In a cynical move to falsely rebrand itself as the party of working people, the Tories today (May 15) announced a raft of policies offering greater employment rights and protections. …Read more…
Hot topics for national delegate conference
Representatives of UNISON’s 1.3 million members will meet in Brighton next month to decide policies and priorities that will take the union forward
The article Hot topics for national delegate…Read more…
New NHS organisation on the Isle of Wight:
Ken Knapman The meeting on the NHS being organised in Ryde is timely and crucial and cannot be left to chance. Regardless of the attendance it should not be underestimated as to its significance for…Read more…
We need family work rights that working families can actually use
Today is the International Day for Families, so it’s timely to think about the types of support that working families need to spend more time together. As a starting point, it’s imperative that working parents don’t see their existing rights undermined following Brexit. EU employment law…Read more…
New regulations for early years first aid training
Early years staff who qualified from September 2016 onwards are now required to hold a paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate, under new regulations that came into force last month.
The article New…Read more…
New strategy for early years education is flawed, says UNISON
UNISON believes the Department for Education’s early years workforce strategy is flawed as it says nothing about the pay and conditions of early years staff. The Department for Education…Read more…
25 Days until UK General Election: On the knocker in Forest Gate & Ilford North
Yesterday started with my Newham Councillor surgery in Vicarage Lane Community Centre, West Ham. A constituent came to see me about a pretty appalling disrepair case in a Housing Association shared ownership block. I have been in touch already about th…Read more…
Shareholders go quiet on executive pay
Once again, ahead of the UK AGM season we had the now traditional “boards braced for stormy AGM season” story. Anyone who follows this debate will know what I mean. We’ve all seen several times the claim that a second “shareholder spring” is coming as …Read more…
Alan B’Stard outlines the Tory plans for the NHS. “in the good old days… you were poor… you got ill…. and you died!”
Lest we forget. Read more…
National Express – 6 kids die but CEO still gets 7 figure bonus. Wtf?
A sensitive and thoughtful commentary below by Tom Powdrill on his blog “Labour & Capital” about the many governance dangers of paying huge “performance related” bonuses to Chief Executives.
National Express of course has been warned on numer…Read more…
Ministers must act to counter malware attack on hospitals, says UNISON
Commenting on the malware attack today (Friday) on the NHS, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Staff are already facing huge challenges to keep the health service running and deliver the…Read more…
Freedom of Information – from ambition to action
Freedom of Information is an essential part of a thriving and effective democracy. Scotland needs to move from the ambition of support for open government, to putting the legislative and practical…Read more…
The General Election – locally and nationally
This week I have been spending my working hours getting back to working in my “day job” now that I am no longer seconded to trade union duties, and some of the rest of my time dealing with Labour’s General Election campaign in Brighton Pavilion.
I don’t intend to blog much about the election…Read more…
Is a robot after your job?
12 May 2017
Martin Upchurch, Middlesex University, London
We re-blog an article from the European Institute for Construction Labour Research on how the growing trend of automation is affecting…Read more…
Careersmart 2.0
Back in 2014, Prospect launched the Careersmart.org.uk website, providing information and guidance on careers and work issues from a union perspective. The site has recently undergone a major…Read more…
IER FACT NEWS: The Purposes and Benefits of Sectoral Collective Bargaining
12 May 2017
By John Hendy QC and Professor Keith Ewing, Chair and President of the IER
The Labour Party has identified the restoration of Sectoral Collective Bargaining as a key element in its…Read more…
Manchester council demo
Striking members of Unite employed on social housing maintenance contracts in Manchester will stage a demonstration outside of Manchester Town Hall, on Monday, May 15 at 12pm, demanding the council…Read more…
Picnic protest
Members of Unite will be joining campaigners and concerned families on Sunday (May 14) for a picnic protest over Medway council’s plans to close 19 Sure Start centres and axe up to 50 staff across…Read more…
“Sweatshop of Europe”
The number of people on zero-hours contracts has reached record levels, with 905,000 people on them in the last three months of 2016, up 13 per cent from the same period last year. But the…Read more…
‘Paltry’ accident fine
Unite has criticised a ‘paltry’ fine imposed on a company for health and safety breaches that led to the permanent impairment of a worker. At Dundee Sheriff Court yesterday (May 11), Wallace…Read more…