All the union news that's fit to blog...
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.
Saturday, March 21 marked UN Anti-Racism Day, which inspired marches and rallies all over the world.
A strong Unite contingent (pictured) joined the thousands at the rally in London, where protestors assembled in front of the BBC and marched to …Read more…
X-factor judge and former girls aloud singer, Cheryl Fernadez-Versini has joined the Unite backed campaign No Vote No Voice (NVNV) to urge young people to use their vote. Cheryl has come out in support of the campaign after ending speculation that she was considering turning her back on her Labour roots over the […]
The post Cheryl’s plea to young voters appeared first on UNITElive.org.
As part of a national day of action (March 19) opposing benefit sanctions, which are now being used on an industrial scale, Unite held a demonstration outside the Department for Work and Pensions in London demanding these sanctions end.
P…Read more…
Unite’s rule book sounds just the sort of dusty tome to give employment lawyers headaches. Last week our governing body, Unite’s executive, unanimously agreed to make it shorter. It recommended the deletion from our rules of six little words that have governed our union’s actions: “so far as may be lawful”. So far, so […]
The post We will fight for workers appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Rolls-Royce, the iconic luxury car manufacturer which now predominantly builds aircraft engines, owes much of its success to the thousands of highly skilled UK workers who’ve made the business the bastion of world-class engineering it is today. In a short-term bid to cut costs amid profit losses, however, Rolls-Royce announced a global restructuring exercise […]
The post Offshoring via the backdoor appeared first on UNITElive.org.
It’s that time of year again—the government announces a minimum wage hike, as it did on Tuesday (March 17), and pats itself on the back for how much it’s improved the lot of the lowest paid and hardest working among us. The statutory minimum will go up to a grand total of £6.70 an […]
The post Nothing comes from nothing appeared first on UNITElive.org.
The Department of Work Pensions—the epicentre of the coalition government’s destruction of the welfare state as we know it—was today (March 19) the scene of Unite’s national day of action against benefits sanctions. Hundreds gathered outside the DWP to protest the cruel sanctions, in which benefits claimants’ entitlements are suddenly cut for spurious reasons, […]
The post When a government just doesn’t care appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Unite activist and former Teeside charity boss, Jessie Jacobs speaks out against benefits sanctions Today at 12.30pm I was stood outside Middlesbrough job centre, speaking to a crowd of people about the benefit sanctions regime. I have been taking part in Unite’s national day of action #no2sanctions. Up until recently I was leading […]
The post No one deserves sanctions appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Unite Community members today held protests against grotesque benefit sanctions outside over 75 job centres across the United Kingdom. Millions of claimants have faced sanctions varying in length between four weeks and three years. Many are often imposed for the most trivial reasons that are beyond the claimant’s control. The unemployed, sick, disabled, […]
The post Fighting ‘grotesque’ sanctions appeared first on UNITElive.org.
‘Iain Duncan Smith’ has today ‘been jailed for crimes against humanity’ by Unite community members in Southampton over the government’s widespread use of benefit sanctions. As part of a national day of action against the sanctions – which lead to a cut or loss of benefits for the most trivial reasons – Unite […]
The post IDS ‘verdict’: Guilty appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Among the few winners in yesterday’s budget was the North Sea oil industry, which was handed over a £1.3bn tax cut to combat a slump in oil prices. The industry responded to the initial New Year slump, which saw the global price of crude plummet to below $50 a barrel, by attacking workers’ pay […]
The post Stop attacking workers appeared first on UNITElive.org.
An inspiring tale of worker solidarity and canny campaigning had women on their feet and clapping on the first day (March 18) of the Unite women’s conference in the Floral Hall, Eastbourne. They rose from their chairs after delegate Sara Kasab told how worker solidarity triumphed over zero hours contracts – when Unite […]
The post We’re not a soft option appeared first on UNITElive.org.
That Hinchingbrooke Hospital – the first privately run NHS hospital in history—was a complete disaster was further proved today (March 18) after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concluded the experiment put the taxpayer at grave risk. Private operator Circle won a contract to run the hospital for 10 years, but pulled out in January, […]
The post Hinchingbrooke: Stark warning appeared first on UNITElive.org.
This year’s budget showed the two faces of George Osborne. Within three months he’s come up with two different sets of figures for public spending plans over the next five years. The autumn statement in December showed a true Tory Chancellor wanting to force through colossal cuts. It was a bleak future of near-permanent […]
The post Don’t mention the cuts appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Chancellor George Osborne today (March 18) unveiled the government’s pre-election budget, calling it a triumph for working people. In an obvious attempt to pander to the electorate, with the general election being less than seven weeks away, Osborne has raised the tax-free personal allowance threshold to £10,800 to go into effect next year after […]
The post Wages still won’t last the month appeared first on UNITElive.org.