Unite said that that there were 172…Read more…
Reclaim the day
Waiters, the UK’s worst paid workers, will call on Pizza Express to stop pocketing an estimated £am that should go to poorly paid staff, at a protest in central London tomorrow (May 21). The…Read more…
Down below zero
Deflation, slow growth, pay in the doldrums, household debt on the rise, productivity stagnant. Can we survive more austerity? So prices in general have gone from not rising at all – zero…Read more…