The NHS funding crisis is well documented – descriptions of ambulances queuing to get into A&E, drastic cuts to budgets and the unprecedented numbers of NHS providers in the red (to name but a few) continue to dominate news headlines. The NHS – and how much money it gets – was a key issue…Read more…
Labour MPs: Shape up and unite
At last Wednesday’s (September 14) prime minister’s question time (PMQs) Jeremy Corbyn heard a sound that up until then had been absent from the Commons chamber – the sound of cheering from behind….Read more…
‘Pink book’ saved
Unite, youth and community members have overwhelmingly voted to accept a new two year deal after the Local Government Association (LGA) employers rowed back on plans to tear up the ‘pink book’….Read more…
Impact of Brexit on health and care in Scotland
At this morning’s Holyrood Brexit and Health seminar, I was asked what my immediate response to the Brexit vote was. Well of course I was elated at the thought of the promised £350m extra spending on…Read more…
‘We won’t be treated unfairly’
Members of Unite, Scotland’s biggest offshore union have voted to end an industrial dispute that led to the first North Sea strike in a generation. In July, members of the Unite union working…Read more…
Strike suspended
The strike by staff at Menzies Distribution, which could have threatened deliveries to newsagents across the UK, has been suspended for workers to vote on an improved offer, Unite said today…Read more…
Workers are not machines
More than 60 Hackney traffic wardens will be striking for 24 hours starting today (September 22) in a victimisation and pay dispute, which will mean the number of parking tickets issued in the…Read more…
Solidarity cinema
The 4th annual London Labour Film Festival kicks off today (September 22) at the Art House Cinema in Crouch End and will feature a range of films that the festival’s organisers bill as an “intimate…Read more…
Liveblog: New Scientist Live, London
11:30 Robert Matthews, What are the chances? Coming soon … 11:25 Darren Naish: What dinosaurs really looked like. This was the first lecture I attended and I loved it. Naish started by…Read more…
Critical and Liberating Dialogue: ISS 2016
Dear Colleagues,
In a post on 6th July I reported on the outcomes of a splendid few days spent with many fine trade unionists from around the world at the annual Global Labour Institute Summer School. As I mentioned in that article the summer school is pitched in an explicitly political…Read more…
Newham Triathlon 18 September 2016
Picture from Sunday, when fellow Newham Councillor, Terry Paul and myself completed a self organised Triathlon (using google maps) starting and ending in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London.
This was not a race and ther…Read more…
Digital activity at the UNISON Centre
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Work with the Board
Less than a year ago, the Scottish government did the right thing and decided to retain its Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB) which sets minimum wages and terms and conditions for farm workers. …Read more…
Today’s economic data strengthens the case for a fiscal boost in the Autumn Statement
Economic commentators have been kept busy today by a welter of publications. The ONS published their brief assessment of the post Brexit economy; summary – the UK economy appears to have weathered the shock of the decision to leave, but it’s too early to tell the long term impacts. The Bank of…Read more…
Ten Good Reasons to Joint Unite @ Fujitsu
There’s a new leaflet out that members will be distributing "one per desk" at sites across Fujitsu. It sets out…Read more…
A ‘bootiful’ move?
Owner of the 2 Sisters Food group, Ranjit Boparan – also known as the “Chicken King” – has taken over turkey firm Bernard Matthews, a move which will save 2,000 jobs. Under a sale known as a…Read more…
Trade deals still on the Brussels agenda – we say no!
Despite the Prime Minister’s mantra that “Brexit means Brexit”, the UK is still engaged in negotiating so-called trade deals as part of the EU, so yesterday, the TUC sent a small…Read more…
Sports Direct shifts again
Just a quick update, the process of reform at Sports Direct has obviously just started, but some welcome news today. The company has committed to a fully independent review of the business, including employment practices. Whilst it had previo…Read more…
Victory for decency at work – Sports Direct will hold an independant review into its employment practices.
In what is also a victory for effective pension stewardship, “workhouse employer” Sports Direct agreed to hold an independent review into its awful working practices and governance.
See TUC press release below
“Trade Union Share Owners welcome Sport…Read more…