BRISTOL NUJ has announced the winners of the 2018 Student Prizes run in conjunction with the journalism department at the University of the West of England. An impressive standard was observed from…Read more…
Birmingham City Council cuts care workers’ hours at the expense of local people
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has today (Tuesday) joined striking care workers on the picket line in Birmingham. More than 250 care workers are taking strike action in response to the City…Read more…
The many unknowns of the pension cash dash
Rocketing pension withdrawals today could spell disaster tomorrowRead more…
Severn Trent dividends
Another day, another attack on a utility company for putting its investors first….
Press release – Embargoed until 00:01 Thursday July 26, 2018
SEVERN TRENT SHAREHOLDERS MAKE £1.1 BILLION AS BILLIONS OF LITRES WASTED, GMB REVEALS
Dividends and inter…Read more…
Decent pension provision is not dying out – it’s being murdered
A headline in last Friday’s “Professional Pensions” was “DB surplus hits record high of £382bn on best estimate basis, says First Actuarial”
It is becoming increasingly clear that the the huge decline in decent pension provision in the UK (employ…Read more…
Getting hot, hot, hot – July at UNISON
Whilst UNISON enjoyed the sun and the World Cup as much as the next union, we also didn’t let them stop us working as hard as ever on behalf of our members. Here are just some of our highlights from…Read more…
Bogus self-employment rising
Research by Unite has revealed a fresh rise in bogus self-employment in the construction industry. A Freedom of Information request made by Unite to the HMRC revealed that 1.12 million…Read more…
‘Strong show of solidarity’
Unite joined US gas workers — members of United Steelworkers (USW), Unite’s sister union in North America — to stage a demonstration at the National Grid’s AGM in Birmingham this morning…Read more…
‘Lacklustre’ probation rescue plan will fail
Commenting on Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service’s (HMPPS) rescue plan for probation announced today (Friday), UNISON national officer for probation Ben Priestley said: “These lacklustre…Read more…
Where’s Ryanair’s annual report?
UPDATE: it’s out.
In recent history, Ryanair has usually published its annual report a day or two after releasing its Q1 figures.
In 2017, the day after:
In 2016, the day after:
In 2015, 3 days after:
In 2014, the day after:
In 201…Read more…
UK and Japan union leaders: time to end Brexit uncertainty
The TUC and RENGO have issued a joint statement highlighting the threat that a bad Brexit deal poses to workers, trade and investmentRead more…
Is there a serious issue concerning anti-semitism in the Labour Party?
No.Read more…
Wanstead Flats Fire July 2018
Pictures taken last weekend from the top of a 308 bus showing the recent fires (from the week before). It was probably the worst fire I can remember in 30 years.
A scary time for many local residents who live adjacent to the flats and it caused massiv…Read more…
Hedge funds and Sky
I thought I’d have another quick look at hedge fund activity around the bidding war for Sky PLC. This looks like it could be quite a profitable trade (especially after several got burnt on Qualcomm / NXP).
As before, some old favourites are in the lis…Read more…
July 19th – Pension Board, LAPFF AGM, UNISON HAB, West Ham Labour GC (Sarah Jones MP Shadow Minister Housing)
Belated report on a busy Labour movement day last Thursday 19 July.
I started the day with a quarterly meeting of the London Borough Tower Hamlets Pension Board as an UNISON appointed representative.
The £billion plus fund is doing well and we are pl…Read more…
100 years later: Lessons of the three South Caucasian republics
This is the text of my presentation to the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Regional Lab held in Kvareli, Georgia. The event was attended by young leaders and activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia….Read more…
Review: A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
This is one of those books that I started to read, put aside, and then picked up much later and decided to give it a second chance. And it’s a good thing that I did….Read more…
Race, gender, class in the “Mother of Parliaments”
Recently I went to a late afternoon event in the House of Commons then afterwards had a drink (or three) with a colleague in a nearby pub.
The pub and road outside became full with drinkers enjoying the end of the workday and the glorious sunshine.
An attack on freedom of speech and dissent
The attempted with-hunt of critics of Israel mirrors the with-hunt in Israel against critics of the Israeli state The article … MoreRead more…
TUC Communications Awards 2018
Every year, the TUC hosts an Annual Communication Awards ceremony to celebrate some of the great work being done by unions. I always take particular interest in the awards focused on using technology…Read more…