Unite is set to ballot its 6,000 members at Tata Steel UK for industrial action over its proposal to close the British Steel pension scheme (BSPS). Unite’s ballot for strike action and…Read more…
First among un-equals
Rising income inequality, in which a handful of people earn millions and the rest struggle just to get by, is often seen as a problem of developing countries – a symptom of a corrupt elite and the…Read more…
Brothers from the past, inspiration for today
If you were to imagine the typical Cotswold town, you might well come up with Burford. The steeply sloped High Street is lined by creamy yellow stone houses and shops. It’s a quiet town –…Read more…
Payday lenders circle afresh
As household debt is set to hit record levels, Wonga targets the market by slashing interest rates to 1,500 per cent a year and lend to those who can re-pay loans. Loans are big business, with…Read more…
Tories put your rights in peril
The Tories want to abolish the Human Rights Act and replace it with a watered down Bill of Rights. Their first try was attacked by former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve who said it was…Read more…
Unite will not choose next Labour leader
Labour’s election loss was not one defeat but several. Votes that should have been Labour’s went to the Tories , UKIP , the SNP and the Greens. Not to mention the millions of natural Labour…Read more…
Let them eat cake
Tax cuts for business, public spending cuts…but we want lots of investment on items which will make us money. The Institute of ‘fat cat’ Directors gives their ‘want our cake and eat…Read more…
Not what we voted for
It started on May 9 in London, less than 48 hours after the election. Hundreds marched in an impromptu protest outside Downing Street, voicing their frustration with a government they did not vote…Read more…
Tories’ high rise of housing woe
Only a week after the Tories have begun their latest five-year reign of power, new, record-breaking figures released last Thursday (May 14) from the first few months of 2015 have shown the massive…Read more…
Just one simple step
When Cathy Cobbold goes to an airport people begin doing funny things. Although Cathy, who is profoundly deaf, shrugs her experiences off with a laugh, she has been working with Unite members…Read more…
Blame game does not help Labour
Surveying the general election’s political rubble the airwaves are already thick with Labour grandees sharing out the blame. Blame Ed’s lack of appeal on the doorstep, blame the unions who put…Read more…
Len McCluskey on BBC Newsnight
Last night (May 14) Unite general secretary Len McCluskey was interviewed on BBC Newsnight. Questions included his views on Labour’s general election result , the Labour Party leader…Read more…
In extraordinary times
Ahead of a crucial executive meeting of Scottish Labour this Saturday morning (May 16), Unite has said that the party’s best chance of a recovery requires Jim Murphy doing the ‘decent thing’ and…Read more…
Work with us call
Britain’s major supermarkets, which are suffering tough trading conditions, are being urged to work with the trade unions to secure the jobs, and terms and conditions of their respective workforces….Read more…
US Senate blocks TTIP bill
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a mammoth EU-US trade deal, suffered a blow on Tuesday (May 12) , when the US Senate blocked a bill that would enable it and other similar…Read more…
Living Wage win for Saria cleaners
Unite wants all workers to be paid at least the Living Wage, which is the minimum income a worker needs to ensure their basic needs are met. Unite reps at many workplaces are increasingly…Read more…
Economic miracle or economic mire?
It now seems there have been more miracles attributed to the Tories than to Jesus Christ himself. So many economic miracles the Tory press don’t know who to raise to political sainthood. They…Read more…
Strike for a ‘fitting pay rise’
A strike comprising 11 one day stoppages commenced at Antrim carpets in Belfast today (May 13) over what workers have dubbed ‘poverty pay’. Workers laid down tools at 1pm today for six hours in…Read more…
Labour can’t survive without the unions
Back to the future seems to be the pre-cooked consensus response to Labour’s dramatic defeat last week. To hear many party grandees tell it, all we have to do is party like it’s 1997 again. I…Read more…
Safeguard our jobs
At the Irish policy conference of Unite, held in Croke Park yesterday (May 12), Ireland deputy regional secretary Jackie Pollock called for action to safeguard jobs in the manufacturing sector….Read more…