8th – 14th February 2017 is #heartunions week, celebrating the great work unions do, and paying tribute to the reps who are an important part of that. The Unsung Heroes series is running all week,…Read more…
Stand for Socialism first of all
Today I attended a meeting of the UNISON National Executive Council (aside from meetings at the June Conference I expect that this will have been my antepenultimate meeting). At that meeting we discussed NEC motions to our Conference in June, and – crucially – we had to consider the implications of…Read more…
Trade unions can fix our employment tribunal disaster
08 February 2017
By Ben Crawford, Assistant Editorial Officer, IER
The findings of the Ministry of Justice Review of employment tribunal fees, which was finally released this week, show that…Read more…
End blacklisting for good
Unite, the country’s biggest union for construction workers, renewed its demand for a public inquiry into blacklisting today (February 8) and backed calls by the Labour MP Chuka Umunna to strengthen…Read more…
‘Flexible’ for who?
Amid the Brexit worry surrounding Parliament’s on-going debate over the triggering of Article 50, there appeared to be a crack of light from PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC). Despite the…Read more…
UNISON prepares for a campaigning year
First NEC of 2017 covers campaigning to defend the NHS, anti-Trump protests, industrial action and preparations for national delegate conference
The article UNISON prepares for a campaigning year…Read more…
Brewster judgement means pension schemes must look again at their rules, says UNISON
Responding to the Supreme Court ruling today (Wednesday) concerning Denise Brewster’s successful claim to her partner’s pension, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Today’s judgement is good…Read more…
Zero tolerance
Driving a bus isn’t easy – you’ve got to be constantly on alert, surveying both what’s happening on the road and monitoring passengers in your vehicle to ensure their safety. But what many…Read more…
Our NHS
After chronic underfunding, accelerated privatisation and failed reorganisations introduced by the previous coalition government, the NHS as we know it is now in grave danger. That’s why…Read more…
Nicola’s experience at the Edinburgh Fringe – #heartunions
8th – 14th February 2017 is #heartunions week, celebrating the great work unions do, and paying tribute to the reps who are an important part of that. The Unsung Heroes series is running all week,…Read more…
Post Office ‘slash and burn’
The latest tranche of Post Office job losses is another example of ‘the rickety management’ that is driving a much-valued national institution into the ground, Unite said last tonight (February 7)….Read more…
User needs for union joining forms
Union joining forms are an important but often overlooked step in union organising. You need a process to get people into the union, check applicability in some cases, gather their contact data and…Read more…
Brushing the dust off Collective pensions: TUC Pensions Conference
The subject of Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pensions got an unexpected airing at the TUC Pensions Conference last week. The topic was not even on the conference agenda. For, after losing its most high profile backer in former Pensions Minister Steve Webb with the end of the Coalition…Read more…
Rob learns as he represents NHS workers – #heartunions
8th – 14th February 2017 is #heartunions week, celebrating the great work unions do, and paying tribute to the reps who are an important part of that. The Unsung Heroes series is running all week,…Read more…
Derby school support staff to stage city centre ‘love-in’ as dispute with council enters its eighth month
School support staff will stage a city centre love-in today (Wednesday) to remind shoppers and workers out on their lunch breaks that the pay dispute with the council is far from over. The staff are…Read more…
Redbrick on “Housing white paper: Government reinvents the wheel”
Check out “Here are some initial reactions to the White Paper published today, having also listened to Sajid Javid’s statement at lunchtime.
Almost every news programme and every newspaper has previewed the Housing White Paper, published today, in excitable terms, building expectations that…Read more…
Blog: Hospitals are stretched and NHS staff are under increasing pressure
We all know that our NHS is under real pressure. Whether we work in the health service, or rely on it to care for us and our loved ones, we can see the strain it’s under.
The article Blog: Hospitals…Read more…
Malika Achour @ Ruskin College on 20th February
Dear Colleague,
I am very pleased to say that Malika Achour has agreed to speak at Ruskin College.
Malika is a trade union activist from Tunisia and long-standing member of the UGTT. The event on 20th Feb will provide colleagues with an opportunity t…Read more…
Why the robot workplace damages workers and their organisations
Obsessive and unnecessary recording and reporting at work increases costs and places undue stress on staff. Coupled with new monitoring systems, workers are being turned into robots, before they are…Read more…
Low pay? No way!
Unite BA cabin crew took their fight against poverty pay to Parliament today (February 7) as they enlisted the support of MPs. Cabin crew, who earn on average only £16,000 a year including…Read more…